SOURCE: KBC
Kentucky Baptist Convention Disaster Relief Director Coy Webb just returned from Iraq where he got a close-up look at the human toll Islamic State terrorists have inflicted. What follows is his account of the hardships that people there continue to face.
By Coy Webb
In the spring of 2014, an organized militia set out to create a form of Islamic government known as a caliphate in the Middle East. As spring turned to summer, this Islamic State (ISIS) destroyed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Syrian Christians, Iraqi believers, Yazidis and various sects of Shia Muslims. Over 1 million were driven from their homes, and thousands of others were slaughtered or enslaved as this ruthless caliphate swept across Syria and Iraq.
Thousands upon thousands fled into the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq to places called Erbil and Dohuk. They took refuge in parks, stadiums, abandoned buildings, parking garages, shelters and tents. Months later, many of them continue to live in camps and refugee centers with little hope of ever returning home.
I have just returned from northern Iraq where I served with a Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief medical and children’s trauma team. The team was comprised of Dr. Tom Ashburn of Barbourville, Glenn Hickey of Monticello, Stacy Nall of Shelbyville, Pat Callan of Sparta, Debra Kramer of Henderson, Karen Smith of Shepherdsville, and myself, Coy Webb, Kentucky Baptist DR director. We spent nine days in northern Iraq seeking to bring help, healing and hope to those displaced by war and violence. As we ministered among the refugees, they only asked one thing of us, “Will you please tell our story to the world?”
Life as a refugee is difficult. In the winter, they endured snowstorms and cold temperatures. Now, in the summer, the heat can soar above 130 degrees Fahrenheit and the sun is scorching. Multiple families are forced to share very limited water sources, bathrooms and kitchen areas. Every day is a battle to feed your family and survive.
The people we met were normal businessmen, professionals and middle-class folks in villages and towns. But when ISIS came, they literally had to run for their lives. The choice was convert to Islam, run or die. Most had to flee in the middle of the night, many with only an hour or so notice. They had to grab what they could and flee, only to be stopped at ISIS checkpoints where they were forced to abandon their cars and personal belongings. Many were betrayed by Muslim neighbors, whom they had lived beside all their lives. Others watched as young daughters were taken from them to be sold as brides or slaves to ISIS fighters. The lives they knew were jerked from them in a moment. Most families arrived in places like Erbil or Dohuk with nothing but their lives.
One woman with two very small children shared this with me as we sat in her refugee tent: “What did we do that we were driven from our homes? Our only offense is that we would not denounce Christ. How could we deny the One who is Lord? We now know that the plan of ISIS is to wipe the earth clean of Christians. Their goal is genocide, … to eradicate every follower of Christ. We have lost everything: our homes, our land, our possessions and our trust of our neighbor. They have stolen our dignity. When you lose your home, …your land, you have no identity. All that we have left is our faith. Do churches in America know what is being done to us? Do they care?”
The Scripture on the wall, where our team set up to provide medical care, perhaps best shared their plight, “Yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father or Me” (John 16:2-3).
This is the reality of our brothers and sisters scattered across northern Iraq by persecution.
Our Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief team served among these refugees for almost two weeks providing medical care and compassionate ministry. We were able to assist 944 patients in multiple clinics and provide the love of Christ to 1,055 hurting children. We were able to pray and share the love of Christ with them. We were often humbled by the hospitality, grace and faith of these left with so little. We promised that we would not forget them, and that we would seek to give a voice to their plight.
Our persecuted brothers and sisters are crying out to God and to the church. How can we remain silent? Dietrich Bonhoeffer was right, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
What can Kentucky Baptists [WE ALL] do in such a time as this? Let me offer five practical ways that we can help our Brothers and Sisters in Christ. … CONTINUE READING FULL ARTICLE
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