Bonnie Witherall opened the door to the Sidon clinic in South Lebanon.

Five shots rang out from the religious extremist’s gun and she joined the ranks of martyrs in the throne room of God.

Bonnie had ministered to Palestinian refugee women in Sidon. After her death, many other missionaries were kicked out of the country or asked to leave, and the local believers were living in fear. They did not reopen the clinic and did not reach out to their Muslim neighbors. So this modest building in the heart of Hezbollah territory, once full of life with outreach to kids, English classes, medical care for refugees, and with sharing the love of Christ, was empty and lifeless since Bonnie’s death in 2003.

Then in 2006, Hezbollah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and more than 700,000 Lebanese were displaced because of the resulting war. Most of the refugees came from the south.

In the Sidon Clinic where medical worker, Bonnie Witherall, was murdered and in the room where her blood covered the floor, 160 refugees are now being sheltered, receiving bread, food, and other goods from church members, with no strings attached.

The refugees remember that a foreign woman was killed because she was a Christian. Now Christians were helping them. They don’t understand.

A high government official of Sidon expressed how much he appreciated the church’s help. He said, “I don’t understand. Where the lady was killed, you’re still helping. Why?”

A Christian explained to him that the love of Jesus is the most important thing in the world. Lebanese are in need, and the church, because of Jesus’ love, would help.

This story is contributed by Ross who asks, “When was the last time someone saw the love of Christ in me and said ‘I don’t understand?’ I’m praying that God would put us in ‘unsafe’ spots that bring greater opportunities to share His love. We have an opportunity to see a miracle happen in Lebanon because the believers there are now willing to love supernaturally in the face of persecution.”

Thank you, Ross, for this moving story of God’s hand in the midst of tragedy!

NOTE: For more stories out of the Middle East, visit The Sovereign.

“I Don’t Understand” by Sus Schmitt is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.