Awesome notes of healing and salvation to end the year!

Pastor Paul and team have just wrapped up a week of prayer, fasting and evangelism in an area of India devastated by landslides earlier this year (the deadliest in Kerala's history). BBC News covered it here: The scenic  Indian villages devastated by deadly landslides.

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel carrying the body of a victim at the site of a landslide in Wayanad district [Handout/National Disaster Response Force via AFP]

As usual, our Bibles for Mideast ministry leader has an exciting report to share as the week wrapped up.

“By God’s grace, our ministry’s seven days of prayer, fasting and evangelism was a huge success,” Pastor Paul reports. “Hundreds of people attended and experienced the love of our Lord. The Holy Spirit moved throughout the services, with more people attending each day. We also visited houses in the evenings and conducted corner meetings. Many experienced the salvation of Jesus Christ.”

On the fourth day, some of the attendees brought a paralysed Hindu woman, about 26 years old, and placed her in the middle of the prayer meeting. The young woman had been the only of her many immediate family members who had survived the disaster, which she had done, barely, by grabbing onto the branch of a tree for two long, wet, muddy days. More than half of her body had been held fast beneath the heavy mud and water as more mud and mess cascaded down, taking all and everyone with it.  

When rescuers finally found her, badly paralyzed and barely alive, they rushed her to hospital. When released, the young woman, still paralyzed, spent the next four months bedridden at a relative’s home.

This ‘just happened’ to be around the same time Bibles for Mideast had arranged for the seven days of prayer, fasting and evangelism in the devastated area.

So on that fateful fourth day, the young paralyzed woman ended up smack in the middle of the praying people.

“I asked everybody to pray for her,” Pastor Paul recounts. “I saw the Holy Spirit was moving throughout the service.

“When all were praying for her, I held her hand and commanded in the mighty name of Jesus our Lord and Savior that she get up from the floor. Immediately I could see her whole body was shaking violently. And I could actually see blood flowing through her veins.

“Then she stood up from the floor, praising and thanking Jesus! I asked her to walk, then run. She did both, right in the midst of all the prayerful people.

“She then stayed with us and attended the rest of the services and prepared herself for baptism.

“May our Lord’s Name be glorified! She has no house and no land, for it was all wiped out. We pray for her to have a house and a life partner who must be a faithful believer of Jesus Christ.”

The believers held a final worship service Sunday morning, then on Monday the new believers—137 in all—received baptism. Among them were 46 former Muslims and several former Hindus—including of course the formerly paralyzed young woman!

Please pray for all of the new believers: for their spiritual growth, divine guidance, boldness and protection in witnessing to our Lord of lords.

All of us here at Bibles for Mideast pray with Director Pastor Paul that “you have a joyful and faithful season for our Lord’s glory, and a prosperous new year.

“May our Lord be with you, hold you in His nail-pierced hands, and keep you as the apple of His eyes throughout the year and until the end of your life,” he continues. “Amen and hallelujah!”

"Countless Muslims have come and will come to Christ," says ex-terrorist confirming mass visions of Jesus in Gaza

Taysir "Tass" Abu Saada, a former terrorist and once aide to the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, believes revival is already breaking out in Gaza (as shared a few days ago on CBN News). His team and many others, including our own with Bibles for Mideast, know of many Palestinians who have seen the Lord Jesus in their dreams, visions, and even in the clouds.

Saada said he believes hearts are turning to Jesus and confirmed a report late last year that hundreds of Gazans encountered Jesus in their sleep.

"I have a report from one of my team members that 200 Gazans gave their heart to Jesus in one lump sum," Saada expressed. "The Lord appeared to them in visions and dreams and they were hugging each other and rejoicing. [They] realized all of them had the same vision! Obviously, the Lord is doing His work and the believers in the land are doing their work.” 

Ex-terrorist Tass Saada (l) and a refugee family in Gaza (R) /AP Photo by Fatima Shbair

Bibles for Mideast pastors and believers in the region corroborate these reports as they and teams from other Christian organizations work with the many caught in the crossfire.

According to Bibles for Mideast Director Pastor Paul, many report dreaming of Jesus explaining to them the way of salvation, and their responding. Imagine going to sleep a Muslim, and waking up a Christian!

Prayers for exactly what is happening were a large part of the seven days of prayer and fasting for the region held recently by Bibles for Mideast, as reported in our most recent post: The power of prayer and fasting: deaf woman hears and speaks for the first time!

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The ‘light of a thousand suns’ shines on Oman!

An entire Arab Muslim family—a widow and her five grown children, all plagued for years with severe psoriasis—found healing and salvation thanks to the evangelistic initiatives of an underground Bibles for Mideast church meeting regularly not far from where they live in Oman. We first reported on that church and some of its newest members several years ago (Salvation and healing in the Sultanate of Oman).

Let us now tell you how God continues to work His wonders through His people there! Abbasia*, Mohsina* and others of the family we featured in our earlier story had been faithful Muslims before their dramatic conversions to Christianity.

Living in predominantly Islamic Oman, they knew well that the nearby mosque’s Friday prayers would have held special significance this past Friday—it being the second Friday in Ramadan, Islam’s holiest month. So the Christians, being brave and triumphant in their new faith in Christ, figured: ‘what better time to share the gospel with friends and neighbors?’

The oldest independent state in the Arab world, Oman borders the Gulf of Oman to the north, the Arabian Sea to the southeast, and Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen to the west. India lies across the Arabian Sea from Oman.

After seven days of prayer and fasting in their own homes, they felt confidently led by the Holy Spirit for their mission. As Islamic Friday prayers went on (within mosques throughout Oman and around the world), this particular mosque soon found itself surrounded by a small army of Christians wielding nothing but bibles and fervent prayers for opened minds and hearts.

The fasting and extra praying had them well-prepared spiritually, but they soon felt physically beaten down by the heat of the noonday sun [temps this time of year can reach 100 ºF—Ed.]. Then, quite miraculously, a cloud appeared out of nowhere, between them and the sun! The welcome respite from the heat comforted, strengthened and encouraged them even more for what they knew to be a holy assignment.

Abbasia* (the older brother in the family from our earlier story) and the Christian believers with him began sharing the gospel even as Friday prayers and preaching went on within the mosque. The Islamic believers became aware of the commotion outside, only barely able to make out the what the Christians were saying. But slowly, as the Holy Spirit began to move among them, the words came into sharper focus.

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save every human being!” they heard as clearly as the sun shone brightly above.

“This Jesus, this perfect man who had no sin in His life, carried each individual’s sin with him to the cross of Calvary. By His crucifixion, He took away our sins and opened the gates of heaven and gave us salvation. He rose from the dead on the third day and entered into Glory. He now sits at the right side of the Heavenly Father and intercedes for each of us! He will return on the clouds soon to take us to heaven. Believe Him and you will be saved! Without Jesus no one can go to heaven!”

As all heard the message and began finding themselves strangely stirred, the enraged imam (mosque leader) angrily redirected the roused emotions of his flock, demanding they ‘put an end’ to those speaking about Jesus.

He rushed out and towards the Christians, brandishing a sword, while others grabbed sticks from around the mosque’s grounds and charged.

“Allahu Akbar!” [Arabic for ‘Allah is greater’ or ‘Allah is (the) greatest’—Ed.] they shouted, aiming now to kill the evangelists.

Abbasia and the team with him stood their ground. Certain they were about to be martyred, they prayed for those heading directly at them, so close now they could see the hatred in their eyes.

Suddenly, only a few meters away, the mob stopped. Their hatred abruptly turned to fear, with some stepping back and running away. What had happened? What had they seen?

It was as if ‘Someone’ had turned a switch, brightening the light of the sun above to that of a million suns now aimed directly at the attackers and seeming to come closer and closer. The imam and his flock thought surely they would be swallowed up by the powerful light. They dropped their weapons and fled.

Abbasia and the team could barely stop praising and thanking the Lord for His mighty protection! They also found themselves praying, “Lord, save them! Make them Your children and help them become witnesses to Your Truth!”

Please join us in praying for all these new and not-yet believers, their local church, and the ministry of Bibles for Mideast across the entire region.

IMPORTANT UPDATE
We have learned that the imam and many who had been at the Friday service at the mosque—and afterwards witnessed the ‘bright, blinding light’—developed severe fevers. Not able to even speak about what they had experienced, concerned neighbors brought them all to hospital. Please pray for COMPLETE HEALING for all affected. We have to know and trust God is up to something beyond interesting.

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* Names changed for safety reasons

Salvation and healing in the Sultanate of Oman

Abbasia*, a 52-year-old Arab Muslim in the Sultanate of Oman, had suffered with severe psoriasis since his teen years. The inherited skin disorder also plagued his mother, three sisters and two brothers. Strong Muslims, they faithfully recited the Koran and Islamic prayers, but found no relief. The itchy, painful sores made even dressing properly impossible. They ended up spending most of their money in hopes of finding a cure, but nothing helped.

Abbasia’s mother helped arrange a marriage for him when he was 20 (his father had died when the children were young), but the unhappy marriage lasted less than a year. Abbasia remained unmarried, as did his brothers and sisters. All lived together with their mother and many times, contemplated a suicide pact to end their misery.

Unbeknownst to the family, a secretive underground Bibles for Mideast church met regularly not far from them. The local believers had learned of the family’s plight, and while in prayer a few weeks ago, two of the church’s couples felt the strong, clear urging of the Holy Spirit to visit them. On top of the Covid restrictions in place across Oman, the family’s isolation due to their skin disease meant they rarely had visitors. Locals stayed away even in normal times, believing the family to be under some kind of curse.

Keeping Covid protocols but unfazed by skin disease, the four evangelists managed to convey to family members inside the house that they were there to pray for them.  When Abbasia came to the door, they tried to better explain why they were there.

“Our Lord and Mighty Healer Jesus Christ, who was crucified, died and then rose from the dead, will heal you all from this disease,” one of them announced.

"We have all suffered from this big curse of incurable disease since childhood!” Abbasia shouted angrily at them. “I beg of you not to bring more curses from your crucified Jesus! Get away from here! Please, allow us to die in peace.”

The visitors longed to explain Jesus more fully to the family, but Abbasia forbade it. He slammed the door shut, and the believers reluctantly headed back through the property’s entry gate.

Pray for God’s children in Oman [photo: Dan Goodine]

Soon, however, they noticed they had been secretly followed by Abbasia’s sister Mohsina*. She clearly had something to ask the visitors.

Could they have a short, quiet prayer for her and her family without letting them know about it, she wondered aloud …  and of course the Christians agreed  One prayed briefly over her, another gave her a gospel leaflet, and off she went back through the gate and into the house.

She slept wonderfully all night, unheard of for anyone in her family. Waking early, she reached for the gospel tract one of the visitors had given her. She decided to call the pastor’s number on the back of the leaflet, and reported to him how well she had slept and how much better she felt after yesterday’s prayer. He asked if she would be interested in attending a prayer meeting with the church that morning, and she agreed. He’d send a car for her, he said, and requested she be ready to leave from their property entrance at the agreed-upon time. Since most in her family slept in till near 10 each morning, no one even noticed her leave.

The small group of gathered (yet socially-distanced!) church members were deep in a time of prayer and fasting when she arrived. She listened intently as the pastor shared a gospel message, then all joined in prayer for Mohsina.

As they prayed, Jesus appeared to come down to her from on high. He touched her scarred, diseased body with his his nail-scarred hands. Her skin immediately cleared, her uncertainty vanished, and her face shone with the light of heaven!

"Believe in Me and be my witness," Jesus told her, then vanished.

Filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit, Mohsina could barely contain her joy. She began to dance as the others sang, rejoiced and worshiped.

The atmosphere at her home had by now become quite the opposite. Family members wondered where she had gotten, and after a thorough but futile search inside and out grew even more concerned. With her physical and emotional distress, they began fearing the worst. Just when they were about to file a ‘missing person’ report with the authorities a strange car drove up to their gate and out jumped Mohsina! But was it really her? She seemed the same, yet entirely new … a beautiful, happy woman they had never met.

Holding a bible, she began to tell them what she had experienced. They listened, but it all seemed too crazy at first. The fact she’d had a good night’s sleep and now, stood before them utterly transformed both physically and spiritually, well, they could no longer deny her story. Mohsina couldn’t wait to tell the pastor! She called as soon as she could and asked if he could a send a car again the next day—this time for her whole family.

The little church, still in a time of prayer and fasting, warmly welcomed Mohsina and her family. It didn’t take much convincing for all to accept Jesus as their personal Savior and Lord. Abbasia and the others noticed no physical changes in their bodies, but held onto their new faith and stayed in prayer with other church members.

By the third day of prayer, they found their bodies completely free of psoriasis. The church had planned four more days of prayer and fasting, so the family of new Christians stayed at the pastor’s house and attended all meetings and bible classes. Early this past Sunday (Mar. 21), the mother, three brothers and three sisters were all baptized at a secret location along the Arabian Sea.

The sun rises on Oman’s Al-Hajar coastal mountain range {photo: Robert Haandrikman]

Please pray for this family and their new church. We expect the persecution to be great, but our God is greater and will, with the prayers of God’s people, bring them all through to an even higher place.

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* Names changed for safety reasons

EXCITING UPDATE: The ‘light of a thousand suns’ shines on Oman!

Life and healing in the Palestinian wilderness

Ahmadi* grew up the only child of a poor Muslim family in Palestine. His father served as a soldier with the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) under Yasser Arafat.

While still in school, Ahmadi became friends with a young Christian fellow who regaled him with stories of Jesus. The Muslim boy found the stories of the amazing man Jesus interesting, and had no problem with the idea of him being a prophet—all Muslims knew and accepted that. But when his school friend began talking about Jesus as the Way, Truth and Life … the crucified One whose resurrection opened the only way to Heaven … the friendship nearly ended. True to the faith he was raised in, Ahmadi found the idea of Jesus’ resurrection ridiculous, even offensive. So the relationship endured so long as the Christian boy kept his Bible stories out of their conversations.

Then came the fateful day Israeli soldiers killed Ahmadi’s father. In complete shock, Ahmadi stopped going to classes. As an only child, he felt obligated to find a day-laborer job so he and his mother could afford to live and eat.

His hatred of Jews grew after the death of his father, and hearing that Christians around the world supported Israel, he began to detest them as well.  

Palestinian demonstrators burn an Israeli flag during a rally in central Gaza city, Oct. 13, 2000: AP Photo

When he reached 20, his mother decided her son should have a wife and took it upon herself to find him one. They married but remained childless, Ahmadi continuing to support his mother until her death by breast cancer.

About a month ago, attempting to cross a road while carrying a load of grain, Ahmadi missed seeing a truck veering towards him. The truck knocked him over, and when police arrived, they found him seriously injured and unable to move. They rushed him to the hospital and informed his wife. Within several days, doctors realized they could do nothing more for him medically, and asked his wife to take him back home and care for him there.

Unfortunately Ahmadi’s wife had neither the love nor inclination to help him. He lay untended, covered in bedsores, his injuries oozing puss and the bed increasingly soiled by his own excrement.

One night, his wife and two of her friends took Ahmadi from his bed, rolled him up in a mat, and brought him to a deserted area where they left him to die.

All Ahmadi knew at that point was unbearable thirst. He begged for water, but no one was there to hear or answer. His feverish brain suddenly recalled how the Christian friend from his boyhood had talked about Jesus having ‘living water’; how, however improbable, whoever drank that water would never thirst again.

"JESUS!” he screamed with as much strength as he could muster. “My Living Water, my Savior, give me to drink. Give me to drink. Save me Lord!"

He could barely believe what his eyes showed him next. A stream flowing from heaven to his own mouth … could it be? In that stream an extraordinarily beautiful man appeared, looking almost like a star shining in and from the water. The man had nail-scarred hands and what? A hole in His chest?  He noticed both live-giving water and blood flowing from the hole.

"I am Jesus of Nazareth,” the beautiful man announced. “The Son of the most high God. I was crucified for you, I died, and I rose from the dead. By my stripes you are healed; by my death you have entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven. Do you believe Me?"

"I do Lord!” Ahmadi assured Him. “I believe You are my only Savior and Lord!" Something feeling like an electric shock jolted Ahmadi through and through. He stood immediately, completely healed. The Lord and the stream of water disappeared.

Ahmadi knelt down and began to pray. He hardly knew how to form appropriate words, but could feel the Holy Spirit prompting and inspiring him.

Around the same time, a Palestinian Bibles for MIdeast pastor, his family, and a small group of believers had been praying and fasting in their remote underground church. One of the believers felt led to prophesy about “a man who was going to see the Lord Jesus from the valley of death.”  He went on to describe the location, and said they were to go to that place and bring back the man to be God’s witness.

Pastor Jaseel* and his team continued in prayer even as they began their search, eventually reaching the deserted spot where Ahmadi knelt, still praying to the Lord he had just met.

Introducing himself to Ahmadi, the pastor heard more of his story and tried to help him better understand all that had happened.

Ahmadi, not wanting to return to his own home, followed the team back to where they lived. He remains with Pastor Jaseel, learning more about the Lord he now loves and serves, and worshipping Himin Spirit and Truth. Please pray for him, all Palestinian underground believers, and for further guidance from the Holy Spirit.

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* Names changed for security reasons