Blackford Journal

Well... we are more familiar in the States with horse trailers... Here is an Iraqi version on a crowded highway... We were invited to the official celebration of a completed phase of the humanitarian project that Kuwait is funding for disabled Iraqis who have lost limbs due to roadside bombs and other incidents. It was held at Salahaddin University in Erbil. The Consulate General of Kuwait in Erbil addressed the celebration. The President of the Barzani Charity Foundation then addressed the invitees. Local TV stations covered the event. A duo sang to some of the limb recipients celebrating their freedom from disability. This beautiful little girl received two artificial prosthetic legs. We were entertained with traditional Kurdish dances in celebration. Kurdish dances... After the celebration, we had the wonderful opportunity to meet and have dinner with Deb Barry of Save The Children. She had just come in from Syria and was headed to Amman, Jordan. We hope to explore joint opportuniti...

We were called in early January 2020 to serve a humanitarian mission in the Kurdistan region of Northern Iraq in the Middle East.  Unfortunately, Covid hit and we stood by for over a year but now our departure day is finally near at hand. Soon we will be flying to Erbil, Iraq.  Anciently and geographically, Erbil fell within the Assyrian empire and was very near Ninevah, the city Jonah was called to preach to and finally  arrived in after his days in the belly of the whale when he tried to escape his calling. Erbil, (also spelled Arbīl or Irbīl) is the capital of the  Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq and, according to the Archeological Institute of  America, Erbil is very possibly the oldest continuously inhabited place in the world.  Over the millennia, Erbil has been ruled by such empires as the Sumerians, Assyrians,  Babylonians, Medians, and Achaemenids and later the Sassanid Persians, Greeks, Parthians, Arabs, and Ottoman...

Here is a photo taken recently, before Covid, of Elder Bednar with our Iraqi Saints from Duhok (a city near the Turkish border) and Sulaymaniyah (a town near the Iranian border). We enjoyed a rare Branch evening out with a few of our members from Duhok. We took a fun little drive with our members up to the Duhok dam in the mountains outside of town. A better view of the Duhok lake created by the dam. Elder Mark Tiyari is the first (of two) missionaries from Iraq. He is serving in Newport Beach, California and will attend BYU upon completion of his mission. Sister Valentina Merzoian is the second missionary from Iraq and is serving in the London, England mission. Mark and Valentina are also cousins! Here are some photos of our apartment in Duhok. It also doubles as church on the Sabbath, all the members come here.  Our living room. The kitchen... The master bedroom. The dining area at sunset. The guest bedroom. A view of the city of Duhok. Another view of Duhok. One of Suddam Hussei...

Jun 25th, landed in Iraq after 48 hours of travel. My first Arabic Diet Pepsi! Meeting and official lunch with the President of the Barzani Charity Foundation, Musa Ahmad. Our car and license plate. Life in the fast lane. Mosques are a common site.. this one is very beautiful. Our new neighbor, Bobi the Samoyed. Mosques everywhere. A helpful quote.

The road to our apartment complex. Passing through security to get into the apartment complex. Here are a few pictures of our apartment. The apartment is large but it was chosen, I believe, as a place for both Church as well as English lessons... this our living room... Here is the dining room area, which we use primarily as our office... This is a map of the humanitarian refugee and IDP camps in northern Iraq. IDP stands for Internally Displaced Persons- over 3 million people come from villages destroyed by ISIS. Our kitchen is rather large... A pretty comfortable master bedroom... Another view of our bedroom, American traditional 'clothes closets' don't exist here... you must provide your own place for clothes... Our master bathroom... Today Dishad of Barzani Charity Foundation came with a chauffeur to take us to the clinic to have our blood drawn for our official Kurdistan residency papers. A picture of our driver, who has been great. I just can't watch as we drive.....

  We visited the Qaysari Bazaar in the center of Erbil. There are stalls both under roofs and out in the open. The Kurds love gold and the women wear it abundantly over their special dresses at celebrations. Here is one of the many many shops with beautiful gold work. We can't imagine what they are worth... Following are a few other photos of the shops.  Jim at the Bazaar near the Citadel. This is the Citadel in the center of town near the Bazaar. We plan to visit it when the weather gets cooler and we can spend more time walking out in the sun.  The Kurdish men are wearing their traditional dress... most of the older men here do so.  Everywhere we go we seem to attract attention. This Arab family stopped us in the supermarket so their son could practice speaking English with us. They wanted to take their picture with us and we happily complied.  Many of the Muslim women cover themselves from head to toe but in a very elegant way. I find them fascinating... A be...

A few folks have asked us “but what about the food?” …. So here are a few photos of our culinary experiences, which have been modest so far.  Olives are a staple here and every supermarket has many, many yummy kinds to choose from.  Olives and garlic (yes!) have become our go-to snacks. Here is a sampling of the many different kinds of garlic you can choose from in the supermarket (or “hypermarket” or “bazaar” as supermarkets are called here). We still haven’t determined what this vegetable is! Our sweet neighbor downstairs knocked at our door and brought us this tray with Syrian food she had cooked that day… lentil soup and a type of croquette made with rice and meat. At least once a week we try to sample a local Kurdish restaurant.  A main dinner entree always comes with soup, many different salads, hummus dishes, and flat bread. The cost per person is usually around $7 to $10 maximum.  The surroundings are usually very elegant. Here is a picture of the beautiful c...

We travel once each week to Duhok in Northern Iraq near the Iraq-Turkey border. We have three families of Saints in and around Duhok. We go up on Wednesday or Thursday and return to Erbil on Saturday. Friday is the Sabbath in Iraq and so we have Church meetings in our second apartment in Duhok on Friday morning. It's about a 2 1/2 hour ride if we leave early in the morning. Here are a few photos of the journey and our great members.  A challenging life in a challenging environment. A strip mall along the road to Duhok. Most of them have garages for repairs. We don't see many accidents but we do see a lot of broken down cars along the road.  A village along the road to Duhok. There are several checkpoints along the road where we have to stop and show our residency cards and our passports. The soldiers have machine guns. They are making sure there are no ISIS soldiers etc. A cowherd at work in the rural areas. A more modern stop for refreshments along the long road. This farmer ...

We were proud to host Relief Society General President Jean Bingham and First Counselor   Sharon Eubank in Kurdistan, Iraq. It was challenging to design and schedule their two-day visit and we thank our Heavenly Father for helping it to go smoothly, flawlessly, and safely! We share a quick relaxing moment in the ancient Citadel overlooking the Bazaar in Erbil. Here we are with Sister Bingham, Sister Eubank, and the Prime Minister of Kurdistan, Masrour Barzani.  Prime Minister Barzani founded the Barzani Charity Foundation with which Latter-day Saint Charities has partnered for several years to bring food, shelter, and medical supplies to the Syrian refugees and Iraqi Kurds whose homes and villages have been destroyed by ISIS. The Prime Minister expresses his gratitude to Latter-day Saint Charities. Sharon Eubank, in addition to being First  Counselor  in the Relief Society General Presidency, is the President of Latter-day Saint Charities. We met with him in his priv...

Celebrations everywhere!  It seems to be marriage season here and we were able to catch a few photos of some Kurdish and Muslim brides.  Their dresses can be colorful and beautiful or white with a Muslim twist.  Here are a few examples. Wedding guests in Kurdish celebration gowns… Yet another bride... Their makeup is always flawless... The happy couple... Yet another bridal couple... though this young man wasn't very happy that I was taking their picture. Another bridal couple though this bride lacked a bit of enthusiasm... A few more interesting guest outfits... Bridal couple and guests... For my birthday we explored the main park in Erbil... this park area used to be a notorious army base of Saddam Hussein and many Kurds were tortured here and killed. With the downfall of Saddam, the people were happy to take it over and make it a beautiful area in memory of those who had suffered there. It is one of the largest parks in the Middle East.  For my birthday we sampled...