I wanted to share with you this gem of an article I found written by By Steve Zalusky at the Daily Herald. I found it inspiring, and I hope you do too. Read the full article here.
Given his background and upbringing, Hicham Chehab makes an unlikely missionary.
A Muslim in Lebanon during the Civil War between Christians and Muslims, his first experiences with Christianity were violent and threatening. He was attacked, and his brother was killed, by Christians.
Trained by a Muslim extremist group, he was taught how to use rocket launchers, mortars and rifles, and was told, "If you want to shoot straight, imagine that there is a Christian in your sights." Eventually, he participated in the Civil War as a sniper.
Today, he is a missionary at Salam Church, located at Peace Lutheran Church in Lombard. The Lutheran Arabic Church, which just celebrated its first full year of existence, is attended by refugees and immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan and Palestine. It is called Salam, the word for peace in Arabic and Persian, because, he said, only the Prince of Peace, Jesus, can bring reconciliation to the hearts of people in the Middle East.
