On January 12, I received a call from Mrs. Hanna Smith that her mother Khelyou Yonan passed away and I was asked to do the service on the 18th of the month.
I was first introduced to Khelyou in 1008 when she was brought for the first time to our church, The Arabic Evangelical Church of Daytona Beach, by her daughter Hanna and her husband Chuck Smith to attend our services that is in Arabic language because Khelyou does not speak English but speaks Assyrian and Arabic. Hanna and Chuck do not speak Arabic but they brought Khelyou to join our church and worship with us. I found then that Chuck is the son of my teacher in residency program Dr. A; Smith.
Khelyou continued to attend our church and worship with us almost on a regular bases till that time in 2010 she informed me that she accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior and asked to be baptized.It was a great joy for her and her family as well as our church members. this was in 2010 and she was 79 years old at that time.
The baptismal was done in the swimming pool of her daughters house in Palm Coat. It was a great celebration, her family and friends as well as few of our church members attended the service.
Shortly after that she moved to Chicago to live with her daughter there as she got older and needed a lot of care but during that time till her death she was always praying, listening to sermons every night in Assyrian language. Her preferred verse from the bible was from the Gospel of Mathew 5: 9 ” Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God”.
When she left to be with the Lord she was 92 years old. Her family asked me to do the service, which I did, it was great to celebrate her life and being with the lord. He family, children and grandchildren all attended the service and the burial.
They were all thankful that she arrived to her eternal home but of course there was the sorrow of her not being here on earth with the family.
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