Estere

September 14, 2015

Being a refugee is hard. But I am of the fortunate. My husband was not killed. We got away soon enough, and fled into the mountains. Here in this little valley, he has been able to build us a small shelter. My children could be registered with the government and go to school. But we lost everything. Family, home, money, vehicle, documents, land, livestock. Everything. Furniture, running water, electricity, heater, fan … I’m sorry, I’m complaining again.

Actually, I’m blessed, and that is what I daily choose to focus on. Actually, if we had not come here, and left our little Muslim village, I would never have heard about Jesus. Not only that, being here, my husband let us live according to local customs. I was allowed to leave the house, my daughter goes to school.

Yes, I am still praying for him. He has turned his face to the wall. It is like a disease. He does not know that I chose Jesus, and that I am praying for him, but his hopelessness is like a darkness in the house that I have to fight everyday in prayer. He turned to the wall and looses energy. He lost everything, and for him the bitterness is double because it was Muslims who came and stole it all. He can’t forgive them.

July 1, 2021

I haven’t written anything in a long time, but today everything changed! I have been praying for my husband for seven years, and finally, today, when my pastor and his wife visited, he sat with us for tea at least. He didn’t know they are my pastor and his wife, he just knew that they sometimes visit with a bag of dried rice and beans for us, so he was thankful to them and let them stop by, even though he suspects everyone. But this time he sat with us for tea, and my pastor asked him about his life, and his hopes and dreams. Of course, he spat on the ground, like always, and expressed his anger and hopelessness.

But Pastor was understanding, man to man they talked, and for the first time my husband felt heard, honored, and understood by someone locally. Slowly he opened up, and when the Pastor explained that sometimes there are curses that keep us bound to enmity between people who should be brothers, he nodded.

When Pastor offered to pray about this, he agreed. The Pastor explained that if he wanted to break personal curses, he would need to pray himself. He did! I was holding my breath and gripping my chair! It was so powerful, and after that, suddenly, a Light came on my husband, and when Pastor explained about Jesus, my husband wanted to follow Him! And he wanted us to all follow Him! Our whole family!

July 6, 2021

Today Pastor and his family came again. This time they told us that someone in another country had been praying about how to celebrate their birthday. They decided that they wanted to bless a family in Iraq and asked Pastor how they could do this. He came to ask us if we would be blessed with some livestock. We were stunned. Especially my husband.

“Do you mean that someone far away is choosing to bless me, even though they don’t know me, and you have chosen us to be the ones who receive this birthday gift?”

Pastor smiled, “yes my Brother.”

“That’s just like Jesus!” I burst out, “we celebrate His birthday at Christmas time by giving each other gifts, here someone is celebrating their own Birthday by giving us gifts! What a wonderful thing.”

“Please thank them,” my husband said humbly, clearing his throat, “it is very hard to have nothing, because it was all taken, and to be a man, and not be able to build my family up again, because there is no work here. By honoring us in this way, my wife and I will be able to develop a means of income. I can not tell you how grateful I am. Your God does amazing things!”

“Amen, my Brother,” Pastor agreed, “Your God has done this, our God is good!”