“But it’s the only thing I really want to take with me!” his nine year old daughter cried. “I’d rather take this than my dolls.”
“You know that the road we’re going to take is very dangerous, with lots of checkpoints,” her father said, frowning. “If terrorists stop us and check our luggage, this Children’s Bible might cause great difficulties.”
“But why is it so difficult, Daddy? It’s God’s Word, with all sorts of beautiful coloured pictures in it and I often read it aloud to Mommy at night,” Leah sobbed quietly. “It was a special present from our friends, so we have to take good care of it!”
Yusuf hesitated. If Muslim extremists should find the Bible, they would certainly confiscate it. They might even murder them all as they try to flee Baghdad.
Little Leah had been told that they had to suddenly pack a few suitcases and leave their home the next day. She didn’t know exactly why. Early that morning, a threat letter had been slipped into their mailbox, ordering the “Christian dogs” to leave within 24 hours. Or else their house would be blown up.
Yusuf knew it was not an idle threat. Christian families all around them were being forced to either relocate or to face the consequences: teenagers kidnapped, fathers murdered, women and children abused. Most either fled to the north of Iraq or if they had the means, left Iraq for good.
“All right, Leah,” Yusuf finally said. “You can pack your Bible, but you must keep praying that God will protect us during our journey.” So Leah prayed and they headed for a village up in northern Iraq where some of her father’s relatives had settled.
The journey was long and tiring and they were stopped several times at armed checkpoints. But thankfully, they encountered no terrorists and made it safely through – with the Bible.
Yusuf’s relatives received them warmly and after a time, the local mayor allocated a house for Leah and her parents at the edge of the village. It was not very big, but Leah was pleased to have a home of their own again. However, she still missed Baghdad and the only home she had ever known. She missed her friends, her old bedroom and also her old school.
In her new village, she goes to school, but she is not enjoying it as much as her previous school. In her new school, her subjects are taught in Kurdish, a very different language from the Arabic Leah speaks. Many of her classmates have also fled there from Baghdad or Mosul.
Leah and her parents can now go to church regularly again, without fearing bombings or armed attacks. Through an Open Doors-sponsored team, this congregation offers refugees like them, professional, Bible-based counselling to help them come to terms with the trauma they have experienced. There are even special children’s sessions. Leah is attending these to talk about and process all that she has seen and heard.
As Leah and her parents deal with the traumatic events they have lived through, they are slowly building a new life in northern Iraq, despite the unstable environment there. Her father was given a loan from Open Doors to start a shop to support their family. Yusuf’s business is doing so well that he has already repaid the loan.
The future remains uncertain for Leah. When she grows up, will she stay in her homeland? Or will she decide, like many other Christian young people, to leave Iraq? For now, she and her parents must exercise a great deal of energy and faith to recover from this drastic upset in their lives. And more than ever, Leah needs to keep reading and understanding God’s Word in her treasured Children’s Bible.
*Pseudonyms
SourceOpen Doors Newsbrief August 2011