Since ISIS captured a number of Christian villages and towns more than two years ago, thousands of Iraqi Christians have been separated from their homes. Now in full swing, the military campaign for the liberation of these territories, but the Christians already are making spiritual efforts to return home.
It’s called “Festival of return” — a holiday of worship and prayer meeting Iraqi Christians. They staged a March with the names of their villages, captured once ISIS has dedicated them to the Lord and said: “Wait for us! We are back!”
“Initially the event was conceived in order to gather Christians together, give them to pray for the liberation of their land because their land seized by the ISIL, and we believe that this land needs to be cleared,” says Maher Barbary, Director of “Life Agape”.
The celebration was attended by representatives of the various Iraqi churches. Vernon brewer from the organization “global assistance” was the only speaker not from Iraq.
“I bring a message of hope to the Christians of Iraq. They are persecuted and attacked by ISIS. They were expelled from their homes. It would seem that the situation is hopeless. But I just tell them that Jesus Christ is the hope of all the world,” he says.
A teacher from Catholic University, Arbil Tamara zúñiga-brown also says about hope, and her students.
“It’s important to bring hope through education, with the Holy Spirit and with God that we took the necessary grace and power” — she says.
Vernon brewer says that Christians around the world must know about my Iraqi family, “They should know that Christians in Iraq are positive. They have faith. They have the strength and durability. But they are subjected to terrible persecution. This is genocide, and we should support them. They are our brothers and sisters in Christ. They need our support at this time,” says the speaker from the organization “world help”.
Most who came to this prayer meeting fled from ISIS for more than two years of such villages and towns as Bartella and Caracas. One of the most frequent today prayer requests was that they just were able to safely return home.
“The main theme of my prayer was the world in General and my city in particular — to be able to go back,” says She, a resident of Carcosa.
Many cities have already released, but Christians are still too dangerous to return home. Many Christians have already left Iraq, but the Barbary Maher says some never leave the front line: “We believe that there should be some witnesses for Jesus. After all, Jesus said that He will not leave Himself without witnesses. If there leave all Christians who will testify about Jesus?”
Barbary believes that the Lord will change their situation: “Remember the words of the prophet Isaiah, when he said that instead of the ashes God will give decoration. We saw so much of the ashes: burned churches and homes were burned, and the ashes inside of us, but the Lord promises that they will replace it “decoration”.