Media Release, Mon. Feb. 23rd., 2004Founder Of Cedars Of Lebanon Project Determined to Reactivate Reforestation In War Torn Country. Grant B. Livingstone and his wife Barbara
have returned to Canada in an effort to reactivate the Cedars Of Lebanon
Reforestation Project. He firmly believes that the healing of the battered
Lebanese people is directly related to the proliferation of their national
symbol of identity, the Cedars Of Lebanon. Grant and Barbara Livingstone, are veteran
evangelists and journalists who have resided in Israel over the past
28 years of ministry. They are the Middle East representatives of the
Canadian based Maranatha Evangelistic Association and their publication,
Restoration Times specializes in the correlation of current events in
relation to the prophesies that are predicted in the Bible.
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Monday,
June 30,2003 Assist News Service
THE CEDARS OF LEBANON WILL BLOOM AGAIN That's the view of Bruce Balfour who believes he is on a tree-planting mission from God |
By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries LOS ANGELES, CA (ANS) -- Bruce Balfour,
a British Colombia native, is on what he believes to be a tree-planting
mission from God. He is planning to help replenish the mighty Cedars
of Lebanon in the mountains of northern Lebanon above the city of Becherre
where stands the remnant of a mighty forest of uncompromising beauty
so ancient it dates back to the Biblical patriarchs. "Since the original Cedar of Lebanon forest began to be cut-down and used for wealth-building more than 4,000 years ago by the Phoenicians, Egyptians, Assyrians, etc., up to the British in the 20th century, few have planted new seedlings on he mountains of Lebanon," Balfour explained in an interview during a stop-over in Los Angeles. "We are working toward planting forests of seedling back on the original slopes where they were first harvested by armies of people over the Millennia including Israelites; for King David's, the temple in Jerusalem, Solomon's house as, "The House of the Forest of Cedars of Lebanon", which took 13 years to build, and many other structures in the Bible lands. "I will be returning to Lebanon on
July 9th from here in Southern California to film and produce a documentary
on Lebanon, its Biblical importance of the Cedars of Lebanon and our
project. This documentary should be available for showing by the end
of August 2003. Balfour says his love for nature began
in his boyhood years of wilderness wanderings in western Canada, then
into Alaska as a young man. "I thrived as wilderness wanderer. It was my chief joy. It is also where I met the Creator face to face in His creation. He became my master and messiah and since then our relationship has only become sweeter, not to say that there has not been any trouble and challenges since then, for my mistakes have been legendary. I repented and He was merciful to forgive and restore his servant, of which I will be eternally grateful. "Over the years, one of the things I pray about focus on when God would allow me to return to Lebanon to help fulfill His promise in Isaiah 29:17-24," Balfour continued. "God promised that Lebanon would be turned in a fruitful field and grow into a mature forest of Cedar. God also promised, the deaf shall hear the 'Words of the Book' and the eyes of the blind shall see out of the darkness gloom to serve the Holy One of Israel, who would no longer be ashamed of them. This has not happened yet, but it will and I want to be a part of it. When the "Glory of the Lord" is poured on Lebanon, Israel will take notice and will be jealous. Thus, Romans 11 will be further fulfilled and what a glorious day that will be. "While driving through the mountains of Lebanon again with a friend, that strong longing that was with me during the war years returned. The Bible speaks of the people of Lebanon being surrounded by the Cedars of Lebanon. Now, they are surrounded by barren slopes. My friend and I were thinking to ourselves before he brought it up that maybe now was the time to begin tree planting projects that are desperately needed to help bring hope to the Lebanese. Along with that we could plant God's Truth back into a diminishing Christian population. At the beginning of the war, 60% or more of the people were of Christian groups. Now, it is no more than 25%. We talked to a variety of people about it and the response was extremely positive. Now, I am preparing for my return to the Holy Land. Your support is important and vital. "Even though I had very little money, I returned again and began making contacts with government offices, municipalities, businessmen and all groups who might be interested. Even though the interest was very high, the road was with many hidden hazards of the Hezbollah. "The people of Becherre in the North of Mount Lebanon who were expanding the ancient Cedar grove contacted me. I was invited to come and meet with them. The conditions in the North are quite different because they're very cooperative. In less than a day we had signed an agreement to cooperate on the Cedar planting project. The Biblical significance of this project is Biblical in its scope and proportion. I believe our project is very dear to the heart of God. In Psalm 104:16,"The trees of God are satisfied; The Cedars of Lebanon which He planted." In Psalm 92:12-13, "The righteous one flourishes like a Psalm tree, he grows like a Cedar in Lebanon. Balfour has linked up with a Lebanese organization called The Friends of the Cedars, which has a nursery next to the grove with many seedlings waiting to be planted. "There are 7,000 trees that are four-years old already, and they should have been planted when they were three-years old, but they don't have the money," Balfour says. "They have to get in the ground this year," he says. Balfour hopes to raise $30,000-$50,000 to complete the project. To find out more about this project, please
log onto their website at www.cedarsoflebanon.ca or e-mail Bruce Balfour
at cedarsoflebanon2002@yahoo.com. |