“I am a refugee and I received help, now I want to help the children that had to flee”. Malik talks with great enthusiastic gestures. He opens his arms wide to show how many children he would like to help. He was a student at the Technical University in Qaraqosh, a city in Iraq with a big Christian population, before he became a refugee. “God changed my life and gave it a new direction. My dream is now to start a school, here in the camp, where the truth of God can flow as a river, saving and healing…”
Internally displaced
Malik was one of the students in the seminar we gave last month. It was our third trip to Iraq this year. Just like all our other 24 students, Malik was an IDP (Internally Displaced Person)—someone who had to flee from his home, but stayed within the borders of his own country.
200,000 Christians had to flee
In Iraq there are now about 3 million internally displaced people, who had to escape from the shocking brutality of the Islamic State (ISIS), including more than 200,000 Christians. Most of these Christians lived in the province of Nineveh and escaped to the province of Kurdistan, the most northern part of Iraq, when Mosul, the capital of Nineveh and its surrounding towns and villages, were captured by ISIS. This is the same Nineveh where Jonah was sent in Biblical times to announce the word of the Lord.
Teaching about child development and trauma counseling
Our students were all currently living in Erbil, the capital of the province of Kurdistan, in four different camps. All of them had already started childcare and informal education programs for the kids in those camps. Most of them didn´t have a background in education, but had to interrupt their schooling in other areas like medicine, law, architecture or engineering. They were so happy and thankful for the lectures we gave them on child development, as well as how to help children deal with the trauma they had suffered. They participated with great dedication.
Inside a camp (adapted empty building) for Christians
Our lecture hall was on the fifth floor of a big unfinished apartment building. The local church had transformed the raw concrete structure, with financial help from abroad, into a space where 150 displaced Christian families could live. On the first to fourth floors, they had used plastic panels to create one living room / bedroom for each family. At the end of each hallway were sets of showers and toilets and a shared kitchen facility. They have already been living there for a year. Everything was kept spotless clean by the families themselves. And on the fifth floor was a big hall for all kinds of meetings, like church services, weddings, funerals, and now for our seminar. It was an ideal place, because after the week of lectures, the students were able to put what they had learned into practice by inviting all the kids between 6 and 12 years old living in the building (or camp as they call it). It was a fantastic morning as we divided over 80 kids into small groups for each student to lead.
“Jesus came!”
Hani, one of our students, told us with tears in his eyes how his small group had gone. The students were taking the children through a little booklet designed to help kids with their traumas. It was translated into Arabic. Hani had a group of four boys between the ages of 10-13 at his table. He saw that the boy next to him had written a name on the page where children are asked who they lost during the conflict. And then the boy started to cry quietly.
“Do you want to talk about it?” asked Hani, as he leaned over to the boy.
The boy nodded, “Yes… it was my father who was beheaded…” he whispered with a broken voice.
Hani felt shocked. His own brother also had been killed by ISIS when he had to flee from Mosul, and Hani still thought about it every day. He still had great difficulty dealing with that loss. How would he be able to help this young teenager deal with the loss of his father? But suddenly he remembered the lecture from class the week before. He didn´t have to be strong for the boy. Even when he was still in pain himself, the Lord Jesus could comfort both him and the boy in their weakness and pain!
“Shall we pray together?” asked Hani, grabbing the boy’s hand. He felt a bit insecure, as he had never done anything like that before. “Yes”, the boy nodded, he would really like that.
“And Jesus came!” Hani told us with shining eyes. “We felt very sad and surrounded by darkness, but suddenly the light broke through and it felt as if Jesus took our burdens literally on himself, and we experienced a very deep peace!”
Goose bumps
Wonderful! I felt goose bumps all over when I heard Hani tell this story. This is exactly the reason why we have made these dangerous trips. Seeing all the needs around me, I had felt so small. Lord what can I do to help these people? We are only here for such a short time.
But this was the answer! Yes, it was true—we could only stay for 2 short weeks. But God used the lectures to give the refugees hope. And hope was in short supply there.
Hopeless
Most Christians had to flee their homes over a year ago. For many it wasn´t even the first time they had to leave everything behind and start anew. But this time they felt so hopeless. They felt betrayed by the army that hadn´t protected them against ISIS, but had quietly withdrawn during the night, leaving them to cope for themselves. They would like to make a fresh start, but who can guarantee them protection here? No one! They don´t believe the promises of the government anymore and feel very vulnerable.
They all want to go to Europe
According to the leaders of the local Christian churches, all of the more than 200,000 internally displaced Christians would prefer to flee to Europe (these are only the Christians--there are also 2.5 million Muslim refugees in other camps). But they have not gone yet because they still have family members in areas occupied by ISIS, or they simply don´t have money to pay those who smuggle people. If they had any money or valuables when they fled from Nineveh, most was taken from them at ISIS checkpoints on the way out. Most who have made it to Europe were the richer refugees who had some sort of luck. Those remaining are still waiting for their chance.
Refugees in the West
Of course we follow the news about the refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan who arrive in western countries. We think it is wonderful to hear about Christians in Holland and other countries who volunteer to help or even open their own homes. Isn´t that what Jesus meant in Matthew 25 when he said: “I was a stranger and you took me in… I assure you, if you did this for one of the least of my brothers, you did it unto me.”
Workbook for children
We have some great, practical materials available in English and Arabic for all who want to help children overcome their traumas. It is a workbook for children and a facilitator’s guide, written by some very experienced specialists in relief work. It is very easy to use and apply. Maybe you would like to use these at a centre for refugees or even in your church. You can send us a request by email: jlukasse@gmail.com, and we´ll be happy to send it to you in PDF, so you can print them up yourselves.
Building faith
We are so thankful we could make these trips to help build the faith of the Christian refugees, who now in turn can start helping traumatized children. Thank you for your prayers and support during these trips.
Children in need in Rio de Janeiro, a whole different world
During the coming months we´ll be busy with preparations for the big training program focusing on Children at Risk in Rio de Janeiro. It is a whole different world, but when we see how 10-11 year-old children walk around armed, “employed” by the big drug gangs, or notice the young girls who sell their bodies on the beautiful beaches, we are so aware of the great need. Jesus wants to provide an answer for these children through his church. We are looking forward to training a big group of young people during the first 8 months of 2016. But that will be the subject of our next newsletter!
We wish you all many blessings in the coming holiday season, where God’s love will be central. And, of course, many blessings for the New Year too!
Prayer points
200,000 Christians had to flee
In Iraq there are now about 3 million internally displaced people, who had to escape from the shocking brutality of the Islamic State (ISIS), including more than 200,000 Christians. Most of these Christians lived in the province of Nineveh and escaped to the province of Kurdistan, the most northern part of Iraq, when Mosul, the capital of Nineveh and its surrounding towns and villages, were captured by ISIS. This is the same Nineveh where Jonah was sent in Biblical times to announce the word of the Lord.
Teaching about child development and trauma counseling
Our students were all currently living in Erbil, the capital of the province of Kurdistan, in four different camps. All of them had already started childcare and informal education programs for the kids in those camps. Most of them didn´t have a background in education, but had to interrupt their schooling in other areas like medicine, law, architecture or engineering. They were so happy and thankful for the lectures we gave them on child development, as well as how to help children deal with the trauma they had suffered. They participated with great dedication.
Inside a camp (adapted empty building) for Christians
Our lecture hall was on the fifth floor of a big unfinished apartment building. The local church had transformed the raw concrete structure, with financial help from abroad, into a space where 150 displaced Christian families could live. On the first to fourth floors, they had used plastic panels to create one living room / bedroom for each family. At the end of each hallway were sets of showers and toilets and a shared kitchen facility. They have already been living there for a year. Everything was kept spotless clean by the families themselves. And on the fifth floor was a big hall for all kinds of meetings, like church services, weddings, funerals, and now for our seminar. It was an ideal place, because after the week of lectures, the students were able to put what they had learned into practice by inviting all the kids between 6 and 12 years old living in the building (or camp as they call it). It was a fantastic morning as we divided over 80 kids into small groups for each student to lead.
 |
| We are all unique, and God loves us all! |
 |
| "But for you, sunrise! The sun of righteousness will dawn on those who honor my name, healing radiating from its wings." wrote one of our students the promise from Malachi 4 in his book |
“Jesus came!”
Hani, one of our students, told us with tears in his eyes how his small group had gone. The students were taking the children through a little booklet designed to help kids with their traumas. It was translated into Arabic. Hani had a group of four boys between the ages of 10-13 at his table. He saw that the boy next to him had written a name on the page where children are asked who they lost during the conflict. And then the boy started to cry quietly.
“Do you want to talk about it?” asked Hani, as he leaned over to the boy.
The boy nodded, “Yes… it was my father who was beheaded…” he whispered with a broken voice.
Hani felt shocked. His own brother also had been killed by ISIS when he had to flee from Mosul, and Hani still thought about it every day. He still had great difficulty dealing with that loss. How would he be able to help this young teenager deal with the loss of his father? But suddenly he remembered the lecture from class the week before. He didn´t have to be strong for the boy. Even when he was still in pain himself, the Lord Jesus could comfort both him and the boy in their weakness and pain!
“Shall we pray together?” asked Hani, grabbing the boy’s hand. He felt a bit insecure, as he had never done anything like that before. “Yes”, the boy nodded, he would really like that.
“And Jesus came!” Hani told us with shining eyes. “We felt very sad and surrounded by darkness, but suddenly the light broke through and it felt as if Jesus took our burdens literally on himself, and we experienced a very deep peace!”
Goose bumps
Wonderful! I felt goose bumps all over when I heard Hani tell this story. This is exactly the reason why we have made these dangerous trips. Seeing all the needs around me, I had felt so small. Lord what can I do to help these people? We are only here for such a short time.
But this was the answer! Yes, it was true—we could only stay for 2 short weeks. But God used the lectures to give the refugees hope. And hope was in short supply there.
Hopeless
Most Christians had to flee their homes over a year ago. For many it wasn´t even the first time they had to leave everything behind and start anew. But this time they felt so hopeless. They felt betrayed by the army that hadn´t protected them against ISIS, but had quietly withdrawn during the night, leaving them to cope for themselves. They would like to make a fresh start, but who can guarantee them protection here? No one! They don´t believe the promises of the government anymore and feel very vulnerable.
They all want to go to Europe
According to the leaders of the local Christian churches, all of the more than 200,000 internally displaced Christians would prefer to flee to Europe (these are only the Christians--there are also 2.5 million Muslim refugees in other camps). But they have not gone yet because they still have family members in areas occupied by ISIS, or they simply don´t have money to pay those who smuggle people. If they had any money or valuables when they fled from Nineveh, most was taken from them at ISIS checkpoints on the way out. Most who have made it to Europe were the richer refugees who had some sort of luck. Those remaining are still waiting for their chance.
Refugees in the West
Of course we follow the news about the refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan who arrive in western countries. We think it is wonderful to hear about Christians in Holland and other countries who volunteer to help or even open their own homes. Isn´t that what Jesus meant in Matthew 25 when he said: “I was a stranger and you took me in… I assure you, if you did this for one of the least of my brothers, you did it unto me.”
Workbook for children
We have some great, practical materials available in English and Arabic for all who want to help children overcome their traumas. It is a workbook for children and a facilitator’s guide, written by some very experienced specialists in relief work. It is very easy to use and apply. Maybe you would like to use these at a centre for refugees or even in your church. You can send us a request by email: jlukasse@gmail.com, and we´ll be happy to send it to you in PDF, so you can print them up yourselves.
Building faith
We are so thankful we could make these trips to help build the faith of the Christian refugees, who now in turn can start helping traumatized children. Thank you for your prayers and support during these trips.
 |
| At the end of the program, all the children received a beautiful Bible |
Children in need in Rio de Janeiro, a whole different world
During the coming months we´ll be busy with preparations for the big training program focusing on Children at Risk in Rio de Janeiro. It is a whole different world, but when we see how 10-11 year-old children walk around armed, “employed” by the big drug gangs, or notice the young girls who sell their bodies on the beautiful beaches, we are so aware of the great need. Jesus wants to provide an answer for these children through his church. We are looking forward to training a big group of young people during the first 8 months of 2016. But that will be the subject of our next newsletter!
We wish you all many blessings in the coming holiday season, where God’s love will be central. And, of course, many blessings for the New Year too!
Prayer points
- More than 50% of all the refugees are children. Pray that someone will listen to them and pray with them. Give thanks with us for the students we were able to train in the camps.
- Pray for our brothers and sisters who, during their escape, often lost most of their possessions or worse—one or more of their family members. Thank God for the small local churches in Kurdistan that make such a big effort to house the 200,000 internally displaced Christians.
- Pray for the refugees who decide to make the dangerous trip to Europe. Pray for the Christians in Europe and other rich countries—that they will not fear the refugees from whatever background, but will listen to and obey what God wants them to do for all these people in need.
- We are hearing more and more stories about people who search for the truth and find Jesus. The numbers are running into the millions. Pray that churches will be open to these new believers and Christians will be ready to embrace and disciple them.
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