Here are some reports we have received from people on the ground in Iraq.
I include these here to encourage you in your intercession. Please allow these reports to fuel your fire for prayer.
There are still bad things happening in Iraq, but because of your prayers, there are some bad things that aren’t happening.
Stay on Patrol, God is at work.
Other Good News:
Boots on the Ground -Chuck Holton
Troop Scoops -Success stories from Iraq
In response to the increased violence against civilians in Iraq, we launched the ‘Hold the Peace” campaign to cover this issue through the month of May.
Thank you for your faithfulness, so far the peace has help, and civilian casualties are down.
I might also mention that U.S. troops casualties due to hostile fire are also down. Overall, troop casualties are up, but not due to the violence we targeted in prayer.
From MSNBC: -Full Report
BAGHDAD - Iraqi civilian deaths fell dramatically in May after what was the bloodiest month of the year, officials said Monday, but a deadly bombing in a Baghdad market shows the dangers still facing Iraqis.
It was unclear whether the sharp drop in Iraqi deaths represented a significant improvement in security or a tactical decision by extremists to refrain from major attacks, perhaps holding their fire until U.S. combat troops pull out of Baghdad and other cities by the end of this month.
At least 134 Iraqi civilians were killed in May, compared with 290 in the previous month, according to figures compiled by three Iraqi ministries. Deaths among Iraqi security forces fell too, 31 in May compared with 65 in April, according to the government.
It’s time to stoke the embers a bit on our prayers.
For 5 years, before the Baghdad Prayer Patrol started, the U.S. casualty rates in Iraq were on the rise, then suddenly that trend shifted. This chart shows the prayer difference.
In Oct. 2008 after praying for Baghdad for 19 months we had our first month of NO U.S. casualties in Baghdad. Persevering Prayer works.
US hands over Green Zone security to Iraq
Jan. 1st, 2009
BAGHDAD (AFP) — The United States handed over security control of the Green Zone, a potent symbol of the American occupation, to Iraq on Thursday as a UN mandate for foreign troops ran out and bilateral military accords took effect.
In another step towards full sovereignty, Iraq was also handed control of Basra airport by British forces, who have been using the facility as their main base in southern Iraq since the 2003 invasion.
The formal transfer of control of the heavily fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad, during an emotional ceremony at the former palace of executed dictator Saddam Hussein, was hailed by Iraqi government and military officials.
“A year before it was just a dream to think about foreign troops withdrawing from Iraq but today that dream has become a reality,” Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said in an impassioned speech in one of halls of the sprawling palace.
“It is our right to consider this day the day of sovereignty and the beginning of the process of retrieving every inch of our nation’s soil,” Maliki said as the Iraqi flag was hoisted at the sandstone palace entrance.
“The palace is the sign of Iraqi sovereignty and it is a message to all Iraqis that our sovereignty has returned.”
Maliki also declared the day a national holiday.
Report from Google news -
Read full report
Prayer is still working. Be sure to thank the lord for the progress we have made.
I got this not from one of our members serving in Iraq.
Let’s remember there is still a battle going on.
-Wayne
Family and Friends,
Here I am on Christmas Eve in Iraq for the second Christmas in a row. This will be my Christmas message and I am hoping that Trish will attach a note at the bottom to fill you in on how the rest of the family is doing back home. I just returned from a Christmas Eve service at the base Chapel and I have to confess that I am a BIG Grinch when it comes to Frosty, Rudolph, and Feliz Navidad but I am also have to confess that when they started singing Joy to the World, Silent Night, and Mary Did You Know, I might as well be cutting onions!
Tonight was pretty special when you consider that we had Marines, Army, Navy, and Air Force of all ranks as well as about 2 dozen Ugandans, a handful of Philippino workers, some Indians, and a bunch of American contractors in attendance. The Ugandans sang some worship songs in their native language and the Philippino’s song traditional Tagalog carols. What makes this even more amazing is that it all took place in the middle of Iraq—in the heart of Babylon and so near the original location of so many Biblical stories.
Tonight as I walked back from the chapel, I looked up at the sky and I thought about how it must have looked exactly the same except with that bright start pointing the way to a stable 2007 years ago. The next thought was that while that star may not be up there in the sky tonight, it is still there but just inside each of us—still pointing the way for each of us today. The star still points the way today when we read the wonderful story and when we share it with others. The star still points the way.
I also want to take this chance to remind you why we are here in Iraq or Afghanistan this Christmas again. This past week we lost 2 Marines here in Iraq. One of them was killed under hostile fire in physical combat while the other took his life right here on this camp after loosing a spiritual battle. Two lives lost in combat—one physical, one spiritual. I grieve for both of these families as they enter this Christmas season.
We have to remember that there is a war going on in more than one realm. We must continue to pray for those who are deployed, their families, and also our enemies. Our Lord humbled Himself and came to save us, in the form of a baby. Before time, He had that manger in mind and He had us in mind when He laid the plans for the manger…for the cross…and even for this deployment. God is still in control. The battle continues but the war has been won! Who knows maybe I will write my New Year’s message from Afghanistan… that is if my brother will finally get the Air Force to work for me! In the words of my Ugandan brothers—”Jabulani” (Celebrate!)
From the Front,
Matt
Here’s a report that’s almost hard to believe. After 18 months of storming the heavens for Baghdad and the troops serving there, we have come to a month with no U.S. casualties.
Thank You Jesus for hearing our hearts and answering our prayers.
Here’s the full story.
Blast wall removal demonstrates progress in Baghdad
FOB FALCON - When Lt. Col. Timothy Watson, cmdr. of the 2nd Bn, 4th Inf Regt, ordered his bn. engr. to remove the cement walls that encase Baghdad’s community of Doura, it signaled a momentous shift in paradigms.
Currently attached to the 1st BCT, 4th ID, and deployed to the Rashid district, the “Warriors,” Bn. of the 4th Inf. Regt., provided tangible proof of progress by reducing the number of cement barriers in Al Doura. “This is a step towards normalcy for the residents of Doura,” said Watson. “They have earned it by contributing to local security through tips and intolerance of insurgent or criminal activity.”
However dreary and inconvenient they may be, the cement walls proved extremely effective in reducing terrorist activity. As recently as spring 2007, Doura was dubbed by many respected media agencies as the most dangerous place in Baghdad. Doura was also the first neighborhood in Baghdad, outside of the Int’l Zone, to employ the use of cement barriers to taper insurgent activity.
A recently captured terrorist, who admitted to participating in insurgent activity in Doura during the past 2 years attested to the effectiveness of the barriers. Watson, cmdr. of the 2nd Bn., 4th Inf. Regt., echoed that sentiment. “Walls will be replaced by more permanent security infrastructure that helps protect the fragile security we have achieved with the Iraqi SF.”
(reprinted from Troop Scoop Oct 21, 2008)
(read the prayer connection at the bottom)
Iraq: Al Qaeda Leader Killed In Baghdad October 4, 2008 U.S. forces in Iraq killed Abu Rami, an al Qaeda leader believed to have masterminded a wave of recent bombings in Baghdad, Monsters and Critics reported Oct. 4, citing a statement from the U.S. Army. Rami was killed in Adkhamiyah, a Sunni district in Baghdad, on Oct. 3 after intelligence reports led U.S. soldiers to the building where he was hiding.
The soldiers came under fire from inside the building and returned fire, killing Rami and an unnamed woman. Rami, also known as Abu Assad and Mahir Ahmad Mahmud Judu al-Zubaydi, is believed to have exercised a great amount of control over terrorist operations in Baghdad’s Rusafa neighborhood and other areas in the city. -From Stratfor.com
Prayer works:
Abu Rami was taken out on Oct. 3rd after intelligence discovered his whereabouts.
This was our prayer on Oct 2nd:
Father, we ask that the hidden things of darkness would be exposed, release Your light and justice, and reveal the hiding places where cruelty is being mapped out. Let the devices, schemes, and resources for wickedness be exposed again and again.
Let Your light even turn the hearts of those following wicked orders; may they suddenly doubt, question, and change their minds, becoming those who expose the plans and the people who are giving the orders. We thank You Lord that You are the light of the world, and we agree for the victory of Your Light. May the foundation for evil be usurped by Your very Presence. In Jesus name. Amen.
Thank you for faithfully patrolling, and for calling God’s divine intelligence into the situation. Let’s stay with it, there are more victories ahead.
The progress in Iraq is a team effort between the soldiers on the ground, the Iraqi’s who want peace, and the intercessors around the world. God has responded with His favor, grace and protection. May He give us all strength to hold the ground that has been taken.
Iraqis take control of once-bloody Anbar province
By ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writer Mon Sep 1, 11:48 PM ET
BAGHDAD - American forces on Monday handed over security responsibility to the Iraqis in a province that the U.S. once feared was lost — a sign of the stunning reversal of fortunes since local Sunnis turned against al-Qaida in Iraq.
…the transfer of Anbar province, the cradle of the Sunni insurgency and the birthplace of al-Qaida in Iraq, marked a dramatic milestone in America’s plan to eventually hand over all 18 provinces to Iraqi control so U.S. troops can go home.
This turn-over was scheduled to happen in June, but was postponed. It is now done, and the Iraqis have taken another step in walking out their own destiny, thanks to the sacrificial effort of our brave men and women, and to the prayers of the saints.
Thank you for your faithfulness.
Let’s stay faithful. We’ve made good progress, but it’s not over.
