One of the most iconic questions of all time was when Jesus was being interrogated by Pontus Pilate. Jesus had just said to him, “Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Pilate then asked him, rather sarcastically, “What is truth?” That is a good question today as well. Jesus had warned of deception many times. In our world, deception is everywhere. We see it in politics, education, science, and of course, religion. There is a mass harvest of souls in process in the Middle East, and the reason is because people who have been steeped in a false religion are recognizing the Truth of the Gospel and the source of all Truth, Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
I received a report just prior to Resurrection Sunday telling the story of two sheikhs. Their names are Al-Tutunji and Al-Awiwi. The story involved another couple of men who had been injured, either in an attack or accident. These men had managed to get some work at the local mosque but no one knew them, not family nor did they have any family in the vicinity. The sheikhs noticed that the mosque seemed to be blessed financially and seemed to be especially blessed. It wasn’t long until the sheikhs began to take special notice of them. They in fact began to watch them without the mosque employees knowing about it.
As Al-Tutunji and Al-Awiwi watched the men, not only were they diligent about their cleaning and other duties they performed, it seemed that there was something mysterious about them but they couldn’t figure out what it might be. After a few months of spying on them, the sheikhs noticed that there was a little light on either side of the men and he noticed that they were praying. The men were praying standing up instead of prostrating themselves as was proper, but they didn’t approach them.
After watching them for some days longer, one of the sheikhs approached the men and immediately, the lights went out.
The sheikhs then asked,” What are you doing? We have been watching you pray like this from night until morning many times.”
The men answered saying, “We are praying to our Lord.”
“Who is your Lord?”
“Jesus,” they answered.
“You know this is blasphemy!”
“Here, take and read what I hold in my hand”, handing one of the sheikhs a Bible.
It was at that point that Sheikh Al-Tutunji and Sheikh Al-Awiwi humbled themselves enough to take the Bible and begin to read it. They ended up not putting the Bible down for at least an hour or more. Then the sheikhs approached the men, saying:
“Please Pray for us that our sins be forgiven.”
“Believe in him and you will be saved, but you must respect the Bible and confess before the congregants who attend and pray here.” The sheikhs agreed that this is what they would do.
“Will you explain to them about Jesus and the sacrifice He made for all people?” Again, the sheikhs said, yes.
On the next Friday (which I believe would have been April 11th) there were 580+ people attending. The sheikhs gave their testimony and confessed that they had unknowingly been guilty deceiving them and teaching them an ignorant way of thinking. The true faith centered on Jesus Christ, who sacrificed His life for us all.
At first, there were a lot of tears. Some of the brothers were in attendance to observe and when things settled down, they did more explaining of the Scriptures, but they did it in song. They actually sang the Bible through melody, and how beautiful it was! As they sang, the Holy Spirit made His presence known and all in attendance accepted Jesus as their Savior and Lord! We serve a great God!
This mosque has now been transformed into the village church. Abdelrahem was asked to come with Omar so that they could all be baptized. They also now had a longing for the Holy Books, and requested for some to be brought for them to read and study. Praise God!
I received another report from Brother Abdelrahem and he shared the results of their most recent work of evangelism. He said that after the HOB missionaries ministered to a large gathering of people in Idlib, 750 people expressed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. The Lord also opened the door in some of the Al-Assad Alowite villages. Al-Kilati, Musa, Bandar, and Shaker ministered in these villages and 520+ came to faith in Jesus. In the Suwayda region, Sheikh Hayel, Arshid, Hisham, Abu Laila, and Taher prayed for some families who had contracted brucellosis from eating spoiled cheese. More than 75 children and approximately 50 families were in attendance. They were baptized and healed from the disease in one of the mosques that had been converted to a church. They had a great celebration afterward!
On Good Friday, Sisters Ferial and Fatina prayed for the daughters and their mothers, as well as for the men and their sons. The Holy Spirit and a brightness that sometimes emanates from the presence of the Lord. It was even reported that a rainbow was seen over them. Does God do such things? I believe He enjoys delighting those who have come to love Him in a variety of ways. This rainbow was one of them!
Abdelrahem reported that the injured men, Al-Fishawi, Al-Adami, Azmi, and Hab Ruman participated in the work of the ministry. They have experienced great improvement in their hands and fingers that had been broken in the attack described in a previous update. Praise God! At one time, it looked as if they might have to have amputations performed to save their lives. God saw a better way. The latest report on the men who had been attacked with acid, Sheikh Ballout, Shaheen, Habib, Laith, and Zalatimo, their skin is being replaced. Praise God!!
One last comment made by Abdelrahem had to do with Omar. He and some of the sheikhs that recently declared their faith in Christ, left for a short time on a mission that the Lord sent them on. More news of this mission will be shared.
I have one more report to share from Abdelrahem and it has to do with the mission Omar was sent on. Omar and the brothers came across some people that were afflicted with skin issues.Some had scabies and others had a form of psoriasis. After they were baptized, all were healed. This of course caused quite the excitement and cause for celebration. Bread with olive oil and thyme were distributed among the gathered crowd of more than 900.
On another occasion, a group of Shiite pilgrims who were returning from Mecca after having performed the Umrah. 135+ people entered a mosque which had been turned into a church. As they observed what was going on in the service, they became witnesses to the extraordinary healings taking place and soon wanted to get to know Jesus. Omar said that they were humbled before the Lord and visibly affected.. Omar, Sheikhs Al-Tutanji and Al-Awawi spent time with them and soon led them to the feet of Jesus. They had only stopped in as they were passing through on their way back home. It sounds like God arranged a divine appointment for them! By the way, something I didn’t mention earlier is that Al-Tutanji and Al-Awawi are from northern Iraq.
In conclusion, Abdelrahem reports that Bibles were distributed in all areas and all locations had great times of celebration. God is good, and He loves His people!
In closing, please keep all the leaders, teachers, volunteers and the entire House of Blessing Christian community in your prayers. They depend on it. And…thank you all for your support. Please use the two email addresses below when needing information.
[email protected] [email protected]
Forever in His Service,
Jake (aka Jack)
Amazing! God is good!