out of the ashes report #3 Everybody needs a daddy!

I love being a daddy. I love it when my kids send me a text and call me Dad. I love when my kids introduce me to their friends as Dad. I love seeing the name Brown on the back of my kid's sport jerseys. I love providing, caring, praying and pouring life into my kids. I thank God that I get to be daddy!

I know the importance a Dad has in the formation of his children. I work hard at this incredible opportunity I have with my kids. Everybody needs a daddy. All over Iraq are children reeling from the effects of Isis. Children are trying to find some security and new identity in a foreign city; children that have witnessed the horrible tragedies of Isis; children on the run; children sleeping in tents; children with absent daddy's; children trying to cope.

My heart always breaks for the kids. On many occasions I had to gulp the emotion I was feeling as I interacted with them, yet I knew this was a chance to be daddy to these scarred kids. 

The Bible says that Jesus often took time for the children and loved on them. I picture Jesus sitting with them, playing King of Hill and skipping rocks across the Jordan with them. I picture him telling them stories and laughing with them. I picture the kids running to him when he came to town.

Well, we had many opportunities as a team to be daddy to a lot of kids. The picture above is a boy named Frank. He is one the kids we were able to rescue. The first time we met was in his apartment. He sat down beside me on the couch. I wrapped my arm around him and gave him a daddy hug. After that hug it was as if he never left our side. Everywhere we went Frank showed up. Frank loved soccer and told us that his name was Messi the famous soccer player. I told him I was Renaldo. He became our adopted kid for the week..

Whenever we walked outside our doors the kids gathered around us and joined us. It was soon apparent they needed daddy time so our team became 11 dads to these precious kids. George gave them a soccer ball and it was as if he had dropped a million bucks in their hands. They carried that ball everywhere. In the midst of the apartment complex was a private school with tons of kids. This school had two really nice soccer fields for the private school kids. 

These rescued children didn't have access to these fields because they weren't in school. So we did what any daddy would do we walked into the principle's office and asked if we could play soccer with our kids. You should have seen these rescued kids as they walked into the school for the first time with their American daddy's. They held their chins high and smiled like kids do on Christmas morning... 

Well, we explained that we were from the USA and were there to help the refugees and we wanted to play soccer with our kids. God moved in the hearts of the staff there and he let us in. You should have seen Messi, it was as if he was in the World Cup. Kids laughed and ran like deer on this new soccer field while we gasped for air. It was so much fun mixing it up with the kids. In fact at one point the Principle came and joined the rescued kids in his suit.

For a moment it was just a daddy-son moment and it was good, really good...

Every single time we walked outside the kids came out of nowhere to walk with us and asked us if we can play soccer. It was as if they were peering out the window waiting for us...

Each morning we were greeted by boys wanting us to come out and play. Well, we did what any daddy would do. We had pillow fights...

We wrestled with them...

For a few days in the lives of these kids they became superstars and we high-fived them. We told them we were proud of them. We got lost in moment and loved on  our family...

You never know how God will use you in Iraq but what I do know after traveling the world every boy needs a daddy. Every boy wants a daddy to tell them they are proud of them. 

So for a few days we did just that... 

The goodbyes were hard because we really loved our new sons. I got to believe this is what Jesus felt as he traveled from city to city in the Middle East. I got to believe that when he came to town the kids ran to him and asked him if he was Renaldo or Messi...