Go Beyond

Amman, Jordan

Taking things for granted — it’s something we all do. The reality is that we often fail to appreciate what we have until it’s gone. The minute we no longer have access to the smallest of the things that make our lives easier, we tend to become nervous and perhaps even a bit frightened. Think back to the last time your home was without power or water and you will understand.

Every displaced Iraqi family that we have visited over the past week has their own painful story of loss. Every one of these families fled their homes in northern Iraq in order to escape the violence of ISIS. And because these families took only a few personal possessions with them, they arrived in the host country of Jordan with very little to their name. Those fortunate enough to find an affordable flat to rent are having to live with very little and on very little.

Yesterday afternoon we visited a family of five living in three small rooms with a combined square footage no bigger than my two-car garage. They have lived in this tiny hovel for almost ten months without a stick of furniture, not even a bed. The family has been sleeping on the floor. To make things even more unbearable they have suffered in the heat without a fan or a refrigerator to cool their water and keep their small supply of food from spoiling.

With a little less than four-hundred dollars, we were able to buy the family four plastic chairs for adults and two for kids, two mattresses, two small plastic tables, two fans, and a refrigerator. These are the first-fruits of what we pray will be the start of their new life outside of Iraq. And, as an added bonus, the kids used the refrigerator box to make a play fort. Cool stuff for kids!

For ten months this family has slept on the floor, depended on the kindness of a shop keeper to cool bottles of water for them, suffered in the heat, and subsisted on foods that require no refrigeration. Today, their quality of life inched forward just a bit — just enough to restore some hope that things will indeed get better as they struggle to rebuild their lives.

This family faces a few additional challenges like getting a roof over their heads — literally. I failed to mention that the small space they rent has no roof, only large scraps of plastic to keep out the elements. But today, that mountain does not look as high as it did a few days ago. They are trusting God to help them put their home together while He heals their hearts and restores their hope. Today, they are taking nothing for granted.