Stories from our field
General in Assad’s army finds Jesus
He had to flee Syria overnight. Hamza*, who served as a general in Assad’s army, feared for his life after the fall of Assad’s regime. He had to leave everything behind: his two wives, children, and possessions. Hamza ends up in one of the Arab Gulf countries and there, starts to search for hope. Online.
Hamza is an Alawite, meaning he is from a religious movement with roots in Shiite Islam. Many Alawites are quite secular, and Hamza doesn’t practice his faith much either. But what is remarkable is that Jesus has held a certain appeal for him for years. He feels that there must be more.
That is how Hamza, years ago when his children were still small, sometimes visited a Syrian Orthodox church with them. In those churches, it is customary for priests to sing Christian texts into the ear of a newborn baby. Hamza thought this was a beautiful custom, and during one of his visits, he asked the priest to do this for his newborn baby. “What is the boy’s name?” asked the priest. Hamza gave the name. The priest was shocked. “But that’s an Islamic name,” he exclaimed. “Yes, that’s true, but I still want it,” Hamza explained, and the priest agreed.
Hamza is now all alone in the country to which he has fled. He misses family terribly, because he is a real family man who loves his family very much. In these circumstances, his fascination with Jesus blossoms again. He also begins to dream about Him. He finds information about Jesus online. Hamza discovers that followers of Jesus are supposed to be baptized, and he wants that, too! He asks the people on the online platform if they can baptize him.
The platform connects him with someone from GlobalRize who recently moved to the same country: Izak*. This is someone who has just gone through a difficult period himself – a period in which he, too, had to leave the country where he was working quite suddenly. He has lost his network, and longs for new contacts. So when via the platform, the question is asked who would like to mentor Hamza, Izak is happy to raise his hand.
“I started doing Bible studies with him,” Izak says. “It was so wonderful to hear his whole story and see how he was drawn to Jesus with all his heart.” In his Bible studies, Izak focuses on the sacrifice of Jesus – in terms of timing, it fits perfectly with the Islamic Feast of Sacrifice that is being celebrated at that time. They start with the very first sacrifice: the animals that God Himself slaughtered to clothe Adam and Eve with animal skins. “God always provides the sacrifice Himself,” Izak explains. “We see this with Abraham: he was asked to sacrifice his son and God provides a ram. And the ultimate sacrifice that God Himself provides is, of course, His Son Jesus. During the Bible studies, Hamza gained more and more insight into Jesus’ sacrifice, and his desire to be baptized only grew.”
The last study is about the treasurer from Ethiopia and Philip, who explains Isaiah to him. Izak: “Hamza loved it. He exclaimed, ‘Look, that’s us: I am the treasurer and you are Philip! What is stopping me from being baptized by you?’”
And so it happens. Izak has a swimming pool in his garden, and that is where he will baptize Hamza. He invites his GlobalRize colleagues and an Egyptian man he knows well. His wife orders delicious food from an Egyptian friend. Izak asks the Egyptian brother to pray for Hamza, and he himself explains to Hamza that through baptism, he will become part of the Body of Christ. And then the moment arrives: Izak baptizes this new Syrian believer in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. “He rose from the water and was beaming,” Izak says. “It was such a beautiful day, such a celebration.”
Remarkably, just as in the story of the Ethiopian treasurer and Philip in the Bible, Izak and Hamza suddenly lose touch with each other. Hamza leaves for another Arab Gulf state where his brother-in-law lives, to try his luck there. He hopes to find a job and then wants to bring his family over. He is still in contact with Izak. “I’m going to tell them about Jesus,” he assures him, “and then I’m sure they’ll want to follow Him too!” Let us pray that, like the treasurer, Hamza will also “go his way rejoicing,” and that he will be able to do so together with his family!
- Thank God that Hamza found faith and was baptized by Izak
- Pray for his relatives who are still in Syria. Pray that Hamza will be reunited with his family
- Pray that Hamza’s family will also find faith in Jesus
*The names in this article have been changed for security reasons.