Howdy y’all! We’ve been here in the M. E. for just about 2 weeks now and it has been an amazing experience. Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of details that I can currently share but I can promise that the work we are doing here and that the workers here have been massive inspirations to our faith! I will say that I have had the privilege of being able to create a magazine about the stories and work here with Trisa Moser that I’ll be excited to share once it reaches completion. With that in mind, I wanted to give y’all a sneak peak into the lives of those we have met and some of what might appear in the magazine!
A few nights ago, I had the pleasure of going out on a house visit to a family that has been here for some time. They were all Iraqi refugees who had come from a rural community. There, the landscape was regularly dotted with churches. Tolerance and community were important values within the community and while they might not have been wealthy by Western standards, they were truly content. Their long-held peace was disrupted and shattered when ISIS – locally known by the Arabic acronym: Da’ish – surged into the area like a wildfire. Immediately, everything that was not Sunni Islam became a stain that needed to be rubbed out. The family was threatened with an ultimatum, convert, pay an extortionate tax, or risk the mercy of torturers as the women would be sold into marriage or sexual abuse. ISIS then branded their home with an Arabic nun letter, declaring them as Nazarenes, after Jesus Christ of Nazareth. They packed up and left for a nearby town that was a safe haven but only found continued per sci-fi on there. Hearing that things had calmed down at home, the father returned to find that most everything had been burned down or bombed into a blackened crater. Everything of what they called their life was now rubble, ash, and soot.
With what they had on them, the family fled to a safer nation but even there, they faced challenges. In this new country, it was illegal for them as Iraqi refugees to hold jobs, driving others to work in the black market in order to support their families. Their children were also limited as public school were barred, limiting them to costly private schooling. They felt that there was no chance of making life here until they found an organization that was tailor made to help families like themselves. They were given work as craftspeople to generate income and their children were given affordable private schooling. They’re currently awaiting to hear back from a visa application to another country where they hope to find a better life, particularly for the younger members of the family. This is their seventh attempt to apply, and in discussing this, the mother broke down. She shared that her biggest struggle was the breaking of her family and the spread of their diaspora. With tears in her eyes, she spoke about how their home culture was that everyone was close and in constant interaction with one another. You just suddenly showed at your sibling or uncle or whoever’s doorstep and were welcomed in. You would have been fed a delicious and non-declinable meal simply for the reason that you were family. Her family now scattered around the globe, all she wants now, more than anything, is for them to be reunited.
In that moment, a shining moment of the Lord’s grace seemed to break through the conversation to remember the new family that had been found in their community. They had found success in their new work and had a host of close friends that understood exactly how they felt because they had gone through the same trauma. It wasn’t a blood family, but it might have been stronger because it was the body of Christ that they now called brother and sister.
Hearing their testimony and seeing them in their now modest living room, I saw something that was of more surpassing worth than what they had left and even the life I left behind. I found a faith that had been tested and out through the furnace, a faith that was purer and rarer than gold. I saw their complete dependence and trust in Christ to deliver them in thick and thin. I saw a steadfast love and lives that could endure Job-like suffering (they already had, just about) and still would hold tight to Christ. I could only look at their zeal and ask the Lord, how do I bring this back to the U.S.? I’m still working on the answer to that question. If y’all have any suggestions I would absolutely love to hear them. As of this moment, all I know to do is simply pray for it, follow the example Christ, and trust Him to fill in the rest.
I hope that this family’s testimony had an impact on y’all and I’d ask that y’all would keep refugees, Iraqi, Syrian, Ukrainian, and otherwise, in y’all’s prayers. I also ask that y’all would keep our efforts here as well as my fundraising efforts in your prayers! We have 2 1/2 months left to go and I only have $1130 left to raise! So thankful for the support y’all have given because I would be here without it! See y’all on the flippity flip!
Jakson!! This is powerful, deeply moving, and so inspiring. These families have a zeal for the Lord that is impacting the way I understand what it means to follow Jesus and fear the Lord. Thanks for sharing and writing such a heartfelt blog. You capture stories so well, its a gift from the Lord! Love you, brother. Glad you’re here.