1995 – I’m consumed with love & passion for the Middle East. I’m 16. I begin studying Islam and terrorism

2001 – I have a dream in which I am in Iraq leading a Christian meeting in one of Saddam’s former palaces. His regime had fallen. Saddam is dead. I know the dream is a prophetic dream of a reality to come.

2003 – Saddam’s regime falls.

2006 – I move to Israel. Saddam dies on December 30.

2008 – I have the entire dream from 2001 AGAIN. When I share it with friends, I am informed Canon Andrew White already leads church services in Saddam’s former palace in Iraq. As my friend says this the power of God hits me and I fall to the floor. I think, “Oh! I think I stumbled onto something important!” 

2008- I begin praying for Andrew White to visit Bethel Church in Redding

2009 – A friend in Bethlehem, a spiritual daughter to Andrew, tells him about me. We begin emailing. 

2009 – I have a vision of Christians being bombed in Baghdad. I write a song

2009 – In September I move from Israel to Redding, CA and attend Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry.

2010 – In May the Lord tells me Andrew will visit within 12 months.

2011 – In January I feel God is saying March 23 will be a big day for me. I journal about this.

2011- In February I lead a group project in my International Transformation class. We gather paintings, a song, and a dance for leaders in Iraq.

2011 – At the start of March Andrew emails me that he will be at Bethel March 25. I respond by telling him I am going to China that day and I do hope we are able to meet, at least briefly.

2011 – About a week later Andrew emails me and informs me his flight was cancelled and he will be in Redding March 23.

That’s right, MARCH 23. The very day God told me would be “A big day” for me! I flipped madly through my journal and had a good laugh with the Holy Spirit about that!

March 23, 2011 – As we are having dinner, Andrew invites me to work with him in Baghdad. 

NOW: January 2012 – I spent three weeks in Iraq in November 2011. I met with ambassadors, an admiral, the head chaplain for Iraq, Muslim leaders, politicians, the Minister of Justice, Iraqi Christians, and other key leaders. Divine appointments, healing, miracles, and insane bouts of laughter all took place. I’m thrilled. I think God is even more excited than I am. I know I will be back in Iraq one day: bringing more light, life, and transformation. It will be grand.

THE LATEST:

I have mentored several groups who are doing projects for Iraq. One is creating a CD of prophetic songs for Iraq. Check it out HERE. Another group has created a collection of greeting cards designed to inspire hope. The proceeds will go to the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East. I will post more about that as I have more information. Lastly, a friend of mine (Anne) is in the planning stages of a prophetic prayer journey to Babylon. This will escalate the hope and spiritual peacemaking in the region. And I am helping her strategize for the trip.

And, there are always the “I ♥ Baghdad” shirts HERE.

All in all, there is a huge amount of momentum being directed toward the wonderful nation of Iraq. And I am honored to be a part.

                I remember the moment my dad stepped through the threshold of the church with my sister on his arm. I still feel the sparkle in his eyes, the blend of elation, fulfillment, and deep tearful gratitude to God. I remember my sister in her stunning white dress, her smile larger than I’d ever seen, her eyes latched on to her fiance’s eyes. He waited there, she mere steps away from the end of her single journey. Her heart had many thoughts over her lifetime; and there, at the end of the aisle was the human encapsulation of so many of them: dreams, purpose, vision, and hope.

I also remember the day my sister was born. I was four and a half. I remember the shouting joy in my father’s eyes as he waved to me from the other side of the glass at the hospital. I remember when she came home and nested safely in a bassinet in my parents’ room. Any time of day or night her cries stirred them. They watched her skin, her eating habits, what made her laugh. They grew to love her idiosyncrasies – the things which made her uniquely HER. They parented her. They championed her. They sacrificed their own wants for her sake. They dreamed of what her future would hold. They prayed for great things: her calling in God, her husband, and her future children. They dreamed of her legacy. They imagined her impact on the world. They talked about her strengths. She was a dream walking outside their hearts.

Good fathers dream big dreams for their daughters. They delight in their successes and encourage them through their failures. They want the best for their daughters.

A long time ago God put Eve on the earth. As all people are in one sense, sons and daughters of God, Eve was a daughter of God. He lavished love on her. He invented marriage and set her in it. He wanted her to live a full life: fully herself and fully free.

Then, a lot of things happened. Things cracked Eve’s confidence, her sense of identity, and her intimacy with her Father.

Today the place Eve first walked is in a nation ravaged by war, strife, and pain.

The nation is still a daughter of God, but like the infamous prodigal son, she’s off wandering.

The people once in Mesopotamia, later Babylon, have always been watched and loved by their Father. Like my dad dreamed of my sister’s future, Father God dreams of this people’s future.

Father God dreams and desires the flourishing of the people of Iraq.

He wants to be the guy in a tuxedo walking His daughter down the aisle to marry the love of her life, Jesus.

And Jesus is waiting there: ready, dreaming, building a home for His beautiful Iraqi bride.

Something must happen first. They must meet: Jesus and Iraq. HOPE and hopelessness. God has the blueprints to restore the entire people of Iraq once again into a flourishing, tranquil garden. He wants His kids inside and outside Iraq to have His vision for Iraq. Moreover, He wants His kids to be the courier of these blueprints. As Daniel was to Nebuchadnezzar, God wants the men and women He has appointed to courageously befriend kings, presidents, and rulers. He wants them to be His ambassadors in every place: from Santa Ana, California to Oslo, Norway to Baghdad, Iraq.

I don’t know why I was assigned to Baghdad, but I’ve known for over fifteen years I would be one of the bridesmaids in her wedding to her beloved bridegroom Jesus.

Like all great love stories, my path to Iraq has been littered in obstacles and miracles.

Now, at thirty-two years old, I have walked on Iraqi soil and I hope to be back soon.

I spent three weeks in Iraq in November 2011. It was a hilarious bountiful time. (PHOTOS) I definitely felt in my niche.  Most things went as expected, and, initially, I hoped to return to Iraq soon after my trip. However, since the US troops left in December 2011, there is an increase in chaos so, it was not the right time to return. Nevertheless, I love God’s timing and I am confident the doors will swing wide open when the time is right. In the meantime I am in Redding, California finishing my book and speaking to groups about Iraq, the Middle East, and outrageous hope. (If you’d like me to speak in your group email me: hopeiraq@gmail.com)