Looking at the story of the Church’s first martyr, we see a man who knows he is about to die, but rather than cower in fear, he was bold in his faith. As he was about to be stoned to death, he was given a glimpse into heaven. Acts 7:55-56 says:
55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
Over the years of writing updates for the House of Blessing, many stories have been told of the people that have been reached with the Good News of the Gospel. There have also been thousands who paid the ultimate price because of their faith in Jesus Christ. In Part One of this series, we have heard of Gaaga, his faith in Jesus, and his powerful, vocal prayer as he was murdered. We also told how Gaaga’s four grown sons decided that they wanted to have the same relationship with Christ as their father did. They humbled themselves and bowed before the One who died for them, repented of their sins and submitted to His Lordship. Not only did the four sons become believers and followers of Jesus, but so did all of their wives.
Goats and cows had initially been offered as a sacrifice to earn forgiveness for the murder of Gaaga’s wife, Shukria. These had been turned down by the House of Blessing community because any such sacrifice could not provide forgiveness for anything. Forgiveness must come from Almighty God and could only come through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. After the sons accepted Jesus as their Savior, the animals were offered once again — not in order to pay for forgiveness, but rather to help meet the needs of the Christian community.
The 100+ goats that had been donated were sold in order to purchase tents, blankets, and other necessities that are in such short supply. Along with the goats, over 20 cows were provided. These cows were divided up between several HOB communities. It was noticed that the cows had not had good care nor good feed. They were a bit unhealthy and plagued with parasites and infections. The community then went to prayer and asked the Lord to heal the cows so that they could make use of the milk. The Lord answered their prayer and healed the cows. It will, of course, take some time until the cows’ nutrition level is where it should be, but they are producing milk. The cows were distributed to Abbas, Laith, Abu Ghalib, Abu Shaker, and Bandar. Each of these leaders has a widow working with him whose job it is to manage their care.
The account of the cows and their miraculous healing opened the door to another miracle, one that no one expected, but before telling the story, allow me to back up a little in the story.
In a culture in which women are little more than a possession, there are many abuses. Women, in particular, may go through various kinds of cruelty including beatings, rapes, and often unspeakable sexual practices. This often brings serious issues with a variety of infections, diseases, eventually even cancers and tumors. In this case, Gaaga’s sons and especially their wives, were plagued with diseases that left them in very poor condition and in severe pain. The wives admitted to the HOB sisters that they had had brutally difficult lives due to the horrific treatment by their husbands. Now, however, they said that their husbands’ attitudes and treatment of them had dramatically changed, and it all happened after they became followers of Jesus. The women were now happier than they had ever been. But, they were still very, very sick.
As the believers decided it was time to pray over the milk production of the cows, the women and their husbands who were infected and diseased began to drink the milk and God began to heal them! Tumors and infections, and open sores began to disappear. I don’t have the names of all the women who were healed, but I do have four of them. They are: Fadwa, Khadeja, Ferouz, and Bakeza. Praise God for the Light He brings into such darkness, and He chooses to partner with His people, those made in His image.
The working of miracles that no one could deny continues to bring in large numbers of souls. The healings of the sons had such an effect on the people who witnessed the miracles, that at least 285 became believers in Jesus. Their testimony is that they found the right Book. Only the Bible had the answer and key to everything. The dramatic healings of the women brought in another large number into the Kingdom of God. Praise God!
It is a blessing to read of such obvious miracles and the effect it has had on the onlookers. Such obvious miracles cannot be ignored or discounted. But, the dangers to the believers are very real and their lives are in constant danger. The community of Muslims that Gaaga’s sons were part of now want to make the sons pay for the fact that so many Muslims have turned to Christ as they had. Brother Abdelrahim shared some thoughts with me that I’ll pass on to you.
He said, “It is so sad to lose a brother like Gaaga, but, frankly, it is a big leap for Muslims to embrace the Christian faith of tolerance, forgiveness, and the love of a brother for his brother and a sister for her sister. Look at the sacrifice made by Shukria and Gaaga. Look at how his sons have now come to faith. Look at how the Lord healed the wives of cancers and tumors. Look at how He healed the cows. Look at all the other miracles that have happened, miracles of the flour. People need to learn what the Bible says about judgment, mercy, and forgiveness. I wish I had many Bibles to distribute and share the Gospel with people!”
From the perspective of a follower of Jesus in a Western society, it is hard for us to comprehend what society is like in Mid Eastern culture. This differs from nation to nation, but in an Islamic culture torture and murder are not seen in the same way as in a Judea-Christian culture. This is hard to fathom. In many locations, it is not necessarily national law that rules. It is anarchy and law is as a man sees it to be. This may be torture, it may be rape, it may be beatings per Sharia law, or outright murder. It is only the love of God and its power to change lives that can change this. Please pray for our believing family of God in the Middle East. They need our prayers, and they need our support. Thank you all!
Hopefully, I will be able to include some carefully obscured photos and some additional miracles in Part Three of this update as this story continues to expand, including the mention Abdelrahim made of the miracle of flour.
We serve a great GOD!!
Forever in His Service,
Jake Geier