Sep - Nov 2015 | flickerflame eNewsletter

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Inside this Edition

Autumn in Kurdistan
Shingal's Free, Now What
Ma & Pa Visit
Fire Fighter Charlie
Happy Thanksgiving
Teams = Epic Adventures
Winterization Under Way
Filming Documentaries
Fall In Love With Learning
Tents to Homes
Sponsor A Refugee
Sheep Among Wolves
Going Home 4 Christmas

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Autumn in Kurdistan

Our family has enjoyed another three massive months, it's hard to know quite where to begin. Several more teams and guests stayed with us, including a visit from Ma & Pa (Tim's Mum & Dad). There was also a lot of activity at The Refuge Initiative micro-camps and The Refuge community center.

Some early storms and heavy rains brought some pretty destructive winds, but on the flip side the record amounts of rain has made way for plenty of green grass and a colorful Fall!

As you can see Kurdistan has some of the most striking scenery that the world has to offer. We are so fortunate to live here and with every opportunity we do our best to enjoy God's magnificent creation. Our valley town is completely enclosed by imposing mountains, now covered with snow. There are beautiful gorges and remote villages to explore. One of our favorite things to do on our "Family Day" is take a long drive and enjoy a picnic with our Kurdish friends.

In just a couple weeks we are all jumping on an airplane to go home for Christmas... You'll have to scroll down to find out exactly what "HOME" means. Will it be a snowy New York Christmas or a hot Christmas Down Under?

We hope you enjoy getting up to speed with all that we have been up to here in Northern Iraq in this, our Autumn edition of the flickerflame eNewsletter.

Shingal is Free... Now What?

After sitting down to talk with some of our Yazidi friends in our Rwandz refugee micro-camp I learnt a little more about what they are going through. Shingal may be free, but their homes are rubble and their future still very uncertain.

I hope this short video helps you see things from their perspective. Click the image below to WATCH NOW.

Family Highlights

Ma & Pa Vist Kurdistan

There isn't much that can compare to a visit from your parents (grandparents) when you live in a far away land. In September, Ma & Pa traveled all the way from Australia to spend a week with us, immersing themselves in our lives here and the wonderful Kurdish culture. We experienced, weddings, funerals, a million dinner invites and experienced first hand the work that we are doing with refugees, widows and orphans. We even got to take a 6 day trip to Turkey with them. Boy, did the kids just love having their grandparents around.

Charlie's Fire Fighter "BIG 3" Birthday Party

In October Charlie became a big 3 year old, whilst also graduating Fire Fighter school to become "Chief Charlie"!! Sarah, raised the bar once again with her incredible party hosting skills. It was such a blast celebrating with our friends and also Ma & Pa.

Happy Thanksgiving

It goes without saying that we have so much to be thankful for. God continues to provide for our family and ministry here in every way. We have some wonderful friends here in Soran that we can do life with. But most of all, we are grateful for Jesus... the One who has rescued, loved us and who is the Hope of the world.

Ministry Highlights

Teams = medical clinics + work crews + epic adventures

We had one of the most epic season of teams this year with guests from Australia, Switzerland, Tennessee, Portland, New Zealand, Egypt, Colorado, Canada, Pennsylvania, London, Greece and Norway. We did the math and we have hosted almost 130 guests since January... thats a lot of meals and beds to be made. Let me just say that my wife is amazing!

The teams were wonderful; conducting medical clinics and maternity classes, painting buildings, installing kitchens, teaching music lessons, distributing aid, climbing mountains and generally causing mayhem all over Soran (good mayhem, of course).

Refugee Winterization is Under Way

The mountains are covered in snow, the weather is in the 30's (single digits celsius) and we are tasked with making sure all the refugees and those in dire need are going to survive the bitter cold months of winter. This includes purchasing barrels of kerosene, distributing warm clothing and blankets, and making sure homes are insulated and warm.

One of the most heart-warming gestures came from a grandma in New Zealand who knitted by hand 130 woolen hats for the refugee children. The joy on their faces as they picked out their unique beanie was priceless - Thank God for grandmas!!!

That being said, thanks to the generous support of friends all over the world we are off to a great start. If you would like to help us keep refugees, widows and orphans warm this winter than visit www.therefugeinitiative.org to make a donation.

Filming Documentaries

We hosted a few film-makers this fall that are shooting documentaries of the work that is being done amongst refugees and the work of the Gospel in the Middle East. One documentary by FAI Studies called "Sheep Among Wolves" was released on December 1st. You can check out the trailer here.

Ian Pratt (pictured below holding the Yazidi girl), is in the final stages of producing a short piece on The Refuge Initiative. We can't we to share that with you.. so stay tuned! Ian has a pretty cool Instagram account, check him out @ipratt.

Falling in Love with Learning at The Restore School for refugee children

The last three months at the community center has seen the incredible development of our school for refugees. We like to call it "The Restore School", a place where the lives of these children can be healed and their future restored. We are so grateful for World Challenge and the ongoing partnership of Restore International. Together we have been able to introduce computer classes, Math lessons, and craft and sport activities in addition to the English course.

We have big dreams for next year, with hopes to increase the student hours from 6hours/week to 20hours/week. To do this we need to hire more teachers, expand our curriculum and purchase more resources. If you want to be part of educating refugee children visit www.therefugeinitiative.org to donate.

#tentstohomes Campaign

In October a masive storm ripped through our refugee camps, all but flattening the tents and causing widespread damage. Refugee families were forced to take shelter in a nearby soccer stadium and wait out the storm. We knew that we had to do something to build them stronger homes with winter just around the corner.

We created the #tentstohomes campaign and within a few days churches from Australia & the USA jumped on board and helped us get started on the urgent project to convert 70 Yazidi tents to concrete homes.

How cool are the piggy bank homes (pictured above) built by the kids ministry of Mitchelton Presbyterian Church!!

Needless to say we have been overwhelmed by the support that we have received and on Thanksgiving Day (Nov 26) we completed the last concrete home at the Rwandz Expansion camp. A huge thanks goes out to The Legacy Collective for getting us across the finish line.

Sponsor A Refugee

Want to know how you can make a tangible difference in the lives of refugees that have fled from ISIS? Check out the above video to learn about the Sponsor A Refugee campaign that provides shelter, medical care, and daily needs for families in our 5 refugee camps here in Northern Iraq.

If you are looking for a life-changing Christmas giving idea, consider sponsoring a refugee at just $30/month? Visit www.sponsorarefugee.com to learn more.

"Sheep Among Wolves" Film

In this sneak peek clip from the FAI Studios documentary ‪#SheepAmongWolves‬, hear Joel Richardson, Tim Buxton and leaders of the underground church in the Middle East address the challenge of following Jesus amidst jihad and genocide. The film drops December 1, 2015 and is available for preorder. Pass it on.

Christmas & New Year in Oz

Christmas is definitely a favorite time of the year for the Buxton family. The tree is up and the kids are asking every day if it is Christmas yet.

This year we will be waving goodbye to the snow-capped mountains of Kurdistan and heading to a hot Australia to be with Tim's family. We will be tagging on a few extra weeks and taking an extended break after what has been a huge first 18 months in Northern Iraq.

We will be sharing at churches in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast. We can't wait to catch up with all our Aussie friends, so please shoot us an email at tim@flickerflame.org to find out where we will be during our visit.

Once again, we want to thank every one who has supported us this year. Your love, prayers and encouragement has given us the ability and strength to serve here in Northern Iraq... we made it through another year only by the grace of God.

Watch out Australia... here we come!

With Love from Tim, Sarah, Elliana, Charlie & Lily
Kurdistan, Iraq

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