Holy Spirit on the Move

As some of you know, I returned to the Middle East for 11 days this past March. The Outreach Foundation, an organization I have known for many years which supports the Presbyterian Church around the world, invited me to join them on a trip of solidarity to visit Christians in Lebanon and Iraq. 

Map of Northern Iraq before ISIS

Needless to say, the idea of me traveling to a region that is rife with conflict gave my friends and loved ones considerable pause, to put it mildly. But I felt I could not pass up the opportunity to return to Lebanon after an absence of 11 years as well as visit the Presbyterian community in Iraq about whom I’ve heard so much.  God has given me a love for this place, these people and, particular, his church in the Middle East. As Pentecost has just passed and I’ve been reflecting upon this trip, I want to share some of my experiences with you. I can’t share it all in one post but here’s a start.

The vision for this trip was two-fold; to visit the Outreach Foundation’s church partners who are ministering to Iraqi refugees in their midst, both in Lebanon and in northern Iraq and to, hopefully, bring a sense of encouragement and solidarity to both the partners and those who’ve been displaced.

Our team - Mark Mueller from Huntsville, AL,
Marilyn Borst from the Outreach Foundation
and Ben McCaleb from San Antonio, TX. 

We spent three days in Lebanon (which is stable and not experiencing the unrest and violence afflicting their neighbors) and a week in Erbil, capital of the Kurdish region in northern Iraq. Unlike the areas in northern and western Iraq that ISIS controls, the Kurdish region has been under Kurdish control since before the Iraq War and, therefore, is relatively stable, safe and even somewhat prosperous, from what I could tell. As to our safety, our partners in Iraq know their situation intimately and took extreme caution with our safety. In all this, we trusted God to both guide us and protect us.

A little bit of history before I continue. The Presbyterian Church in the Middle East is the product of American and British missionary efforts in the 19^th century. Historic Presbyterian communities exist in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Egypt. The Presbyterian Church in Lebanon and Syria is part of one body (the Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon), that predates the creation of these two countries and has approximately 40 churches, the largest of which are primarily in Syria. 

Many of the Syrian churches have suffered greatly since the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, occasionally getting caught in the crossfire (two churches have been destroyed). 

Evangelical Church of Aleppo, Syria

Presbyterians in several cities are among the millions of Syrians displaced by the fighting. Ironically, several Presbyterian churches welcomed Iraqi refugees during the years of the Iraq War only to see their own members become refugees within their own country a few years later. In addition, refugees from Syria have streamed into Lebanon, swelling that population by 50%. The Synod has responded to this crisis by providing housing, food, medicine and other assistance in Lebanon and Syria, with generous support from the Outreach Foundation. 

What was already a terrible, enduring crisis got exponentially worse last spring and summer when ISIS started claiming large swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq. You’ll recall the horrific stories of ISIS taking over Mosul, destroying churches, and forcing Christians to convert, flee with only the clothes on their back, or die.  You’ll recall the stories of ISIS’ attempts to destroy ancient Yazidi communities, forcing tens of thousands of them onto a remote mountain where many died of exposure. You’ll recall ISIS taking girls and young women captive to be used as slaves or sold as wives. In the face of ISIS, Christians who’ve called the Ninevah Plain of northern Iraq home since, literally, the time of Pentecost fled, leaving behind all they owned as well as a way of life that dates back centuries.

 

The Presbyterian Church in Mosul dates back to the early 1800’s. Early in the Iraq War the church was forced to close due to sectarian violence in the area. In recent years, only one faithful Presbyterian family remained, the al-Saka sisters. 

Mary and Hana al-Saka from Mosul

In the early morning hours on June 6, a date that many Iraqi Christians call “our 9/11”, the sisters left Mosul with only their documents, the church’s official papers, and a few blankets. Like many fleeing in front of ISIS, they assumed they’d return once things settled down and ISIS was forced out. Of course, that did not happen. The sisters have since heard their home and their church have been burned.  They’ve settled in Erbil with no plans to ever return to Mosul. Their hearts are broken but their faith in God and his great provision remains intact.

In the midst of this horror, the Presbyterian Church of Iraq and the Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon are providing refuge and aid. Some Iraqis have fled to Beirut and southern Lebanon where the Synod is providing food and other support. The Presbyterian Church of Kirkuk in Iraq has taken in 16 displaced families, actually housing 72 people on their church property since August of 2014. In addition, they are assisting the Syrian Orthodox Church who’ve had whole villages of Christians displaced.

Displaced family of 8 sharing one room
in the Presbyterian Church of Kirkuk

As this past Sunday was Pentecost, I’ve been reflecting upon my time in Lebanon and Iraq. The meaning of Pentecost resonates much more deeply after spending 11 days in the presence of such faithful witnesses.  Pentecost marks when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples and transformed them from frightened and bewildered followers of Jesus into courageous men who would take Christ’s message into the world and eventually face martyrdom.   

Just as the Holy Spirit moved through the early church starting on Pentecost, the Holy Spirit is moving in our world today. Nowhere is that more evident than in the Middle East as his church has endured incredible suffering and persecution, and hundreds have been martyred because they profess faith in Christ.  As a wise pastor and dear friend in Lebanon, Rev. Adeeb Awad, said to me, “God is a God of history. We build on this as we are instruments of God’s will.” No matter what comes next, these faithful Christians are determined to stay, to serve, to be a witness to the Gospel, whatever form that may take.

I have much more to share about my time in Iraq; stories about visiting a camp with 23,000

Children receiving bread rations in
a Yazidi refugee camp

displaced Yazidis, of the courageous work of young Syrian Orthodox priests who shepherded their flocks out of harm’s way in front of ISIS, and of the 16 families living in the Presbyterian Church in Kirkuk. I hope you will come back to read more. 

In the meantime, I invite you to commit to pray for the Christians in the Middle East, particularly those in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq who have stayed and for those who continue to serve the stranger, the refugee, the dispossessed, in Christ’s name. I also invite you to support the Church during these difficult times through a gift to the Outreach Foundation.  As Paul states in his letter to the Romans, “…we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”. (Roman 8:28)  Only God can know what that “good” might be at this point, but I thank him for faithful servants, none the less.  Until later…