Today: September 9, 2010

A Day of Prayer Part 2

Posted: Tue 24th February 2009 10.22 AM | Author: Sam Hailes

Carlos’ testimony

It was a bright but cold day in mid September when staff and friends of Christian Friends of Israel gathered together for a day of prayer.

But this was no ordinary prayer meeting.

Flying in all the way from Israel, Ruth Nessim had brought a group of Jewish and Arab believers in Jesus to the UK. This 3 part series details some of their inspiring words.

From left to right: Tanya, Elizabeth, Ruth, Najib and Carlos

Carlos, 28 stood and shared his testimony, starting with his family background. Ruth translated Carlos' words from Hebrew to English.

"[Najib’s] mother is the sister of my father. There were 5 brothers and 5 sisters. They came from Lebanon and they lived in not the best areas. My uncles, apart from Najib’s father, were all involved in drugs. We all lived in the same area and the curse that falls on the father goes to the children if you do not come to faith. I was very influenced by my uncles and also Najib before he came to faith.

From the ages of 12 to 16 I began to go out with people older than me and listen to them and their stories. I began to love the kind of things they did, I smoked, took drugs and became very violent. Between the ages of 17 and 19 I did Cocaine and went through a very difficult time. I picked up many police reports for violence and drugs.

My sister and her husband had 3 children, my sister’s husband began to beat my sister. I didn’t like to interfere but I got to the point where I felt I had to do something. He was hitting her, shouting at her and crossed every border, then he began to threaten me! I wanted to kill him. It was touching the honour of my family I couldn’t overlook this. I went to look for him.

For several days I looked for him and he was armed because he knew if I found him, I’d kill him. I met him in the road one day, I had a knife on me, most of the time I carried one. (Now I have another weapon!!) He was with two friends, he was afraid to meet me. He paid money to criminals to kill me. When I met him I drew my knife, and he drew his. The only thing I had in my head was to kill him. The only thing he had in his head was to kill me. We were having a fight in the middle of Haifa. The road was full but we attacked each other and I stabbed him 12 times in every part of his body. Because I was so angry, I didn’t get even one scratch! But when the police came I stabbed myself so that I would be able to say he stabbed me! At the same time everything was destroyed because the police threatened me. A court case was coming up.

Before this happened I prayed, I wanted a change. I used to cry at night, every time I did something I would cry. I knew that someone was with me defending me but everything I did was sin. I really wanted to change my life. But every time I wanted to change everything was turned upside down. When this happened with my brother in law, I really wanted to be honourable but when I thought he was dead I knew I destroyed everything. I sat in jail for a while, I was 19 years old. After 4 months he recovered and left the hospital, I continued with drugs. As a young man I used to take a lot of drugs because I had no hope and nothing else to think about. I was under house arrest for 2 years. 24 hours a day. The police would come at any time to make sure I was home. It was very difficult for me.

One day I was very sad, I saw my sister at home without her husband. She came to live with us and her 3 children. Something was eating me inside. One day I decided to turn to Najib. I phoned him late at night, he was already a believer and serving the Lord. When I was very little I loved him. When I grew up I knew he was a good man so I said ‘will you please come to my house to help my sister.’ He came to my house and began to speak to us. He looked at my sister, but everything he said to her, the Holy Spirit applied to my heart. I didn’t understand what I know now. As Jesus said, instead of seeing the splinter in your brother’s eye, take the log out of your eye. I believed and something entered into my heart.

After 7 months I fled the house and nearly got into an argument with someone. Something very special happened at that time, I want to say it simply, but it was strong inside me. I met 4 people and I wanted to have an argument with one of them. When I tried to argue with him, something came over me and took me backwards and took them away from me. Everything became normal and I fell on the floor. I couldn’t stand up! I felt the light was penetrating. My bones were hurting me! I saw the foolishness in my heart and soul. I’d never known myself like this. I met myself in the light of the messiah and heard a voice saying ‘Carlos get in touch with Najib, he has something to tell you’. I went home and didn’t get in touch immediately because I was stubborn. I had a peace that wasn’t from this world, I wasn’t thinking about faith, all I knew was I had to get in touch with Najib and then the following day I did.

At 8pm he came with another brother and I said ‘Najib I need you’. He sat down infront of me and I told him what had happened to me. I thought maybe I was going mad or the drugs were making me mad. As I was speaking to him it was so sad and emotional. Najib said ‘Jesus wants to forgive your sins, come back to him and give him your life’ this time I really knew I had to do something . Last time the seed was sown in my heart but now I had to do something so I knelt down in my room and we prayed together.

Najib went home and I shut the door. I knelt down and read the scriptures and felt the spirit of God and I cried tears that were not from this world! I was more than an hour on my knees crying because my spirit met with the Spirit of the Lord. At this same time the Lord showed me my sins from the time I was a child, the date and hour I was born. At that moment I was born again, the spirit of God began to live in me. I was smoking, I was using drugs but when I got up from my knees, without Najib telling me not to smoke, I couldn’t even hold a cigarette. There was a drug I would have to take every day but the blood of Jesus cleansed me and I did not need it. I was alone at home and had experiences with the Lord, no one was there to explain what was happening, but there was one thing- the word of God. I would read for many hours, I was still under house arrest! I read for 15-18 hours a day! Sometimes it is good to be confined!!

While I was reading I felt that spirits were leaving me. It hurt me, I can’t explain it but it was coming out of me. It was painful and would feel it for about an hour and I could hear cries, but I was not crying. I remember reading one sentence where it says Jesus went into the temple and I understood as he went in to cleanse it, I understood Jesus entered into the temple of my body and felt pain but at the same moment I felt I was protected even though it hurt. I felt peace enveloping me. I could see through the eyes of Jesus and saw that I had been crucified with Christ, I felt the pain, but Jesus was the one who suffered for me. He caused me to understand deep things because he delivered me from Satan.

I phoned Najib and found it difficult to understand what was happening. He is my uncle but my father in the faith. He baptised me at 1am after I phoned him! It was raining and there was a lot of winds, he said to me ‘Carlos, maybe you change your mind!?’ There were high waves at the sea and very cold, we got into the water and were shivering. We prayed and did it quickly!”

Pastor Najib said "Perhaps the most beautiful thing in the story of Carlos is that he preached to his sister and her ex husband, they became believers and got married again and had another baby, they called him Carlos"

Carlos is now preparing to marry Tanya, a Jewish girl from Russia (see picture). She moved with her family to Israel at the age of 7 and is hoping to complete her nursing degree next year.

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