At its October 16 2018 meeting the Board of Mission approved the sponsorship of Elias Tawfik Fassiha, his wife and 3 young children who are shown in the picture above (taken at Easter).They are a Syrian family, currently taking refuge in Lebanon. They are originally from Maaloula, one of the oldest Christian villages in the world, located fifty-six kilometers from Damascus,  at an altitude of 1500 meters. It is  believed to have been constructed in the first millennium BC by Aramaeans and the people there still speak the Aramaic language spoken by Jesus.

You can read more about Maaloula here