An Iraqi Story of commitment

Some days this assignment grants blessings beyond my wildest imagination, but the blessings bring contemplation and deep thoughts.  I think perhaps the daily lesson here in Turkey is how blessed we are as members of the Church and how blessed we are to live in the United States.  We are so clueless about how much we have.  NOTE:  Nori hates me to use the word clueless because she says it makes one look so dumb and foolish, but in this context, I am completely accurate.  We are clueless.
I do not question the truthfulness of the Gospel, but I do not think we have a very good plan to help those in need.

Tenacity of life.  Notice the tree has literally
attached itself through a hole in the rock.
The branch is like a hook.

I have said it before and I will say it again, we are johnny come lately in our extension of compassion to the world and our preferred method of operation is to step into a room of need, toss out a few quarters and get out before anyone becomes dependent on us.

Unfortunately, I fully agree that you can not create a aura of dependence, but you also have to recognize that service is bigger than taking a meal into someone's home and hope they get over the need.  Teaching a man to fish does little for the man who has no stream let alone any fish in the water.

Jean and Wayne Edwards.  Stationed in Ankara.
Come from Delta Utah.  Great people.

Refugees are so limited in what they can do that if it were not for the history of organizations like Catholic Charities and other worthy groups that have been attempting to relieve the suffering for generations, there would be little help.

The Turkish government is plagued with expectations from people that have stormed the borders to save their own lives and it is hard to find a solution to the infinite need of those forced to flee.  Particularly Christians that cannot return to their own countries without being killed or at least beaten on a regular basis.  The hatred of Christians is hard to fathom.  The hatred of anyone to the point of destroying life for a belief just eludes me.

Olga and Eshkan Hagobian

We spent a few days with a couple, the Hagobians, their 27 year old son and the father's 83 year old mother.  He is Iraqi, she is Sri Lanka'n and the mother is also from Iraq.  The couple met in London, joined the Church and married.  They then had to return to Iraq because of visa issues, always visa issues, and he was drafted into the Iraqi army and fought the Iranians.  When he got out of the service under Sadaam, he found a job and fled to Abu Dabi with his family of two sons.  His oldest son served a mission and moved to Sri Lanka.  They had a good life until he reached 60 years of age and could no longer get a valid visa in Abu Dabi.  They were sent back to Iraq and faced daily brutality because they had joined the Christians, this case mormons, but no distinction.  They came into Turkey under the protection of the UN which after the death of Sadaam and so called victory of the United States to free the Iraqis, allowed Christians to flee Iraq.  Some victory, now you just get killed because you are Christian, but because of the success of the war, you do not get killed by Sadaam.

27 year old Sheraak Hagobian

They cannot work in Turkey and are given minimal subsistence.  They live in a building where in the winter they literally make a fire in a small stove and burn what ever they can find for fuel.  he says that shoes and carpet pieces burn the longest and provide the best heat.  The room is black with soot from the stove.  Now they get to sit through a miserable hot summer and wait, always wait for someone to determine their future.

They talk of a dream to live anywhere there is a Temple.  They just want to live the gospel to the fullest and go to the Temple.  They are starved to better understand the principles of the Gospel.  They do get some fast offering funds and currently they are tying quilts in their apartment to give to others.  This project was developed by our friends, the Edwards in Ankara, to provide a means for the Hagobians to work off the welfare they receive from the Church.  They are so proud of the ability to have something, anything to do.  They work as a family to make the quilts, tied quilts and then they give them to others in the community.  They feel it brings them some level of dignity.

I am not sure we are making a difference, but it was such a great opportunity to share in their testimony and feel their spirit.  We paid for a short trip to Cappadocia to visit the homes of the original christians who hid in these carved out mountains to find safety from the Romans.  What a paradox, desperate Christians admiring the ingenuity of desperate Christians from the first century.

Homes carved into the mountains.  Early
Christian settlements.

My heart is not strong enough to bear all the need and desperation of this part of the world.  I can not actually write down the real cause, because we have been instructed to avoid certain subjects, but I will tell you it is all father Abraham's fault.  Of course man has his agency.  One can choose.

Grandma Nori coming home from the market.