I Had Such an Exceptional Day on Sunday

On Sunday Stacy and Rob Moltz, along with their children Samara and Makiya,  and I made the trip to Plano, Texas to hear Canon Andrew White, the Vicar of Baghdad speak.  He was speaking at Christ Church, there in Plano, and the service was quite amazing.

The music was tremendous, and included a violin solo of the theme from the movie Schindler's List, and I have never heard such beautiful violin music.  Brother Andrew gave away two of the devices which his ministry in Iraq is presenting to those persecuted Christians who have lost everything.  It was, I know, of such importance to those who received it.  The Christians of Iraq have lost everything in this present tragedy taking place in their country, including their Bibles, which have been confiscated and burned.  The device was a solar powered electronic Bible, which also would use sound to read aloud the Bible to the listener.  Our own Makiya received one of those gifts, and was so thrilled.

Brother Andrew spoke from a text in Romans which is among my favorites:

¹⁷ and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—seeing that we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

From Groans to Glory

¹⁸ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. 

Certainly the Christians of all the Middle East are suffering at this time, and when they mourn, we mourn with them.  It was so moving to hear Brother Andrew pray in Aramaic, the language in which Jesus preached to the multitudes.  He spoke of the joy in which his congregation worship  on Sundays, despite the circumstances they find themselves enduring.  He told of how they proclaim, "when everything is taken away, still we have Jesus."  He told also of the broken hearts of  the people who have lost loved ones in horrific acts of violence committed by ISIS.  He told of how the children of one Christian family were told they must renounce their faith or die, and those children refused and were killed and their bodies ran over with heavy equipment in front of their parents.  May God deliver the world from such calloused violence quickly!  Daily I spend time in prayer for the Christians of Iraq, and I pray for those who are left behind, not those who have been martyred,  for they go immediately to our Lord in Heaven, never again to know sorrow, pain, death, or fear.  It is those who remain, who must deal with the atrocities inflicted upon these gentle people with whom I grieve. 

As always Brother Andrew's attention was drawn to the children in the congregation, and both Samara and Makiya were so impressed with the message and moved at the plight of Christians in Iraq, understanding that their persecution is because of their faith in God.  It is always impressive to anyone who learns that the Christians in the Mosul area are the reminent of the church established by Jonah, as in Jonah and the great fish, at Nineveh, so many thousands of years ago. 

Not only did we get to see Brother Andrew, but my dear Sister Sarah was there and we had such joy in meeting in person for the first time.  Brother Andrew has promised to come to Houston to see us, and our local NBC affiliate will be interviewing him, so if you live in the area plan to watch.  He also will be speaking at  churches in the area.   As Makiya kept telling his dad, "we are going to need to get some bigger churches."  

 

Sometimes, Even and Old Woman Must Draw a Line, and Take a Stand

I must reshare this article I stumbled upon online.  I have discovered, in acute dismay that this young man who wrote this article which makes insinuations, and statements, represented falsely as fact, is a leader in the Southern Baptist Convention, I should have immediately noted that TGC stands for The Gospel Coalition, however, I have not felt so well lately.  Now to the point of line I am herewith drawing in the sand... CONCERNING CANON ANDREW WHITE, BECAUSE OF MY DEEPEST REGARD FOR THIS MAN, AND HIS SERVICE TO THE LORD FOR THE PEOPLE OF IRAQ,  I HAVE GOT HIS BACK, WHEN HIS ARMS TIRE, I CAN AND WILL LIFT THEM UP.  IF ANYONE PERSECUTES OR ATTEMPT MALIGN HIM, WE ARE GOING TO DANCE. I am old enough to be this young man's mother... and to those of you who know me well, you know I have skills in that area.  The author of this article needs rebuking in the love of Christ, we all do sometimes.  He repeatedly keeps lying.  I do not think that he intended to do so in the beginning.  I feel that he was trying to establish a platform of restraint, and then his ego got in the way.  Unfortunately that is not the needed area of emphasis in this matter.  Only about half of my comments are posted, despite the fact that he has repeatedly assured all readers that the only things which will block a post are vulgar abusive language, or links to sites with graphic violent pictures of the carnage.  (note, the image below was posted by him.)  The problem that I encountered with this piece was the unsupported innuendos toward two of God's servants who have devoted their lives in service and support to the people of Iraq.  He made the most absurd accusation against Cannon Andrew White under the fire of many, many, negative reactions to his article.  He stated that the reason he believes that Cannon White should not be considered a reliable source, despite his being in Iraq, is because due to Brother Andrew's influence and exaggerations concerning WMD in Iraq, and the overstatement of the persecution of Christians, the United States was influenced to enter into a war in Iraq.  Randy belly laughed when I told him that, and by the way, in 2003 his clearance was "top secret security clearance," as he was involved in studies at the Army War College for his Master's Degree in Strategic Studies.  I want any attackers of Canon Andrew White to understand, I may not be able to spank a three month old kitten and win...physically,  but I too have journalistic skills.  Threaten or harm in any way this man of God or his reputation, who has poured out his heart in the love of Jesus Christ for the people of Iraq and we are verbally going to dance.

Here is the link to the post which appears on the The Gospel Coalition, which I normally would praise.  I must also make this disclaimer, I have long been a Southern Baptist, and this man does not in this article accurately represent the average Southern Baptist, he has allowed his ego to mar his testimony.

 http://thegospelcoalition.org/article/factchecker-is-isis-beheading-children-in-iraq


I will be posting my responses here, as I have no confidence they will be posted on this article.

The Third Video From Iraq

Here is the third video in the series made about the work of Canon Andrew White and his work in Baghdad and across the Middle East.

                       http://www.vice.com/vice-special/the-vicar-of-baghdad-part-3-921

Albert Einstein Said It Best

I am watching Iraq more carefully than most folks for several reasons, the first being my husband's three and a half years of service there.  Our friendship and deep respect for Canon Andrew White, and the work for God he is doing, and the people of Iraq which he is involved iin ministering to has touched my soul, and created in me my own yearning for the people of Iraq to know peace and prosperity. Those people of Iraq whom I have formed relationships with that have been supported by Internet communication, have come to mean so much to me, and their fate hangs in the air.  It is looking dark to me in Iraq.

Another component which compels my heart and soul has to do with the men and women of the Coalition Forces who have given so much, several from my own family, including a son-in-law seriously wounded.  Their families too have had their lives and personal security affected greatly as their loved ones served.

The Sunni and the Kurds have walked out of the Parliament in Iraq, and things are not looking good in Iraq.  Once again the reasons being revealed for this present state of affairs will lead back to corrupt people being allowed to continue in their corruption.  In all of civilized time, that has always led to failure to thrive...

I think I will be writing from my own observations and conclusions, what I see as the pitfalls which have brought Iraq to this dark place.  Always it seems to me, failure lies in lack of honorable leadership, leadership which is willing to speak the truth, really examine what is going on, and take the actions necessary to deal with the evil elements always present in our world.

The world is a dangerous place to live - not because of the people who are evil but because of the people who don't do anything about it.
-- Albert Einstein

Here is the Second Video From Brother Andrew

This is the second video in a series of three about the work of Canon Andrew White of the Anglican Church of England, who pastors St. George's Church in Baghdad, Iraq. We should each watch with the mind of all God has blessed us with, and how so many suffer the world around, especially in Iraq.  God help the people of Iraq!

                 http://www.vice.com/vice-special/the-vicar-of-baghdad-part-2-141

I Have Been Waiting and Waiting For This to Come Out!

These films, there are three of them, are about the work of our dear friend Canon Andrew White in Baghdad, Iraq.  His courage is born of his love of God, and his knowledge of God, and God's love for the people of Iraq.  I could not embed the video, just follow the link... Amazing story!!!

                      http://www.vice.com/vice-special/the-vicar-of-baghdad-part-1-484

Brother Andrew visiting our home in 2013.

It Is My Privilege and Honor

It is my privilege and honor to call Canon Andrew White, known the world over simply as the Vicar of Baghdad one of my dearest personal friends.  He has caused in my heart a love for the people of Iraq which comes from the very heart of God Himself.  Brother Andrew has written several books, which are so moving and inspirational.  I have given copies of them to all those whom I love.  Today I posted this to Brother Andrew's Facebook page, because it has my thoughts about the three men I most admire in it.  If you haven't read Faith Under Fire, I highly recommend the book... His life is one of those lived above the common man.  It might very well change your life forever to read of how he is spending his. I believe very, very, few things have the real ability to change our lives in any way...  

Here is the post I made on Brother Andrew's wall:

Brother Andrew, my dad and Randy are tied for being the best men I have ever known...(you are a very close second place,) and I have made gifts to my dad of all your books. He is going to be 86 this fall. He and his "older" friend who is 89 recently handed out Gideon Bibles at a festival that is held in my hometown every year. My dad has been a Gideon for over 40 years. He and his friend handed out 1800 Bibles over 3 days. He called me today to tell me he read your book again Faith Under Fire. I laughed when he told me that the good thing about being 85 is that you can read a good book, (he still reads about one book a week,) and then about a year later read it again, and it is brand new all over. He said it made him wish to be a young man again and to come and help you, and that it stirred his heart in love for a people and a church he has never seen. He has a prayer list, and he takes our grand-children to school everyday, and picks them up every afternoon, (he still drives,) and he always arrives an hour early each afternoon and sits in front of the school, so that he can pray and read his Bible. He has added you and the Christians of Iraq to a written prayer list he maintains... as we say in West Texas, Brother Andrew, you are in high cotton now! He is one of God's right hand men, and you have his full support and admiration. I am quite sure that his prayers that you would have every need met were instrumental in your getting your visa. Hurry home to your people, and keep an eye on that rascally husband of mine.  He likes to run with scissors, just like you!

THERE IS AN URGENT NEED FOR GOD'S PEOPLE IN IRAQ

I never ask anyone but God for money, or urge that money be given to causes, but this morning I am certain God wants me to share this message.  I am led by the Lord to support only a very short list of  "causes."  We place the dollars God has made us stewards of only where we know they directly make provision for His Kingdom. I am making provision this morning from the monies God has made for the use of Randy and I.  We regularly support this work, but this morning there is great need in Iraq. You will not hear in main stream media of the violence and death in Iraq today, but thousands have died, and are dying.  Many will urge you not to care, tell you "they've been killing one another for thousands of years," but many of the people of the church at St. George's are the remnant of the church established at Nineveh, so long ago when Jonah protested before God that they were not worthy. They are running out of food,  from the banks which the church provides food for the people of Iraq, Father God, call to the hearts of Your people. 

When Brother Andrew goes out to minister to his congregation he must take body guards, in fact body guards must accompany him everywhere, but still he goes, for the Lord goes before him.  Even when he visits the children of his congregation, guards must be in attendance.  

Follow this link to make contribution to this ministry to the most needy of Iraq.
 
http://frrme.org/get-involved/donate/ 

Thank you Father for provision for these you love. 

One of My Favorite People in the Whole World

Canon Andrew White today made the following quote on Facebook today: "Blessed are the peace makers for they shall inherit the earth, but make sure you're not around when it happens!!!!!!!!!!!"

The accompanying photo tells the story of his peacemakers... and God bless each of those whose job it is to protect this peacemaker from those who have no desire for peace!  Thank you gentlemen!

 

My Fellow Americans, Sometimes You Make Me So Proud!

There are Americans working in our government whom you never hear of.  They are not politicians, but public servants.  Truly, they work for the people.  Monitoring contracts, overseeing the fulfillment of obligations of the contractors serving American interests around the world, and watching our tax dollars, some are serving in war zones tonight.

My husband is one of them, he served thirty years in the military, and then went on and is now serving in the State Department.  He is the kind of man who will waste nothing he owns, or anything belonging to anyone else.  That makes for a great public servant.  As the footprint of America is being greatly reduced in Iraq, many resources are being left behind, including personal items of those who have served with the Department of State.  It is simply too expensive to ship it home.  These public servants being who they are have organized donation stations, and everything usable is being donated to those of the Iraqi people who are in need.  The heart of our nation is revealed in these kinds of actions.  

One of the great blessings to both my husband's life and mine, which has come from his service in the Middle East, has been the opportunity to come to know Canon Andrew White.  He has served as my husband's chaplain while he has been in Iraq.  Through Brother Andrew we have come to know personally many of the wonderful people of Iraq.   They are good men and women, who love their country and their families, and who strive to bring a good life to both.  

Brother Andrew serves as the pastor of St. George's Church in Baghdad, where a wonderful and significant ministry is made to the people of Iraq.  When St. George's Church could not afford to hire a driver for a large transport truck to move the items my husband had arranged to be donated to the church for distribution, the word spread through the Embassy Chapel members.   Soon the one thousand dollars needed was raised to hire the truck and driver.  These items will now go where my husband and the others know they will meet tremendous need among some of the Iraqis with the greatest struggles.  Americans are for the most part some of the most generous and good people in the world.  God speed to those unsung heroes serving around the world!
                                                                                                                                                                                    

      

 May these donated items find their way to the hearts of the Iraqi people, and may they understand the people, and their motivations, who gave them.

             

A New Interview With Brother Andrew

Brother Andrew is still traveling, and this interview is well worth watching!

          http://www.100huntley.com/video?id=MUrLH-Sh4IE#.UP8YNexuALY.facebook

Uncommon Men

There are men among us who walk where the rest of us can't or won't.  There are men among us who live very serious lives, engaged in work activities that often place them at risk, and they do so without fear.  They are enabled and empowered because their faith and trust lies entirely in God's will for their lives, and the work they do each day is extremely significant that day, and it will be significant in a hundred years, and it will be of great value still in a thousand years, and it will still be spoken of in a million years.  When time is no more, their daily activities in this present world will be adding to God's Kingdom, and therefore will still be of note when that Kingdom is our eternal home.  Their everyday efforts at a vocation are efforts which carry out God's plan for spending eternity with all who will choose to love and serve Him.  It is assumed by such men that any given situation they find themselves in is due to God's Divine Plan, and therefore they are by God's own promise equipped for the situation.  Their confidence lies in God, whom they love and serve.  This attribute of fearlessness is available to all of us, but few of us choose to live in this state of grace.  We may give being fearless lip service, but in truth we are fearful of the least threatening of things and situations.  Our son Brian is another of these "uncommon men" in the making, and he was home for the holidays to visit with us and Brother Andrew.  As I listened on Saturday to Brother Andrew White, known as the Vicar of Baghdad, talk about the work that he leads in Baghdad at St. George's Church, and the people who worship and serve God there, I knew why he and my husband are such good friends, and once again realized one of the reasons God sent Randy to Iraq was to support this work.

You might think that the seriousness with which these kind of men pursue their life's work, would tend to make them dull and too reserved to enjoy life, but that same belief that makes them fearless also makes them full of fun.  There is scripture that mentions "joy comes from the Lord," and so it is that when you have a dinner party with such men, there is much laughter, banter, and you feel the true joy of friendship, the bond of an eternal family, and the knowledge of how important each moment of our lives are.  Every opportunity to fellowship with those who love and serve the Lord should be relished and enjoyed as the gift from God that it is, and we did when Brother Andrew White arrived at our house in Austin County, Texas last Saturday.

 When I offered Lina the opportunity to try on any of my "Texas cowgirl" hats, she wasn't particularly excited about this ridiculously large one... however Brother Andrew's eye twinkled, and he offered to help her try it on!  Turns out she makes the hat look great!

  

For a long while now Cannon Andrew White has been Randy's pastor in Iraq.  He is the chaplain for American Embassy there in Baghdad.  Over time they have formed a close friendship that stems from the two attributes they share, that fearlessness I spoke of, and the love of being happy and living life in the "fun zone," no matter how serious their work is.  Randy and I both greatly adnire the work Brother Andrew does toward peace in the Middle East, and his leadership of the ministry at St. George's Church, which is also located in Baghdad, but we are not alone in our admiration.   The following is a list of some of the international honors Brother Andrew has collected over the years of his devotion to God's purposes in the Middle East:

 - International Sternberg Prize
- Honorary Doctorate, University of Gloucester
- US Cross of Valour
- International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ) Prize for Intellectual Contribution to Jewish-Christian Relations
- Three Faith’s Forum Prize for Inter-Faith Relations (2003)
- Tanenbaum Peace Prize (2005)
- Grand Commander of the Order of Merit of the Knights Templar of Jerusalem (2003).
- Woolf Institute Peace Prize (2007)
- Companion of the Community of Cross and Nails from Coventry Cathedral for his work on reconciliation in Israel and Iraq
- Train Foundation Civil Courage Prize
- International First Freedom Award (2011)
- Ultimate Christian Library Book Award (2012) for "Faith Under Fire"

I hear so much talk from people who believe the situation in the Middle East is hopeless, and that there will never be peace there.  Some men know that God is willing and able to bring peace to the Middle East, and that He has a heart of love for all who live there.  May God's message and hope of peace go forward, and may those who bring the message be blessed and empowered this message to bring to the world.  We feel so privileged to know Brother Andrew, to call him friend, and to support the work there in Baghdad.  Visit the page that describes the work at  www.frrme.org, and learn about how God is moving in the Middle East.