Ever have one of those moments where you find yourself asking, “How did
I get here?” Today was one of those days. Today I found myself in
Kurdistan, giving English equivalency tests to members of the I.
Democratic party in one of Sudam Hussein’s former Castle’s. I sat face
to face with the men of this party who many in the international
community consider to be t*rr*rist, giving them English proficiency
tests. These men had no doubt seen much suffering, blood-shed and
heart-ache in their fight to find freedom from dictators, and the
tyrrany of militant Islam. Thousands of their people, the Kurds, had
been boiled alive and slaughtered in this very castle, by Sudaam
Hussein, only a few short years ago and now the place of their
destruction has become a symbol of hope for their freedom.
The open door and favor for us to be with the leaders of this movement
can only be attributed to God and His desire to reach these beautiful
people. Here we were a group of Psalmist being given access to some of
the most influential members of the I. Democratic party. Why did God
send us? He could have sent people in with great strategies, plans,
influence and finances to help these people but he sent a bunch of
singers, and lovers of Jesus! This was what they needed!
After our English testing was over we sat on the veranda of this aging,
broken down Castle of a former terrorist singing prophetic songs over
about 80 of these freedom fighters. As I sat strumming my guitar and
looking into the hardened faces of these warriors I saw a longing for
freedom and a hunger for truth being awakened as we sang. The lines on
their face softened and smiles abounded as we sang and as they
intermittently broke out into traditional Kurdish dancing. They
clapped, laughed and wept as we sang prophetic songs over them, and
declared that their time for freedom, healing and love had come. The
atmosphere was absolutely electric and the sense of God’s awesome
presence was so real. The flute and saxophone seemed to mesmerize these
men. It seemed as if they had never heard these instruments before but
it could of been that what they had never heard was the sound of hope
and love radiating from the music.
While playing and singing the Kurdish television cameras showed up to
get footage. They requested that we join them in another room where
they could get better footage. So here we were all sitting on a
beautiful Persian rug in the aging rubble of Sudaam Hussein’s former
castle singing prophetic songs and declaring the coming awakening to
thousands of hopeless Kurds all over Kurdistan. In one moment God took
the sound of worship, and the song of freedom that we sang to a few men
and sent it like an arrow into the homes of thousands of people who
have never heard the gospel one time in their lives.
After we sang for the camera’s the soldiers thanked us profusely and
said that this was the first time that this Castle had ever heard music
like this. They said that they could feel the spirit of the music in
their hearts that our music sung to our God had turned a very somber
place into a place of joy and hope. They didn’t have the language to
say that what they felt was the presence of God! They encountered real
hope! Not the hope of a political force that would maybe one day set
them free but real, tangible hope from a God that could do more than
give them political freedom—A God who could even set their hearts free!
The hunger among these people is surely a sign of the great work of the
Holy Spirit that is preparing them find true freedom in Jesus Christ!
It is only a matter of time before we see the Spirit of revelation
break through and a flood of the Spirit come like a tidal wave to the
dry and barren land of Kurdistan!
(we just got an invitation to come back and do a concert tomorrow night
at a banquet in our honor--Wow!) Keep us in your prayers---we are
believing God for the fire to fall!
Posted on
Thu, September 17, 2009
by David Fritch
filed under