Dear Friends in Christ,

Greetings in the name of our risen Lord.

Here in the Middle East we are still in the joyful time of Christ’s resurrection, since last Sunday was Easter Sunday for many millions of Christians. I am writing after my return from Iraq this last Thursday to share with you some good and some not very good news. I would like to start with the good news.

Our Presbyterian church in Baghdad has experienced recently that God is still in control. Late in the afternoon on Saturday April 23, Farah (Joy ), a 24-year-old girl was kidnapped as she was leaving her grandparents house in the afternoon. Her only mistake was that her parents work for the Americans in Baghdad. The kidnappers wanted half a million dollars. Farah, a believing Presbyterian, was assured of God’s protection, as she said later. The kidnappers knew her by name. Before they took her they asked, “Is your name Farah?” She said yes, not knowing what awaited her. She was taken to a nearby suburb where the kidnappers asked her to make a phone call to her parents telling them to bring a half million dollars. Farah knew that her parents didn’t even have $5,000. In a very calm way she said to the kidnappers “My father is very sick. He needs heart surgery and we don’t have the money to take him to the hospitals. He may die before we can raise the money.”

The church was informed, and a prayer meeting started on the following Sunday. On Wednesday the whole church gathered for a long time of prayer. Farah was released the next day, Thursday. I met Farah on Sat the April 30, one week after she was kidnapped and only three days after she was released. I could hardly believe that this young woman was kidnapped and able to talk about her experience with such self-possession. She said she believed that God was with her all the time. She was never touched or tortured. No one who knows Iraq and what is happening there can believe the story of how God protected Sarah. It is understood as an assurance to the whole church that God will never forsake his people even in the midst of war and violence.

I was in Baghdad during Holy week (Eastern calendar) and had the chance to go to worship in three Orthodox churches. The churches were all full. You would not expect this after the bombing of the churches last fall, but God has given courage to the Christians in Iraq to go to church with no fear. They have love, and love dismisses fear.

The not very good news is that the situation is still very bad. Many people are still killed everyday. Parents are concerned about the welfare of their children as they go to school and church. Most churches provide transportation to people who want to go to services, but still many are very much concerned.

It is not safe to go outside late at night, so everybody is home by at latest 7:00 p.m. Lift up the people of Iraq in your prayers. May the Risen Lord give a real resurrection to Iraq and its people. May the message of hope, the message of the resurrection, spread and dwell among the people of Iraq.

I was able to visit with our church in Baghdad on Sunday May 1 and preach there. Sharing the message of hope and just worshiping with them was an encouragement to them. That someone would come from outside Iraq to be with them was a gesture very much appreciated.

As the new government takes over and tries to establish peace and security, pray that our risen Lord give them strength to do so.

Nuhad Tomeh

The 2005 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 167