I N S I D E the mission work
The Forbidden Peace Treaty: By Pastor Steven Khoury
In our daily planning and vision casting with our teams and
team leaders, we reflect on how humbled we are by the fact
that we possess power of the darkness in the name of Jesus,
we can have tangible hope and can confidently preach that
there is hope, and there is freedom. Since January of 2022,
we have held over nine outreaches and gatherings with a
couple hundred, which all come from Muslim backgrounds;
these meetings are in addition to the 50 plus weekly meetings
we hold. Sharing the love of Jesus with them and introducing
them to a Savior that doesn't judge you based on what
religion you come from but invites you into a personal
relationship with Him based on the atoning work He did on
Calvary's Cross.
Out of the many exciting stories we are putting together to
encourage you our friends and partners, there is one exciting
story, in particular, I would like to share. This story began with
a lady whom we will call Noura, who lives and comes from an
area that most people do not visit in the northern west bank.
In these outreaches, we target areas that are generally
considered to be extremely hostile. Sites such as ancient day
Samaria and it’s close surrounding villages such as Tool Karem
and Jenin. These villages and cities are almost weekly, and in
some instances, daily in the news for attacks and clashes with
the I.D.F. These are areas where, as a broad analogy, 'Airforce
one wouldn't even go', to paint you a simple picture or
example of the backdrop of where we are at. You now
understand it's all for the sake of making the name of Jesus
known. We begin by renting out a restaurant for the whole
day, start setting up the game stations for the kids on the
upper floor while using the main floor for the meals that are
served along with the message and service that is held. This is
also where we prepare to introduce them the Gospel through
a short play to capture their attention and serve as an
icebreaker. We arrange the main hall in a way to
create a welcoming atmosphere while spending the time praying
around tables and chairs calling on the name of the Lord to bring His
Joy and peace to surround them and cover the hall for hearts to open
up. Our trip to get to these villages and cities is about two and a half
hours while keeping in mind the roads along the way consist of very
steep hills, bumpy rundown roads, and narrow streets. We usually get
to the restaurant needing a motion sickness recovery session, but
thank the Lord for baklava or kaek which we are met with upon arrival
that helps sweeten the arrival experience. Since we are going into
some hostile areas, there are usually Israeli I.D.F. checkpoints along the
way and in certain neighborhoods that we pass through. We always
pray asking the Lord to remove any blockades along the way, which
could detour us, making the trip much more difficult than it already is.
As this specific group arrived, I remember standing in the entrance
seeing all the wonderful people who bravely came to listen this
message that they have heard changes lives. As they began to take
their seats at the tables, I could see a mix of emotions on their faces.
Some were smiling at the excitement of seeing and hearing something
new while the majority were nervous, pondering on what to expect and
thinking whether they would hop back on the bus we brought them on
feeling as if it was a waste of time; or will this be one of the best days
they have had in a long long time given the reality of their daily struggle
to see a brighter day. We began the outreach by telling them, we are
here to share the love of Jesus with them. We introduced ourselves as
their new family for many days to come. We had one of our Evangelists
Roma, start off with some ice-breakers and riddles for them to solve to
lighten the atmosphere. We then taught and sang some worship songs
followed by the message about the greatest healer. We opened
the opportunity for those that need healing to raise their hands,
reminding them that Jesus is mentioned as the greatest healer even in
the Quran. About 9 raised their hands sharing intimate prayer needs
with us. I started to walk around the tables to say hello. It's a bit of a
challenge because in the culture, specifically amongst those that come
from villages and towns where the culture is still very conservative, you
are not allowed to directly speak to or shake the hands of women
especially if they are married and particularly if you are not of the same