Suffering and anonymous heroes

Photo by Akshar Dave on Unsplash

**This is a personal website and reflects my thoughts and convictions. It does not represent any official position held by Youth With A Mission.**

We don’t hear much about Syria, Norther Iraq and the consequences of ISIS these days.  The media have grown tired of the subject, but the suffering continues.

A few years ago Marti and I met a wonderful couple. They had been imprisoned in Libya when one of the Islamist factions vying for control of Libya discovered that they had Bibles in their house.  They were arrested, imprisoned and had an indescribably awful experience for over two months.  As he tried to explain some of  what he went through, it was more than we could absorb, and yet he finished by saying;

“I would not exchange a minute of my imprisonment and torture because the presence of Jesus was so intense and wonderful”. 

She also lived through imprisonment and abuse, all the while not sure her husband was alive.  Neighbours cared for the children.  After more than 65 days, they were released and deported.

We met them when they were in a period of recovery in their home country.  Then they moved to Northern Syria, from where they have sent the following story and request for prayer.

Let’s not forget…..

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Five years ago, in the city of Kobane in northern Syria lived a Kurdish woman named Hilwa. One day, her parents’ house was shelled by ISIS and only her two brothers survived from her parents’ house, but her brothers were captured later by ISIS and slaughtered in front of her eyes.

Hilwa managed to escape to Turkey with her husband and children, and during the few months she lived there, she learned about Jesus Christ and became a believer, and after Kobane was liberated from ISIS, Hilwa returned there with her family, and her husband joined the Kurdish armed forces in the area. Later Hilwa had to escape from Kobane with her children to a different city, and then she escaped to another city, then she kept escaping from one city to another, escaping about 5 times in total because of war and living difficulties, which was the reason that she was never discipled, and the reason that made her develop a hatred toward Islam, war, and all people who carry weapons.

Hilwa’s youngest daughter is suffering from febrile seizures and paralysis, and at the moment Hilwa is living in the area we live in, and we are doing our best at helping her, and even planning to disciple her.

Prayer points:

– Ask the lord of harvest to send more workers.

– Ask God to send money for our project to feed the poor people.

– Pray for the DTC.

– Our children are teenager now, pray for their relationship with God, relationship with their friends & the society around them.

– Pray for us & our relationship with our children.

– Pray for the displaced and hurt