Odyssey Notes
Tales, Wisdom & Misadventures of Leading an Outrageously Courageous Life
A Kurdish friend rolls in to town
We were so blessed to have our friend Diako come for one week. He is a Kurdish believer who returns regularly to Kurdistan to minister to Kurdish believers that are living here.
We had such a great time visiting the refugee camps, working at The Refuge community center and having loads of family fun! The kids sure did fall in love with Diako and it is obvious that God has a special call on his life.
Pray for the local church here in Kurdistan - the fruit of decades and centuries is beginning to grow.. Pray too for Diako as he plans to continue his Bible studies and return to minister here in Kurdistan as often as possible.
On the Front Lines & Visiting an Ancient Monastery
A few days ago I spent the day with good friends and Peshmerga (Kurdish Military) on the frontline. These brave men are protecting us all from the threat of ISIS and make it possible for us to be here serving those in need through The Refuge Initiative.
We also took the chance to explore a 4th Century Monastery just 15 minutes up the road. Mar Mattai Monastery is located atop Mount Alfaf and is 20km from Mosul. It is recognized as one of the oldest Christian Monasteries in existence. It was an incredible experience to visit and also very sobering to think of the thousands that have lost their lives in villages and towns that can be seen standing in front it’s mountain top lookout… All because of ISIS.
Gary & Kelly Wilkerson Visit with Bettina of World Challenge
Though it was brief, it was such a wonderful joy to host Gary and Kelly Wilkerson, along with Bettina from World Challenge. In the few hours that they were with us they poured out so much love on our family… encouraging us and supporting us. It was one of the great highlights of July.
Meeting the Mayor of Soran
June Guests & Volunteers
During the month of June We were blessed to host Nicole & Brian who are part of our World Orphans team in the U.S.A. We have also been hosting Sheena, a law student from Oregon, USA. She is with us in Kurdistan for almost two months. She's been such a blessing to our family and it's wonderful to see her minister to the women and children at our “micro” refugee camps.
Brian aka "Abu William" sitting with Abu Raheed of the Kawlokan Village.
From left: Sheena, Magda & Teresa
Two ladies from the UK also came to serve at our camps for two weeks. Their heart to pray and minister to the women and children was so inspiring. Kurdistan is in debt to your love and intercession. Teresa – we have been eating delicious Italian cuisine ever since you taught Sarah a few of your delicious dishes.
Back to School
Sarah is doing an amazing job at providing Elliana and Charlie a first class education at home. Most mornings Sarah will have school with the kids and they just love it!
We have also begun formal Kurdish lessons three days a week. Please pray for learning retention and quick progress as we work hard to bridge the communication gap and become more established here in our lives and work.
Write here...
Tim’s Birthday Bash
It was pool party time at our home in Soran to celebrate Tim’s birthday. What a great excuse to cool off and indulge in some of the finest chocolate brownie sundaes this side of Middle East.
Happy Birthday Tim!
Taking Dental Clinics to The Refugees
We had a great couple days with a local dentist named Alan. He ran a dental health clinic at two of our camps built by The Refuge Initiative -- Kawlokan Village & Project Akoyan. We were able to serve 18 Shabak families & 26 Yezidi families with hygiene tips and individual consultations.
Guests from the UK & USA were also able to help instruct the women and children on dental hygiene. Meanwhile, Alan provided additional first aid treatment and medicines to those who needed it.
Thanks to the generosity of a healthcare company in the UK we were able to hand out toothbrushes, toothpaste & dental floss. If you would like to help us to continue to to proved whilst care and support to the refugees in our care you can give to our Iraq Emergency Fund.
Next week we will be at again at our other refugee/IDP camps in Rwandz. Enjoy below some of the photos from the last two days.
Trauma Care Programs Get The Green Light
We had a fantastic visit from Dr Robi Sonderegger and Dr Carl Garde from Tutapona Uganda. These guys are experts in Trauma care and rehabilitation and we are now gearing up to roll out some much needed programs here. We can't wait to EMPOWER those who have suffered greatly because of the war with ISIS. We are committed to doing all we can so that they can be stronger, more resilient and GROW through their tragedy! Thanks for visiting guys!!
Our latest Newsletter celebrating our first year in northern Iraq
Our latest eNewsletter is out and it's packed with stacks of updates, photos and stories from what has been a super busy Spring here in Northern Iraq. Click on the screenshot below for access to the Spring edition of the Buxton family adventures... If you haven't already, you can subscribe to get our eNewsletter and updates emailed directly to your inbox.
A Father's Worst Nightmare
It was bright and early when I got the phone call that the expansion to our Yezidi refugee camp in Rwandz was ready for the tents. We had a team staying with us from New York City - good friends from Times Square Church - and it didn't take much convincing to get the guys pumped for a bit of good ole' brute labor.
Assembling the tents with the New York team
Buzzing from our morning coffee, the five of us loaded into the car and headed out to the camp - I had the feeling that today was going to be a good day!
We rolled into the camp around 9am with the sun already beating down on us with ferocious heat. Thankfully the heavy tent bags were already laid out on the ground evenly spaced in front of the concrete bathroom and kitchen facilities that had just been completed. A few minutes later a truck-load of Yezidi men and young boys showed up to lend a helping hand in putting up their new dwellings. This small camp was built to accommodate an additional ten larger Yezidi families that were not going to fit at our existing Yezidi camp in Rwandz.
It didn't take long for a little cross-cultural confusion to ensue surrounding how best to put up the tents. The main culprit being the fact that we spoke hardly any of the unique Kurdish dialect that Yezidis use, and their English was practically non-existent. You could safely say that it was a great learning experience for the team of guys from New York. I like to see these situations as a wonderful opportunity to hone my "charades" skills and develop a little more patience.
Much to our surprise things seemed to be going swimmingly when the Yezidi workforce took full control of the the tent assembly, leaving us with the opportunity to play a little soccer with the kids and take in the incredible scenery surrounding this camp.
Tents going up the Rwandz Camp extension #RwandzCampExpansion
I decided to wander over to one of the older Yezidi men who seemed to be visibly upset - his eyes peering off into the nearby mountains, welling up with tears. I was not quite sure what to do and I knew I didn't have the vocabulary to really ask what was on his mind. So I did all that I could do, I stood there beside him and placed my arm around his shoulders and silently looked up towards the same mountains.
The first tears began to roll down his cheek and it took everything within me to keep from choking up. Suddenly, he steps back and starts pulling at his chest and waving his hands across his neck, motioning a slit throat that could only mean one thing in this part of the world. I could barely process the amount of heartache he was trying to express to me. All I could say was "I'm so sorry" in my broken Kurdish.
Soon after, the work was complete. Ten new tents had been successfully put up, and the five of us had barely worked up a sweat - aside from the two guys that went off to play soccer with the Yezidi boys.
As we were saying our goodbyes I noticed that the elderly man was in our circle of conversation and so I asked my Kurdish friend to translate for me what the man was trying to convey to me just 30 minutes earlier.
The pain seemed to quickly reappear across the man's face as he explained again how ISIS had kidnapped more than a dozen women and young girls from their group whilst they were still at their home on Sinjar Mountain - wives, sisters, cousins and daughters. Just yesterday he got a call from the Iraqi city of Fallujah where a man belonging to ISIS offered the return of his daughter if he paid a ransom of $10,000. Again, his dramatic hand motions seemed to express more than his words ever could. It was a father's worse nightmare.
What if he did come up with money, could he even be sure he would get his daughter back? And wasn't paying ransoms just another way of funding more terrorism and enabling ISIS to kidnap more women and children. I could barely even imagine what condition she would be in if he were to ever get his daughter back in his arms again. The stories of suicide, shame and mutilation of those who have managed to win their freedom from the hands of ISIS are enough to make your stomach churn.
And as I stood there paralyzed in thought and emotion, my mind suddenly raced towards my own wife and children. What if it were my daughter, what would I, could I do to get her back. What shape would I be in emotional, physically, mentally. Something within me broke and I was overwhelmed with a sense of fear - as though I had just woken up from a nightmare, and yet I knew my family was at our home... safe. But for these Yezidi fathers, it was reality - the worst kind.
I just couldn't look at these men the same anymore, these men who had just spent a few hours putting up a bunch of tents for their new home.
Now, almost a year later these Yezidi families are still in great need - broken apart and broken-hearted, hundreds of miles from their homeland.
Opening Day at our new Refugee Camp for 40+ Yezidi families #RwandzCamp
Thankfully here in Rwandz Camp they are in a safe place, sheltered by the mountains that surround the ancient town of Rwandz, the once capital of the Soran Empire.
Through the efforts of The Refuge Initiative we have been able to provide 70+ Yezidi families with shelter, food, medicine, electricity and water. But we desire to give them so much more. Our goal is to provide these families with the care they need to bring healing into their lives and restore hope for a brighter, independent future.
We all can make a difference, one family at a time. Just yesterday we began work an another small camp to accommodate a further 9 Yezidi families that are in desperate need of a place to live. Will you join us in praying for and supporting these Yezidi families? You can follow our efforts at The Refuge Initiative's Facebook page and make donations to the Iraq Emergency Fund here that directly funds our efforts to care for refugees and IDP's fleeing persecution.
Tim & Sarah Buxton (Elliana, Charlie & Lily)
Kurdistan, Iraq
Beautiful, smiling girls at our first Yezidi camp in the Akoyan Valley #ProjectAkoyan
Q&A with Billy Ray: Part 4
While the UNHCR is stretched to it's limits during what is now the largest humanitarian crisis of the century to date, learn what makes World Orphans' refugee camps unique? Check out Part 4 of "Q&A with Billy Ray" here...
Q&A with Billy Ray: Part 3
Here is installment 3 in our series of "Q&A's with Billy Ray"... What does the next six months to a year look like for the work that you are now doing? How do you plan to continue to support the families in your care?
Q&A with Billy Ray: Part 2
Ever since World Orphans began working in Northern Iraq, they have worked closely with the local government. Learn how we are continuing to do that as we meet the needs of Refugees in Part 2 of "Q&A with Billy Ray" (2min 30sec).
Q&A with Billy Ray: Part 1
If you are wondering HOW and WHY World Orphans is so involved in Refugee Camp building right now, you're gonna want to watch this series of Q&A's with Billy Ray - WO Iraq Country Director. The first installment is only 3 minutes long...
Easter Sunday Was Move In Day at Project Akoyan
We have some exciting news to share... Today, on Easter Sunday, the electricity was turned on at Project Akoyan and the first of the Yazidi families began to move into their new homes. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Here is a short clip of Moving Day at the Akoyan camp.
Project Akoyan Almost Complete
Sixteen Yazidi families are only days away from moving in to their new home at the foothills of Hendren Mountain in the Akoyan Valley. Around nine months ago, these families began the harrowing journey of fleeing the barbarism of ISIS and their ancient homeland on Shingal Mountain - eventually finding their way here in the Soran region.
Since last November we have been reaching out to these folk, providing food, medicine, clothing, kerosine and other essential needs. Now we have the joy of being able to also provide them with shelter and a safe new place to call home. We understand that this is by no means a final solution to their plight... they have endured so much loss, persecution and suffering. And while their dream of returning back to their real home on Shingle Mountain, our prayer is that God will do a deep healing work in their lives during the season that they find themselves here and in our care.
Please pray for them as they transition from their current location to this new camp we have called Project Akoyan. There are just a few more things that need to be completed, so pray that it all will come together without a hitch.
Pray that these Yazidi families will experience the love and presence of Jesus in their new community of refuge. We are believing for God to do wonders in Akoyan!
flickerflame eNewsletter – Winter Edition
Click on the image above or visit http://eepurl.com/be_Oxr to enjoy the latest news, pics and videos from the Buxton family.
Thanks for all your support!
Our Last Nine Months in Iraqi-Kurdistan – Video Update from Tim
Tim Buxton shares about the many opportunities and challenges his family has faced since moving to Northern Iraq in June, 2014.
Refuge in the Mountains - Yezidi Refuge Camp Begins
It was during the later part of December that we first made contact with a group of 16 Yezidi refugee families that had fled from their homes on Mt Sinjar and made their way here to the mountains. The snow-capped mountains that towered over their make-shift camp – a few half-finished concrete buildings – served as a constant reminder that winter was not going anywhere soon. They were cold, poor and very desperate. Since then we have provided them with warm winter clothes, kerosine oil for heating, food and just last month held a medical clinic to tend to their needs.
Fast forward to today... These dear families, along with another 44 Yezidi refugee families located just a few miles away, are now being asked to vacate their makeshift camps and find another place to live. We have grown to love these precious people and know that if it is within our power to help, then we must do something. We have since found a great plot of land in a farm valley on the outskirts of town - ideal for us to build a new refugee camp. The local mayor has donated the tents and so we are now making final preparations with the local government to care for these desperate Yezidi families.
Would you pray with us that God would continue to give us clear direction and the financial provision for the this next big endeavor. Pray too for these dear Yezidi families who have gone through so much. I was heartbroken as we listened to several men share how 15 of their daughters had been captured by ISIS and sold off as slaves or brides for jihadist fighters.
It would seem that everywhere we turn there is a tragic story, people who are in desperate situations. We are surrounded by great challenges, but also with the opportunity to respond with the love of Jesus – no strings attached. Sometimes it requires true faith... to give when you don't feel you have anything to offer. We are learning a lot about that kind of faith... You could say we are simply learning what it means to live the Christian life.
Akoyan Valley – Location of the new Yezidi Refugee Camp beginning in March, 2015
Better friends than Mountains Trailer
We are excited to introduce to you the trailer for the moving documentary on The Kurds and the Gospel of the Kingdom entitled, "Better Friends Than Mountains". Stay tuned for it's release at the end of February, 2015!
"In 2013 the UN declared the conflict in Syria and Iraq "the 21st century's worst." That was before ISIS. Two years later, the situation has only escalated. Where are those who love the name of Jesus? What are we doing? The door to the region is not closed. It's wider than it's ever been. As Samuel Zwemer said a century ago, "it's been nailed open."
Our hope is that this film helps shift the way we think about and engage the Middle East in our generation. Would you help us spread it around?"