Kate and Daoud Tayeh, wake up before their kids, “If there is a mass at the local monastery we take them with us, if not we go walk by the old church and pray the rosary. Then, we have a full day of homeschooling,” Kate explains.

Daoud adds, "We have a breakfast first, they usually are very hungry.”

Six kids. One breakfast table. And a love story between American Kate and Lebanese Daoud.

They met and married in Boston — an American from buffalo and a Lebanese Maronite from Zaaitreh Mount Lebanon— but chose to leave the security and comfort of the U.S. for Lebanon.

A country in crisis — but for Daoud, the only place to raise his children fully rooted in Maronite catholic heritage. And for Kate, a place where faith, family, and community came together in a way she had never known before:

“After I visited Lebanon a few times, I said, I actually like it too, and I think we can make a life here that is really healthy for our kids, really good for us —and so we came.”

The Tayeh home hums with life — and a fair bit of noise. Homeschooling keeps them side by side — learning, playing, and sharing meals, all while growing up in a community of close friends.

But the Tayeh's don’t keep family life only for themselves — they’ve opened their home and hearts to a mission – welcoming other families and youth.

Daoud explains, “I have been a youth minister for a long while and this is why I want to deal with families and youth, because youth also find themselves sometimes not supported by the church. So, we wanted a place where they feel they can pray, but they can also play. We have karaoke for the youth, we have trivia nights, we have very exciting foods for them, but at the same time we are coupling a spiritual event with recreation.”

Participants share their experiences. Christina Salamé notes, “Beit Yousef offer us an opportunity and the experience to come together, all, to be one community.”

Joe Nakhlé adds, “This is the first time I see this concept in Lebanon, it is very special and it meant a lot to me personally.”

And, Valerie Saadé says, “You can come with your family, spend the night and come down later to have a dinner and have so much fun with your family and get close to God.”

The mission is personal. The Tayeh’s know the challenges of marriage — and the healing power of the sacraments.

Kate highlights, “I would say as a couple we have gone through a lot of ups and downs, we have been together for 19 years and married for 14 years and we know how difficult it is to be married and we know how important to have grace of the sacraments supporting you through marriage. For us the sacraments of the Church have been really healing and I think that’s something people will trust if they have heard it from other couples.”

Even their children have become part of the mission. Daoud notes, “Sometimes we have to sacrifice time with our kids for the mission. But more and more our kids are becoming part of the mission.” Kate adds, “I hope they look for their own mission. I hope that this is something they see us modeling and try to do in their lives.”

This mission is the fruit of Daoud and Kate's deep conversion. Kate was baptized at the age of 24 after encountering the Maronite community through Daoud. Daoud rediscovered his faith through the rosary during a time of trial.

“I had a tumor only a few months before we were supposed to come back, and when I was getting treated for that tumor, I started praying a lot and through that prayer, I prayed the Rosary and Mary took me to her son.”

Daoud underwent surgery, fearing the worst. The diagnosis: an aggressive tumor, not cancerous, but spreading quickly. To remove it, doctors had to rebuild a part of his facial bone, and the tumor never came back. Since then, Daoud has never parted from the rosary, wearing it around his neck and praying it daily with his family.

“And then I discovered that Jesus did not want to send me without knowing him and without knowing my mission in life.”

“So it’s a bit ironic,” he says, “that I came to take something from here and I basically discovered that I have something that Jesus wants to give through us.”

For the Tayeh family, Lebanon isn't just their mission field - it's home. Through home lessons, shared prayers, and helping couples in crisis, they're building something beautiful: a family shaped by faith, sacrifice, and joy. 

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This story was written by Marguerite Kallasy and adapted by Jacob Stein for EWTN Vatican.

Produced by Alexey Gotovsky; Video edited by Andrea Manna