I have spoken to the Syrian family in Lebanon and received today this picture of the family.

The Board of Missions at its March 21 meeting agreed to sponsor another family to replace the family from Iraq which is not eligible for Project Hope funding. This family is Syrian, currently in Lebanon, and consists of a grandfather (Josep), his wife, their daughter (Marina) and her teen-aged daughters. They will qualify for Project Hope funding, provided that they do not have relatives in Canada.  I spoke to Marina this morning and we are starting the process of gathering all the necessary information. Please keep this family in your prayers; I will keep you posted as I learn more.

Unfortunately the sponsorship of the Iraqi family is not going to proceed. Initially we were told that the sponsorship would be funded by Project Hope, a fund established by the Catholic Church for refugees. However in the course of communicating with the family, we learned that they have relatives in Canada, which makes them ineligble for Project Hope funding. We also learned that a church in Laval, Quebec was considering the family for sponsorship but so far we have been unable to determine the status of that initiative. ORAT (the Office for Refugees of the Archdiocese of Toronto) had provided us with profiles of two families (both Syrian refugees in Lebanon) and these will be considered by the Board of Missions at their next meeting on March 21.