Running for Bibles in Beirut

 

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Excitement is mounting in Beirut as the city prepares for its first International Marathon on October 19. More than 5,500 people have signed up to run 42 kms (26 miles), twice round Beirut, and there will be extensive media coverage.

 

Among the runners will be Mike Bassous, Executive Director and Deputy General Secretary of the Bible Society in Lebanon. His motivation for putting himself through this tough mental and physical challenge is his desire to raise money for the free distribution of Bibles to people who cannot afford to buy their own. If every metre of his run is sponsored, Mr Bassous will be able to fund the cost of 4,200 Bibles.

 

For Mr Bassous, mental preparation has been even more important than physical training. A vital element of his mental preparation is knowing that many people will be praying for him. “Please pray for me as I witness for the most important book in my life and yours – the Bible!”

 

Marathon provides Bibles for Beirut’s poorest

 

BEIRUT, Lebanon — More than 550 people living in some of Beirut’s most deprived neighbourhoods will receive free Bibles this Christmas thanks to money raised by Mike Bassous, Executive Director and Deputy General Secretary of the Bible Society in Lebanon, through his participation in the first Beirut International Marathon on October 19.

 

Mr Bassous, who completed the 42 km- (26 mile-) race in four hours and forty minutes wearing his ‘running for Bibles’ T-shirt, was interviewed by SAT-7, an Arabic Christian satellite television station.

 

“I shared about the importance of physical and spiritual exercise and explained that I was running for Bibles so that people would realise what this book means to me and to many others,” said Mr Bassous.

 

More than 5,970 people participated in the marathon, which was attended by the President of the Republic of Lebanon, General Emile Lahoud, who fired the starting gun. The Bibles sponsored through the marathon will be distributed during the Christmas season by a local medical centre, which gives free health care to refugees, people from deprived areas and the homeless.