On July 21 we started cleaning the bomb shelter of the apartment building on Middle East University campus, anticipating that we may need it in the coming days," reports Pastor Levon Maksoudian, President of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the East Mediterranean Region, whose family resides in one of the apartments.

The Middle East University is an Adventist institution situated on the summit of the Sabtieh Hill, overlooking Beirut city. It is a relatively considerable distance away from the current target areas and Adventists living on campus have not felt themselves to be in any immediate danger up until now. However, since several Christian areas have recently been hit, leaders are taking sensible precautions. "In any event, it is always good to have a clean basement!" adds Pastor Maksoudian.

Pastor Maksoudian has endeavoured to dispatch regular news updates from Beirut, determined to communicate as frequently as possible while the infrastructure is still available. Bringing news from the Mousietbeh Adventist Secondary School (MASS), where 250 refugees have been sheltered since the air strikes began over a week ago, Pastor Maksoudian reports: "The MASS principal, Mr Elias Choufany, is present in the school every day trying to keep things under control as much as possible. But the reality in such times is that damage will inevitably happen to the building and already the refugees have removed some of the windows for improved air-flow into the rooms. I am sure kids are not sparing the freshly painted walls either!"

Suhad Kharma is the Adventist Church women's ministries director for Lebanon. She works in the finance department of Middle East University. Suhad has received numerous emails of encouragement from people around the world who understand the intense anxiety she and so many others like her are enduring at this time. In response to one person, she writes: "Thank you for your letters of support. I cried when I was reading them. I have become so emotional these days. There is so much stress on everyone."

"Beirut is very quiet these days and we continue with life as normally as possible. But every day at 5.00 am we are woken up by the sounds of bombing in the southern part of Beirut. We see the ships coming and picking up the evacuees."

"We meet on the university campus at 7.00 pm each evening to pray and socialise. It is so soothing to bond together as we walk and enjoy the peace that this place provides."

"Pray for us that we will survive this as we survived the last [18-year Lebanese civil war], and hopefully," says Suhad, "this will be the last." [Editor: Alex Elmadjian for ANR/TED News]