Story
Amira Faisal Fayad was born in Syria, in the Homs Governorate, into a wealthy family that owned a sheep farm and vast agricultural lands. Their financial situation was very stable. Amira had nine loving and close-knit siblings. However, Amira could not complete her education due to her mother’s paralysis caused by a terrible accident. She had to stay home to care for the family and look after her mother, who remained bedridden for over two years and required constant care. Slowly but surely, her mother recovered and returned to her normal life, but Amira was unable to resume her schooling due to the long break she had taken.
Amira then began working with her father on their farmland. In 2011, she married her cousin and stayed in the same city, close to her family. Shortly after, war broke out in Syria, forcing her and her husband to flee to Lebanon. They settled in the Bekaa region of Ferzol. While their financial situation was manageable, allowing them to meet their daily needs, the devastating war in Syria took a toll on her family. Three of her brothers and her father were killed, and their farms and agricultural lands were destroyed.
The situation worsened when a missile struck her in-laws’ house, leaving them in a state of terror and severe distress due to her father-in-law’s death. Her husband, overwhelmed with worry, decided to return to Syria to check on his family and Amira’s remaining relatives. Amira stayed behind in Lebanon with their two children while her husband traveled. Tragedy struck at the Syrian-Lebanese border when regime officers arrested her husband and imprisoned him for evading mandatory military service.
The immense sorrow Amira experienced over her husband’s imprisonment led to severe bleeding, causing her to miscarry her third child. She remained heartbroken, waiting for her husband’s release, which she hoped would come after the fall of the former regime in Syria. However, when the prisons were opened, her husband was not among those who were freed.
Amira lived in Lebanon with her two children, enduring pain and anguish, desperately needing emotional, financial, and spiritual support. She heard about the “Heart for Lebanon” organization through her neighbors. In a state of despair, she visited the organization, weeping and emotionally shattered. One of the workers welcomed her, listened to her story, empathized with her emotions, prayed with her, and comforted her with God’s reassuring Word. She also invited Amira to attend the Wednesday worship meetings.
Amira committed to attending the meetings and was overjoyed when the organization provided her with food and financial assistance. The organization’s educational program also welcomed her two daughters as students. Amira said, “I am very happy in my relationship with God. I feel His presence beside me, supporting me. I am grateful to everyone in the association who stood by me. They helped me rise above my pain and weaknesses to become a strong mother capable of supporting and standing by her children.”
Let us pray for Amira, that God may strengthen her in His Word, grant her wisdom and resilience to care for her children, and continue to be her steadfast helper and supporter.
