Words from the heart

To you, martyr of Christ in the city of Gaza, to you my friend and friend of many… to you I write:

Through your life, Rami, I saw how much you loved to live, I saw your commitment to the God of life. The world and its worries did not ever make you forget your God… and I confess that you had no problem to die for the sake of the God of heaven. You received it, bro, despite the difficulty… you received the martyrdom and took the crowns. You are now sitting in God’s presence among the angels and saints. Congratulations to you my friend…

You have fought the right fight and finished the race, Rami… and I give you a commitment that neither I nor the body of believers will ever walk out of this race. We have tasted the pain, but the spirit of God that dwells within us gives us the courage and uplifts up from the terrible pain…

I realize that death is a terrible thing, but you accepted it because of your faith in Christ… because what is death when we have eternity with Christ!!! This is what you wanted in your life, Rami, and I witnessed this. This is what all martyrs in Christ wanted. And today I lift up a new old motto: “We are all martyrs for Christ”…

If I am next in line, Rami, I am absolutely sure that I will live in the heavens. I have trust that many will carry on and walk your path, Rami. They will be saying: “7But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him…” Philippians 3:7-9

 

The night of October 6th 2007, a night that was sad, dark… my mom’s shout shocked the house: “My son is gone, your brother Rami is gone…” I shouted at her and asked why is she saying this? “Rami didn’t die, he didn’t,” I told her. Unfortunately, hours later we understood that a mother’s heart doesn’t lie… I saw Rami covered in blood.

They took you, Rami, killed you and threw you. My mom was right, my brother lies dead. The pain and agony in my mom’s heart to see her abducted son, killed.

Oh… oh… what shall I do, brother? What do I tell you? The fire and anger in my heart cannot be extinguished. I don’t know what these feelings are. Everyone is shouting, crying, talking, thinking about the gruesome act, and I am lost Rami. What had just happened? How did they take you and kill you? What did they do to you those long hours?

No… No… No my brother has not died, and later on I understood that Rami did not die, he is alive in God’s presence. With your faith, Rami, your patience and your good fight, you have arrived there, to the house of your Father, to eternal life. Blessed are you for this honorable end. You have made us proud. Blessed are you for being in the arms of the heavenly Father. I don’t say goodbye, I say see you again one day…

Your wounded brother,
Ibrahim

Rami my love, since you were a child you were such a good boy, smart in your studies, loyal to your friends. You loved to pray and you eagerly waited for Sundays to go to church. Your dad and I used to call you “Priest” as a fun quote because you always tried to be so good at church and were refusing to be naughty and bad.
Rami’s love for Christ, since he was a child, gave him the push to minister in the field. He dedicated his life to serving the needy from all religions, races and backgrounds. Rami used to secretly help two families that had disabled children (after his death, these families came and shared this with us).

Rami married a strong believer in Christ, and they dedicated their lives together to serve Christ. Two years later they had George, then Wisam a year after, and his daughter Sama was born after Rami passed away.

On the 6th of October 2007, that sinister day, my son Rami was kidnapped. They had been watching him three days before; he had informed me and his brothers about these details. On October 5th, the whole family was gathered for lunch, and while Rami was with us as we were around the table, he received a phone call. They were threatening him. Rami replied: “Who are you, I don’t know you, what do you want from me?” That night at around 19:00, Rami came back to see me. He was looking worried, unlike the Rami we know, and he was quiet and lonely.

On Saturday the 7th, just like every Saturday, Rami passed by and had a cup of coffee with me in the morning. He then left to the bookshop. While closing the bookshop at around 16:00, Rami was kidnapped. We all gathered, all the family relatives, and we were awaiting his return. But, after Rami refused to compromise his faith, they executed him in cold blood. He was faithful to the end.

I write about my son while my heart weeps. I will weep all my life. My pain grew deeper when four months after his death, his daughter Sama was born. What wrong has this baby committed not to be able to feel the warmth of her father? What crime have his wife and two boys done to live without a dad? What crime has Rami done? His only crime is that he had faith in Christ Jesus. We trust the Lord that he will not leave his wife and children because the blood of the martyr is not given in vain. Rami defended the word of God. He has made us all proud, all the Ayyad family. We are proud of his martyrdom because he died while defending his faith and refused to deny Christ. Two hours before his kidnapping, Rami asked his friends in the bookshop to SMS him the Arabic hymn that says: “I am stepping on your honey oh world, because I am satisfied in my God”… Rami kept on singing this verse, and he really overcame the joys of this world and chose the good share.