I have received several emails from the House of Blessing in the last two or three days. As I did in Part One, I am going to forego my own introductory comments. I have received a tremendous volume of information in the past three days. As I stated in Part One, I hope you can take the time to read both Parts one and two. These accounts are sometimes a bit long and hard to read due to graphic content but they are true stories about real people, and in spite of the fact that they are located in another location in our world, they are our family through Christ. They deserve us reading their stories.
**********
The first report below was received from Dr. Nibras on May 5, 2026.
Peace upon you brother Jack. Throughout the centuries since Jesus commissioned the church and empowered it on Pentecost in the first century, the fallen Lucifer has done everything in his power to destroy it. Jesus warned that just as he was hated, so too would His true followers be hated. The Apostle Paul described the situation of the Corinthian church with these words:
11To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. 12And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; 13being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now. 1 Corinthians 4:11-13
The congregation of believers at the House of Blessing has suffered another significant loss. Those who love the Lord’s work know that HOB has traditionally organized special evangelistic efforts during the month of Ramadan, and this was planned for this year as well. Groups of leaders from across the Middle East met to plan missionary activities during Ramadan, and they were successful. Now they are working to bring many souls to the feet of Jesus during the Muslim observance of Eid al-Adha. Brothers Aylout and Ma’touq, along with Omar and Durgham, led one of these groups in central and eastern Iran. The meeting was primarily for leaders and teachers, but others participated, perhaps to help facilitate it. There were also women present, some of whom were disguised as believers. They were with Sister Ikhlas and other sisters that were in her group. One of the men there was an enemy of the Gospel. This didn’t raise any suspicion among the leaders, but it later turned out that the man betrayed the missionaries by informing a group of Iranian leaders about the teaching meeting. When 15 of these jihadists, armed with machine guns, attacked the group of leaders, they opened fire, injuring more than 250 missionaries. So far, 134 have died, and 16 women were stabbed, including Sister Ikhlas. Seven women died from blood loss.
In my conversations with Pastor Abdelrahem, he described those who lost their lives as strong men of God. They were men who proved their worth time and again. The women were the same. These men endured harsh trials and witnessed events that most of us couldn’t even imagine in our worst nightmares. Yet, they also witnessed time and again God’s power to intervene in situations in response to the faith of His people and their sincere prayers. The men remained in and around Iran during the severe siege, when the regime’s deadly grip on the provinces began. Instead of seeking safer places to minister, these men, along with the many dedicated missionaries and volunteers who worked with them, stayed and were able to reach a vast number of people. HOB lost a significant number of its trained missionaries and volunteers to the brutality of the Shia Islamists, As the psalmist says of the death of God’s people, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” (Psalm 116:15)
This is the story of the House of Blessing, repeated time and again. The details differ in each story, but the end result is always the same: souls. The meeting of the HOB leaders that were attacked was intended to plan the most effective ways to spread the love of Christ, Jesus, among the people during this year’s Eid al-Adha. As you know from previous updates, such plans provoke intense anger and hatred toward Chrstian missionaries. Islam does not tolerate Christianity. Different sects of Islam even kill each other due to differences in their view and practice of Islam. The only hope is to hear the Gospel message brought by the blood of Jesus, the true Christ. This simple message of God’s love for humanity has brought countless lost souls to the Kingdom of God. Hundreds, sometimes even thousands, join them every week.
Jesus’ perspective on the persecution His people would face in the years to come was:
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven. In the same way, they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:11-12
Despite the tragic attacks the work continues. Surrounded by the chaos of war and attacks from the regime has people trying to find any glimmer of safety, but that is nearly impossible. HOB is doing what it can to help the displaced masses of people while sharing the Good News of the Gospel. In other areas, HOB congregations are either resting a little in preparation for the evangelism just ahead during the Eid al-Adha season, to completing their Bible courses through HOB’s School of Ministry. Thousands have completed the course in recent weeks, but many more are still waiting to enroll. What a wonderful opportunity for us to help them by providing Bibles and teaching materials.
In conclusion, what I have mentioned above is just the tip of the iceberg. God is working wonders throughout the Middle East. Pastor Abdelrahem is doing his best to provide a little help to each family so they can cope with the loss of their husbands and fathers. The survivors of the latest attack (Omar and his three compatriots) are now in a private clinic receiving treatment for their gunshot wounds, but of course, there will be a medical bill when they are discharged. But, we worship a great God!
While I was speaking with the pastor on the phone, he was about to go into a meeting with over a thousand leaders, with another thousand afterwards in Northern Iran. He is taking Sami, Mousa, and Sheikh Dari with him. He said he needed to encourage them because Satan is trying to paralyze the evangelists with fear! Let us pray to the Lord that He may grant him the strength and resolve to meet the great needs before him. God will answer.
Just to let you know, another 10,000 teaching booklets are on the way along with 425 Bibles printed into the Farsi language.
His servant forever,
Dr. Nibras
************
The report below was received from Dr. Nibras on May 6, 2026
Brother Jack, peace be upon you and all the beloved of Jesus.
While I was praying with Sheikh Zakaria and Dr. Khalawi, I became overwhelmed with the tragic events that befell many dedicated and courageous volunteer missionaries. It was difficult to accept. Pastor Abdelrahem always apologizes for having to share such difficult news, especially given its often horrific nature, but at his request from the beginning of our conversation, I will share it. Several verses from the Bible came to mind. One of them is from Matthew 10:27-33:
27 “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. 28And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 30But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
No martyr representing Jesus Christ, the Messiah, has ever died without being acknowledged by the entire Kingdom of Heaven. God is deeply concerned for everyone who suffers for the sake of Jesus’ testimony. In Acts 7, we find that after Stephen had presented his defense to his accusers, this was the response:
54When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. 55But 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, 56and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God!” 57Then they cried with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 58and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Acts 7:54-60
Here we see that Stephen was not alone as he faced his accusers; Jesus Christ Himself was all around him! In fact, Jesus rose from his throne to bring Stephen into His presence as he was being stoned to death. Despite the ferocity of the attack and the fact that he was killed by those who had chosen to be his enemies, Stephen was able to forgive them and ask the Lord not to hold them accountable for their sins! And so, he died. A young man named Saul, who would become the greatest enemy of the early church in his time, was the one the murderers entrusted with their clothing. God used this event to influence Saul. As we now know, Saul later became the Apostle Paul, whom the Holy Spirit used to write about two-thirds of the New Testament.
Pastor Abdelrahem and those with him couldn’t hold back their tears at that moment as he recounted the final events to me. He said that twenty more widows from the House of Blessing were arrested and killed for spreading the Gospel of Jesus. Most of these widows had been trained by Sister Ikhlas, and had recently become the newest members of HOB’s “Widow Sisterhood.” These courageous women fell into the hands of the oppressive regime, and as I understand it, their hands were bound, they were humiliated by being stripped naked, and then the demand was made for them to renounce their faith in Jesus and accept Muhammad, the prophet of Allah, as their savior, or else they would be killed. Not one of them renounced their faith in Jesus Christ. Then each of them was placed in the hands of several men, who used their long knives to end the lives of these believers, tearing and mutilating their bodies as their perverse minds dictated. Sister Ikhlas was the first to be beaten. The women had started working on their Bible lessons when the attackers ran in, interrupted their studies, and began beating them to disperse them with leather belts. The attack on the women was after the militants had shot Omar, Aylout, Ma’touq, and Durgham.
(Note: From what I (Jake) understand, the attack on Ikhlas was not only a beating but she was also viciously stabbed multiple times — to the point where some of the women threw themselves over her body to try and protect her. When they did that, a powerful acid was thrown on the women. They suffered severe skin burns, mutilated flesh, their clothes melted to their skin, and most of their head hair burned.)
Continuing with Dr. Nibras…
I believe that we all, as the family of Christ the Redeemer, sometimes need to hear these stories to understand the greatness of these martyrs’ faith and to remember our covenant with our God. How can we know if we would face the same circumstances before our Lord calls us to him? Is your relationship with God so close that you don’t care about the price of serving Him? He died for us, and even if it costs us our mortal lives, so be it… Before the glory of eternity in the presence of our King, nothing else is worth mentioning!
In another region, Brother Malih, who oversaw missionary work in eastern Iran with great sacrifices, along with his courageous wife, shared some news from eastern and central Iran. Two separate groups of believers were captured by regime extremists while spreading the greatest story of all — the story of our Creator and His great love for fallen humanity, and His granting of eternal forgiveness to all who accept it. These missionaries, one group of 250 and the other of 180, were taken to one and the same location. Their hands were bound, and, as had happened to the widows at the training ground, they were stripped of their clothes and forced to lie on the ground. Then they were brutally beaten. They were also given the same choice as the widows — deny their relationship with Jesus Christ, accept Allah and his prophet Muhammad as their savior, or die where they lay bleeding. Each of these courageous men, as well as the captive women, had the same response to their captors: “No matter what you do to us, we will never renounce our faith and love for Jesus!” All 250 men and 180 women chose death rather than deny their Lord Jesus. Each militant had 20 captives under his control — to kill in any way he chose — whether by stabbing, beheading, dismemberment, or any other hellish method that came to his demon-controlled mind.
I think of the prophet Noah who preached God’s urgent warnings until the day the ark was completed, and God commanded him and his family to board it. Once God closed the door of the ark, it was too late! We are so close to the same fate in our generation! Will God’s urgency move you, or is it easier to ignore the message?
Those who flock to that great altar described in Revelation 6:9-11 are gradually adding to the total that God has already recorded in the heavenly registers. Soon, the last of them will sacrifice their life, and God will say, “Enough!” God counts every one of these precious souls. I am reminded of a passage in Hebrews 11, where the heroes of faith are mentioned:
35… others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36Still others had trials of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented — 38of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. 39And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us. Hebrews 11:35-40
His servant,
Dr. Nibras
***********
I don’t need to add anything to what has been said in this update on the activities of the House of Blessing. Please keep them in prayer. Your support is also very much appreciated. The press continues to print as long as they are able to secure the paper and ink. Thank You!
Forever in His Service,
Jake (aka Jack)