Twenty-six months after ISIS stormed into their towns and villages, raping, killing and seizing property, many Iraqi Christian refugees insist they can not and will not return to their homes--even if Daesh (ISIS) is destroyed and the Ninevah Plain is liberated.
Since June 2014, we've brought you many of their stories of hardship and faith. CBN was among the initial Christian responders bringing them help.
This past spring when I met again with some of the Christians and their church leaders, they told me they've grown weary of living as refugees--dependent on others for their sustenance.
Many of the Christians still reside in cramped, two-room trailers. They once lived comfortable lives as doctors, teachers, businessmen and other professionals in towns like Qaraqoush. Although they are unemployed and impoverished, most pray they'll eventually return to normal lives in Iraq.
But they say the lives they once lived may be gone forever.
ISIS damaged, destroyed, or booby-trapped many Christian homes. Most furniture and items of value were stolen by the Islamic State.
I recently interviewed two religious leaders: the Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East and the Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Mosul.
Archbishop Nicodemus Daoud Sharaf was the last church leader to leave Mosul when ISIS came in. He told me ISIS destroyed his 7th Century church building in Mosul and also some rare 2nd Century church transcripts and documents.
I asked him to explain why many Iraqi Christians insist they will not return home once ISIS is ejected from their towns and villages. I also asked what Americans can do:
Archbishop Nicodemus also wants Americans to pressure Washington to help rebuild Iraq.
Most material possessions can be replaced. But what about trust?
Some of the Christians I have met in both Iraq and Syria say they cannot return to their villages and live with Muslim neighbors who joined the jihad against them.
Patriarch Gewargis III told me many Christians have lost hope for their future in Iraq:
Pray that in the midst of their suffering, Iraqi Christians will feel God's love. Pray they'll be assured that although their lives may not be the same as they were before ISIS, in Christ they will experience joy and the promise of a jubilant eternity!