Family and friends, 

For a couple years now, I’ve wanted to visit the northern Kurdish region of Iraq with Hear The Cry, and a month ago realized now was the time, so decided to move forward with it. As we are all very aware, there has been a lot going on in regards to the refugee situation in the last several years (and even longer than that), and the current situation has become even more inflamed. We are living in a critical moment where love, not fear, must be communicated.

I remember the first time I learned about who a refugee was. I was 15 and was exposed, via films, to the conflict taking place in Uganda and Rwanda. Discovering the tragedies that were taking place in the very world I occupied changed something in my heart. Permanently. This change happened before I started following Jesus, yet when I began to love Jesus and study him, it became clear to me that he, too, has a massive, unrelenting heart for the marginalized, oppressed, and abused. Jesus, I discovered, had (has) a heart that bursts with love and compassion for refugees. 

Over the years, I have come to understand that the good work I've been given to do on earth is to stand in solidarity with those who are beaten down. To be a voice for those who are not heard, or who have had their voice silenced. To work tirelessly on behalf of individuals so that they, too, have the opportunity to pursue and live out their purpose and dreams. To raise awareness on the injustices that disable the flourishing of human beings, and then to invite folks into deeper empathy and compassion. In order to best advocate for refugees, I must know their stories.

I want to grow in my understanding of who refugees, as individuals and as families, are. I want to learn how they do life in a temporary, foreign camp to their home. I want to learn about their resilience, their hopes, their dreams, their loves. I want to learn about their fears and their pains. I want to learn about their hearts, their faces, their names behind the title "refugee" that has been imposed on them.

I want to develop relationships with these beautiful people not for my own pleasure (although I can hardly wait), but because I want to be able to tell stories about real human beings - mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, grandparents, aunts, uncles - who are not so different than us. Identifying the humanness in one another dismantles our walls and opens up our hearts to embrace each other. 

Our world needs this. 

I want to share stories that inspire and softens hearts. I want to be changed myself by the interactions that will take place in the camp. 

I so deeply desire to live a life marked by love, not fear. It is of the utmost importance to me that who I am and what I do constantly communicates the message of love. I have many hopes for this trip. 

I hope to be an encouragement and blessing to the beautiful people living in Soran – giving time in the school with the kids, helping with English and after school programs, and being a refreshing, loving presence to the adults. 

I hope to communicate that they have not been forgotten, and that the truest thing about them is that they are deeply loved and valued. 

I hope to be transformed myself – for my heart to burst with empathy and be moved to do something with it. 

My hope is to come back to the U.S. and dismantle images of fear with real stories of real people – stories of love and perseverance. 

Thank you, from the depths of my heart, for joining me in this journey in whichever way that excites you. Your support is part of the healing and the change I believe each of us deeply long for. Thank you. 

With much love and gratitude, 

Brooke 

*Please be in touch if you'd like to talk more about this. I'd love to engage in conversation with you :)