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Hicham's Blog

The purpose of Chicagoland Lutheran Muslim Mission Association, otherwise known as CLMMA, is to administer and maintain an ongoing evangelism ministry to Middle Eastern immigrants in the greater Chicagoland area through the ministry of Rev. Hicham Chehab. Our goal is to raise awareness and financial support to sustain and expand this ministry.


Pastor Chehab will be speaking at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Mequite, NV (phone:  702-345-2160) on March 4, 2012 at 3:00 PM (MST).  Details.

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THE MIRACLE OF COMING TO FAITH!

Nasser was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1982, the oldest of  ten siblings. From infancy, he always seemed to have a closer relationship to his mother than his father. His feeling of detachment from his father grew into anger when he left his mother for a younger wife. Nasser saw his mother suffer even further after she lost the pillar of the family, especially when Nasser's father took a third wife. Later, seeing his mother devastated, after receiving divorce documents, Nasser became livid with  anger, not only  against his father, but also against the Islamic Iranian system that allows polygamy, and consequently the destruction of the family. 

When Imam Khomeini came to power in 1979, he lowered the age for females to marry from eighteen to nine. Iran encourages male dominance and discriminates  against women, by keeping them under male submission, Watching thousands of people go down the streets of Tehran  to demonstrate against the tyrannical regime in Iran in  the summer of 2009, Nasser saw a chance to express his anger against the regime. Nasser wanted to be part of this fight for freedom and dignity. He walked the streets of Tehran shoulder to shoulder with young Iranians, including his younger brother Ali, shouting slogans  against the  Islamic clerics who suppressed freedoms and kept Iranians in the Dark Ages.

The security forces brutally clamped down on demonstrators, shooting live bullets at the crowds. Some demonstrators were killed, others were injured, and some were captured by the riot police.  Nasser was among those who fell into the hands of the security forces. His brother Ali was able to flee and is now living as a fugitive in the mountainous northern part of Iran.

Nasser was thrown into a dark dungeon and was tortured for three months. Under torture, the security forces tried to force him to turn on his fellow demonstrators by giving them names and addresses of his friends. Nasser stood fast and refused to snitch on his fellow freedom fighters, so the security forces tried to make a deal with him. "We will set you free," they said, "if you lead us to the organizers of the demonstrations." Nasser feigned agreement with them, but as soon as he was released from prison, he was able to disappear into the crowds of the Iranian bazaars and lose his captors. He was determined not to fall again into the hands of his torturers.

After hiding out with some friends for a few days, Nasser headed towards the Iranian-Turkish border. Even though he made it safely to Istanbul, Nasser started to experience the life of loneliness and isolation. He missed his mother and siblings, but he could never forget the cold painful dark nights of torture in Tehran.

Nasser applied for refuge at the United Nations in Istanbul and was granted asylum. He was told that it may take years until the UN finds him a host country, which would demand much patience from Nasser.

In Istanbul, Nasser started learning Turkish and worked part time as a mechanic, a profession he previously had held in Iran. He met a young Turk who shared Jesus Christ with him, and took him to a Christian Church of converts from Islam. God, through His holy Word, spoke to his heart, and he felt peace for the first time after months of agony.

It took Nasser two years to complete legal matters to enter the USA and American soil!  World Relief brought him to Chicago, and settled him in Wheaton, IL.

A member of Salam Arabic Lutheran Church, by the name of Basheer, 25, had been baptized into the Christian faith in early October of 2011. I was translating for him in a public facility in West Chicago when I happened to meet Nasser in late October of 2011. Basheer had first met Nasser at World Relief ESL classes, when the latter arrived in late September.

I whispered to Basheer, “Ask Nasser about his religious affiliation”. Basheer became excited, and asked Nasser to show me his cross. Nasser proudly took out an iron cross hanging from a necklace, which was hidden under his shirt. "He was born into a Muslim family, but now he is following Christ,” Basheer explained. I took the two young men out to lunch, and explained to Nasser what I do to prepare members for Holy Baptism. He was immediately excited, and wanted to visit the church.

It so happened that Immanuel Lutheran Church was my next stop. We had started a fellowship there in September. As soon as Nasser entered the sanctuary, he knelt and prayed. He told me that it was his dream to kneel and pray openly at the foot of the cross as soon as he arrived in America, the land of freedom. Up to this point, since he arrived to America, no one had taken him to church. He added that he is indebted to me because I took the time to take him into a Christian Church sanctuary, and Nasser asked to be baptized into the Christian faith.

After two weeks of catechism instruction, Nasser stood at the baptismal font. As one congregant described it, "Nasser seemed to be scared to death." Baptism was the last red line in Islam. As soon as I baptized him in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, he emerged jubilant and tearful, and he then hugged me, expressing his gratefulness for this new life which was his in the waters of baptism. I have never seen someone as happy as Nasser with his baptism. This is another exciting miracle of how God creates saving faith!

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Isn’t God Faithful!  

Have you ever felt that you are alone, and you have to do God's work by yourself?! This is how I felt last Friday. Although I had a few volunteer worship leaders, none of them were available for the service at Salam on Saturday. I felt as though he would have to do the entire service on his own. But, by the grace of God, a phone call came out of the blue. It was Vicar Rennie Kaufmann (“My twin” brother in Christ) who is a professional musician and a close friend.  Rennie was planning on coming out to Chicago that very day, all the way from Detroit, MI. He was able to come to Salam, sing in Farsi and lead worship! Isn’t God faithful!
 
God is taking care of us even in the times when we don’t see it, and even in the times when we don’t ask. When we are down, God is there to lift us up. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 9:8, “And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”  God is always trying to find a way to bless us – especially when we’re doing His work.