In the book of Isaiah, the prophet declared, "He will not break even a crushed reed. He will not put out even the weakest flame. He will bring true justice. He will not grow weak or give up until He has brought justice to the world. And people in faraway places will hope to receive His teachings." (Isaiah 42:3-4)

This Scripture passage really sums it up for us. God's heart to bring true justice to the weak, the forgotten and the oppressed has become the motivating passion that is behind our move to Iraq. We want to share in God's heart, and we believe that this is His message to the Kurdish people who by their own admission regard themselves as the "orphans of the universe" and those who "have no friends but the mountains". We have experienced the Good News of the Gospel and know that it has the power to heal and save. After all, the Apostle James simply describes pure and faultless religion as taking care of orphans and widows (James 1:27).

But it's not just about us and our journey. We believe that there are thousands of Christians out there that have a heart for serving where the Gospel is needed the most. You might call it an at-risk people group in your community, or maybe you know it as the 10/40 window. Whether the need is in your neighborhood or overseas, our desire is to see God's people engage in reaching out to those in greatest need. And so for now, flickerflame.org may simply document our journey, but our hope and prayer is that it becomes a journey embraced by so many more. I would love nothing more than to see flickerflame.org become a home and ministry tool that educates, equips and engages believers to seek out the weakest flame - a flicker, and with God's grace and power, fan that flicker into a flame.  

One of the greatest ways that you and I can fan the flame is through prayer. Sarah & I know that we would not be able to go to Iraq without the prayers and encouragement of so many family members and friends. We also know that so many others out there in the trenches need our prayers too. And so, we hope to connect people together with the same heart to pray and learn more about what is happening around the world. If you want to be part of this movement then shoot me an email. We really don't know exactly how God intends to use flickerflame.org, or us for that matter. We also realize that we are not starting anything new, but what we do know is that together with God we can accomplish so much more - we can do the impossible!

Tim & Sarah Buxton