Out of the ashes of Isis

I just recently returned from Kurdistan/Iraq with a team of 11 men from our Church,Grace Community. About 18 months ago God laid on our hearts the desire to help the refugees that were fleeing worn-torn cities in Iraq because of ISIS. We linked our arms together and put boots on the ground to help our brothers and sisters. 

We were able to rescue many displaced people and secure housing for them. On my most recent trip we were able to witness first hand many victorious stories. This is just one of many to come..

Waheeda pictured above still lives in the apartment complex with her family. She is married and a mother of 3 children. She fled Bagdad and found herself lost and unprepared for what might be next. By the grace of God she was able to find safety,security and a fresh start in Erbil. 

She was a bank accountant in Baghdad but had a love and desire for crafting... 

In order to make it and help her family make it she is making crafts that have Arabic Bible verses etched into it. Day after day she spends time etching Bible verses on wood, rocks, and vases. 

We were able to stop by and see first hand her makeshift work station in her home. I recognized her from our visit a year ago and her son remembered me from playing soccer with him. As we listened to her tell her story and work her craft my heart was encouraged.

What man intended for evil God is using for good. Waheeda refuses to give up and refuses to deny Jesus. She could have stayed in Baghdad and kept  her home and job when ISIS took over but she refused to deny Jesus and left everything behind. 

What I am learning from these precious refugees is that they are resilient and refuse to let the circumstances of life keep them from pressing on for Jesus.

As I watched her work and drink tea with her family I was deeply moved and grateful to be part of a church that responds to the needs in our world instead of just talking about them.

And by the way we bought everything she made and supported her new business venture. The national news doesn't cover these kind of stories but I do so that we can see that our God is alive and well in Iraq! 

Hope is growing from the ashes! 

Out of the Ashes of Isis

About 5 months ago God spoke clearly to me in my office while I was prepping for my sermon in the Book of 1John. It was as if The Holy Spirit had grabbed my heart and wouldn't let go. Out of that came a vision to reach the precious people in Iraq who were being displaced by the atrocities of Isis. Our church unloaded their support. They immediately prayed, gave, sacrificed and formed a team to go to the war torn country. To be quite honest, we were discouraged by many to not go. Some people thought we were crazy, others were even upset with me because they thought I was leading people to a death march.

But we knew God wanted us to go! Out of that prompting by the Spirit a team of 8  mighty men who decided to go in first, knowing full well the potential cost. Our wives and families stood in support and bravely held down the home front. I will never forget the night we rolled out of Goshen with tears streaming down our faces realizing the risk at hand. 

Fast forward to today...

 We just returned after a second visit with a big vision to rescue hundreds of refugees. We desire to find them housing in apartments for 6 months and a fresh start to their lives. Our prayer is that out of the ashes of Isis comes a strong a mighty church planting movement for Jesus. 

God is alive and well in Kurdistan... on this second trip we were able to go and support, love, care, and pour courage into these precious people. We saw first hand what God is doing with our Grace4Iraq mission. God is giving us a chance to link arms with a man of God, Pastor Malath Baythoon and his church to reach people who once would never  have given us any chance at all. 

In this photo above to my right is Pastor Malath and to my left is a Yazidi man who greeted me with a kiss on both cheeks because he knew that this group of Americans were caring for his people. In fact he showed up to the church service I preached at earlier that week. God is truly at work for that to happen.

Grace4Iraq is rescuing people who were in tents along the side of the road and pulling people in who had no place to call home and restoring dignity, hope. Plus it is  showing them that Jesus loves them. The ladies above represent 3  generations of women, who now have a place to call home. We sat with these precious ladies and heard their horrific stories of Isis pushing them out. We ate a meal with them that they had prepared for us. We saw the smiles on their faces. I wept tears of joy as  I saw first hand what can happen when a church decides to help their brothers and sisters on the other side of the world.

We were able to purchase beds, cabinets, blankets, heaters and mattresses to get a couple of apartments ready for two families being rescued. I will never forget the smiles on their faces, the taps on the hearts by men, and the kisses on our hands from the women to show us how grateful they were. 

As we carried supplies to the new apartments I again wept knowing full well this is what God longs to see his church do for the harassed and helpless.

The apartment complex entrance was a daily reminder to us that this was a war torn country as a guard packing an AK47 stood on his watch. But if God is for us who could ever stand against us. This apartment complex now holds 100's of rescued refugees who are meeting in small groups to study the Bible and learn more about the love of Jesus. Out of the ashes of Isis, Jesus is building a mighty church.

One of the most powerful moments was us being able to hand the keys over to a large family who had been displaced. As we stood in the hallway and looked out the glass window we watched a van roll in packed with a family that would be placed in this apartment. 

As we stood in the hallway and prayed over this family and prayed over many family members I was overcome with emotion knowing full well this is what can happen when God's people link arms together.

I wish you could have been there as we handed over the keys to this new apartment and watched the families enter their new apartment... Simply beautiful...

Apartments like this one are now bustling with kids, adults and families. We ate with them, prayed with them and saw first hand hope emerging in their hearts.

I still can't wrap my mind around the fact that God allowed me to preach in Northern Iraq last Sunday while Isis was a town away. I was able to tell them from Matthew that they do not need to worry because Jesus had their backs and that there was a church in America called Grace Community that had their backs too..

This picture above captures fully the emotions our team felt as we were able to sing happy birthday to every person who had a January birthday. Stop and ponder this reality. We sang happy birthday and cut cake together. In fact, I too have a January birthday and never for the life of me did I ever think I would be celebrating my 53rd birthday with a group of rescued people and an Iraqi Church on Sunday Night in Kurdistan.

Out of the ashes of Isis hope is emerging... this is kind of story the press needs to be reporting!!!