These past few days have been quite eventful in the lives of the House of Blessing missionaries. It was planned last week for groups of HOB leaders to go to a number of strategically selected mosques this past Friday. As you know, Fridays are the day that Muslims gather at their mosques for a sermon and prayer. Al-Hidmi, Azmi, Hab Ruman, Abbas, Wazwaz, and Abu Glab were sent to Aleppo. Ballout, Zalatimo, Shaheen, Habib, and Laith went to Idlib. Kilani, Mousa, Shaker, and Bander went to a third mosque. Hayal, Ershad, Taher, Hisham, Abu Laila and Khalil were sent to a fourth mosque.
It was reported that Al-Hidmi and his team arrived in the countryside of Aleppo and went to a mosque that he had visited in previous times where he was well acquainted with a sheikh by the name of Al-Fishawi. The sheikh was aware that Al-Hidmi was now a follower of Christ. Abdelrahem advised the men to separate when they went into the mosque and as it turned out, no one recognized them. There were more than 450 in attendance on Friday. During the sermon, Al-Fishawi suddenly stopped and said, “I am sorry, and please forgive me, but I must tell you something. I must confess to you that I believe in Jesus as my Lord, as does my friend and teacher Sheikh Al-Hidmi. Everyone was totally silent and then Al-Hidmi and the other men stood up and went close to the pulpit. This was quite a surprise to the crowd.
Al-Hidmi then approached carrying a wooden cross that he had brought with him into the back of the mosque. As he did, he asked a question of one of the observers: “If you were nailed to a cross, would you live through it?” He asked the same question of about 30 different individuals, but no one could give a good answer. (The reason for the question was because Islamic theology teaches that Jesus never died on the cross). Al-Hidmi then told the crowd that he would tell them who Jesus is. He proceeded to tell the story of Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection, and also why Jesus was willing to sacrifice Himself. He basically taught the crowd just as HOB’s teachers instruct their Bible students. Because both Sheikhs Al-Hidmi and Al-Fishawi were so well respected, the entire crowd responded to the message. After Al-Hidmi’s message, the crowd was taught to sing Jeremiah 17:14, which in English says: “Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; Save me, and I shall be saved, for You are my praise.” They were also taught to sing an old song that Abdelrahem had taught the brothers from Psalm 150 and a song thanking Jesus for shedding His Blood for us. It was a beautiful time as the crowd committed themselves to the Lord. After this, Bibles and teaching booklets were distributed until they had no more. They were able to give one out for every 10-15 people.
It was after this that trouble started when 25 armed men entered the mosque and the spokesman asked, “What is this? Followers of the cross? Are you defiling the mosque?” Everyone in the crowd stayed absolutely silent. The militant then asked who was responsible? Al-Hidmi spoke up and said, “It is I!” Azmi spoke up and said, “It is I!” Then Hab Ruman said, “It is I!” Al-Hidmi spoke up again and said, “No, it is I!” Then Al-Fishawy said, “It is I!” Then they spoke in unison and said, “We are all responsible. What do you want from us? We follow Christ and preach good, not evil, and we tell people about the love of Jesus. If it were not for Jesus you would not be alive!”
The militant then asked, “What is this cross?” The militants then tied the sheikhs to the cross on the ground and began to beat them severely, and broke many of their fingers as they beat them. They began to insult Jesus with a mock prayer, “I pray to Christ to come and save you!” The sheikhs prayed in a much different way, however, saying, “O Lord, forgive them, pardon them. They don’t know who You are. Please forgive them.”
Throughout the entire beating, the sheikhs felt no pain, even though badly injured. Fingers were broken, they were severely beaten all over their bodies, and they had considerable blood loss. It was at about that time that the crowd began to shout and said, “Christ came! Christ came! Christ arose!” When the crowd got on their feet and began to shout these words, the militants feared for their lives and fled the mosque. The injured sheikhs were then taken to a safe place until they could be transferred to the care of Omar and Abdelrahem.
As this occurred in the Aleppo region, the brothers in the countryside of the Idlib region taught exactly as Al-Hadid taught in Aleppo: the story of the crucifixion of Jesus, the reason He was crucified, and also about the resurrection. Once again, the brothers were careful to teach the material as it is found in the Bible. As in Aleppo, they sang, they worshipped, and prayed with all who professed their belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God who gave His life to pay for their sins. This included the sheikh of the mosque, Sheikh Darwish.
Once again, as in Aleppo, armed enemies came and attacked, although the circumstances were different. In this case, the militants did not beat the men with their rods as in Aleppo; instead they poured a powerful acid on the men. Sheikh Ballout, Shaheen, and Habib received severe facial burns. All the men completely lost their hair, their faces were severely burned and even their eyelids were sealed closed. As for Zalteem and Laith, their backs and necks were badly burned. The sisters have done everything possible for each one of them. These men have also been taken to a safe location.
Both other locations, the Hasaka region and in Suwayda, things went quite well, although there was a pretty serious debate with a sheikh named Al-Bahlawan. This man was a veteran of the Islamic belief system and was able to put up a powerful argument, but in the end, the story of the crucifixion and Christ’s sacrifice for the sins of mankind, brought him to an understanding of the Good News of Salvation. He became a believer and follower of Jesus, along with hundreds of others. There was a great harvest in both Suwayda and the Hasaka region. Praise God!
I received a message while writing this update on the condition of the men who had been burned with acid. The Lord has answered prayer. There was a great concern that the men who had facial burns might have lost the use of their eyes, but thank the Lord, they were not blinded. They are of course bandaged and the sisters are changing their bandages every 24 hours. It is the same procedure for all of the men who were burned. The men who were beaten and had their fingers broken in Aleppo are also receiving treatment from the sisters. It will naturally take some time for them to heal from their injuries. Please pray for them all. Thank you!
I received another report to share of what happened Saturday, April 12. After what happened at the mosque in Aleppo on Friday, over 1,000 people came to see the sheikhs. They had heard the story about Al-Hidmi and Al-Fishawi and came from everywhere. People came walking, some for as much as 10 hours. Others came in pickup trucks. Omar said each Toyota pickup had about 25 people crowded onto them. Some of the people had no shoes, others hardly had clothing to wear. But this turned into a great gathering of people — not because they were believers, but rather because they had heard about the faith of the sheikhs and what they had endured for the sake of Christ.
A special prayer service had been planned to pray for the injured brothers, to pray for wisdom in going forward with the work of the ministry, and also for provision for more Bibles, Booklets, and Pamphlets. Food was also planned. As news of the incoming crowd reached the brothers, they began to gather supplies. Cheese and yogurt discs were prepared. Soup and vegetables were also prepared, as well as shakshouka (a special dish of eggs prepared with sauce and spices). The food was prayed over and the people began to eat. What they had prepared, with the blessing of the Lord, was enough to feed all of those gathered.
The brothers then began teaching the Word of God. As the Word was preached, people began to respond to the Spirit of God, repenting of their sins and asking Jesus to be their Lord and Savior. The teaching soon led to singing and a great celebration of their newfound faith. Over 1,000 accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior on Saturday! Once again God proved that He is able to take what the devil intended for evil and turned it into something good!
Very good reports came from other locations as well. Large numbers of those attending accepted Jesus as their Savior after hearing the story of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. And what is especially notable is how many of the new believers want to take Bible classes so they can learn more about their new found faith.
Along with the preaching and teaching that the House of Blessing is doing, they are still caring for hundreds of families that have been displaced by the recent slaughter of Alawites and Christians in the northwestern part of Syria. As you might remember, many were moved south into an area where Israel is protecting the Druze and others from the new Syrian government.
There is another major report that has come in but I will have to save it for the next update. There is, in fact, much more to share. Please keep our brethren in prayer. They are facing very dangerous situations. Yet, the crop needs to be harvested. Jesus’ return for His people is at the door. Please pray for the protection, guidance, wisdom, and continued anointing of all the House of Blessing missionaries, leaders, teachers and volunteers. Also, please pray for provision. There is a huge need for Bibles, teaching booklets and pamphlets. Feel free to contact me, or Rolla in the email addresses below. Thank You!
Forever in His Service.
Jake (aka Jack)