Dear friends,
A few weeks ago Phil Berg and I went down to the Wolfson Medical Center
in Holon and visited with Dr. Eli Gilad (pictured at right), the deputy
director of the pediatric ICU. Those of you who've been there know it's
a moving experience to see the Israeli doctors and nurses so focused on
saving Palestinian children's lives. And we enjoy listening to Eli, who
despite his dry humor and occasional cynicism can't help but share the
hope and idealism which is still in his heart.
So Phil and I were both stunned as we stood at the foot of the bed of
an infant recovering from heart surgery, and Eli folded his arms and said
"I hope we will survive." The doctors themselves run a non-profit
group to raise funds to help subsidize the surgeries, and Eli told us
that since the September 2001 terror attacks giving has fallen way off.
They no longer have the backing they need to continue reaching out to
Israel's neighbors.
We are part of the problem. Shevet Achim is behind on our commitments
to help with $2500 for each Palestinian child we send to them. Despite
this neither we nor the doctors have wanted to turn away for financial
reasons a child who needs emergency lifesaving surgery; we've seen children
die because we were a day or a week too late in reaching them.
It's understandable that giving has fallen off at a time when much of
the Arab and Islamic culture seems to have declared war against the West.
But the work of Shevet Achim is born out of obedience to Jesus, not simply
human sympathy and emotion. And the same spirit which raised Jesus from
the dead will give us the ability to love and bless even our enemies,
and to see them as simple, suffering, sinful people like ourselves, in
need of God's grace. We of all people should be consistently standing
by these Israeli doctors who by some miracle are still trying to help.
So I'll share with you that as 2002 draws to a close we need $60,000 to
transfer to Wolfson. We've tried to eliminate all non-emergency cases,
but nine urgent heart surgeries in the last two months have pushed our
present commitments up to this level.
Important News!
Shevet Achim has this week registered as a non-profit corporation in the
U.S. (independent of our longstanding non-profit body in Israel), and
we've filed papers with the IRS which will now allow gifts to be tax-deductible
if sent to our U.S. office at the address below. Also friends in the U.K.
can take advantage of the gift-aide programme by sending contributions
through CFI at the address below.
We look with you now to God with hearts thankful for what he has done
and will yet do. Please pray that he'll work in our midst to meet the
present need.
Your servant for Jesus' sake,
Jonathan Miles
Coordinator
Shevet Achim
POB 32296
Jerusalem 91000
Israel
US Office for tax-deductible contributions:
Shevet Achim
POB 1006
Rocky Face, GA 30740
UK contributions payable to CFI at:
CFI Communications
PO BOX 2687
Eastbourne, E. Sussex
BN22 7LZ
