Cedarville Magazine, Fall 2014

ISIS was spray-painting the letter “N” on the front of Christian homes in Mosul, shorthand for Nasrani, the Arabic term for Christian. “Christians had to pay a huge tax, convert, get out, or face death,” Evans related. The U.S. conducted airstrikes near one of the areas where Evans flew in and out of the country. “That was several weeks after we left that city,” he said. “I was never in any danger, but I’m realizing I wasn’t as safe as I thought.” Evans received a flood of text, Facebook, and Twitter messages making sure he was OK. “Everybody was very supportive, but they also expected me to get out of the country,” he said. “None of that came from my family, which was very helpful.” Evans wasn’t surprised. His family fully backed his decision. “Other interns had people break down crying, saying, ‘You’re going to die over there,’” he said. “That would be difficult. But in my case, I had total support.” In the midst of the crisis, Evans and the other interns communicated constantly on social media assuring donors that PLC’s work was moving forward, especially a Remedy Mission in Nasiriyah in southern Iraq. “They were planning surgeries for 30-plus kids in a couple weeks (after the ISIS offensive started),” he offered. “We were afraid the fighting would shut down the surgeries, but they went off as planned thanks to our donors.” Now It’s Personal Bad news from the Middle East can overwhelm many in the United States. But for Evans it’s more than a distant, depressing news cycle. “I pay attention when I see headlines,” he said. “I’ve experienced a little sliver of the fear they’re dealing with. It helps me remember these aren’t numbers, but real people in danger.” Despite the conflict, Evans found times of joy. During the FIFAWorld Cup soccer tournament, he grabbed several other interns and headed to a local cafe at 1 a.m. to see the U.S. play. “We were surrounded by Kurdish and Iraqi fans and the whole broadcast was in Arabic, so you couldn’t understand,” he noted. “But hanging out with my Kurdish friends was fun.” This internship also challenged his faith. “I had a lot of really deep conversations about my core beliefs,” Evans said. “It caused me to dig deep in Scripture to see what I truly believed about God. “The culture is beautiful, but it’s so dark at the same time. There was no Jesus to give light to this.” The Right Preparation Evans credits classes on world missions and urban ministry for stoking his interest to travel overseas. But a course dealing with the minor prophets set his direction. “As I studied Micah and Hosea, idolatry was only half the problem,” he recalled. “They treated the least of these horribly, and God said, ‘I will not hear your prayers until you fix that.’” Jim Leightenheimer, Associate Professor of Communications and Resound Radio advisor, has been a mentor and friend, Evans said. “He taught me the things I needed to succeed, both at home and abroad,” he added. “And that’s how I findmyself the Community Impact Coordinator atWAY-FM inWest PalmBeach, Florida, now.” Despite the potential danger, Evans would return to Iraq. “It’s not a monolithic story of war, brokenness, and terror,” he offered. “This country is not beyond redemption — in a spiritual, political, or social sense. It’s easy to look at Iraq and only see what is now. You have to look past that and see the Iraq of the future.” Clem Boyd is the Managing Editor of Cedarville Magazine and Communications Specialist in Marketing. “I pay attention when I see headlines,” he said. “I’ve experienced a little sliver of the fear they’re dealing with. It helps me remember these aren’t numbers, but real people in danger.” L-R: PLC intern Nate Miller, Kurdish friend Reber, intern Dane Barnett ’14, and Josh Evans ’14. Cedarville Magazine | 15