Hey friends and family!
Thanks so much for taking the time to read our letter! I hope it will serve many purposes, like answering many of the FAQ’s we have been receiving, giving you some insight regarding our journey to this decision and lastly, providing some information about financial and prayer support! Maybe grab a coffee or something before you begin, it’s long…
So, why the Middle East? Why now? Why you guys? Why a war zone?
These are just some of the FAQ's that we have received lately upon telling people that we are going to Northern Iraq. I do believe that each one is a valid inquiry as to why we would do something as “seemingly” unwise at this particular time. My hope is that by hearing our journey about how God led us to make this decision, some of these answers will become clearer. First, let me tell you a bit about who we are teaming up with. Some of you may have heard of the organization, Burn 24/7. It is an international movement that involves planned events of continuous prayer and worship, typically lasting several hours, sometimes up to hundreds of hours. Many cities around the world partner with Burn 24/7 by hosting "burns" within their churches. The name of the organizations leader and founder is Sean Feucht, a worship leader, speaker, and global trail blazer for igniting the heart of worship in the nations.
The specific group that we are joining up with is called "Light a Candle," which is a branch of Burn 24/7. To make a long story short, after multiple trips to Northern Iraq, Sean and his team started to notice that not only was the enemy trying to make some big moves in this region, but so was God! One testimony they repeatedly share is of a time when the Peshmerga (the Kurdish military) asked their team to come with them to the front lines of the ISIS occupied territory. They asked them to come and worship at the front lines where the two territories met. Sean asked them, "You know that we're Christian’s right? That we believe in and worship Jesus Christ?" And they responded, "Yes we know that. But we also know that when Christians come and worship, we win battles." How crazy is that?!
So yes, they were beginning to see fruit, so much so that they realized the need for something permanent, full time, on the ground in Northern Iraq, and “Light A Candle” was born. Currently it consists of 3 young women who live there full time, as well as teams/ individuals who join temporarily. Their mission is to cultivate an atmosphere of intercessory prayer and worship in the one of the darkest, hardest places on the planet. They also spend much of their time spreading the love of God within the surrounding refugee camps. These camps are full of recently displaced people, some families being incomplete, having one or many of their family members still under ISIS siege. Many are without a shadow of hope; many are desperately searching for new sources of hope. These women go and meet them with love, friendship, resources, programs, teachings, you name it... they simply embody the character of Christ and bring them hope and light. We are excited to help run some programs with some existing skills of ours, (soccer/music programs etc.) as well as participate in worship and intercession alongside them.
We have been hearing some other amazing testimonies as well, of people in the Middle East being saved through dreams. For real, Jesus has been showing up to thousands of people in their dreams all around the world, bringing them to salvation. We heard this one testimony of missionaries who were living in the Middle East (I can't remember which nation) who were also doing lots of prayer and worship within their home, participating and fighting in the spiritual battle going on within their nation. One day, they had a Muslim couple knock on their door and say that they had recently had a dream of a "man in white." In the dream also, they were shown a vision of the missionary couple’s house, and were instructed to go to there to learn who the man in the dream was. They heard the Gospel and were saved that day! Seriously God is on the MOVE. The Bible says "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." God is answering those who are seeking; He is revealing Himself to those who are lost. He knows that "the harvest is plentiful and the workers are few," so He's also doing it Himself! We simply want to co-labour with Him, to take up the call to be one of those few who will go where the harvest is.
Now... why do WE feel like we need to go THERE?
This is another common question. Aren't there un-reached people in other places in the world? Don't the people in your own city need to know who God is? Can't God bring His redemptive plan to completion without you going there? Can't other people be just as useful to go and do what you'd do? Absolutely, it’s a yes to all of these questions, and He has called others there. In fact, we’re all called to be the “hands and feet of Jesus” in every moment, place and time. But, right now, He's called us there specifically, and we are to be obedient.
In the same way that our obedience to the Holy Spirit affects the world around us, so does our disobedience. If we believe that our obedience effects the advancement of the Kingdom, we must also recognize that our free-willed choice to disobey effects the advancement of the Kingdom of God as well, in one way, shape or form. So how do we know that He's called us there? This is where I dive into our journey to “Light a Candle.”
My whole life growing up, all I saw going on in the Middle East had always scared me. I don’t know why, but I have always had an irrational fear of going there. My dreams as a child/adolescent were typically night terrors related to the Middle East. Later on in life, in my first year of marriage I remember praying day and night for direction and unity for Derek and I. At that time, we seemed to be coming to a “Y” in the road surrounding our dreams/visions for our lives. I knew that it wasn't God's heart to have us misaligned in that. One night after having a pretty big fight, I was driving passed Nose Hill Park, and I heard God say, "Come for a walk with Me," so I pulled into the park. It was approaching dusk, so I felt a little scared at this point in time, also having an extreme fear of being alone and the dark… but I kept going. There was an area of trees on my right just off the path, and at that point I heard God ask me to go into the trees. I could see that it was dark in there, and I was like NO WAY, too scared, nope. But He said, “just trust me,” so I left the path and went into the trees. Upon entering the treed area, the sun broke through the clouds and it all became light. I felt in perfect peace, and I felt the presence of God very strongly. At that moment He spoke one last thing, and it was, "you will go where you're most afraid to go." I knew He meant the Middle East.
It was around this time that we had been thinking about going to a School of Ministry in Israel. (Friends of ours had previously attended it and had recommended it.) We made the decision to go, even though there was still some hesitancy, more on Derek's side of things. But alas, we went. I could write forever about all that we learned there, but to stay on topic, we had a couple of profound experiences happen while we were there. One happened during the night when Derek had a very vivid dream. He was standing on the Temple Mount having a seemingly friendly conversation with a man in a hooded cloak. Slowly, they started disagreeing over what was truth, and the conversation got heated. Derek had the feeling that this being was evil and full of lies. Running at it, he yelled “You’re not real” and grabbed him and threw him off the side of the temple mount. The cloak fluttered to the ground below, empty and man less. He immediately woke up, told me the dream, and said he felt as if he was "tearing down false religions.” After that moment the presence of God was extremely close to Him as well. He said falling back asleep that it felt like God’s arms we’re wrapped around him. It seemed like a dream full of prophetic symbolism as to what his or our future may entail.
The other moment that stood out happened in the garden of Gethsemane, of all places. I was continuing to pray for unity between Derek and me, and for some clarity to our future. On the bus ride back to the hotel, we had a crazy conversation. He pretty much told me out of nowhere that he felt like we may be we had a crazy conversation. He pretty much told me out of nowhere that he felt like we may be called to do ministry with people in the Middle East, which I was also feeling very strongly about.
I believe that was one of the propelling moments for us as a "team," for we finally had a moment of unified direction. Continuing on that year, we came home from our trip and our new "calling" was immediately put into action. We began praying for Muslim's all over the world, specifically those who live in Middle Eastern countries.
One day, Derek was driving down a street close to the U of C when it started to unexpectedly rain hard. He noticed a man walking on the sidewalk with a handful of books, realizing he had got caught in the rain. He pulled over and asked if he wanted a ride. The man's name was Navid, he was from Iran. Now we had planned to have our neighbour over for dinner that week, but he had cancelled, so Derek invited Navid instead and our friendship began. From then, we started hanging out with Navid and his other Iranian friends, eventually meeting an entire network of Iranians. I became good friends with a lady named Samira, and Derek just befriended all the other guys. Before we knew it, we were hanging out with them often, playing ping pong in the UofC physics department, going for Persian food, and even learning Persian dancing. Our chats became deep and our longing to see them saved intensified. They are brilliant thinkers and caring friends. God is continuing to grow a love for middle eastern people in our hearts.
In August 2015 we attended a church service where Sean Feucht was the guest worship leader and speaker. He talked about his recent trip to Kurdistan and shared the testimony that I shared earlier. I was captivated and quite convinced this was for us. Amazingly enough, my aunt (Stacey Campbell) happened to be doing ministry with Sean and one of the female leaders of Light A Candle the following weekend. It felt like God was literally spelling it out for us. We emailed them and the process began.
Looking back, God's hand has been so all over this; it's almost impossible to deny. He’s been leading and preparing us. So we're going, in October! At this point in time we're unsure of how extended our commitment to Light a Candle will be. We know we will be there for 7-8 weeks this trip, but we have decided to keep an open mind and heart to what God wants to do in and through us while we are there. Maybe we will return! Maybe God will clarify the next step for us when we get there. Either way, I feel like this segment of our journey is another addition to the bigger picture of our calling, which is to go and make disciples of all nations.
Please be praying for us! We know we could use all the prayer covering that we can get, so please be praying for us and the other girls/teams that will be with us. Also, if you happen to know the specific city/region we will be, please avoid from posting that online or on social media for the sake of those we are working with. As for financial resources, if you do feel moved to give to us, we would be so thrilled :) Both of us decided to leave our job positions to be able to go help with “Light A Candle,” Derek from Brentview Baptist and myself from a position at the Alberta Children’s Hospital. We are trusting God for provision during the next few months, including when we return, as we will be seeking Him on what to do next. Our overall cost to fly and live in Iraq for those 8 weeks is around $7000 total. We’d like to make it known that we are able to support ourselves, we are not relying on financial support to be able to go, but we do believe that God likes to use the body of Christ in many ways.We hope to buy some resources to send over to Northern Iraq before us with some the financial support we receive; you could help us run our soccer camps! Anything we do receive would be so incredibly helpful and useful!
I am planning on writing more updates while we are over there. This website will be used to post other updates and prayer requests, but we do plan on emailing out some more descriptive stories as they arise. If you would be interested in reading even deeper into our journey, or would like to support us financially, please FB message either myself or Derek your email.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. It's humbling and comforting to know that you are intentionally interested and wanting to be involved in this journey with us through prayer, resources and love. You guys mean so much to us. Hope to see you all when we return so that we can tell you all the amazing testimonies to come, in person!
Love, Team Gust