Pastor Emil Bourizk and his wife Reem are sitting on a lounge in their house in northern Lebanon, dry and comfortable. But their hearts are with the refugees outside, huddled in tents far from the warfare that has engulfed their homes.

"It's heartbreaking to see people who have kids just like us with no shelter, with no ability to live a normal life without fear," Reem Bourizk says. "They are insecure all the time in the streets.

"Pray for us because it's emotionally exhausting for us to see these people. Especially in winter now and [with] this rain. We are peacefully in our home, and we know that someone else is under rain now with his kids. It's heartbreaking."

More than one million people have now fled the conflict zones of southern Lebanon and Beirut, desperate to escape the intensifying warfare between Israel and Hezbollah. Many have sought refuge in the north, arriving in the town where Pastor Emil, a Lebanese Anglican clergyman, runs the Good Shepherd School.

For years, the school has been a beacon of hope. A long-time partner of the Archbishop of Sydney's Anglican Aid, the Good Shepherd School has provided free education to children who fled the brutal civil war across the border in Syria.

Now, a new crisis has arrived. For those who have abandoned jobs and homes to escape the bombs in the south of their country, the needs are both material and deeply emotional.

"A few days ago, we went together and we started talking to one [group] and we saw people coming from the other tents to us because they have somebody asking about their situation," Pastor Bourizk says. "This is very meaningful to them. A smile means a lot."

Still, the physical needs must also be met and the Bourizks are responding with food, mattresses, shelters and notebooks for school students. Resources are stretched as the school was already catering to more than 300 children between the ages of 4 and 17.

For years, the ministry has relied on three second-hand vans to rescue children from child labour in the fields of the surrounding 10 villages. Today, only one failing vehicle remains. It breaks down once or twice a month, leaving students stranded and unable to attend classes. The war has made every need more urgent, but despite the exhaustion and surrounding chaos, the Bourizks remain steadfast in their mission.

"This war, as ugly as it is, gives us an opportunity to reach out with the love of Christ and the mercy of Christ," Pastor Bourizk says.

Adds Reem Bourizk: "May God give us grace in their eyes [and] give us the right words… We believe that the Prince of Peace will allow us as his soldiers to do this through our actions or words. So we pray that God will use us as a pure channel to spread his love."