Khalida Reaches Out to an IDF Soldier

Pastor Bill was kind enough to allow Khalida Wukawitz to share a bit of her testimony. Part of what she shared this morning had to do with a story she told the team about during our time in Israel. Unknowingly the Lord prepared her for a particular part of the Israel trip by helping her overcome her fear of the police. She had a completely overwhelming and irrational fear of the police because of the violence she had heard and read about going on--even in the states. So, the Lord led her in a very specific way to overcome that fear by facing it and blessing them, which prepared her for a much more dramatic encounter in Israel...

She felt the Lord had called her to especially minister to the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) particularly while we were in Jerusalem. As she shared she pictured for us all the IDF who are quite often standing with their rifles across their chests and their fingers on the triggers. At one point she went up to this young Israeli soldier and gave him a rose and started sharing with him how she is Palestinian, now living in America, and that she loves Israel and she so appreciates the soldiers who try to keep people safe. The soldier turned a bit away from her and Khalida was immediately concerned that she might have offended him and said she knew he had to do his job and she could move on.

He practically begged her to stay, saying, I feel like I have to remove my gun because it's like a wall between us and I am so enjoying this conversation. He had tears in his eyes. He shared that he has been part of the IDf for 3-4 years and during that time his wife had refused to have children because she was so afraid he would get stabbed or killed by the Palestinians. And he said that day to Khalida, I will go home and tell my wife tonight that I met a Palestinian who loves Israel and thanked me for keeping it safe. He said to Khalida, "you gave me hope today." And then they hugged each other...

God is good!!!

Written by Sally O'Connor