A Perfect Hero: Hamza Odeh’s Story

By John Gohlke

Spiderman 

Looking back, we all have our heroes, and Spiderman was a hero of millions. The guy could do superhuman feats, but always did them with that basic moral “good” that would make the world a perfect place. 

When we are young, we all dream of that day when it will be OUR turn to be the next Spiderman. For young Hamza, Spiderman was the guy that could lead the way to that lofty goal. 

 Beginnings 

September 30th, 2004, the world met Hamza Odeh right in Xenia, but Hamza’s story really began in the village of Lifta that is now part of Israel. In 1948, because of the Arab and Israeli war, the family fled to Ramallah, where Hamza’s father, Omar was born. 

In 1965, the family took five-year-old Omar to Kuwait, and eventually to Jordan, where they remain to this day. 

So, we ask “What Perfect Hero can rescue our man from a mosque in Jordan, or even a mosque in Dayton, Ohio, to be safely delivered into a pew in New Community Church, Xenia, Ohio?” 

In 1994, Omar found work in Dubai, and married Hamza’s stepmother in 1996, with twin siblings arriving in 2000. 

Omar moved into the U.S. in 2001, while his wife and sons remained in Dubai. Eventually, they relocated to Windsor, Ontario to be nearer to Omar. 

Omar’s new life in Dayton, Ohio, and the Land of Spiderman, would include divorce, and marriage to Hamza’s mother. 

Hamza was born in 2004, but Omar was gone for work a lot, and visits to Windsor to visit the twins and their mother.  Hamza would go with Omar every few months, and eventually Omar would divorce Hamza’s mother to remarry his first wife. Hamza would eventually be reared as a child of three marriages. Hamza’s older siblings remain in Michigan. That would leave Hamza with a Muslim religion that continued in his Ohio home. 

Hamza was now a younger weekend sibling because of Omar’s first and remarriage in Michigan, as well as having an older stepbrother Mitchel, from his mother’s previous marriage.  

Hamza now found himself as an only child living in Kettering with his mother. 

Spiderman 

We all need our role models, and Hamza, and his best friends (that included Liam from Kindergarten days), were no exceptions. 

Growing up, Hamza was more fascinated with the stories told through the medium of video games than the entertainment itself. With Spiderman as his hero role model, young Hamza was determined to lead the world to perfection. 

Video games became a primary staple of Hamza and his friends. Recently, Hamza has been working to program a game of his own creation. 

For Hamza, in his younger years, until his second year of Middle School, his school did not matter. 

New Heroes 

 That altruistic role model of the fictional Spiderman would gradually be replaced by Hamza’s disciplined faith and perceptions of Muhammad, who now became his real-life hero, after turning his academic and physical life around. 

Mom’s parents, Hamza’s Grandpa and Grandma, became the coolest people in his life, and now included his aunt, and Uncle Randy. 

By his sophomore year, Uncle Randy had invited Hamza to a workout routine at the gym, and Hamza learned discipline in his life. Hamza, upon becoming introspective, realized that he was just coasting through life, and at that moment, he underwent an instantaneous change. Uncle Randy was now also a real hero. Hamza’s life went from coasting, to a life of straight A’s and never missing a day. 

Hamza’s Junior year arrived, but something was missing. Hamza became more devout in his Muslim faith as he studied Islamic teachings at his mosque, but something just did not mesh.  Even with prayers five times a day and disciplined adherence to his Muslim traditions, Hamza now had some questions of meaning attached.  

Islam was supposed to be better. 

Hamza was thinking “We all need a hero, yet we cannot save ourselves. I cannot be that hero.” 

Come and See 

Liam and Hamza did all the things that best friends do as kids, and video games were no exception, but now it was 2022, with graduation and parties. 

Among Liam’s guests were Liam’s Great Uncle Clem Boyd and his wife, Julia. Clem had quite a gift in store for the agnostic graduate, and that gift was the Good News of a Savior. 

A month later, the new Liam invited Hamza to come experience the “Springhill House Church”, hosted by Clem and Julia Boyd.  Hamza thought that was an opportunity to evangelize his religion of Islam, and educate these Christians about his hero, Muhammad.  

However, Hamza soon found that he was the one who would have questions. The Muslim Evangelist became evangelized. Hamza’s plan had backfired. 

With the “Springhill House Church” came the Boyds, Noah, and Jake, as well as discipleship.  The Book of John made sense. Jesus made sense. 

Things were happening in Hamza’s personal life, and his old life still haunted his thoughts. What Hamza was reading, Hamza was now seeing at House Church, and it was making sense. 

Hamza realized that he could not save himself, and he could not be his own hero.  

March 5th, Hamza gave his life to Jesus Christ. 

Hamza also listened to another Muslim that became a Christian- the late Nabeel Qureshi, who also made sense, and the walls of his room were soon covered with Christmas cards. 

The perfectionist kid had now found his Perfect Hero. Now Hamza was striving to become the perfect Christian. 

Fortunate Fall  

Ask any Christian if the new Christian life begins a new life of bliss, and the reply is inevitably “NEVER!” Hamza would soon join the chorus. 

Hamza now found himself sinking into a dark place. His old life still haunted his thoughts, and a self-destructive pall began to consume him as his sins broke his perfectionist self-image. Through some unfortunate personal choices, he now learned to trust his Savior, and exactly what it means to be saved.  

That was a difficult experience that we Believers must all experience, and to realize just how much Jesus meant when in scripture it says, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

 
 April 2nd, 2023. Hamza and his friend Noah Ramirez were baptized at New Community Church, Xenia, Ohio. 

Rekindled 

 That Summer found Hamza’s spirit rekindled, after some deep soul searching, fellowship with kindred minds at Xenos Summer Institute, and a return to Sinclair Community College and Wright State University. For the first time, he was now a Christian with a purpose. 

As Hamza now describes it, “Devoted to God... My Lord! I surrender all!”