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Lebanon
& Syria Focus: All
10 stories and photographs were gathered during a recent trip by John
Dean, UBS Europe-Middle East Program Consultant.
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SAIDA, Lebanon — Joop Griffiouen tells Bible stories as he distributes Scriptures around town. This Dutch evangelist and Bible Society distributor has met both hostility and warmth while sharing God’s Word with people who have never encountered it before, but has found that living the Christian faith in a practical way has also aroused people’s interest.
“When we opened our new Bible bookshop in Saida in the centre of town I wanted to put up a sign for the Bible Society,” said Mr Griffiouen, who is also a qualified master carpenter. “People refused to let me even drill holes and were hostile towards me, not even returning my greetings.
“Near the bookshop is a public toilet, which was in a terrible condition. I repaired it and my wife and I cleaned it. Of course it kept getting filthy again, and we kept on cleaning it. We also cleaned up a garbage dump just near our apartment. People began to accept us and appreciate us. At that time we began looking for another more central place to rent for a Bible Society shop.
“One day, a local man approached us and asked what we were doing in Saida. I told him we were looking for a place to rent as a shop for the Bible Society. Having seen what we had done with the garbage dump and the public toilet, he told us that he had a place for us to rent. ‘I have not rented it so far because I do not trust people,’ he told us. ‘But you I trust.’”
Mr Griffiouen has also used his carpentry skills to make furniture for Effat Fana – the manager of the Bible Society bookshop. Mr Fana, an Egyptian, receives no salary and is soon to marry.
“His fiancée’s family cannot understand why I spend so long working on furniture for Mr Fana without payment,” said Mr Griffiouen.
“On another occasion, a neighbour asked me in for coffee and introduced me to a friend who was visiting,” said Mr Griffiouen. “‘I’d like to tell you about our neighbour’, he told his visitor. ‘He actually practices what we believe. We have the words, but he does it!’” (WR 358/15 - 03.01) [PHOTOS]