This Faith and Finance podcast is underwritten in part by Heart for Lebanon. War is once again shaking the Middle East. In Lebanon, families already crushed by poverty and instability are now living in fear, unsure if food, shelter, or safety will be there tomorrow. Heart for Lebanon is responding with emergency aid, practical care, and the unshakable hope of the gospel. To give or learn more, text the word FAITH to 98656.
That's FAITH to 98656. Or visit faithfy.com/slash Lebanon. Imagine if a quarter of our country suddenly had to flee their homes, unsure where they would sleep, how they would eat, or what tomorrow might bring. That's the kind of crisis many families in Lebanon are facing today. Hi, I'm Rob West.
Lebanon is facing another humanitarian crisis and innocent families are caught in the middle. Today, Camille Melke of Hartford, Lebanon joins us with a boots on the ground report and a powerful opportunity to respond. And then it's onto your calls at 800-525-7000. This is Faith in Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. Each quarter, we highlight trusted ministries doing meaningful kingdom work around the world.
This quarter, we're partnering with Heart for Lebanon. Of course, when we planned this, we had no idea war would break out in the Middle East or that the people of Lebanon would be facing such urgent need. Here to help us understand what's happening and how believers can respond is Camille Melke, co-founder and CEO of Heart for Lebanon. Camille, it is such a treat to have you joining us today. Thank you, Rob.
It's a great privilege of mine to be with you. Camille, you grew up in Lebanon during wartime and later founded Heart for Lebanon in the wake of another conflict there.
So sadly, crisis is not unfamiliar territory for you. But as you look at what's happening right now, what feels different about this moment, if anything? You know, that's true. I was only nine years old and my wife Oda was eight when a brutal 15 years civil war erupted. That was in 1975.
Then in 2006, we knew we had to do something to play our part in moving people. From despair to hope in Christ. Yes.
So Heart for Lebanon came to existence in the middle of an ugly war in 2006. Today, the situation we're facing is complicated. But what hasn't changed is that innocent victims continue to pay the biggest price. and the mission of the Church is still the same. People are dying without knowing who Jesus is.
entire family units from different religious backgrounds. Are being thrown into communities that don't know or look like them. But in the midst of all that pain, we have one of the boldest opportunities. To share the gospel with individuals who have never had access to it before. And surely we don't want to miss this great opportunity.
Wow, we couldn't agree more. Camille, would you share with our listeners what families in Lebanon are experiencing right now? And as you look ahead, what concerns you most about the long-term impact of this crisis? We are seeing the impact of families who have been displaced more than just once. We are seeing childhood traumas, we are seeing broken infrastructure, an overwhelmed government, and of course, people becoming fearful of one another.
In any war, It's the innocent civilian who end up paying the biggest price. innocent civilians who want nothing to do with the conflict. And you can't help thinking about the thousands of young children who are suffering immensely. Rob De Gaia is from Syria. A few years ago, she had fled Syria due to the war with her husband and daughter and came to southern Lebanon.
They accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior at our Hope Evangelical Church in Ghezi in southern Lebanon. Last month, Gaia and her family's neighbors experienced brutal shelling and bombing. She retorted to our team that the vivid images that still place in her mind. of how she had just spoken to her next door neighbor. and they parted ways for lunch.
Then minutes later her neighbors on both sides of that flat died in the attacks. her home was seriously uh damaged. forcing them to go looking for somewhere safer to stay. Diana's husband, unfortunately, is terminally ill with cancer. and they both sustained great injuries from the bombing and airstrikes.
When our team was finally able to make contact with Daya again, and she was able to make it back to the church service, she said. When I was sitting in the service. and hear the word of God. Oh. It feels like my heart Heavy burdens become lighter.
The fear does not disappear completely. But I'm no longer facing it alone. The Lord is with me. and through the people of Hartford Lebara, I feel his tangible love. Surrounding the Wow, what a powerful story.
We're talking today with Camille Melke. We'll be right back. The freedom you're looking for may begin with one question. How much is enough? That's why we created the Faith Five Field Guide, How Much Money is Enough, a scripture-centered resource designed to help believers just like you find contentment through biblical wisdom.
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Soundmindinvesting.org Lebanon is facing another humanitarian crisis, and innocent families are caught in the middle. Today, I'm joined by Camille Melke of Heart for Lebanon. He is CEO and co-founder of this incredible ministry with boots on the ground to be the hands and feet of Jesus to minister and share the gospel to so many who are in a desperate situation, needing help and food and shelter, but also needing the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I think it would be helpful for you, our listeners, to hear directly from the field. Freddie, one of Camille's leaders, works with Heart for Lebanon's children at Risk programs.
I want you to listen in for a moment as he describes what these children have been through. Right now. Thousands of children in Lebanon are living in the shadows of war. These hallways, once meant for lessons, are now shelters. But for the children here, They are also places of deep confusion and loss.
They've seen things no child should ever witness. At Harsh for Lebanon. Our mission is to transform these crowded spaces into a safe space. When the world feel likes it shaking We provide hope. Do trauma and foreign play.
All right. and the simple act of listening. We help them process their fear. We are here to show them that while they have lost their homes, They have not been forgotten. Our goal is to replace their anxiety.
With the peace of Christ. turning their stories of survival into stories of hope, because every child deserves to feel safe. and every heart in Lebanon. deserves to know they are loved. That's a powerful testimony from one of your staff members, Camille, someone who is walking closely with these families every day.
How are the children responding, especially as your team shares the hope of Jesus with them? The innocence of childhood is amazing. Here's a story. Ahmad is a 10-year-old Kurdish boy living in Niha with his parents. Who both recently came to know the love and hope found in the Lord Jesus Christ?
The constant sounds of rockets and explosions. filled Ahmed with fear. Especially for his ten month old baby brother. Whenever mithas were heard nearby, Ahmad would run quickly to protect his little brother, trying to cover him with his tiny hands. His mother, who volunteers at our Sunday school ministry, encourages him through God's promises to trust in the Lord during fearful moments.
I used to become very scared, he says. When I heard the rockets. I thought something bad would happen to my baby brother. My mother would pray with me and remind me that Jesus protects us. I still remember those songs sometimes.
But now I pray instead of panicking, I feel safer when I remember that Jesus is with us. Mm. Here's another testimony. Yasmina is a grade three student at the Hope Evangelical School. and at our Educational Centre, and she is a member of our Sunday School.
Throughout the world, the Athmana did not miss one single day of prayer. She truly believes that prayer can change reality. She prayed especially for her younger siblings who were afraid during the war, reminding them of Jesus. At the cross. She says, I shared about how much he suffered, yet rose from the dead and gave us a new life.
She taught them that Jesus went through suffering just like we do, and that after hardship, Life can be renewed. Yasmina holds on to the hope that God is preparing better days ahead. She says in him. I have hope. This thing gives me strength.
Through him I can encourage my siblings to get better, against their fear of war. Wow. The childlike faith, the resilience. You're right, Camille. That is powerful.
By the way, folks, if you'd like to be a part of what's happening here, we're so honored to be able to partner with Heart for Lebanon in this season. Go to faithfy.com slash Lebanon to learn how you can help. We'll get to the specifics on that in just a moment. Faithfi.com slash Lebanon. Camille, one of the things we so appreciate about Heart for Lebanon is that you're meeting urgent physical needs, but you're also pointing families to the lasting hope found in Jesus.
Why is it so important to care for both the physical and spiritual needs of those you're serving?
Well, we understand, Rob, that poverty is on all three levels. It's on the physical, it's on the emotional, it's on the spiritual. We cannot address poverty, in this case in war, without being intentional and building the relationship of trust. If we don't build those relationships of trust, we stay on that transactional level. We continue to count numbers of food packages we distribute mattresses, pillows, blankets, hygiene kits.
All those are important matters for the survival of the individuals that God has called us to serve. Then we pause and spend time building those relationships of trust. listening to the heartbroken stories of every family we serve. Taking the time to pray with them. Look at encouraging verses from the Bible.
When you build those relationship of trust, you engage in Jesus and Jesus only stories. You engage in introducing the gospel to people who might have never heard it before. And we go on from transaction to relational, then to transformational. And that's how we see lives change and communities transform. Individuals accepting Christ as their personal savior.
and entire families. coming together. To honor him and glorify him and worship him boldly and clearly. People who were born in the Muslim faith. Kurds, Muslim Sunnis, Muslim Shi'as.
It doesn't matter who we were before Christ. What matters is who we are in Him. Wow. And that long-term commitment is now reaching more than 2,000 displaced families, many of whom were forced from their homes in southern Lebanon. And Camille, I want to get to the opportunity before our listeners today.
When someone gives to support Hard for Lebanon, what difference does that gift make for actual families on the ground? Remember, you're touching their lives on the physical, emotional, and spiritual.
So a gift of $90 helps provide a full month of support for the displaced family. That makes it possible for the relational care as well, and for the sharing of the gospel.
So it's not just about meeting physical needs, it's about opening the door to lasting hope in Christ. and we can make sure that each family received tangible support. That helps them go through each day, but also give them the opportunity to meet Jesus. For the first time. Wow, and that's exactly what we're looking for.
Folks, we're asking you to be as generous as you can today. Through this partnership, our goal is to reach 275 displaced families. At last count, we were a little more than halfway there.
So perhaps the Lord is leading you to help two families with a gift of $180, or five families with a gift of $450. Ask the Lord what part He would have you to play, but know this: you have a meaningful opportunity right now to make a real difference for families who have lost nearly everything. A gift of $90 can help one displaced family by providing food and bedding, hygiene supplies, and compassionate, Christ-centered support. To give, simply text the word faith to 98656. You'll receive a link and a phone number to complete your gift.
That's faith to 98656 or go to faithfi.com/slash lebanon. That's faithfi.com/slash lebanon. Camille, thanks for your time today. Thank you, Rob. We're so grateful for your partnership and for everyone who is praying and supporting kingdom work in Lebanon.
Folks, give generously right now. Faithfy.com slash Lebanon. We'll be right back. We're grateful for support from Guidestone, whose diversified suite of investment solutions align with Christian values to create positive change in the world. More information is available at guidestonefunds.com/slash faith.
Investing involves risk, including potential loss of principal. Carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of Guidestone Funds before investing. They're distributed by Four Side Funds Distributors LLC, which is not an advisory affiliate, a registered investment advisor, nor do they provide investment advice. There's war in the Middle East, but the opportunity to reach people with the gospel has never been greater. Here's Dawood from Heart for Lebanon.
Families are terrified, even when the ground is shaking. Our hope is in Christ. Our mission is to lead people away from despair and toward the hope of Jesus. Bring emergency aid and the hope of the gospel to a family impacted by the war. Text the word faith to 98656 or visit faithfund.com slash Lebanon.
Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance. For taking your calls and questions today, we've got lines open for you. 800-525-655. 7,000. All right, let's dive in.
We're going to begin in Missouri today. Peggy, go ahead. Hello there. Thank you for taking my call. Got a question for you.
I've got some property in South Carolina that I'm wanting to find a Christian realtor to sell. And then after I sell that, about ninety percent of that profits, the profits, I'm wanting to give to a charitable organization. And I'm wondering if there anyone that you recommend that can help me with that. You know what's amazing is, and I do a couple of hours of live radio a day, and so I've already talked to several callers today. And you are now the third caller that has property that has appreciated, that has a desire to give it away to God's kingdom, which I love.
That's amazing, Peggy. And there is a way to do that that will be most effective for you to minimize taxes, get the largest charitable deduction you could possibly give, but most importantly, get more money into the kingdom.
So, here's the key idea when it comes to giving away really any appreciated asset: you want to give it before the sale. And you might say, well, wait a minute, how does that work?
Well, you have the ability to donate a property or a portion of a property. Let's say you wanted to give half of it away and the other half you were going to use for something else. You could give 50% of the property if you wanted to, or the whole thing, to what's called a donor-advised fund. And so this is like a charitable checking account. You would gift the, or you would give the whatever portion of that property prior to the sale to the donor advised fund.
So the donor advised fund now owns that part of this property.
So that when it's sold, that percentage that is in the donor advised fund at the closing table, they'd immediately wire that percentage to the donor advised fund.
Now, what does that do?
Well, it's going to miss all the capital gains because you gave it before you sold it and you gave it charitably, you never pay any capital gains on that portion.
So you're maximizing your charitable contribution. And then once the money is put in the donor advised fund, well, now you can give it away wherever you want to any 501c3, your church, any Christian ministry, and you do it in a tax-advantaged way. And you don't have to do it all at once. If you know where you want it to go, you could, but you could also leave it in there and then just be thoughtful and strategic about how you grant it out from the donor advised fund sponsor. Yeah.
And I would recommend you use our friends at the National Christian Foundation. Reason being, they do donor advised funds. You could set one up on their website, ncfgiving.com, in five minutes. They call it a giving fund. But when you put money in a donor advised fund, technically you've lost control over it because you've put it in that fund.
And now you tell the donor advised fund sponsor where you want it to go. But it's possible that the wrong donor advised fund sponsor could say, well, we'll let you send it to any 501c3, but not the ones on this list. And it might be the Christian ministries you want to give to. And the National Christian Foundation would never stand in the way of that. But let me stop there.
Does that all make sense?
Okay. Yes, it does. And I'm writing it down. It certainly does. Very interesting.
Thank you. It's a very effective strategy. The big idea is give, then sell. Don't sell, then give. Because if you sell first, you got to pay the capital gains and then give it away.
If you give first, you don't ever have capital gains. Hey, let's go to Illinois. Hi, Mary. Go ahead. Hi, Rob.
How are you doing? I'm great, thanks.
Okay. So I have investments already. I have a financial advisor, and I'm going to have a meeting in a couple of weeks with her. But I was listening to one of your shows and I was you were talking about making sure our investments are invested in companies that align with God's plans.
So, I was wondering if you have information or if you could refer me to a site or something to know what companies I would want to invest in if I'm not already in those now with my finances already, my investment. Absolutely. Yeah, I'm so glad you asked this question, Mary. You know, more and more we're seeing really world-class, compelling investment options that are built to align with biblical values. I mean, they're still pursuing a very attractive return and creating a lot of compelling risk-adjusted returns for their investors, but making sure they avoid companies who are misaligned with their values and looking to embrace companies that specifically are creating human flourishing.
You can find a list. I'll give you a website, faithandinvesting.com/slash faithfy. Let me say it again: faithandinvesting.com forward slash faithfi. It's a free PDF to download. Take that list of funds and compare it to the ones available in your 401k.
Let's finish up today in Florida and go ahead. Yes, my question is: I inherited my mom's home through Lady Bird Deed, and I just sold a home. And I have a couple of questions. Number one, Where is a good place to invest it? I've been told annuities.
And another thing, if I had to pay capital gain on it, as it was in the Ladybird deed, my name was already on it. And the other thing is I wanted to pay a tithe on it.
So I'm just those are my three questions. Yes, ma'am, those are great. I'll get to as much of that as we can. We're going to be out of time here in just a moment. First question: Does the Ladybird deed change anything?
No, generally not. A Ladybird deed still allows for what's called a step-up in basis. And a step-up in basis means that the cost basis for this asset, a piece of property, is the market value as of the date of death when you inherited it. And so your capital gain is simply the selling price minus the stepped up basis, what the new basis as of the market value as of the date of death. Any growth from that point until you sell it, you would have to pay capital gains on that.
If you've held it for more than a year, then it would be a long-term capital gain. In most cases, that's 15%. In terms of a tithe on it, if you wanted to give off of the increase, which is what a tithe is, you would determine what that gain is. And so the same amount that would be taxable as a capital gain, you would take a tenth of that and you'd give it. If you wanted to get more than that, and that would be perfectly appropriate, and maybe you wanted to go back to the original cost basis, well, that would be a much larger amount.
But for tax purposes, at least, the gain is the growth from the date of death to the date that you sold it, and whatever difference is there. In terms of what to do with it, how much money are we talking about, roughly?
Well, I've got 193,000. I had I had 241, but I paid some things and did some work on the house. Yeah, so what I would do is connect with a certified kingdom advisor there in Florida. I'd go to findacka.com. Find a CK, I'd probably interview two or three, find the one that you feel like is the best fit for you, and that advisor could help you think through how this fits into your overall plan.
And an annuity may be the right choice if you want the peace of mind, but I would prefer you just have that advisor invested for you so you wouldn't lose access to the money like you do with an annuity and you could get, I think over time, better growth. Does that make sense? Yes.
Yes.
Okay. That website again, findacka.com. You're welcome, man. Thanks for your call today. That's going to do it for us.
My team is amazing, and they're here pushing all the buttons and talking to folks. And I love when you call them out because they deserve it. Taylor, Tahira, Josh, Omar, and everybody here at FaithFi. We'll see you next time. Faith in Finance is provided by FaithFi and listeners like you.
