He Still Multiplies Food

We have been blessed by the Lord. Below is a letter from a friend who attended the party on Saturday: Dear Pastor Hicham, Let me tell you what joy and inspiration I shared with the more than 200 people who last Saturday night attended your “Middle Eastern Food Extravaganza . ” Your Salam Christian Fellowship went the full limit in offering the Word of God in a spirit of love not only to the American Muslims and Arabs there but also to us “regulars. ” There never was a question in my mind that my donation to the Fellowship was badly needed for Christ’s work among the 500,000 or so Muslims in the Greater Chicago area. And let’s not forget the excellent audio-visual presentations of those four “conversions ” nor the humor and keyboard music of one minister nor that tasty food—truly the best I’ve eaten here or in the Middle East itself. You and the several ministers who spoke are to be congratulated for how each of you roused our hearts to do good for “the least of them. ” Save me a chair for next year !

Come to Salam's Party

Salam Celebrating Fifth Anniversary of Arabic Worship Come celebrate with Salam's fifth anniversary and thank faithful volunteers and donors... Great Middle Eastern food, from Lebanon, Iran, and Iraq....great music played by Rennie Kaufmann (http://renniekaufmann.com/), a professional entertainer, and Arabic worship music by Scott Swingle. Also you will have an opportunity to support Salam's ministries. Where: Immanuel Lutheran Church at 950 Hart Road, Batavia, IL 60510 When: Saturday, Feb. 2, at 6 pm All are welcome. Posted by Hakim at 9:39 PM

Is Faith in Christ a Decision?

Being a Follower of Christ, from a Muslim background, I may have different perspective on how people are called to faith in Christ I believe that I did not take a decision for Christ...He has dragged me from the scruff of the neck...I was dragged into salvation in spite of myself. However, I can tell you when the seed of faith in Christ was planted, when the flower started to blossom, and when the fruit started to appear, or mature... We will stay sinners, whether we trust Jesus or not, but AFTER the seed is planted, we feel the emptiness in our heart that only Christ could fill…After the flower start blossoming, we start to feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit for sins, repent, and lose "our addiction" to sin. I believe that faith is a mystery...nothing that I am saying is new... How people come to faith, I believe that everyone has or need a different dynamic that calls him/her to Christ...However, the common dynamic is the WORD of God...I know that I am not saying anything new...but I believe that He drags us like fish in a net, from the sea of sin and unbelief...As an evangelist, I keep casting my net, and trust God to bring fish.. Concerning the Word of God and evangelism, I noticed, through the years, that everyone has a different "silver bullet" that brings him/ her to his/her knees, or shoot him/ her in the heart; mine was: "Love your enemies"

What Does Al Masih Mean?

In 1972, I used to sit at he feet of my Egyptian Imam, 80 years old, daily and learn from him the basics of Islam, Arabic poetry, and Jurisprudence. One evening, I asked him: Sheikh! what does Massih (Christ in Arabic) mean? He replied: Maybe it means flat-footed, or sojourner, because he traveled a lot, or the one who wiped pain from the face of the earth. Actually we do not know, Allah knows. Please read this article, and you will know:

http://www.answering-islam.org/Authors/Memsuah/al-masih.htm

Salam Celebrating Fifth Anniversary of Arabic Worship

Come celebrate with Salam's fifth anniversary and thank faithful volunteers and donors... Great Middle Eastern food, from Lebanon, Iran, and Iraq....great music played by Rennie Kaufmann (http://renniekaufmann.com/), a professional entertainer, and Arabic worship music by Scott Swingle. Also you will have an opportunity to support Salam's ministries.

Where: Immanuel Lutheran Church at 950 Hart Road, Batavia, IL 60510 When: Saturday, Feb. 2, at 6 pm All are welcome.

Salam Touching the Lives of Muslims

Dear Friends, I would like to share with you a text message I received from a young Muslim Algerian immigrant who arrived a month ago to Chicago, with his eight-month pregnant wife, and had nothing. The new immigrant got my phone number from a Lutheran church in his neighborhood. ( I still do not know who gave him my number) I called Lutheran Church Charities (LCC), after I received his call, and we moved toward furnishing his studio apartment. With the help of five volunteers from Salam Fellowship, we were able to take furniture, directly from donors to his apartment. Below is his text, with its spelling mistakes. "Haw are you hichem , thank you very much for your help ,because of you we have a comfortable home ,we thank god and we ask him to protect you all." Because of LCC and Salam, this family will have their first Christmas in the USA with proper housing. Because of LCC, they see the love of Christ in action. Merry Xmas

Even though I am in prison, I feel free in Jesus

A year ago, an Iraqi young Muslim refugee, Ahmed (not his real name), 22, born in Lebanon, was arrested for drug trafficking. Ahmed lost his refugee status in the USA, and was transferred an immigration detention facility with the illegal aliens, awaiting deportation. His family had been coming to Salam Fellowship for years. We did not give up on him. We kept visiting and praying for him in prison, especially my wife, Mona. She was filled with compassion towards this young man, and considered him a victim of his broken family, not a criminal. His parents were divorced, and their five kids were lost in a sinful world. He started reading the Bible with great interest, and praying that Jesus would save him from his incarceration. Mona and I were greatly inspired whenever we visited him.

Ahmed would repeat with joy. Psalms and Proverbs were his favorite. He used describe how his attitude towards h is inmates and guards changed. He started to treat everyone gently and patiently, with love. Mona helped his family get an attorney who was able to convince the judge of granting him another chance. It was a miracle, because it was his third time in prison. Ahmed was given parole, and was not deported. He was released three weeks ago. God answered all our prayers. Please pray that Ahmed would stay the course, follow Jesus Christ, and grow spiritually. Ahmed passion is fast cars and sports….They have provedto be distracting…Please pray that he would seek the Kingdom of God first, and stay focused on Jesus. Amen