Miscellany Monday...

Today I'm participating in Miscellany Monday, hosted by Lowercase Letters

I've often mentioned on this blog that I spent a couple of years in Beirut, Lebanon when I was a little girl (my parents were missionaries.) One of my favorite links to that era in my life is Edgar Feghaly and now his wife Roseann.  Edgar, or Eddie as we called him, was a teen-ager when I was a little girl in Lebanon.  Now he heads up an amazing ministry to people in Arab countries.  He was the special speaker at our church's missions conference this past week, so my husband and I were able to spend time with him and Roseann.  It was a wonderful time of reminiscing about two years that made a lasting impression on my life.  Edgar and Roseann have literally risked their lives to bring the good news of Christ's love to the Middle East.  I love and respect them deeply!

Edgar and Roseann Feghaly, me and my husband Doug

I believe I've found the best tea-bag tea I've ever tasted!  Doug and I were at Olive Garden one night when I decided to have a cup of tea.  It was Tetley Orange Peach tea, and it was incredible.  It only took one sip for me to realize that this tea was in a class by itself.  I looked in almost every Rockford grocery store to find it, and couldn't. So I ordered it online, and I don't regret it for a moment.  A cup of this tea is like a treat!

November is special for many things, but one of them is the birthday of my precious little grandson, Josiah. (We call him JD most of the time.)  He turned 3 on November 9th.  I wish I could have been at him Thomas the Tank-themed party, but I console myself that we're going to spend Thanksgiving with him and his family.

He is such a sunny little fellow...I love so much! Happy birthday, JD!

I love this little boy so much!

The last time I went to my doctor and had my A1C (a 3 month test of how my blood sugar is doing--I'm a Type 2 Diabetic), I did NOT like the trend I was seeing.  My blood sugar was still in the safe zone, but it was definitely rising.  While diabetes is a degenerative disease, I realized there were things I could do better in the areas of managing my eating and increasing my exercise.  

I resolved to do both, and a key component was joining the site, My Fitness Pal.  I've always kept track of what I was eating..but what I didn't realize was just how many calories I was consuming! My Fitness Pal has made me accountable in both eating and exercise.  I've lost 8 pounds so far (it's taken about a month, so I'm losing slowly and safely) and hope to lose a total of 20 by the time I visit my doc again in January. I can't say enough good things about this site.  What's great is that you can also use it as an app on your smartphone. I recommend it highly!

Happy Monday, everyone!

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From the Archives: A Hero for Today

Missionary Edgar Feghaly

originally posted November 10, 2008

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A sea-front shot of Beirut, Lebanon, where I lived for two years as a child

When American missionary Clyde Aynes answered the call to go to Beirut, Lebanon as a missionary in the late 1950's, he couldn't have known that a little Lebanese boy would grow up to impact so many lives.

That little boy is now missionary Edgar Feghaly, and I'm privileged to call him my friend.

Edgar was the keynote speaker this past week at our church's Missions Conference. In case you're not familiar with the concept of a missions conference, it usually consists of a few days of special meetings featuring missionaries reporting on their work in various parts of the world.



Edgar accepted Christ as a seven-year-old boy in Beirut, Lebanon. Fast-forward to 1965. My family sailed to Beirut to help in the missionary work headed by Brother Aynes and his family. That's when we came to know Edgar and his wonderful family.

A friend of the family

By then, Eddie (as we called him--and it's hard for me to think of him otherwise!) was a teen-ager. My sister Beverly was also a teen, and she recalls that she and Eddie had a great brother-sister-type relationship. They would argue and bicker, but also had great times together.

Even as a teen, Edgar was a big part of the ministry. He often interpreted for my Dad as he preached, or for my mom as she told Bible stories to the children. I can remember him hanging out with us in our home, even going on a trip with us once.

I was a little girl at the time, but I thought Eddie and his brothers, Ramon and Robert, were handsome and fun. They were always very sweet to me and my younger sister.

Our family lost touch with Edgar after we left Beirut due to Six Day War in June 1967. In the intervening years, Edgar came to America to attend college and married a lovely American girl named Rosann.

He ended up going back to Beirut to pastor there, and he has some harrowing tales of his life and church being spared despite being situated squarely in what became a Hezbollah stronghold.

The gospel to Iraq...and beyond

Now Edgar and Rosann are based in Tennessee, working with The Middle East and African Partnership to plant churches in places like Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Morocco, Liberia, Sudan and others.

Edgar is rather like a modern-day Apostle Paul, helping churches get on their feet and become independent, then moving on...but always making sure those churches are financially supported and checking on them to see how they're faring.

During the missions conference, Edgar told some amazing stories of terrorists and former Iraqi military leaders having their lives transformed by the power of Christ.

He believes that if not for 9/11 and the U.S. military involvement in Iraq, that country would never have been opened to the gospel, and countless Iraqis would never have had the opportunity to accept Christ.

I blogged earlier about one of my favorite stories told by Edgar--about our troops arranging a Christmas party for Iraqi children--here.

Just one life...

Edgar often reflects on what his life would have been like if a missionary had not shared the Gospel with him. He believes he would have either been a terrorist or dead.

Instead, the ripple effect continues. Edgar keeps sharing the Gospel with people, who continue to share it with others. The results will only be known in eternity.

In the meantime, I'm glad to call Edgar Feghaly my friend. He is a true hero of the faith.

You can find out more about the outreach to Iraq at the Gospel to Iraq website.

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Another beautiful shot of the Lebanese coast