He Put A New Song In Their Mouths

This post was originally sent as an email newsletter to CHLF supporters on August 1st, 2025.

*Names marked with an asterisk have been changed for safety purposes.

These three stories were shared with us by Hani, one of our partners who ministers in Cana of Galilee. Each carries the weight of heartache, but also the unmistakable light of hope in darkness. You won't hear of these God sightings on the evening news, but they are glimpses of God on the move that remind us why our prayer and partnership matter more than ever.

Here is what Hani shared:

A Song of Peace

“A friend of ours, *Rana, was in Jordan caring for pediatric cancer patients evacuated from Gaza. As a way to process the grief and trauma she sees in these children she wrote a simple song about choosing life instead of vengeance. She sent the lyrics to our son Naaman (who just graduated from university and is starting his Master’s degree). Naaman set them to music so the young patients could learn to sing them.

Pictured above: a room full of wounded and sick children far from a home that’s been destroyed, war survivors, singing about peace and forgiveness. Not revenge. Not hate. Peace. “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him.” (Psalm 40:3) That is what we witnessed in that hospital room. Not a simple song, a defiant, trembling hymn in the shadow of death. This is what the Kingdom of Christ looks like: quiet, stubborn hope rising from the rubble."

Losing a Dear Friend

"Then came a heartbreaking loss. Yet another church was bombed in Gaza. One of the victims was *Mahmoud, the uncle of our dear friend in our church in Cana who helps lead the church media team. *Mahmoud was family to us. We believe he is with the Lord now, but that doesn’t make the grief easier for those left behind. Please pray for our friends and family who daily grieve loss after loss in a land where the last flickers of ancient Christian witness are under threat."

Prayer in the Hospital

"One day I was visiting a friend in the hospital when I noticed a patient under police custody. The young man’s mother belongs to one of our churches in the North. I asked the officer if I could go in and pray with him and he allowed me a few minutes. I prayed for the young man and told him that he was alive by the mercy of God, and when he is discharged that he needs to start a new life depending on the Lord Jesus and leave this troubled lifestyle he has been leading. I told him that the Lord can carry the pain he’s been suffering with for so long.

As I turned to leave, the policeman, a non-Christian, wondered how we were praying as we were. I asked him if I could pray for him too, as a Christian in the name of Jesus Christ, and he welcomed that. So I prayed for him to be strengthened, that the Lord would bless his life and give him wisdom in his job. His face lit up as we prayed, I’m thankful for the opportunity to speak to him of Jesus.”