Beginning today, The Cypress Times will be publishing a diary of sorts from Charles Lingerfelt.  Mr. Lingerfelt is a retired principal, teacher and football coach from Dallas, Texas who has co-founded the Kurdish American School in Dohuk, Kirdistan-Northern Iraq.

The school was founded in 2006 and Mr. Lingerfelt returns to Iraq often to continue the work there.  Due to Mr. Langerfelt's generosity in sharing his story with The Cypress Times we will able to let you keep up with his journey and the progress of his students in Iraq.  

The Cypress Times will continue to publish Mr. Lingerfelt's reports or blog in the manner in which they are supplied.  As Mr. Lingerfelt puts it, "I will accommodate you as much as possible, and as long as the electricity ‘stays on’ and I have access to the Internet, I will keep the Blogs coming your way.”  What follows is Mr. Lingerfelt's first blog.

All my family and friends:

Just wanting to let you know that I've arrived in Kurdistan, and am here this evening ( 9 April 2009) in Motel Bani, located in Dohuk. I arrived here very early this morning around 6:30a.m., after the flight from
Istanbul, Turkey.

I had left on Sunday afternoon, following Church with the family, for my flight from DFW to Frankfurt, Germany. After the all-night flight from Dallas, I really was NOT "prepared" for the long wait at Frankfurt International before I could "get-on-my-way" to Northern Iraq.

Anyways, after waiting a day in Frankfurt, and a day in Istanbul ~ both in the airports, I was more than ready to "get on with the program!!" Left Istanbul last night around Midnight, and arrived in Erbil about 2:10a.m.

Following check-in at EIA, I met my Taksi driver, Chaker-("shocker") and off we went toward Dohuk! The drive is about two hours from Erbil International and is up the hills and through the mountains toward Northern Iraqi/Turkey border. I was leaning back in my seat a little later, and almost sound asleep, when I heard the very "excited" voice of a young Iraqi mantelling Chacker something, as we had stopped, in one of the Kurdi dialects.

As we looked through the front windshield, we could see the lights of a fuel-tanker shining forward on another tanker that had just wrecked and turned over; it looked horrible!!

Chaker told me, "You stay, Mister Charliss - I be right back! You stay!" By then I was wide awake ~ NO sleepiness at all! I watched as Chaker walked over with the young man to his tanker-truck to be in the view of the headlights. Chaker's driver-side window was still down and I could feel the slight cool morning air. I didn't know IF this were a "set-up" or what ~ so, I decided to get out of the Taksi and walk over to "check-out" the overturned truck and tanker. By then I saw someone moving near the overturned tanker, slowly walking and staggering ~ almost like a drunk!

When the young Iraqi and Chaker noticed him, they went running over to him(about 35 yards) to assist him. When I saw blood on his face, and all over his clothes, I knew then this was NO "setup." The young driver was so severely injured, I thought, "he won't stay alive long enough to make it to the Emergency Room."

After Chaker helped load him into the young Iraqi's truck, we decided to assist him in backing up his truck and turning it around to head back into Erbil, to get "help" for the young injured driver. I later found out from Chaker that the injured man was an Iranian and was here in Iraq for work. While he was driving in the early morning hours, perhaps to get loaded with Petrol and then haul it to a location, he had probably fallen asleep at the wheel and "rolled" his truck and tanker ~ completely demolishing it. I don't see how he made it out of that wreckage of the truck-cab alive.

Before they "headed off" to Erbil, I laid my hand on the truck and prayed for the "injured" young man; I asked God specifically to "spare his life, and keep him from death for his family's sake." I later told this to Chaker and he said, "Thank-you Mister Charliss!" And then, very abruptly, as if he were talking into thin air, Chaker shouted, "Mister Charliss is good man! Mister Charliss is good man!" I said, "Well, Chaker ~ Mister Charliss has Great God! God is good and He is Great!" He agreed with me and we rode on!

I will tell you more of this story later ~ but, for now I must get a shower and a shave. Man! I feel like a "Hippy!" LOL...

In Him is life, and His life is the "light of men." I pray that My "words and the meditations of my heart will be acceptible in His sight."

To Him be All glory, 

Charles Lingerfelt

For more info on the Kurdish American School please visit: