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Andy's Iraq trip

Andy's Iraq trip

Soran, Erbil, Iraq
$3,000
Amount Raised

Hello from Soran! Posted about ago

Hey folks! Hello from Soran, Kurdistan. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us - we made it with smooth travels and are adjusting to the time difference over here. Our hosts (Tim and Sarah, one of the couples working over here with World Orphans) are wonderful and have made our transition into Kurdish culture relatively smooth.

We arrived Sunday evening local time and spent Monday and Tuesday getting an overview of the work going on and meeting many of the families we'll be working with during our time here. Briefly, World Orphans has partnered with the city to establish three refugee camps in the city, and we've visited to of these so far. Each camp has between 10 and 50 families, primarily Yazidi but also some Kurds. They are in the process of moving these families from tents into more long-term concrete block structures, as the tents provided by the UN are wearing out, and a windstorm a few weeks ago didn't help matters. About 70% of families have been moved out of tents, and they hope to have the remainder done by winter, funding permitting. We'll be doing a variety of work around the camps in the next couple of weeks.

World Orphans has also partnered with the city to build a community center, and are currently operating a school for the children in the refugee camps, since these kids generally cannot attend the local public schools. On Tuesday, we got to interact with two of the classes and do a little PE with them, which was both tiring and super fun!  

Wednesday, our group split up. One of the gals on our team is a nurse, so she and a few others, along with a local doctor, went out to one of the camps to offer a health clinic, while the rest of us did some painting at the community center. Several of us men also had a really cool opportunity to have tea with three local men who like to practice their English. We conversed for over an hour and a half about a variety of things ranging from our families and jobs to our faiths. They are very inquisitive and open and asked many questions about our faith. Both another teammate and I got to share our testimonies and just had a lot of very open dialogue about Jesus. I know that Tim also has had gospel conversations with these men before and they have ended the same way, with the men eager to discuss Jesus and assert that their faith includes Jesus too, but stopping short of a full realization of who he is and their need for him. We pray that the seeds that continue to be planted will eventually take root and bear fruit.

Thank you for making it to the end of this long update! And thank you for your prayers for our team so far. I would love if you continued to pray for our team in the following ways:
  • Continued team growth and unity as we work and live together.
  • Profitable ministry through medical clinics and time with the refugees this week.
  • That the Lord would continue to reveal himself to the people of Soran. While most are open to talking about Jesus, I'm realizing how many think they understand who he is without seeing his love or their need for him.

Lastly, I haven't found a way to embed pictures in this update, so I will try to distribute them another way. 
Andy's Iraq trip
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Hear the Cry

  • $3,000 One-time Goal
  • $0 Still Needed
  • 300 Lives Impacted
  • 0 Days To Go

Trip Information

Iraq - November
Trip ID# Iraq-November 2015

Field Partner

Hear the Cry 724
Portland , OR, US
Hear the Cry exists to bring compassion and justice into areas of brokenness around the...
This Fundraiser has ended and is no longer accepting funding.

Fundraiser Organizer

Andy Kost
Newberg, Oregon, United States

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Soran, Erbil, Iraq

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Funded - October 28, 2015
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Andy's Iraq trip

by Andy Kost 300 Lives Impacted Soran, Erbil, Iraq

Hear The Cry has felt called into Iraq due to the turmoil and refugee situations. To a country that for the most part, nobody is going into.  Jesus...

$3,000 One-time Donations
  • $3,000 One-time Goal
  • $0 Still Needed
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