Dear friends,
|
This is a longer email than usual but there are three very important things that I wish to share today.
1. About a little girl in New Jersey called Joanna Flynn
2. About The Iraqi Elections
3. About Stem Cell Treatment developments
A POWERFUL STORY OF GENEROSITY
So first Joanna Flynn, a 9 year old girl who goes to the River Church in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. A great church led by Kyle Horner where I spoke just two weeks ago.
As I often am, I was slightly worried about how we would feed our people in Iraq next month. It is such a significant season as Easter is the most important time of the year for Iraqi Christians.
Faiz, our lay pastor, told me he did not think we would have enough money next month. I told him that somehow our Lord always provides. At our staff meeting when I got back from the USA I was told about our terrible financial situation.
Kyle Horner then contacted me to say that little Joanna in his congregation had given her life savings for the children of St. George's Church. She was saving to buy a dog and she had collected $80 she gave it all.
Not the widow's mite...
I was so moved by this. Not the widows might but the little girl's. I told her story to several people and they started to give money. I do not know exactly how much was given in response to the story about Joanna. It has been thousands of dollars and we now have enough to feed our people this coming month. In addition to this I have been given $500 for her to buy a puppy.
This morning I had an email from her. She said that she had been learning about George Muller at school and how the Lord provided for all the needs of the Children's Homes he runs. She told me she wondered how our Lord was going to provide for us. Below is some of her email to me.
It is a wonderful story of how the Lord provides for those in need. It is also a wonderful story of how the Lord responds to our generosity. Joanna has given her everything to G-d. He has given in response more than she ever could.
If you want to give in response after reading this, please specify that it relates to Joanna's story. There's a link at the foot of the email.
ELECTIONS & IRAQ 7 YEARS ON
This weekend marks the seventh anniversary the Iraqi invasion and the fall of Saddam. Here we are at one of the most difficult times since this event as we still await final result of the elections. Meanwhile Iraq remains in ruin. The election results are so close we still do not know who will win.
Yesterday Al Maliki was leading today it is Allawi. Each day there is a change in who is leading. Either the present Prime Minister or the former interim Prime Minister. This has actually left Iraq less stable and there are major disputes even regarding the fairness of the elections. What must not be forgotten is that whoever leads the polls will be asked to form a coalition government.
The King Maker...
Therefore it is the leading smaller parties who could indeed have the final decision. Already Muqtada Al Sadr is being called the "King Maker". His party's 40 or so seats could be the deciding factor in who will lead the country.
The party leads the insurgent Mahdi army and could decide what the future looks like for their nation. Presently things are looking very, very bad. The forming of the government is highly complex. The reality is we do not know what the future will hold. The Kurds who could be a vital part of any coalition have lost many seats.
The Kurds and Sunni...
Additionally, despite most of the Kurds being Sunni, the Kurds are vehemently anti Kurdish. Many of them have voted for the Allawi lead block which despite being lead by a Shia has many Sunni members and has gained the majority of Sunni votes.
The fact is that Sunni Arabs have seriously weakened Kurdish leaders in many of the Northern Provinces. Militant Shiites have overtaken their Iranian backed allies for the religious vote. Many former prominent figures such as our friend Mowaffak Al Rubbaie have been cast into the political wilderness.
There has been major upset in ethnically diverse Northern Provinces such as Nineveh, Kirkuk and Diyalah, which have resulted in major Kurdish gains as a result of the Sunni boycott of the 2005 elections. This has resulted in Allawi's block winning 6 seats in Kirkuk. Though final results could change the final results of Kirkuk a little it is clear that the Kurds will no longer enjoy full proprietary rights over Kirkuk.
In the prominent Christian province of Nineveh, the Kurds who previously run the area have won just seven seats, whilst Allawi's block have won 20 seats. Whilst in Diyala province with several Kurdish areas the Kurds still have not won a single seat. In the South followers of the extreme Muqtada Al Sadr who lives in Iran have shown very considerable understanding of Iraq's electoral laws and he has overtaken the Kurds as Iraq's King Maker.
In conclusion...
I have done a fairly full update on Iraq's election results as the press coverage of the issue has not really given people a clear understanding of what is really going on. It may seem a good thing that the religious role has not been prominent but at the end of the day it may be the Shia Muqtada Al Sadr's party that have the final say. Things remain very complex nobody knows what the final result will be. We need to pray, pray and pray that democracy will provide liberty in a still very broken Iraq.
PS - I have just spoken to Wijdan Salim, the Iraqi Minister for Human Rights and our closest colleague. She states that Prime Minister Al Maliki has promised to keep her in the government as long as he wins. Oh how we need her.
Will you please pray for this - it is vital to our work.
LEBANON & STEM CELL UPDATE
By the time you get this update I will have returned from Lebanon, regarding the continued Stem Cell work of our Iraqi doctors. The treatments continue to go very well. We will not be doing cases in Lebanon for much longer as Dr. Majid now has a section of a new private hospital in Arbil in Kurdistan to run Stem Cell treatment. So things are really looking up on this front.
So I have returned to the UK for two days just to go to the football. Now the fact is I seriously do not like soccer but my young son Jacob does and we have a VIP visit to the Manchester United v Liverpool FC game. The biggest game of the year?
I have never had so many offers of people willing to take my place. Sadly nobody can the offer is just for me plus three, so I am very sorry, I will just have to endure it!
With every blessing,
|
|
For more information on the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East please visit our website
www.frrme.org |
|
|
Triple Marathon Madness
NEXT WEEKEND!
|
Please consider sponsoring FRRME Director Peter Marsden as he punishes body and mind to complete the "Jurassic Challenge".
We are aiming to smash last year's record of £7,700 raised, with all proceeds going towards the work of FRRME and St. George's church.
|
Birthday Gift Certificates
|
Don't forget you can still buy a gift for a loved one from our website. Be blessed and be a blessing!
More info here.
|
Andrew's Appearances
|
April USA Trip
Canon White will be spending a large part of April touring the USA with various speaking appointments.
Confirmations about dates and times will be on our homepage this week.
Special Request
If you would like Canon White or Peter Marsden, Director of Operations, to speak at your church, university or event, please get in touch.
Contact details in the header.
|
Verse of the Week
Romans 12v2
|
"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test
and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will."
|
Quick Reminders
|
Have you
seen Canon White's latest YouTube videos? Click through to hear him reflect on last month's
work and get an insight into the life of St. George's Church from a new
slideshow.
Click Here to Donate
Many
thanks if you have already been able to give. We are extremely grateful
and all support is appreciated.
| |
|
