On Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence was at the White House to meet with families who have had their homes and livelihoods destroyed by the Islamic State. A 12-year-old Iraqi boy named Noeh caught the attention of the former Indiana governor, after he offered Pence one of his only remaining possessions as a gift.
According to Kristin Wright, director of advocacy at Open Doors USA , the charity and global persecution watchdog group who organized the gathering, Noeh shared a “special moment” with Pence, when he offered him his marbles collection.
“There was a very special moment where Noeh was able to give him marbles from his burned out home in the Nineveh Plain,” Wright said in a Facebook video after the event. “He was able to give them to Vice President Pence as a gift and the vice president received them and it was just a really special moment.”
As the Christian Post reported, Noeh and his family were only recently able to return their home village in the Nineveh Plains, after living as internally displaced persons in Erbil for more than three years because of the ISIS occupation. According to Open Doors USA, Noeh, his father, and two Iraqi priests traveled to the United States this week to speak with the vice president and United Nations officials about the conditions on the ground and the dangers residents still face.
Pence took to Twitter to shed light on their plight, promising refugees that the Trump administration is ready and willing to help.
Met w/ 12-yr old Noeh from Iraq. ISIS destroyed his home & he fled leaving everything behind. When they returned, their town was burnt to the ground. The plight of Noeh & thousands of others like him is why @POTUS ordered us to directly aid the persecuted. Help is on the way! pic.twitter.com/v5skBC5Ys3
— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) December 14, 2017
“ISIS destroyed his home & he fled leaving everything behind,” Pence tweeted of Noeh. “When they returned, their town was burnt to the ground. The plight of Noeh & thousands of others like him is why @POTUS ordered us to directly aid the persecuted. Help is on the way!”
While it will take time to rebuild, Noeh refuses to be intimidated by ISIS and is relying on his faith for comfort.
“I am not afraid to live here again,” he was quoted as saying. “[B]ecause the Holy Spirit makes me strong.”
(H/T: Christian Post)