Who Am I to Share?

It’s month nine, and we’ve found ourselves in another country in the 10/40 window, this time deeper in the heart of the ME. Our teams have split into three different locations. During this time, I get to live and serve alongside team Goodwill. Our team has been placed in a town that has significantly doubled, even tripled, in population in the last 10 years because of the increase in Iraqi refugees moving here. The church that we get to partner with is well-established in the community and functions at a high level as it offers many different programs, resources, jobs, etc. to the people in the area, who are primarily Iraqi refugees. Our team has split up in pairs of two to serve the church according to the gifts and talents that God has given us.

Almost every day, we join the church for a devotion in the morning. We read the Word and intercede as the pastors, elders, teachers rotate in sharing a word from the scriptures to the congregation in Arabic. I’ve been so encouraged by this church’s heart for discipleship. Afterward, Banks and I go to the wood shop where we glue wood and slate together to create beautiful pieces of art that will be sold in the store to contribute financially to the Iraqi refugee families here. The programs that the church has created (wood shop, mosaics, sewing, school, dental clinics, doctors’ office, etc.) have inspired our team to dream big about what the Lord could do through our talents and gifts for the building of the Kingdom and the care of God’s people.

Around 10:30, Banks and I head back to the church where we meet up with a team of believers and go out into the town to make house visits to Iraqi believers who have found refuge here. At each visit, we are greeted with friendly handshakes and are ushered into their quaint living rooms for coffee and a piece of chocolate or nuts. Iraqi hospitality here is warm, generous, and motherly. Through our translator, we ask questions and hear their stories. We listen to understand, and we seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we think about how to respond with encouragement from God’s Word before we pray and say goodbye. Each house visit is special because the Iraqi refugees we sit with are people made in God’s very image. They matter to God, so they matter to me. I’d like to tell you about one of the first house visits we were honored to make…

Banks and I followed our friends from church into this particular home. We sat down on their couch as the wife disappeared to prepare our coffee. The husband began to tell us their story. They’ve been in this place for 2 years now as they await progress for a visa to a different country. We ask about his family, and he proceeds to share about their experience in Mosul. A couple of their close relatives had been killed by ISIS, and the homes of Christians in their village had been marked for ISIS to see. A group of radicals entered his home, knowing his proclamation of faith in Jesus Christ, and kidnapped him in front of his wife and children. He was tortured and held hostage for 10 days. He was repeatedly commanded to convert to Islam and refused to do so. He stood strong in faith and pleaded to God to save him. By God’s grace and divine intervention, he was set free. He now tells his story with tears in his eyes as he reflects on the faithfulness of God to him. He had seen many other believers pay the ultimate cost of following Jesus, and he was ready and willing to do the same. Banks and I were blown away as he recalled the story and showed us the scars on his body. He was willing to give it all for the Message.

As I sat there, I was so humbled to be hearing his story and so grateful for the Lord’s hand of protection on him. The men looked to Banks and me to share a word of encouragement with him, and I thought to myself, “who am I to share verses from Scripture about the faithfulness of God, the cost of following Jesus, his protection, his presence, his worthiness of the price we pay, etc. when this man has experienced horrors that I can’t begin to imagine?” I felt silly, ignorant, and unqualified…for a moment. But then the Lord reminded me that it’s not about me at all. It’s about HIM! It does not matter what I have (or have not) been through or experienced, because I am here to share the Living Word of God. His Word stands forever. His Word doesn’t return void. His Word is like honey on our lips, like the wisdom of a perfect Father, like the comfort of a faithful friend. God’s Word is just that…God’s Word, not mine. So, I can confidently share the Scripture that the Lord brings to my mind and trust that the Holy Spirit will use it to encourage, build up, comfort, edify, and affirm my brothers and sisters in Christ.

These are scriptures I’ve been meditating on as I remember the steadiness, trustworthiness, and timelessness of the Word.

1 Thessalonians 2:13, “And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.”

2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness”.

 

Please join me in prayer as we finish our time here in the next 10 days.

• Pray for opportunities to encourage local believers with the Word of God
• Pray for the revival that our church is hosting over the next 3 days
• Pray for our squad as we prepare to make our way to Thailand for PVT soon!

Thanks for reading my blog. I’m always so encouraged by how you are bought into what the Lord is doing through P Squad out here! You matter to God, so you matter to me!

With love! Kara Grace