“I need you to fly to Baghdad.” I was in the shower when I got the phone call from my friend. I don’t usually get phone calls, most of my communication in Duhok is done over text, so a phone call means something serious is going down. My friend is also the person [...]
I’ll always remember my first Newroz in Kurdistan as the time a Kurd literally gave me the shirt off his back (and his baggy trousers too!). My wife and I were picnicking with the family of one of our students. Among the many cousins, aunts, uncles, and others, there was a grandfather (or perhaps he [...]
Many thanks to everyone who has given for the refugee project transportation. The team is thrilled to be able to make it out to the prospective build sites for the new school in the Sinjar region as well as over the rough roads to the refugee camp. Being present is such an important part of [...]
The Hilly Adventure (We often field questions about the schools and what the students are like and how good their English is. This was written by a fifth grader at the School of the Medes. It has errors and inconsistencies, but it is a great example of the joyful imagination of our students there.) Ch. 1=The [...]
The education challenges in the Kurdish region have multiplied this year. There are many more students needing schools than ever before, a problem exacerbated by the constant drain of teachers and school personnel hoping for a life outside of a tent in Europe. Our refugee school is a small part of this struggle. The Shepherd Medes School, which at [...]
One of our team families has been serving in Iraq for 10 years! Come listen in as they talk about raising their children in the Middle East, Star Wars costumes, and loving their Muslim neighbors. Click the button and sign up for the Saturday you want to join us. Register [...]
For a few days this year Nashville was a winter wonderland. Snow fell for one whole day and it was glorious! Nashville isn't famous for having snow, but my daughters, born and raised in Nashville, love snow! Last January we were living in Iraqi Kurdistan. Every winter in Iraq we missed having snow. It snows plenty in Iraq, just [...]
Isn’t there something wonderful about going home? For me it’s one of the best things about the holiday season. But after living in Iraq for several years, home has come to mean a lot of different things. Now, it’s often the place where I am not. When I’m at my parents’ house “home” is the [...]
There are candles lit in the living room, the wind is howling outside and we had a snow day last week. Were it not for the constancy of baklava and old men in huge pants, I could think I was in the US. (Though, honestly, my city in the US has baklava and big pantsed-men in spades.) This [...]
