How This Iraqi Monk Found Joy in a Refugee Camp

When ISIS forced Raeed out of his home, he never knew he would find joy and hope in a refugee camp. 

'Whatever happens, Jesus will be with me," Raeed said as he grabbed what little belongings he could take. 

The Iraqi monk looked outside his window and saw his city alive with pure panic. ISIS jihadists were approaching and that meant either leave or die. 

This was not the first time that tragedy struck Raeed's life. Years before, he was talking with his friend in a car when a sudden crash and explosion left him in a coma. He was the only survivor of the accident and he wondered why God allowed that to happen. But years later when he was packing up his belongings to escape ISIS, his past struggles seemed to prepare him for this new horror. 

"ISIS came to our city, so we had to leave," Raeed told Open Doors.

But Raeed was not just running from a deadly terror organization -- he was  following Jesus.

"I had promised to obey Jesus. Whoever follows Jesus should not look back," he said, recalling the day he had to leave everything he once knew behind. 

Little did he know, following Jesus meant becoming a spiritual leader to refugees.

Two years after he fled ISIS, Raeed is now working in one of the refugee camps outside Erbil, where he leads evening prayer and worship. 

He now had the responsibility to bring the light of the Gospel in one of the darkest places in the world. He was quickly promoted from monk to priest, a task that he says requires total reliance on God. 

"Alone I am weak, but God guides me and consults me in this new task. I don't have to be anything supernatural, I just have to be here with the people in the church because God needs me to be here," Raeed said. 

For Raeed, the rock on which Christ has built a church is in the slums and devastation of a refugee camp. 

"It is all about Jesus," he said. "Jesus is the core of this church. He is the Rock we build on. And whatever might happen, our Rock will never disappear. He will always be here."

Raeed is not certain what the future is, but he will continue to follow Jesus. His message is loud and clear: "Follow Jesus no matter what."