Remember Ambassadors

We met Brother J in Jordan, a soft-spoken man whose gentle demeanor belied the incredible story that he told us.

His father was kidnapped first, a terrible, but not uncommon, situation for Christians in their home nation of Iraq.  The kidnappers called Brother J, pretending that they wanted him to go pick up his father for rescue from their evil.  When he went, though, they kidnapped him as well - and that was only the beginning.  They subjected him to unbelievable torture.  Masked militants held a knife to his throat and threatened him with death.  They strapped him down, attached wires to his bare flesh, and ran electric shocks through his body.

These kidnappers held him for three weeks, subjecting him to this brutality.  While all human expectation would be for him to give up, or to become bitter and angry, Brother J did none of those.  In fact, as he  showed us pictures taken shortly after the experience - legs covered with massive bruises from the beatings and electricity - and explained that he still could not walk without pain, he constantly referenced his gratefulness for the love and faithfulness of our God.

All of this torture, he told us, actually brought him closer to God, and taught him to truly pray.  Even more than that, he said, he even had a chance to witness to his kidnappers!  Imagine that - being chained to a chair, being brutally tortured, and witnessing to those evildoers of the eternal plan of salvation!

What a testimony.

Lately, persecution news has focused in on Orissa, India, where violence is ongoing and intense.  Let’s not forget to continue to pray for those Christians - but at the same time, let’s not forget that there are so many other places where persecution is brutal reality.

The latest hotspot is the Iraqi city of Mosul (the modern-day location of ancient Ninevah).  If you have followed Remember’s work, you know that persecution in Iraq has been growing since in recent years (Background Briefing).  The toppling of the main dictator, Saddam Hussein, increased the power to local warlord dictators, many of whom hate Christianity.  The persecution is widespread throughout the country, causing the vast majority of Iraq’s Christians to flee the country for their own safety.  These are the Christians that we ministered to on our recent trip to Jordan.

But those Christians that remain are under constant threat of violence.  That violence recently broke out in Mosul in a terrifying way.  ANS is reporting that over 3,000 Christians have been forced to flee their homes in the last week alone.

Armed Islamic terrorists are walking in the streets and asking pedestrians for his or her identification card. The religion of the owner is written on every ID card, either Muslim or Christian. When “Christian” is read by the terrorists, the owner of the card is sometimes murdered on the spot with a bullet through the head.

These Christians need our prayers.

For More Information–

Islamic Fundamentalists: “Expel the Christians from Mosul”

Christians Targets in Iraq

Over the past couple weeks, the Weekly Reminder has run stories of our Jordan trip. Check ‘em out!

July 16 - The moments that make it all worth it.

July 9 - Testimony of a persecuted Iraqi Christian.

(And remember, you can always read past issues of the Weekly Reminder in the archives!)

The refugee crisis in Iraq has gotten a lot of news attention, but the problem is, the crisis is not getting better.  Violence in Iraq continues to target Christians with oppression, forcing many to flee.  USAToday ran a June 30 story detailing the ongoing problem.

These are the folks that we want to focus on as we head to Jordan just days from now.

Read the full story here.

In less than three weeks, we will have a medical team on the ground in Jordan, establishing medical clinics aimed to bless Iraqi Christian refugees. Many of these refugees have been forced to flee their homes because of the violence against Christians in their home country, and are struggling to make ends meet in a new country.

I am very excited about the possibilities that this trip will open up for us. It is a follow-up trip to our Middle East survey trip last year, in which we were able to make contacts and meet some of the community that we are aiming to serve. This time, we have the chance to expand our ministry exponentially through the work of our doctors.

Nathan Glupker, Remember’s summer intern, has put together a very informative summary on the need in Jordan, and how Remember will be seeking to meet that need in early July. Read the Jordan Background Briefing here. (PDF)

Will you pray for us? We are in the midst of intensive preparation right now. Pray specifically for our medical personnel. Already they are working hard to make sure we have all of the supplies that we need, and they will bear the brunt of our work on the ground. Pray for them, and for all of us, as we prepare physically, mentally, and spiritually for this trip.

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From The Weekly Reminder:

Jordan is a country in the heart of the Middle East, surrounded by countries that seem to be either in constant war with each other, or fighting civil wars. Because Jordan maintains neutrality in these struggles, it has by default become a safe haven for refugees fleeing their own countries.

Many of those refugees come from Iraq. Since the Iraq war in February, 2003, several million Iraqis have been displaced from their homes—chased out, in part, by the war, but in large part because of the continued sectional violence, which often targets the Christian religious minority in particular.

In theory, there are three options for those fleeing Iraq: repatriation, local integration in the region, and resettlement to third countries. Most choose to resettle in other countries. Today, Jordan recognizes few Iraqi refugees as actual refugees; rather, they are considered “guests.” This new term results in their stay being less permanent, as well as the government’s ability to deny the rights usually given to refugees. The need among these “guests” is often intense, because they are denied the ability to obtain work permits or any public aid.

Remember had the chance to meet Christian refugees in exactly this circumstance last year, as a part of our Middle East survey trip. While on that trip, we were able to provide some blessing to these believers, purchasing blankets and propane heaters for distribution to the neediest among them. But our dream for ministry to these Christian Iraqi refugees was much bigger.

Because of that dream, we are taking a medical team to directly touch the lives of these brothers and sisters in Christ. Working through the local churches, we will be providing five days of mobile clinics, providing medications and diagnosis for acute medical needs.

And we’re leaving soon! Our five-member team will be departing the afternoon of July 4. We’re blessed to be taking two doctors, focusing on the needs of both children and adults. But not only is this trip designed to provide acute medical attention; we are also seeking to make a long-term impact as we interact with local doctors and health officials to create a foundation for even bigger work later on.

Will you pray for us? These brothers and sisters have lost their homes and their possessions, many having nowhere to turn but the love and compassion of their fellow believers. They have been targeted for their faith, and we want to provide the biggest blessing possible. Pray that God would open the doors to us to provide profound service to these needy believers.

Last week, the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) released its report on displaced persons in Iraq.  Millions of Iraqis have lost their homes in the past couple of years, but perhaps the most striking aspect has been the displacement of Christians.  An astronomical percentage of Iraqi Christians have been forced to flee their homes, many being forced to seek refuge in foreign nations.

And aside from being the hardest hit, these Christians are not able to go home.

Returnees mostly go to neighbourhoods/districts/ governorates where their communities represent the majority and which often are not their original homes. To date, only a few families returned to areas under control of other communities. No members of minority groups (e.g., Christians, Sabaean-Mandaeans and Yazidis) have been reported to be among the returnees.

Read the full story from UNHCR.

Remember ministered to a number of these refugees last year in our Middle East Survey Trip.  From their stories, it is obvious why the Christians are not returning to their homes–they can't.  They cannot return without risking their lives.

This woman, for instance, is a widow that we met in Amman, Jordan.  She and her four children came to know Jesus Christ, and were forced to leave their homes to avoid persecution.  When living in Amman, however, the learned that three times the Jordanian authorities had refused entry to a man who was coming to the country with the intention of killing all of them for their faith.  This wasn't just any man, though, not just some Islamic radical bent on violence…

It was her brother. 

That is the kind of persecution faced by our brothers and sisters in Iraq.  They have lost their homes, been abandoned by their families, and they often have nowhere to turn.  Will you lift them up in your prayers?