Sowing and Watering Seeds in Hard Places

Matt Nowery leads our country office in Iraq, and when he reflects on the last 20 years of service, he can see abundant evidence of the Lord’s faithfulness. Looking back at these stones of remembrance (see Joshua 4) encourages him in the work today.

When Hurricane Helene hit the southeast in September 2024, the Nowery’s home in Florida flooded. While overseas, and as he continued to serve, Matt had to handle this crisis back home. Experiencing this made Matt and his wife realize that many of their national staff in Iraq had been doing this for years. They were going through turmoil and disaster, yet they still showed up to faithfully serve the Lord.

“These are the same people that we're asking to come every morning to devotions, to work hard every day. And often they go home to a tent, a UN refugee camp or an internally displaced camp.” — Matt Nowery

Matt shared a story about a young girl who lost everything because she chose to follow Jesus. This girl grew up in a Muslim family, and when she came to faith in Christ, her family turned on her. One day, she was reading her Bible in her bedroom, and her brother caught her. He proceeded to beat her, severely injuring her. She escaped, and spent the next several months in the hospital. Over the next ten years of hiding, her faith never wavered because she clung to Jesus.

“From the outside looking in, she had a lot to offer the world. And this single decision to renounce Islam and become a follower of Christ, it cost her, her mom and dad. It cost her, her brother. It cost her all of the education and time spent. She had dreams like any one of us do of a career. She lost it all in a moment, and it took 10 years of her hiding from her family to be able to escape and get out of Iraq.” — Matt Nowery

Barry Jessen, the country director for our office in Cambodia, spoke about the importance of getting the Bible into people’s hands and sharing the Gospel. He wants to partner with the Lord’s work and movement in hearts, finding immense joy in sowing and watering the seeds and not just witnessing the harvest.

“I realized I'd had improper expectations, and I wasn't taking joy in the sowing and taking joy in the watering. And I was putting like 80 percent of my joy in the harvest, which I have no control over. That's between the Holy Spirit and them. And I've learned to really take joy from the opportunities that you get to sow and the opportunities that you get to water.” — Barry Jessen

The national staff in Cambodia have challenged Barry in his faith as he witnesses their unwavering acceptance of the Word of God. He now sees that being challenged in this life, that going through trials, doesn’t mean you aren’t blessed. Watching others trust God in their struggles has encouraged Barry to keep trusting in his own walk with the Lord.

“I was speaking with a lady the other day who is really quite ill, and we've been praying with her for a while and she said to me, ‘Barry, I might get healed here, or it might be on the other side, but I know I'll be healed.’ And that perspective of it doesn't have to be now. When you take away that perception that it needs to be now, it's so much easier to just keep doing the work.” — Barry Jessen

Please pray for Samaritan’s Purse work in the Middle East, Cambodia, and all over the world. If you’d like to keep up to date with more stories from On the Ground, please visit SamaritansPurse.org.