Shanties of tin, worn out tents, crooked roads and thousands of faces with dark, gory stories.
“No one cares for us like this”, said some of the Syrian refugee mothers. I made eye contact with their tears-strung eyes, while I held and assessed their newborn infants, and whispered prayers over them.
“No one ever loved us like this before…” said some of the refugee children, as we hugged and played games with them, and I whispered blessings over them.
Most of them are orphaned by the ISIS, many others have not known the comfort of a tender touch, hug, or compassion from people. All victims of abuse, trauma, and toxic living conditions. This life affected by war has exterminated any form of basic kindness they might encounter. The consequences of war have contaminated and robbed their innocence. You can see their destroyed childhood in the physical scars and bruises. And definitely in their nervous, pain-stricken but beautiful eyes.
The pain of depression and suicidal thoughts, rooted in the lies of abandonment, echoed in the voices of all the people.
I met both genders, all ages, heard all their stories—oh so much darkness in every detail.
One in four (over 2.1 million) people in Iraq is a refugee or an internally displaced person. Most have fled extreme violence, systematic rape, and mass executions with only the clothes on their back. Many more are still fleeing every day due to increasing attacks and conflict on the Turkey/Syrian border. Each one carries their physical, mental, and emotional wounds from their experiences. It is for these forgotten, lost, and hurting ones, that the Lord has burdened my heart. It is to these He called me.
I am beyond grateful that the Lord chose me to represent Him to these people that He loves. The need for healthcare in this region is great, BUT the need for a loving Father and God is greater!
In February, a team of medical professionals (including myself), arrived in Iraq not only carrying our stethoscopes and medical supplies, but also ‘The Light’.
The only light in the darkness and the anchor for the souls of all the people. The Only God who sees the brokenhearted and mends their wounds.
And over these brokenhearted, we proclaimed and prophesied: God has not abandoned you. You have not been deserted. Jesus loves you. To embrace and comfort them as the Heavenly Father would; to love them as Christ does. And oh! how He showed up for them—with miracles of healing and provisions and hearts that accepted Christ.
I am back home now and words cannot contain what I saw and experienced the Lord do in that refugee camp. The Goodness of Jesus Christ our Savior and the Works of His Hands saturated the place. Even now, as I type this out to you, I am overcome with awe and astonishment for the grace of our Lord. I am ever so grateful for the souls He has redeemed with His blood and I am expectant for the many more that have come into His fold since our (the medical team) departure.
As I continually experience both overseas and locally, the deeper extravagant love and heart of the Father, I am more and more humbled to be in His service. Honored to be His vessel as a medical professional and as His disciple.
Every time I am sent out on a mission; I cling to meditate and pray that final word from the end of the book of Acts—UNHINDERED.
We might be hindered since we live in a world that is broken. Life might hinder us, our circumstances, experiences will too. BUT God is unhindered.
His Kingdom and the works of His hand are unhindered. His healing power of body, mind, heart, and soul are unhindered. He has created us in His image, and so why will He not heal and care for His own?
I want to encourage and remind you with this—We can see God in everything, but we can also miss Him in anything.
I have been learning to see Him more, to notice and partner with Him in each moment, in each heart, and with each heart. To see Him in seemingly small and “insignificant” moments like twirling with refugee girls in clinic hallways, playing hide and seek in flood-damaged communities; sitting in tents with crying mothers and fathers, to holding the anguished and depressed strangers as they cling and embrace, desperate for escape but also longing to share their stories of loss and war, and searching for answers. I saw Him in it all.
I still see Him in it all and He will continue to be in it all. Never ceasing to chase His children down in His love. Oh! when Our Father in Heaven runs, nothing can stand in His way, in His light.
So, join me and welcome these new members to our family. Rejoice with me, that these once lost, are now found!
• Eight street girls gave their lives to Jesus.
• Three women, and four men were healed as they began lining up to receive healing outside their tents in the camp.
• Two girls who were deaf received hearing, two delivered, one set free and learning about Christ.
• Six baptisms in water, three baptisms in the Holy Spirit and anointed to be sent back to their homeland.
• 70 young refugee girls crowded into a small classroom as we spoke with them about their value and how to take care of themselves and embrace their femininity with strength and grace.
• Three women were rescued out of prostitution and are now being discipled in the Safe Home after hosting a women’s day for them while the doctors served them.
• Six women trained in how to share the gospel and make disciples.
• Countless people were deeply touched as they encountered Jesus’ love for the first time.
I end with this for now: Darkness will always flee. The Blood will still cover the multitude of sins. Healing will always come. The Great Commission is not finished!
We must continue to go out in His name, seeking and bringing home the hurt and lost. And may the Lord add to our numbers still!
Wherever you are dear one, I pray the love of the Father to find you there and be lavished upon in such a deep manner, that it overflows unto those around you.
UNHINDERED is Our Lord God Almighty. And this is the same God we serve.
In the comforting words of the Apostle Paul, “Grace and Peace be unto you from our God our Father, and Lord Jesus Christ”.
May you all be continually sanctified in Him, and protected under His wings.
Maranatha!
Much Love in Christ,
Penninah Abigail Menezes
Consider this:
As we journey through life let us not be hindered when it comes to reflecting the LOVE of Christ to the ones around us.
L – Lavish grace and love on the ones around you without any bias. Christ taught us through His life how to treat the ones around us. Let our words be full of wisdom, let our actions be kind and let our thoughts be of pure intent.
O – Overcome setbacks. Whenever we set out to work for the Lord, there are obstacles. But it is not anything that is too great for the Lord. As long as you let Jesus take the wheel, you will only keep pressing on—Onward and upward.
V – Value lives just like Christ does. Nobody is less or more in the eyes of the Lord. He came and died for everyone. The rich, the poor, the healthy, the disabled, the rude, the gentle and even, the criminals. So, who are we to discriminate and judge people?
E – Encourage and edify. Human beings are in constant pursuit of hope. Surely, the newspapers and social media these days report more of sensationalised unrest and issues in the world which bog down most people. Everyone could use a little motivation to move forward and what better way that giving them the greatest Hope—Jesus!
