Support Martyrs' Widows

Project Summary

Background Information [ 배경 정보 ]

Country

Palestine and Gaza Strip

Target Group

Widows of Christian martyrs

Objective

Supporting Pauline’s widow discipleship

Summary

Pauline Ayyad’s husband Rami Ayyad, the owner of the only Christian bookstore in Gaza, was martyred in 2007. It took a long time to forgive her husband's killer, but Pauline overcame all these difficulties with faith. Today she is teaching the widows of other Christian martyrs in Gaza to forgive their husbands’ killers and pray for their salvation, as she herself has learned to do.

Pauline's Story

When Pauline Ayyad’s husband Rami Ayyad, the owner of the only Christian bookstore in Gaza, was martyred in 2007, the only thought in her mind was revenge. Although Pauline’s husband Rami had received many death threats prior to his death, he refused to close the store.

In 2007, he was kidnapped off the streets of Gaza, tortured, and shot dead. At the time, Pauline was pregnant with their third child.

Pauline said, “Others would tell me ‘Let us pray that God avenges Rami by making his killer become a Christian.’ But I didn’t want to pray this prayer. I wanted the man to die a horrible death and then be tortured in hell. But I prayed, 'Lord, I know that I should forgive Rami's killer because I am your daughter. But I can't. Help me forgive those people. Really forgive them.’"

Forgiveness was a gradual process for Pauline, but she eventually forgave her husband's killer.
"Now, even in my weak moments, the Lord closes the door and removes my doubts,” Pauline shares. “‘That's it,' he says. 'You are forgiven and you have forgiven.’ After that, I started thanking the Lord for the cross that he gave me. I started feeling that his yoke is light and that God gave me the strength to carry it."

When the identity of Rami's killer was finally revealed after he was accused of assassinating a senior Hamas official, Pauline posted his picture on her Facebook and wrote, "This man is forgiven."

Now, almost 12 years after her husband's death, Pauline is supporting a group of other widows. Each of these widows has gone through a similar experience as Pauline. These women pray, worship, read the Bible, and grow spiritually. Pauline often tells them, ‘You are all daughters of the King’. Pauline is currently ministering to are Christian, she also wants to reach out to Muslim widows who lost their husbands in similar circumstances.

"Not everyone gets to be called a martyrs wife.That's a great honor." - Pauline

Pauline's Story - Interview

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