Sometimes we think the best place for a person to find Jesus as their Savior is in a church service. Yet, the New Testament presents us with many examples of Jesus meeting people at whatever station or situation they might be in. He was often criticized for this. An example of this is found in Mark 2:
15 Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him.16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” Mark 2:15-17
Jesus wasn’t afraid to break normal traditional standards. He was known to mix with people, who in the eyes of the religious leaders, lived unsavory lives; and a “holy man” — if He really was one — should not have anything to do with them. He also made it a point to meet with a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. This was not culturally acceptable, but Jesus did not care. The woman’s eternal life was more important — as was the case with Mary Magdalene, who had been a prostitute and had been possessed by seven devils. God, who is not willing that any perish, doesn’t care about religious traditions or what is acceptable religious behaviour when it comes to souls who are lost. And that is what the next two stories are all about.
A story was sent to me involving Shahbandar, who had met with sheikhs Abu Heikal and Abu Al-Maati. As he was discussing things with the men, he tried to convince them not to go on the Hajj pilgrimage but they went anyway with a group of over 400 traveling to Mecca. As Sheikh Abu Heikal was in his days before the Eid observance, he had a heart attack. His wife, Jamila, was with him but she had no idea what to do. Being frantic and having no one she could turn to, she found a ‘holy book’ written in Arabic and began to read it. Jamila is Iranian and so her native language is Persian but she was able to read some Arabic — although understanding very little of it. Because there was no one else available to help, she read for about 15 minutes. Then she got up, put the book down and started praying for him in the only way she knew. What she didn’t know was that she was reading from a Bible that Shahbandar had given to her husband the day before leaving for Mecca.
Abu Heikal later testified that this is when his life was spared. According to his account, he had died but returned saying that a Man approached him and gave him some water, telling him to drink and be refreshed and if he did, he would never be thirsty again. The Man called Abu Heikal to become His follower and to testify to the miracle he received when he got back to his
home. Abu Heikal instructed his wife not to say anything about the whole incident, especially about the Bible she had read from. It was too dangerous. After all, they were still in a hotel room in Mecca surrounded by millions of Muslim pilgrims getting ready to celebrate the Eid al-Adha (Muslim celebration of sacrifice at the end of the Hajj).
When Abu Heikal and Abu Al-Maati and their wives returned to their home, Abu Heikal went straight to Shahbandar and told him the whole story of what had happened. When they had their chance, the two sheikhs and their wives went to a mosques and gave testimony to what had happened. They gave all the glory of Abu Heikal’s healing to Jesus and the power of the Gospel. The number of those gathered in the mosque hearing their testimony was over a thousand people!
This led to a feast that was arranged and prepared by Shahbandar, Bahrain, Dada, Fardat, and sisters, Sarah (not the Sarah we’ve written about for years), Zahra, Dunya, and Jourie. There was only a very limited amount of meat available, but it was boiled and a 25 kilo (55 lbs) bag of rice was prepared, as well as 15 kilos (33 lbs) of flour which was baked into bread. 20 kilos (44 lbs) of lemons were also brought and mixed with mint and ice and put into 15 liters (approximately 16 quarts) of water. Everyone drank the juice and miraculously, there was enough. After the food was prayed over and blessed, the people ate and all were satisfied. Once again, the people saw the power of the Gospel to save and provide in supernatural ways. There was a very large baptism planned for the next day. Praise God!
I received word of another incident that was reported after about 700 people returned from the Hajj in Mecca. This group of people arrived with their sheikhs, Mahmoud Habibalah, Abu Tonamah, and Bakla. They related a story about how, as they were circling the Black Stone (see note below), they heard some strange words which they did not recognize, nor could they figure out where the voice was coming from. After they returned from their pilgrimage they went for a walk in the night hours and came across Shahbandar, Zahi, and Bahran praying out loud. As they were praying, the Holy Spirit came upon them and the three sheikhs heard the same words coming out of their mouths that they heard while in Mecca. The sheikhs asked Shahbandar what these words were that they heard. Shahbandar explained that it was prayer and that they were praying some of the words from the Bible. When the sheikhs heard this, they became very excited. “The Lord has fulfilled His promise to us that we would meet some of God’s beloved people! Please explain the Gospel to us, Shahbandar, and please do it in Persian! We will then give our testimonies tomorrow in public.”
That evening, the Gospel was explained to them and they committed their lives and eternity into the control of their Savior Jesus Christ. They were taught from some specific Scriptures:
If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me: and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor. John 12:26
…whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. Matthew 20:26
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. Matthew 24:35
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
The next day, they gave their public testimony as promised. There were people there from the traveling group that were suffering from asthma or had other breathing problems. Forty plus men and women were healed when the sisters prayed for them.
Note: The Black Stone is known as al-Hajar al-Aswad. It is located at the eastern corner of the Kaaba, the building at the center of the Grand Mosque in Mecca. Muslims believe it was given to Adam and Eve and is an important focal point during the Hajj pilgrimage.
Readers may remember a brief mention in the previous update about a group of HOB brothers and sisters that were attacked, with the women being brutally raped and the men thrown into a sewage system because they refused to deny Christ. I received some additional information about that incident, although it is limited. The man who led the attack on the group of HOB missionaries with his cohorts was named Abu Dhiyab. It was reported that before the men were thrown into the sewage treatment facility, the militants had tried repeatedly to drown them. They held them under water but as the missionaries’ heads were held under water they continued to pray for the Lord’s help and the Lord miraculously kept them with enough air in their lungs to outlast the efforts of those trying to drown them. The militants finally got frustrated and took an even worse route. Al-Kalani, who has taken them all into his care, said that the elders prayed fervently and loudly and held onto Jesus throughout the whole ordeal. They prayed, quoted the Scriptures in word and in song. It didn’t take long until it all so terrified their attackers that they fled the place, later admitting that they had wronged very many people and were brought to a place of asking for forgiveness and repentance.
The missionary team continues to need prayer. They suffered greatly through their many beatings, the attempted drownings, the repeated rapes of the women, and of course, the men having been thrown into the sewage system. Their clothes were totally ruined and they had to suffer from exposure to the elements until they were able to find help.
Many of the missionaries, whose stories have been shared, are still suffering from the effects of what has happened to them. Please pray for them all. This is why I list the names of these folks. They are real men and women; people with real names and real lives and many of them have suffered unspeakable things. They need and deserve our prayers and support. Thank you.
Because of the way things are changing between nations in the Middle East, more and more Iranian believers are crossing borders. It is a blessing to hear from Shahbandar and Mortida again after such a long time. It is an additional blessing that they are available to help translate the teachings into Farsi. There is currently an influx of Persian people into the Bosrah region of southern Iraq and they are demonstrating a great hunger and thirst for the Truth of God’s Word.
The work of the ministry has grown so much in the past couple weeks that there is now a need for at least 3,000 Bibles and just as many teaching booklets, translated and printed into Farsi. Let’s pray for a miracle to meet this great need. As Abdelrahem keeps reminding us all, and I fully concur, we are quickly running out of time.
Thank you all for your prayers and support!
Forever in His Service,
Jake (aka Jack)
Contact information:
Always enjoy reading your updates. I Recently shared some of it with our daughter and Son in law who are missionaries in Thailand.
Thanks David. How are you guys? I think about you both quite often. Let me know where you are at these days and what you’re up to. Also an update on your daughter and son in law’s work. God Bless you guys!