Update

We welcomed 22 people from Baghdad today. We had another 30 or so from Dohuk. Scott Bell started off the night by talking about God’s part and Our part in being good stewards. Afterward we had chicken and beef sandwiches and got to know each other better. Several could speak English, but most could not. Many young people, which surprised me. Lots of young families. This is very encouraging. I am up tomorrow morning at 10 am our time. I am talking about Debt and Elizabeth will talk about Counsel. Then we will participate in some baptism’s after lunch. They have an inflatable pool they set up tonight. I can’t wait to see the baptism.

I can see that family and their faith are very important to them. They are looking for meaningful relationships and to see hope in a difficult world. Many of the people we are meeting have great joy, even though they are living very hard lives. One young man talked about his job as a truck driver in Baghdad. He said it is very dangerous and he did not see much hope for improvement in the future in Iraq. My prayers go out to all those that are feeling that helpless and hopeless feeling. These few days are important. God is using this time to shape me and each of the people that are here. Well I need to work on my Debt talk. Blessings.