Rescue Iraq

ISIS is defeated, now what?

With the recent declaration that ISIS has been defeated in Syria and largely throughout the world, one must ask the question, "Now what?" Are we going to see a resurgence of freedom and hope, or will the ideology that enabled ISIS to come into being refashion itself into something even more sinister? It is in times like these that I contemplate the parable of the demoniac who was exorcized of his demons, but because he did not replace the emptiness with anything good, 7 demons came and set up shop, making the condition of that man worse than before. 

As we reflect upon the past 5 years that ISIS has been wreaking terror in this region and around the world, I just want to highlight the story of one of the refugee families that lives in a home we built for them last year. His name his Mam Haydar, and this is his story:

We can't allow the situation in Iraq and Syria to revert to what it was before. We have to press in, and supporting families like Mam Haydar is one of the best things we can do.

Your generous donation makes our work possible and touches families like Mam Haydar giving them hope in new future for this region.

World Orphans Annual Retreat

Each year we gather for the World Orphans annual Leadership Staff retreat. This year we bundled up tight and headed to Northern Michigan where the temperatures were just above zero degrees, however the fellowship and fun couldn’t have been more warm.

It is in these times that I am reminded of just how thankful I am to be a part of the World Orphans family. Led by Scott Vair, this gang of adventurers has been behind our work here in Iraq for the past 11 years.

You may not have heard about the role that Lisa, Kevin, Chad, Nicole, Mike, Kate, Scott, and Kathy and many others have had in the development of our work in Iraq, but I can assure you that their support has been critical to our success.

It’s a team effort, and we surely couldn’t do what we do without a team like this behind us.

Of course, we don't just meet up once a year. Each month we all get on a conference call together and throughout the week are texting one another, sharing praise and prayer requests, and seeking to encourage each other in the Lord. It's truly become like family.

Thank you, once again, World Orphans, for believing in us, believing in our vision here in Iraq, supporting us, and enabling us to soar ever higher as we keep our eyes on Him, the author and perfecter of our faith, Jesus Christ.

We love you all, and can't wait for next year when we gather once again!

First Aid-CPR Medical Training

In January we held our first First Aid/CPR training for the local firefighters and police along with some of our own medical staff and teachers too.

Whole Heart International has been working in Northern Iraq for the past few years now, and their partnership has brought increased training in the region reducing the risk for not only frontline Peshmerga soldiers but for anyone in need of immediate medical care.

The permeation of these medical training courses throughout the Kurdistan region of Iraq is a cause worth believing in.

This month we trained another 50 or so civil defense personnel here in Soran, Iraq. We’re just so thankful to provide this platform here in Soran for others to run on benefiting the local population in profound and long lasting ways.

Thanks again guys for all your hard work: Joey, Nisrine, and Natasha. You’re the best!!!

 

In the last 3 months, we have now trained nearly 100 civil defense personnel and other volunteers to be better prepared in the event of an emergency.

Thanks to your support of The Refuge Initiative we can continue programs like this in Northern Iraq.

Thank you.

- Billy Ray, Soran, Iraq 

Meeting the Hatton's and the Porter's

Back in August I got an email from a guy named Isaac that was interested in different opportunities of working with us here in Northern Iraq. I was kind of busy at the time, so just asked my wife, Dawn, to answer the email.

Dawn shared a bit of the trials that we have walked through the past couple of years and just the overall difficulties that Westerners have faced trying to live and work here in our remote city of Soran.

Undeterred by Dawn’s ‘cautionary tale’, Isaac asked if he could call us and just give him a chance to explain further.

As Isaac shared more with me on the phone I was taken by his whole story, especially how he grew up in the jungles of Papua New Guinea. Then, as he shared more in depth about his friends, Sam and Jessica Porter, and their commitment to work together in the Middle East one day, things just started to click in my mind.

After getting off the phone I can remember running downstairs and sharing with Dawn, “I am really sensing God in this. You've got to talk with them.”

After just a couple more emails, Isaac asked, “Would it be possible to come over for a visit and just sit with you guys and see if this is of the Lord?” And, less than 2 weeks later, I was picking them up at the airport. Oh, my goodness!

We had a wonderful 5-6 days together, praying together, and asking God to reveal His plans to us. It goes without saying that we couldn’t feel more confident that the Lord had ordered our paths together. We met with the Mayor of Soran and got his nod of approval and even found them two homes to live in close together. Yeah, God did something amazing — something we  just weren’t looking for.

Back in 2009, God had whispered in my heart, “I want you to build platforms for others to run on.” And now, 10 years later, we are finally seeing that vision come to fruition. Sometimes it just takes 10 years!!!

Welcome the Hatton's and the Porter's!!!

A Day in the Life: Iraqi-Kurdistan

We've lived in the Middle East now for nearly 17 years. For the past 10.5 of those years, we've been in Iraq.

Life in the Middle East is unlike anything in the West and learning to ride its many faceted waves is an art form that few take the time to learn. But, for those willing to submit to its wily ways the returns can be so fulfilling they will beckon the courageous traveler to go deeper into the culture than one would have ever dreamed possible.

Whenever we come home to the States we often get asked, "So, what is a typical day like in Iraq?" You would think that after all these years I'd have a snappy answer to share, but the question still baffles me to this day... "What do I do on a typical day in Iraq?"

Well, I finally decided to just film myself and share exactly that: a day in the life here in Iraqi-Kurdistan.

Hope you enjoy it!

 

 

What we build at the Refuge Initiative

Many folks have asked us what we actually build when we say we're building homes for refugees and converting tents into homes, etc.

So, we put this little video together just before another 10 families moved into the Kawlokan Village. Hope it gives everybody some perspective on what we're building and where $5,000 goes. Just as a measure of comparison. The tents that we were using cost about $750 a piece. Most camps however, are issuing now better quality tents that run closer to $1,500 - $1,750 a piece... that does not include the bathroom/shower/kitchen units which have to be built out of more permanent stuff. Also, since we are building homes, the design includes the foundation, whereas with a tent most of them, first of all, aren't placed on any foundation at all, and secondly, if they are that raises the total cost considerably as we found out last year.

Depending on which kind of tent, it will need to be replaced typically within 6 months to 2-3 years given the environment in which it's located and the wear and tear given by its occupants.

Anyway, you can see how we can do this. The living room area for you engineers out there is approximately 220 square feet or typically 3.75 meters x 5.5 meters for a total of just over 20 square meters. The kitchen is 64 square feet (6 square meters), the bathroom 26 square feet (2.4 square meters), and the shower 33 square feet. It comes out to 343 square feet or approximately 32 square meters, and at $5,000 that means no more than $15 per square foot for a permanent house hooked up to the local power and water grid, ready to go. There is also the area between the rooms that we've found many of the refugees convert into viable living space or 'mud rooms'.

Well, check it out here, comment and/or give us some advice as to how we could do this all better. The major hidden factor in all of this is that because of our relationship with the local government over the past 7 years, they trust us and have given us the land at all but one of our camps/villages. The government also provides the continued water and electrical needs of the refugees, so the major ongoing cost of water and electric is solved by the local government while we put up the capital on the front end to give the refugees a secure home free from the perils of inclement weather and/or flooding which have wreaked havoc on other camps in Iraq over the past 18 months. Also, the location of our camps are within the city limits enabling the men to easily get jobs in the local host community, not in some far flung deserted region that makes it next to impossible to re-enter society and care for one's own needs.

 

What we build at the Refuge Initiative from World Orphans on Vimeo.

- Billy Ray, Soran, Iraq

Tents to Homes Campaign Successful

Well, it's been quite awhile since I last updated my blog. It's seems to be the bane of everyone's social media existence: updating. I've been blogging here for the past 8 years now, and never before have I had such content to work with, but the time to 'tell the story' seems to be slipping away before I know it. Many people have abandoned blogging entirely in favor of easier formats like Facebook or Instagram. I'd like to keep doing this, but at the same time I'm seeing the handwriting on the wall.

Personally, I've found Instagram a great, great way to keep folks informed of the latest goings on here in Iraqi-Kurdistan. We have over 1,000 followers now, which is nothing to shake a stick at. If you are reading this and wondering what I've been up to the past 4 1/2 months, I'd love to explain, but an even easier solution would be to point you in the direction of our Instagram feed and Facebook page. Here is where the mighty worlds of fast paced social media prowess meet the demanding challenges of leading a life "worth recording".

So, before you read another sentence click on this link and follow us at https://www.instagram.com/therefugeinitiative/ and then, again at https://www.facebook.com/refugeinitiative  You'll be glad you did, and I'll begin to feel less guilty for not "updating" as often. : )  You'll be glad you did, and you'll enjoy a plethora of beautiful sights and sounds more intimately as we showcase Kurdistan in all it's glory.

Look at all those splendid photos. It was a good choice, eh?

Now that you have done that I will tell you that in response to our "Tents to Homes" campaign last fall, we received more than we asked for. We were needing $125,000 and that came in, in record time. Additional money that we received we rolled into our education fund and our winterization project where we supply kerosene to needy war widows as well as the refugees in our care.

Since I was in the States at the time, Tim Buxton, our country director and my close colleague and friend and buddy carried the day, while I was gone.

Here he is as they finished up converting the last tent into a permanent home in our Rwandz camp, now really a village:

Now, these families no longer have to worry about inclement weather turning their tents into wind socks. We've built over 100 homes now housing some 700 refugees, thanks to your support.

We landed back in Kurdistan at the end of the year, and Tim and his family returned at the end of January for a well needed break. So, we're back again working together and running on all cylinders. Thanks so much for your prayers and support... and thanks for following us on Instagram and Facebook. ; )

Windstorm Wreaks Havoc on Refugee Camps

Over the weekend, Iraqi-Kurdistan endured a crushing wind and thunderstorm that nearly flattened 3 of our camps. Fortunately, we had already upgraded the two others, and they were fine. But 55 families in our care are now in a really desperate place.

 

With winter crouching at the door we're faced with the need of upgrading the remaining 3 camps or our guests are going to have a very uncomfortable few months coming up, to say the least.

 

Some have even told us that they can no longer stay in our camps if we are unable to help them build a more permanent housing option.

 

Below you can see some of the damage that the windstorm wrought.

 

 

 

Some of the tents survived, but the confidence level in all of the refugees right now is pretty low. Honestly, they were scared to death during the storm, and I don't blame them having lived through a few of those ourselves in the Soran region, and we were in a concrete home.

 

So, we're needing to work quick here, and at the moment we're believing God for $125,000. We've already received the funds necessary to fix one of the camps, but really need your gifts to help us with the other two camps. Would you help us turn these tents into homes?

 

Click this link to go to our donor page and designate the gift as "tents into homes".

 

Thank you for giving and praying for this effort.

Sponsor a Refugee

This month we rolled out a new campaign to help us with the ongoing costs of supporting upwards of 600 refugees that reside in one of our 5 micro camps. If this is something that grips your heart, please donate today and help us help the Iraqi people "for such a time as this."

The Refuge Initiative from World Orphans on Vimeo.

 

 

- Billy Ray, Soran, Iraq

Baylor Proud!

Baylor grads serve ISIS refugees in northern Iraq

AUGUST 26, 2015 // POSTED IN ALUMNI, EXTRAORDINARY STORIES, FAITH, SERVICE

Not many Americans would willingly uproot their family to move to one of the world’s more dangerous and remote corners. But, Billy (BA ’95) and Dawn (BSEd ’98) Ray feel their calling so deeply that they couldn’t imagine not living in northern Iraq, where they have served with World Orphans since 2008.

The Rays — Billy, Dawn, and their three sons — live in a region of northern Iraq known as Kurdistan. There, ISIS is far more than a news story about a sinister organization far away; it’s a real and present threat. That threat has chased nearly 500 refugees out of their homes, leaving everything they know behind — and into the welcoming arms of Billy and Dawn Ray and their colleagues from World Orphans.

The organization, which Billy serves as Middle East director, is a ministry built to serve orphans — individual children, dozens of families. But despite a total lack of experience running camps of this size, the Rays and World Orphans saw the need before them and acted. They now operate multiple sites housing fleeing families, working daily to meet the needs of approximately 500 refugees.

[WATCH Billy Ray’s presentation during a Baylor Chapel service last February]

Fittingly, the place they first housed the families was already known as “The Refuge.” After moving to Iraq, the Rays have worked with World Orphans to build a community center that would provide services and a place to care for the entire community, complete with event halls, meeting rooms, a playground and more. What they couldn’t have foreseen was that naming the center “The Refuge” would prove prophetic, as it became the first location that refugees fleeing ISIS found shelter. Because the center and grounds had been built and developed, World Orphans had a place to welcome the refugees the moment they heard about the need.

The Rays and their fellow workers continue to adapt to the refugees’ ever-changing needs, growing along with the people they serve. Although the challenges they face are new on a daily basis, ministering to the needs of others has been a way of life for the Rays since their days at Baylor. Fittingly, though, they didn’t actually meet on campus; they met in Turkey, where both were serving on mission trips (and where they lived for several years before moving back to the United States and then to Iraq).

In February, Billy visited Baylor to speak at chapel, where he impressed on Baylor students the importance of Jesus’ challenges to us. “Anyone who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple,” said Jesus — a charge the Rays have made the cornerstone of their ministry.

Sic ’em, Billy and Dawn Ray!

[For more information on the Rays’ work, you can follow Billy’s blog at rescue.typepad.com and visit WorldOrphans.org.]