A young 11-year-old girl sits in a Christian ministry center in Iraq. Her name is Mariam. For three years she has been separated from her mother, who was kidnapped by ISIS fighters in 2015.
Today, she would see her again. She waited, unsure of what was to come.
Mariam’s eyes brighten when she sees her mother’s face, but she frowns as they are then drawn to a bundle in the woman’s arms.
“Whose baby is that?” she asks.
“It’s your sister,” her mother replies quietly.
“Mama, how is that? My father died three years ago?”
Her mother collapses in tears. Mariam cries. The staff members cry.
The tragedy is obvious, but not uncommon.
Will you pray for the thousands of broken families, traumatized children and widows, all suffering as a result of the atrocities committed by ISIS in Iraq and Syria?
Pray for those serving in ministry centers. They need wisdom to know how to minister and bring God’s healing and peace to these broken lives.
Pray God’s protection for staff who encounter these tragedies on a daily basis, as they themselves can get traumatized by hearing such stories over and over.
Pray for the babies, who will grow to be children, as they are constant reminders of the pain suffered. Pray that they will come to know unconditional love from their families and from God through Christ.
Pray.
Grace and Peace