Looking to the Middle East for positive news

My objective is to find, document, and write Impact Stories resulting from the ongoing work of a variety of individuals and groups in these two countries. Here are a few questions I’ve been asked:

I’ll be meeting with associates of IDEAS International, women and men who have given their skills and passion toward education, agriculture, community health, and business skills among people groups in need.

IDEAS is not a missions organization, but rather a professional placement agency. It is a wonderful effort and I’ll be writing about these projects, illustrated by the men, women, boys, and girls who are the recipients of their efforts. I’ll be visiting refugee camps and other projects hosted by several different Non-Government Organizations and staffed by these professionals.

I’m tired of cultural division, political rancor, and the temporal issues in my daily news feed. Is there any good news? IDEAS stated vision is to “see transformed lives in communities of contagious hope.” This fired me up! My desire is to find and write about this kind of hope. Selfishly, I need a jumpstart of my own heart toward love and good deeds – and hopefully, you’ll find the same inspiration.

I’ll be sharing many of these stories in real-time at my Patheos blog, Facebook, and Instagram pages. But longer versions will be used by these IDEAS associates, to help in their own efforts to fund their programs. It is difficult to write about your own good deeds, but it’s much more effective to have a third-party – me – tell the story.

We are still working on the final details, but right now here some of the stops I will be making:

· A librarian who trains other librarians throughout the region. Small libraries with trained professionals help foster learning and education – two things that create cultural, financial, and political stability.

· A music teacher who collaborates with refugee children, teaching them orchestral music. A recent concert was the first of its kind in this Jordanian city.

· A vocational arts director who is helping young Syrian boys impacted by the ISIS destruction in their homeland find new careers as they transition into adulthood.

· A journalist who has lived in Lebanon for decades, telling the stories of Christian influence in the region

· An agriculture expert who is teaching refugees how to commercially farm

I would love it if you follow along with the stories on any of the above places and share them.

And, there’s no pressure here. I’m thrilled just to have your support and good words. But a number of you have asked how you can help. If you would like to give toward this effort, please visit my page by searching for “IDEAS World David Rupert“

These gifts are tax-deductible, and it is my desire to use your generosity to spread generosity to these population groups I visit.

I covet your prayers and encouragement!

#RefugeeStories66