Throughout Church history, there have been seasons during which the Spirit of God moved in spectacular waves. During those times, there were great harvests of souls. The first one, of course, was at Pentecost. Although it is not seen as much in the West–at least not since the great Jesus Revolution in the late 70’s to late 80’s–there are great moves of God happening in many third world nations. The Middle East is just one of those areas.
In one of the messages I received from Abdelrahem, he commented about the work of the ministry, saying (in his words):
“We are in the age of glory for the Gospel and its preaching, but we are only slaves of the Gospel and in the service of the Lord. The Lord honors us wherever we go and puts the love of people in us more and more. The more we memorize the Gospel, the Lord increases our strength and increases the love of people for us. We are never afraid. “
He went on to tell a story about some of the brothers who were sent to Almastumah, Syria. It was at the invitation of Sheikhs Abu Mahna and Al-Amousi that Al-Kilani, Shaheen, Hab Ruman, Balout, Musa, Azmi, Sami and Shaker went. As I understand it, the reason for the invitation was that they wanted to make a declaration of their faith to the brothers. They had been believers for a long time — in fact from the days of Pastor Rashid’s ministry. They gave testimony of having shared their faith in front of many large crowds of more than 800 people at times. Sometimes they shared in front of some of the men from the former regime, but they really didn’t care who they were, nor did they fear them. Of course, every time the Good News of the Gospel was shared, people found Jesus as their Savior. Many of these folks, even from Assad’s regime, became followers of Jesus. The graves of many of these have been found since. They paid the price for their testimony.
In another message from Abdelrahem, he related that many strangers come to the teaching locations so that they can also receive lessons. Because there is really no place for them to stay, most of them go back home at night and share what they have learned with others. Abdelrahem says it is amazing how powerful the Gospel is and how the love for Jesus is growing among the people. The Messiah is surely coming very soon! People are being drawn to the Gospel from everywhere. The missionaries have even been able to encourage many who had accepted Christ in the past but had been afraid to share their testimonies with anyone because of the dangers from enemies of Christ which are everywhere — especially with the New Syrian regime. These timid folks are being encouraged and strengthened so that they are able to leave their fears behind. All are asking for your prayer support.
Reports confirm that the Lord continues to bless the work in the north. Sheikhs Abu Tuta, Abu Anan, and Abu Odeh were able to bring approximately 700 people to the Savior while Abu Aziza and Abu Toma were able to lead at least 290 to a belief in Jesus.
In a couple of the previous updates I referred to the fact that there are many Persian people crossing the border into southern Iraq from Iran. The House of Blessing missionaries have been able to minister to a large number of them in multiple locations. It was necessary to print Bibles and teaching booklets in their language (Farsi) because most could not read and understand Arabic. At Omar’s order, 500 were printed at the underground print shop and Al-Hanini, Abu Zahra and Al-Bandak went to pick them up for delivery. The latest printing cost was $7,500 (including Bibles and booklets). Al Hanini met with our brother N.R. and while at the border was able to place a call to me here in the States. It was a wonderful blessing to be able to hear his voice and greet this brother, even if very briefly. An interesting piece of information that I had not known is that Al-Hanini is an old sheikh who had known Pastor Rashid for a long time. It was an honor to speak with him.
At this point, each Bible is being shared between 25-40 people. As you can see, the need is very great and the harvest continues to come in like a flood! Teachings continue, as do the miracles. The Lord’s light and presence is everywhere. Most of the study time is at night and the moonlight is sufficient for studying. Night time is the also the best time to study as the enemies of the Gospel are everywhere. Again, requests from all for much prayer support. It’s the least we can do for these faithful and brave people!
There is another part to this story that I would like to share. After the brothers had delivered the Persian Bibles and Al-Hanini, Abu Zahra and Al-Bandak were traveling on the way back, the brakes on the bus failed. Al-Hanini immediately prayed out loud, heard by all the passengers , asking the Lord to send his angels to stop the bus before it went completely out of control and crashed. The Lord answered the prayer and suddenly the bus was brought to a stop! It was such an obvious answer to prayer that all 45 passengers bowed their knees before the Lord Jesus and accepted Him as Savior!
I have details of a rather unique miracle that Abdelrahem shared with me. This involved a 56-year-old woman who came to sisters Ferial and Hafiza complaining of pain in her chest. This woman (whose name I do not know) had worked as a maid for many years. She had also been a wet nurse for mothers who could not produce breast milk. She had become ill one day seven years ago and, because of her brief illness, lost her work. She was also not allowed to continue as a wet nurse and her breasts dried up. She had heard of the miracles that were happening and so decided to visit the HOB sisters. The women prayed for her and gave her a Bible to read. As she read, she was not sure if she would believe what she read or whether to believe in the Lord as the Bible described Him. Tuesday of last week, June 17, she felt what she described as an ‘explosion’ in her breasts and suddenly she began leaking milk. She decided to go to some neighbors she knew so she could try breastfeeding again. The miracle was instantly obvious, not only to her, but also to her neighbors. She said she was breastfeeding again as if she were a young woman of 20 or 25. She knew it was a miracle but the women around her wanted to know the secret of this miracle. They went to a nearby mosque which was led by a sheikh named Barakat and his wife Latifa. They were quite surprised when she told them her story. She had her Bible with her and Sheikh Barakat asked to read a bit of it.
I don’t know all of the details of what happened immediately after this, but the end result of the story is that a gynecologist named Arman was brought in to verify the miracle she claimed to have experienced. When she was examined, the physician was as shocked as everyone else and said that “her breasts were like that of a young woman! What a merciful Lord to do such a thing!” Before it was over, 450 or more people accepted the Lord as their Savior, including Sheikh Barakat and his wife Latifa. Even Arman the gynecologist became a believer and follower of Jesus.
In conclusion and in light of the conflict between Israel and its neighbors, I would like to share a few comments Abdelrahem made about Jerusalem.
“God loves Jerusalem! He said it is the place He’s chosen for His presence and His Name to dwell. He chose the place and said throughout Scripture that Jerusalem is His city and His dwelling place, and Jesus will rule the earth from there. When the earthly government of God’s kingdom is set up, that’s where it will be. The Lord is able to protect Jerusalem and its people because it is the Promised land and the land belongs to the Lord. The Scriptures make this clear.”
Amen!
I want to thank all of you for your support and your prayers. Look at what God is doing! He allows all of us to participate in what He is doing on this earth. What a privilege! Please continue praying earnestly for all of the House of Blessing and its Christian community. Please also pray that all their needs can be met. Our God is able!
6But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:6-8
Forever in His Service,
Jake (aka Jack)