Today, Tamara (not her real name), a young Muslim woman was called to the waters of baptism. The angles are rejoicing in heaven and welcoming this new Child of God into the Kingdom.
She tried to go to church and follow Jesus in the Middle East, but her family threatened her. In such a shame culture, she could have been killed. She saw a dream of herself flying above the clouds and meeting Jesus, who smiled at her. At was a peaceful dream that gave her a glimpse of the peace she would have in the Word of God. The dream encouraged her to keep reading about Jesus online for years.
She went to Europe looking for a church that would guide her, but her sojourns proved to be mere religious tourism, with no spiritual breakthrough.
After she found a friend on Facebook who was baptized by Salam, she was encouraged to take a leap of faith. She left her birth place and gave up all what she had in her country in order to follow Jesus.
Coming to the US, she found a home at Salam, protection, and a place to grow spiritually.
Please pray for this new sister in Christ. Pray for her protection, and spiritual growth, and pray that God would use her to fish for more disciples. Amen.
Hesham Shehab
Hicham [pronounced HESHAAM] grew up in a world of bitter animosity between Muslims and Christians, which he experienced personally in a physical attack when only about 7. By age 13 he was recruited by an extremist Muslim group and later fought against Christians in the 1975 war in Lebanon. He was preparing to become a Muslim Preacher (Imam) when a car accident laid him up for a year. In 1980, in his first semester in college, his brother was killed by Christian militia. Hicham's response was to study by day, and by night take out his revenge in attacks on Christians. However, hearing the Sermon on the Mount, in a course of cultural studies (in college), brought him to faith. Later, Hicham earned an M.A. in the history of the Arabs and did Ph.D studies in the history of Islam. Hicham finished his pastoral education at Concordia, Fort Wayne, IN, and is currently in the Ph. D program there. Presently, Hicham, and ordained LCMS minister, pastors Salam Christian Fellowship and works as a missionary to the Muslims with the Lutheran Church in Illinois.