SARA’S STORY – FROM ANGER TO SERVING THROUGH SPONSORSHIP

Sara came to Erbil, Iraq after escaping persecution, one of countless Christian families whose story as an ISIS persecution survivor began the moment militants entered her village in Qaraqosh, Iraq. Sara used to live in a small house in a village in the middle of the Nineveh Plain, surrounded by her family, relatives, and friends. Then one day she heard shouting in the streets and the church bells ringing urgently, calling all the Christians of the village to leave immediately because of an imminent attack that would change their lives forever.

As her family fled, Sara, then a little girl, ran with them trying to keep up, leaving behind her dreams and her home. She fled for her life because of her family’s faith – they are Christians. Many other Christians did not escape and were killed. She ran holding a cross; her mother told her that this cross would save them.

She went from her small home filled with warmth and love to living in the street – cold, homeless, hopeless, surrounded by crowds of frightened people and noise. Sara had done nothing wrong, yet she was afraid and traumatized. She asked God, “Why is all this happening to us?” Days passed in displacement – cold nights, little food – until a camp was finally prepared for the displaced families. Sara lived in that camp like all the others with no privacy, none of her clothes or toys. She didn’t know where her friends had gone. Her fears turned to frustration and anger.

In 2018 I met Sara and was happy to invite her into our Child Sponsorship Program. A little while later she was sponsored. I remember she was excited to have her own sponsor in the US, and actually, this was the beginning of the change in her life. After the despair, pain, hunger, and cold – here came the prayers of her sponsor, and she began to soften and the anger and hate that was in her heart slowly began to give way to God’s love.

Sara teaching the children in our Summer Bible classes, Iraq

Sara participated in all the outreach events and got to know all of us on staff. She later took part in the summer school activities. Sara grew up, and her sponsor kept praying. Their support helped her stay in school and provided her with everything she needed for her education. As a teen she joined the Youth Program. There, Sara encountered the Lord Jesus Christ, accepted Him, and the day she did so, tears began to fall during her prayer. I, Mryana, was there – witnessing these tears and her prayers. Her heart was truly broken from what she had seen in war and the hardship she had lived in. I saw how the Lord can reignite what has been extinguished in a person’s heart, how He can heal and transform, how He entered her life and began healing her trauma and giving her a second chance.

Sara later began training so she could help the children in our program who have suffered the same experiences she did. She is now preparing to attend university. Out of suffering, God shapes people who trust Him, who serve, who share His word. As an ISIS persecution survivor, Sara’s story is a picture of what’s possible when someone chooses to walk with a child through the darkest years of their life. I want to say a very special thanks to our dear sponsors – we cannot do this without you.

Mryana Gorges, IM Child Sponsorship Coordinator, Iraq