Billy Ray stands in a brightly lit medical clinic in the Kurdish mountain town of Soran, not far from the Iranian border. The sun fills the hallway, streaming through floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing patients – children and their parents – in light. 

Ray smiles. 

The clinic is new, giving the patients – refugees, widows, and orphans – access to needed medical care. It is just the latest in the string of work Ray has spearheaded over the last decade in Kurdistan, a semi-autonomous region in northern Iraq. 

It wasn’t where he planned to be in life. Ray and his family moved to Soran after years in Turkey seeking to plant churches. Although they saw Turkey as home, they faced persecution and threats from the government, and they had colleagues who were jailed and beaten. The media attacked them as well. 

They were forced to leave Turkey due to health issues and when they recovered, doors in Turkey had closed. Instead, God was leading them on to work with orphans in northern Iraq. 

Not sure what to expect, Soran has been a breath of fresh air for the Rays. They have been welcomed into Kurdistan. 

“We work hand-in-glove with the local government,” Ray said. “The mayor has been the driving force and vision from the beginning.”

That relationship started when the Rays were scouting for a place in which to serve in Kurdistan back in 2007. Billy Ray was directed to Soran, which had the largest population of orphans in the region. He visited and met with the mayor, asking if there was any way he could serve the people of Soran. The mayor said the city needed a place to train widows. 

Ray, who works with World Orphans and The Refuge Initiative, took it on and raised money to build a community center where widows have received job training. 

He went back to the mayor who asked for refugee housing for people fleeing from the barbarous carnage of the so-called Islamic State. It was a big ask – 150 units – but more money came in, and the housing was built. Later, when education for the refugees became apparent Ray again raised money, and built a school that today educates refugee children. Soon, it will also provide needed health education. 

The medical clinic was an even bigger ask. Ray feared it might be too much. Yes, it would serve the refugees and the residents of the Freedom Martyrs Quarter, a part of Soran built for war widows, but Ray wasn’t sure he could raise enough for that. 

“And then, like a week later,” Ray recalled, “a donor approached me and said, ‘Hey, Billy, we want to build a clinic in northern Iraq (Kurdistan).’” 

Today, Ray has a team of medical professionals who have come to serve in the clinic and work with the people of Soran. 

For Ray that has been a confirmation of what God is doing, and how He has opened doors in Kurdistan to provide help for people who need it. 

“There are few places in the Middle East that will give someone a chance to change their opinion of Christianity,” Ray said. “Soran is one of them. They’ve given me this opportunity, and we’ve done our best coming alongside local leaders and trusting in their ability to solve the problems like these pressing down on them.

“Linking the Kurdish people to the resources and goodwill of the West, through prayer and a whole host of churches and other organizations, we’ve been able to accomplish a whole lot together.” 

Ray said his mission in Soran is not to try to make converts but to show God’s love to people. “We came here to showcase God’s love without an agenda,” Ray said. 

Over the years, the Rays have earned the respect of the people in Soran. The Kurds – the largest ethnic minority without an independent homeland – have long struggled in the region, facing pressure and persecution from various governments. 

“Anyone that comes along and says, ‘We’re rooting for you,’ they’ll listen, and they’ll give you a chance,” Ray said. “Because of the crucible the Kurdish people have been in, they’re open to hear another story. They’re open to find a new ally in their struggle for freedom.” 

In the Rays, the Kurds have found a new ally. And in Kurdistan, the Rays have found a new home.