Dear Friends,
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Greetings from Baghdad, and
"L'Shana Tova" (Happy New Year) to all our Jewish friends - I hope it is not
too long before I am able to return to Israel to see those of you who are
there.
Update from the Weekend
After another busy weekend in
Baghdad, I wanted to fill you in on what has happened. The weekend started with
another service at the US Embassy. As I have mentioned, I am fulfilling the
role of the Army chaplains who have now left the country. I have started a
series on Iraq in the Bible and it has been a wonderful privilege so far.
First Communion
We then had one of our biggest
services of the year back at St. George's - the first communion of some of the
children. It is always a wonderful sight, seeing them become full members of
the church and remembering Christ with us in this way.
The children line up to sing  |
They declared their faith, sang
and were anointed with the sign of the cross like at their Baptism. They
received their first communion and finally paraded to the back of the church
with their First Communion candles and kissed the font. This they did in acknowledgment
of where their spiritual journey began.
Danish connections & many more services
We then returned to the Green Zone
for a meeting at the old Danish Embassy. They are moving in to the British
Embassy and wish to give us a lot of their equipment, which they no longer
require.
Later that day we had another
good service of the Anglican and Episcopal community at the US Embassy followed
by a wonderful dinner gathering at the home of Susan and Gen. David Greer. We
were joined by many of our congregation and some of our young people from St.
Georges.
Sunday was marked by another
significant occasion. It was the Danish Memorial Day. We have very close links
and the memorial to the Danish soldiers who have fallen here since 2003 is in
the grounds of St. George's Church.
Last week we were learning and
singing "Der er et yndigt land" (the Danish National Anthem). The Danish
Ambassador and Military could not believe that their National Anthem was sang
perfectly by an Iraqi Arab Choir. It was a true joy and a wonderful moment.
We then had a repeat of the First Communion service. We cannot get all of our
people into our church building so we repeated the service. As usual there were
many hundreds of people who came through our doors.
Update on Caroline - please pray
Meanwhile back in the UK it is
nearly time for Caroline's next operation. It is planned for next week. The
fact that the operation is being done in two sessions has doubled the cost for
us, but I am grateful to the people who have helped with this. What is so
frustrating is that I had all the money for such emergencies before a senior
Iraqi friend had to come to the UK for major neck surgery.
When he was here he asked if he
could borrow the money for five days so he could have the surgery. It was
supposed to be repaid by the Iraqi Prime Minister. I gave him all the money he
needed and two years later I have still not been paid back .
This morning I was with a senior
Christian politician who phoned the director of the PM's office and we discovered
that the money had indeed been repaid over a year ago. So I would really value
your prayers on this matter. The other problem is that we have arranged a major
stem cell session for me and three other non-Iraqis next week and Caroline
insists we go ahead.
Funding - please pray
Back at base we still need your prayers that we will have enough funding to do
our work next month. Below is a very good link to an article written by a
person I met in Starbucks when the Iraqi young people were with us.
With every blessing,
Andrew
Canon Andrew White,
Baghdad, Iraq
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