Ananias House equips churches in the Middle East and North Africa with resources so they can be a place of restoration, hope and healing. We hear amazing testimonies all the time. God is working in the Middle East and revealing Himself to His people. What a wonderful celebration when believers first come to Christ!

Read Ara* and Jaleel*’s testimony of how God used a little boy’s dream to change a family’s destination:

Ara and Jaleel lived in one of the persecuted Middle Eastern countries, with their seven daughters and one son. The son was the youngest of the family. They were deeply involved in their Muslim community, and so strict that Ara wore gloves in case her fingers were glimpsed inside the sleeves of her burqa.

Ara’s seven-year-old son had a dream. He was told he would have a brother named Isa, the Arabic form of Jesus. He did not recognize the name, but his father reassured the excited boy that Isa was a prophet mentioned in the Quran. Deeply affected by the dream, the boy continued talking about it until, a year later, baby Isa was born.

The next year, the war began. Radicals invaded the family’s home in the middle of the night. Fearing their daughters would be sold as concubines, the family fled to a neighboring country. At the border, however, a customs official refused to let them enter, saying there was no more room. They pleaded with the customs official as he flipped through their passports, but he was immovable—until he reached the last one.

“Isa—that’s an unusual name for a Muslim family,” the man said, pausing. “Because of Isa, I will let you in.”

In their new country, the family lived in a cramped, one bedroom apartment and struggled to afford basics. A local church, partnering with Ananias House, offered free food and other necessities after its Sunday service.

“Be careful,” Jaleel admonished Ara on her first trip, “Don’t let anyone talk to you—they’ll try to convert you.”

His concerns seemed unfounded until, one week, a woman asked Ara if she could pray for her.

“No!” Ara cried, running home.

She returned when their food ran out, however, and this time the woman simply started to pray without asking. As she did, something happened in Ara’s heart. She began going for food earlier and earlier, catching the sermon’s end and then the whole service. In a few weeks, she accepted Christ. She began bringing her children, who all surrendered to Jesus. Jaleel repeatedly refused, though extremely sick with a terminal illness. Because his case was so hopeless and medical services for refugees so overstretched, he was denied much-needed blood transfusions.

Preparing for another pointless trip to the hospital, Jaleel prayed to Ara’s God, “If you really are the God who heals, then heal me.”

The next morning at the hospital, Jaleel’s doctor ran blood tests. When the doctor saw the results, he was incredulous.

“Who did you find to do this blood transfusion for you?” he demanded. “It was 100% effective. You’re completely healed!”

“No doctor and no human blood could give me life,” Jaleel testified joyfully, “but the blood of Jesus Christ has healed me!”

*Names have been changed for security reasons.