Amid all the ruins and destruction around them, Christians in Iraq are uniting to call for God's help so that they can rebuild their homes and return to normal life.
Believers in the war-torn Middle Eastern nation recently held what they call as the "return festival" where they met, prayed and worshipped to ask God to help them in this new chapter of their lives after being liberated from the Islamic State (ISIS) occupation forces, The Christian Broadcasting Network reported.
Mahar Barbary of Life Agape said the event was meant to gather Iraqi Christians to pray for their native land.
"Because their land has been taken by ISIS, we believe that this land needs to be cleansed. And we believe as we pray for this land, people will go back. We believe for a new spirit, for a new situation," Barbary said.
While some Christians have given up hope about returning to Iraq after experiencing ISIS atrocities, he believes other believers will choose to stay to keep the faith in their native land.
"We believe that there should be some witnesses for Jesus. Jesus said that He would not leave Himself without a witness so if all the Christians will leave, who will witness for Jesus?" he asked.
Barbary recalled a biblical verse from the Book of Isaiah, where God promised to "replace ashes for beauty."
"The ashes that we saw, burnt-out churches, burned-down homes and some ashes inside us, the Lord promised that He would change it for beauty," he said.
Some of the returning Iraqi Christians have vowed to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives and rise from the ashes while holding on to their faith. Sama, a local resident from Qaraqosh, for instance, shared a prayer to help in efforts to rebuild their homes.
"The main theme of my prayer is peace in general and for my village of Qaraqosh, so we can find peace there and we can go back there," Sama told CBN News.
