Reem Bourizk stopped in her tracks late last year, when she was walking home from the school that she and her husband started for Syrian refugee children in Lebanon. She was filled with joy to see one of the older students had gathered a few of the refugee children outside their tent and was teaching them a worship song.

“I am constantly filled with joy seeing the big difference in their attitudes towards each other and towards their teachers, their ability to learn and especially the joy, the transformation of their faces from sad to hopeful,”

Reem and her husband Emil started Good Shepherd School in 2014 to educate children from  the many Syrian refugee families who were living in tents near their home in the north of Lebanon. Since then, they have seen remarkable growth in the ministry. At the beginning of last year, they were teaching 200 students and they now have more than 350 and the teaching team grew from 10 to 18 teachers.

Reem and Emil are seeing dramatic changes in the hearts and minds of the children. Many start at the school lacking confidence, rarely smiling, and showing aggression to each other.

 “And I believe that the deepest reason for this transformation resides in the fact that they realised that God is not an angry God, but a loving father. They experience this reality through the way the teachers and all the staff treat them.”

 

As the new year begins, the school is poised for further growth with plans in place to build five new classrooms.

 “I’m sharing all of this to you brothers and sisters, not only to inform and encourage you, but also to thank you because we would’ve never been where we are now without your prayers and support.”

Read more about the work of the Good Shepard School, here