Hadeel’s entire adult life is rife with stories of losing everything, building back up, and losing it all again at the hands of violent tormentors, and horrific persecution. He has been cast out by his beloved family for his faith. He has fled his home, again and again—his wife and children running away alongside him.
It all started because he was a Sunni Muslim working in a Shiite Muslim area of Iraq. He was a successful businessman, expanding his one automotive software repair shop to three before the trouble started. And when the trouble came, it was relentless.
He was blackmailed by Shiite militia members who confiscated his shops. They kidnapped and tortured Hadeel so that he would not dare demand the return of his rightful property.
Somehow, he survived. But he knew he had no choice but to run away. Hadeel relocated his family and eventually found work.
God Finds Hadeel and Intervenes
In a beautiful, God-directed twist to his painful past, he was invited to church, introduced to Jesus—and gave his life to Christ. Hadeel was a new man, devoted to Scripture and following his Savior, the joy in his heart unquenchable. His family accepted Christ, too, and they began to live for the Lord.
Once his employer found out about Hadeel’s conversion, the persecution ramped up again. He was left with no job, no support system—no way to survive. He thought returning home and living with his sister-in-law would provide stability for the family.
But once their Christian faith was discovered, he and his family were kicked out of the house and threatened. They lived in a car for a time, and Hadeel sold his wife’s earrings to provide food for his children until there was no jewelry left. Soon, there was no food either.
A Dire Situation Turns to Hope
With no food for his family and no roof over their heads, imminent danger was growing as their angry family members hunted them down with the intent of doing them harm for their faith in Christ.
Then, God used Help The Persecuted to intervene in a lifesaving, hope-filled way.
Through our partners’ generosity and compassion for the persecuted, our local team was able to secure plane tickets for the family to relocate. Once they arrived, we provided shelter, food, encouragement, and support to get this family back on their feet.
This is what God has called us to do. It is what your partnership helps us to accomplish daily for persecuted families, like Hadeel’s.
Immediate Needs of the Persecuted Funded Through Lightning Funds
At Help The Persecuted, our team constantly finds themselves in situations where they must meet immediate crisis needs for Christians like Hadeel who are under threat and on the run.
Our Field Ministry Team is planted across the Muslim world for the purpose of rescuing those in imminent danger and offering instant assistance in the form of safe housing, medical care, trauma counseling, and more.
But to do these things, we need what is called “Lightning Funds” to…
- Purchase a quick bus or plane ticket for families being pursued and persecuted by their extended family or community
- Pay for a hotel in another town while future decisions are made
- Buy clothes and food when someone has lost everything
The existence of these emergency dollars allows our Field Ministry Team serving on the frontlines to be flexible and nimble—to make quick decisions that save lives.
When there is no time for paperwork, committee approvals, or red tape, these crisis funds are invaluable.
For persecuted Christians in the Middle East, just a few dollars through Lightning Funds can represent the difference between life and death. For them, this small amount is anything but trivial.
It feeds them when they are starving.
Puts a roof over their heads when they’ve been cast out.
It allows them to travel in the nick of time under a shroud of secrecy.
It gives freedom, hope, encouragement—life.
It allows you, the Body of Christ, to pour Jesus’ love into hurting lives in life-changing ways.
You saved Hadeel and his family with food and plane tickets. Please do it again.
God has perfectly positioned Help The Persecuted to be His hands and feet to brave believers facing extreme persecution. We’ve been given access, gained trust, and developed relationships to stand with the persecuted in their immediate need and for the long haul.
Hadeel’s family stood firm in the face of persecution. Together, we helped them reach safety. And we will continue to care for them!