Dear friends,
On the heels of the news that baby Mohammed had died in the hospital in
Israel, we learned that newborn Juma also succumbed to the metabolic disease
which had claimed three of his previous siblings. Yesterday Phil, Elia,
and I went to visit the families in the Gaza Strip.
It was the Al Adha holiday, and we found Mohammed's father Fuad with hands
and clothing still stained from the slaughter of an animal. (On this day
Muslims commemorate the willingness of Abrahim to sacrifice his son.)
Fuad poured out to us his bitterness that his own long-awaited son hadn't
received necessary life-sustaining medication while hospitalized in Gaza.
He relived for us how he closely followed the efforts of the doctors to
restore Mohammed to life after his arrival in Israel, and the anguish
of learning that those efforts had failed. We then talked with him of
God's redeeming power, and gave the family a lily which will act as a
symbol, when it returns to life each year, of the promise that Mohammed
will be raised up on the last day.
We did the same with Juma's family in their very humble home, and with
both families shared about the many believers who have been praying for
them. We're thankful for the love and support which reached out and touched
these precious people at the time of their need. It is a privilege for
us to represent the body of Jesus in this way.
Because Mohammed did not make it through to heart surgery, we may not
in the end be asked to contribute toward the expense of his hospitalization.
This has allowed us to accept another newborn from Gaza for heart surgery.
Baby Karam, pictured at left, came for evaluation last week and the cardiologists
in Israel insisted on admitting him immediately for emergency livesaving
surgery. His prognosis should be good.
Yours thankfully,
Jonathan Miles
Coordinator
Shevet Achim
