THE ORIGIN OF THE SALUM FAMILY IN LEBANON: AN ACT OF GOD'S PROVIDENCE! By: Josimar Salum

THE ORIGIN OF THE SALUM FAMILY IN LEBANON: AN ACT OF GOD'S PROVIDENCE! 

By: Josimar Salum

On the last day of the trip to Lebanon (9/23/2021) we visited a part of the Shuf mountain in one of the regions where the cedars of Lebanon grow. This region is inhabited by the Druze, a sect of Islam. I previously referred to them in the article where I mentioned that I have been praying for them and the Kurds for the last twenty-three years when I learned from my friend Pr David Botelho that at the time it was not known that there was even a disciple of Jesus among them. 

One of the last towns we passed before reaching Cedar Mountain is Mokhatara, meaning “The Chosen One” where we visited a 300-year-old palace occupied by the family of Druze leader Kamal Joumblat who was murdered in 1977.

And who are the Druze? From the information I could research on the internet and from conversations with Elie Lteif, a disciple from Baadaran, near Mokhatara, the Druze follow a religion derived from Islam, but with their own identity, concentrated in the Levant region - Lebanon, Syria and Israel, in addition to a strong diaspora in Venezuela.

In Lebanon, the Druze follow their leaders, the most important being Walid Jumblat. It currently maintains an independent position in Lebanese politics, navigating different sides according to the political nose of Jumblat, one of the most respected political figures in the Arab world. But there are Druze factions rivaling him. And Druze usually live in the Shuf, which is a portion of the Lebanon hills just south of the coast of Beirut.

We found the following on Wikipedia:

The Druze are a small autonomous religious community that reside mainly in Lebanon, Israel, Syria, Turkey and Jordan and other countries and follow a social model very similar to that of the Arabs in the region. They are not considered Muslims by most Muslims in the region, although some Druze say their religion is Islamic. Most Druze consider themselves Arabs, although some Israeli Druze do not consider themselves Arabs. There are about a million Druze worldwide, most of whom live in the Middle East.

Well, as I mentioned, to my surprise the driver who assisted us throughout the journey, this beloved brother Elie Lteif is from the town of Mokhatara.

In the last nine days I've been researching the origin of Salum (Salloum), I even found a pharmacy in the Valle of Baca region with the name Pharmacie Salloum. But it was Elie (Elias or Elijah) who on this last day reported that the palace city is the birthplace of the Salloum family in Lebanon and many of the family still reside in the city.

The Salloum are Druze of Lebanese origin. Druze? So I've been praying all this time for the salvation of descendants where my great grandfather Moussa Girgi Salloum came from?

The Brazilian version of the name is Mussi (Mucci) Jorge Salum, father of my grandfather Jamil Jorge Salum, Joaquim Jorge Salum, José Jorge Salum, Jorge Salum and they had a sister Maria do Carmo, I knew her as aunt Carmita.

Can you imagine the providence of God ? All this time I've been and still am praying for the Druze exactly where my family on my mother Leny's side comes from! And the first Druze that I now have news of becoming a disciple of Jesus was exactly my great-grandfather?

If I was amazed at hundreds of Kurds converted to Jesus, my heart was even more joyful to hear that hundreds of Druze were also saved. They are receiving Jesus in house meetings even though they are at risk of being killed for becoming Jesus' disciples. Our ancestors came from the mountains where the cedars of Lebanon are born and grow.

Can you see my admiration to see that I was praying for a people where my great-grandfather comes from, without knowing it? Only the Holy Spirit can do such a thing! Glory to our Eternal Father!

#ASONE