A Trip To Iraq

A Trip to Iraq

Don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

James 1:22

It was a blog post about refugees living in Iraq that convinced my friend Samantha to take what some might consider a drastic step. The author’s words about the hardships and suffering that the people displaced by war and violence were experiencing resonated with Samantha, and she felt the tug to do something—so strongly that she resolved to find a group that was going abroad to work directly with the refugees.

“I’m going to do this,” she told her husband, showing him the post.

Several months later, she packed up and headed halfway around the world to help Yezidi families displaced by ISIS and living in the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East. For three weeks, she stayed in a trailer, living and working with refugees in an Iraqi village. Despite the discouragement of others who couldn’t believe her decision to travel to such an unstable location, she made the decision and followed through. There was the potential for great danger on her journey—at one point, the car she was riding in was just a few miles from the border of the territory controlled by ISIS fighters—but she went anyway.

So often we hear about tragedies in the world and feel sympathy for the situation but don’t believe that we can truly help. We might gather food supplies or donate to the Red Cross, but we don’t think that one person can have an impact. But the Bible tells us that we are not just to listen to God’s Word, but that we must also do what it says. When we feel called to do something, we should also follow through.

It would have been easy for my friend to decide to stay home with her husband and three children, living in the comfort of her Minnesota home. She could have justified her reasons for doing so, or found another way to help, yet she stood courageously by her convictions. For her, a genuine desire to help meant taking action and making a journey of several thousand miles. What journey might God be calling you to take today?

—Kristin

— Today’s Act of Kindness —

Gather your courage and take one tangible step toward doing something God is calling you to do.