Life Matters - November 8, 2023

When the young Palestinian “warrior” used a victim’s cellphone (later recovered by Israelis) to text exultant messages to his parents of having “killed ten Jews” during that wicked massacre in the Negev Desert in the early morning hours of Oct. 7, 2023, he comes across as one feeling not only justified, but even has an expectation of receiving religious blessing for his horrible atrocities against the citizens of Israel.  

For me the above account brought back memories. Memories of a middle eastern trip in late summer of the year 2000… I was asked by a close friend, Amzie, to go with him and another friend, Wayne, to Israel on a follow-up mission to see that donation funds were being properly funneled to seven Christian Palestinian widows, a humanitarian mission effort that Amzie had taken on when his elderly dad, who had been in charge of the effort, suffered a stroke that he was disabled by. Now for some background…

In the late 1980s, a charismatic Christian gentleman by the name of Gerald was leading “Holy Land” tours from the U.S. to Israel. (Once a year, I think) Having charisma, he became acquainted with a lot of people and being Christian he “preached Christ” wherever he could. One of Gerald’s strong points was praying in the assembly for people with specific challenges and/or needs which were often physical. One such person who responded to the offer for prayer was a woman accompanied by her husband asking for prayer that God would “open her womb.” The couple had been married for years and were as yet childless. Gerald prayed over them. A year went by and he was back In the same area again preaching. After the sermon a husband and wife brought their baby forward for prayer and a blessing, informing Gerald with joy that this baby was an answer to his prayer from the year prior when he had prayed for them. Though both had been born into devout Muslim families they had become Christians and had named their baby boy… Gerald! But to their families the name was associated with “western Christianity,” and they were facing backlash for it and their newfound faith.  

Another year went by during which time the backlash escalated into threats and then violence. An uncle became so religiously furious that he picked up baby Gerald and smashed him against a wall. The baby lived, they prayed over his injuries, and he fully recovered. Then a fire was lit in Palestine. More people (Palestinians) got converted to Christianity. Of these people seven men especially stood out as evangelists. Boldy these men preached in the streets of Gaza despite the dangers they faced in doing so. Were the people so taken aback by their boldness they didn’t dare touch them? Were the people being touched by the message of Christ? Those are questions we may not hear answered until time is swallowed up by eternity. The reality on the ground was that the tentacles of persecution were sneakily searching for prey and these men, being outspoken Christians, were finding it increasingly hard to keep jobs in Palestinian territory. Nor were Palestinian Christians particularly welcomed by Israelis. Pastor Gerald took an interest in their plight and through a quarterly newsletter gained financial support for these seven men and their families. The Palestinian Christians were much encouraged by their brethren and sisters in America, as were Americans by Palestinians, and with a desire for interpersonal relationships through personal correspondence via letters (remember this was 1980s) Gerald published names and physical addresses in his newsletters. Within a year all seven evangelists were dead. Two were “caught in crossfire” between “Jews and Muslims”, two were killed in a building they were setting up for church the next day when government authorized bulldozers “accidently” hit the wrong building instead of the one designated for demolition. Two disappeared in the prison system, while a third was released from prison with his health so ruined that he died soon after. Tabirri, our host and chauffeur, had known all seven of these men and arranged a visit in the west bank area with Abraheem, a very old man by now, who had visited the latter referred to three men in prison, gaining access because of the Islamic respectful deference to age. He was taken in to see these men and heard horrific accounts of electrode abuse from them. To be continued…

Life Matters!