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My nephew and I planned a mission trip with three other guys, to northern Iraq back in July. Our date of departure was set for January 2 2020. So, off we went just as every other non-military American that was in Iraq at the time was high tailing it out of there. All I can say is that it was a wonderful trip. The people in Kurdistan Iraq were wonderful, friendly, pro-American. At times I felt like I was in the twilight zone, because all that you ever seem to see of the middle-east on the news is the folks that hate America.

One purpose of our trip was to spend time in the refugee camps and ascertain what needs there are, and I can tell you that it was heartbreaking to see what these folks have been through and then to see how they are having to live now. One Syrian couple that we had visited with have raw sewage back up and flood their bath/kitchen area on a weekly basis. They aren't the only ones and some folks in the camp are starting to get sick from the sewage. These Syrians are technically in Iraq illegally and are forced to stay in the camp until the their official papers come through which can take up to two years. So, there they are in their tent making do the best that they can.
One couple that we visited with were having dinner at their home in Syria when the bombs started dropping, their home and their business are nothing but craters now, and they escaped with just some bags and their two kids. He is fortunate that he got a job with the UN in the camp as a youth activity director.
Another couple that we had visited with had a very very sick baby. They couldn't leave the camp to get medical care and they were very depressed. As soon as we walked into their tent I knew immediately what the problem was, each tent is provided with a heater (it's winter there) and their heater was belching out carbon monoxide. We found six families with heater issues and ran to the nearest town and picked up new heaters. I am happy to say that the baby is doing much better.
There is much more that we were able to do and see over there. But we were not far from the Iranian missile strikes (woke me up in the middle of the night) and it was questionable if the airport was going to stay open, so we flew out a day and a half early.




Well... I got home to a bunch of snow and while shoveling my in-laws I quickly realized that something wasn't right in my stomach. The pain got progressively worse and I ended up spending the weekend in the hospital after hernia surgery! Everyone was great at the hospital and I was continually thankful that I wasn't in a hospital in Iraq! But, I'm back home now, still a little sore and looking forward to spending a quiet afternoon watching football!
Blessings to you all!

Appreciate hearing about conditions there, Greyhawk. Most of us have never had such things to face. Also most interesting to hear how the people in Kurdistan "see" us. Always helpful to get the view from someone who is there, on the "inside." Thanks for sharing your trip, and glad you left early to make it safely home.

Heal up quickly from that "bummer."
PT7

Thank you for caring and making it real. Hope your recovery is quick and blessed.

I'm sure your brave and thoughtful efforts were greatly appreciated.
Glad you're home safe and hope you get well soon!

Thanks for the first hand report. Hope you get well soon.

Quite a start you've had to 2020. Wish you a speedy recovery. Curious, what kind of heater are used in the tents?

Thank you for the first hand information. It is great that you care enough to put yourself out there and help as you can. Hope you recover soon.

Congrats on the trip and nice to see you had a great time. Im sure it will be a memory for a lifetime. Hope you get well soon.

Dang, a couple days in hospital for hernia surgery! I spent 2 1/2 hours in the hospital with mine.

Take it easy, but do the walking they tell you to do. You'll be a little slow at first, but should be able to do more and faster as time goes on. You should be back to normal in short order.

Glad the trip went well, bad time to be over there.

Get well soon.

Thank You for your fine work. And for representing us and America in a Christian way in helping those less fortunate.

Also, tell your in laws that "A man hath no greater love for another than when needing hernia surgery after shoveling their driveway!!" I had double hernia surgery - its not fun!

Stray Cat wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 19, 2020 3:36 pm

Quite a start you've had to 2020. Wish you a speedy recovery. Curious, what kind of heater are used in the tents?

they have these vent free oil, 'kerosene' space heaters. It probably could have been fixed or cleaned, but the situation needed to be taken care of immediately. I wondered at the time if they may have had a bad batch of fuel, but everyone uses the same batch and heaters in other various tents we were in were working fine. Thankfully the new unit took care of it.

Wow! Glad you're getting better!
Jake

tip of my cap in sincere respect for you being willing to undertake such a mission .... do hope you are on the mend

That sounds like a very rewarding trip Grey. It often the case that what we see in the media is not the case in reality when it comes to world affairs. Happy pleasant stories don’t sell newspapers (or digital subscriptions), doom and gloom and tragedy do. The last time I drove through Mexico, the “drug war” was starting to get really crazy according to the media. We drove through the heart of the Sinaloa Cartel area twice, and down into Michoacan. It was the most relaxing trip down there ever. Not a sign of any trouble.

Hope your guts get ship shape soon!