Dear friends,
In our lifetimes has there ever been a better time to reach out with a
hand of mercy to the common people of the Arab world?
If you've seen the new video about children in need of heart surgery,
you'll remember little Maram, pictured at right. She's the first daughter
of a desperately-poor family in the Gaza Strip, born with Down Syndrome
and a heart defect. She needs immediate open-heart surgery before developing
pulmonary hypertension leaves her inoperable and dying a slow and agonizing
death. This morning, thank God, she has been admitted to the hospital
in Israel. We need $3500 immediately to allow her surgery to go forward
and cover related expenses.
As events accelerate in the Middle East, so do our opportunities to act in Jesus' name. So far this year we're sending one Arab child each week to Israel for lifesaving heart surgery. Last week it was a newborn baby boy named Sufian from Gaza, pictured at right. The Shevet Achim volunteers in Jerusalem were just able to pull together arrangements for his transfer at the last minute. He was rushed into the ICU in Israel, and underwent successful emergency heart surgery the next day.
The week before it was Mohammed, another newborn from Gaza with severe
tetralogy of Fallot (a combination of a hole in the heart and a narrow
artery). We sent him only for evaluation, but doctors in Israel advised
that he was in immediate danger of dying. The next day he had an emergency
catheterization followed by open-heart surgery. He's pictured at right
in the ICU. Our volunteers report that:
It was pretty tough with him at first. For four nights the doctors were
busy with him, but now he is improving. He is the first boy in his family.
He has three sisters. His father has no work.
And the previous week it was one-week-old baby Taisier who was rescued.
He is the firstborn child of a young couple in Gaza. The birth was difficult,
so Taisier came to Israel with his grandmother while his mother had her
own reparative surgery in Gaza. All that was needed to save Taisier's
life was a balloon catheterization which opened up an obstructed valve
in his heart. He's already returned home to his joyful parents, but only
after our volunteers spent hours working to get him back into Gaza without
any identification--even his birth certificate had been left at home in
the rush to treatment!
We thank God that the doors have been opened to save these lives. The
Israeli doctors need our support urgently in order to continue. Would
you pray with us for the release of the resources that are needed? And
if the Lord leads, help us place the video about these children at risk
in the hands of the Church. Where there are caring people we will send
any number of inexpensive video CDs, which are playable on any DVD player
or personal computer. VHS tapes are also available if needed. You can
write me to request copies, and please include your mailing address.
Bless you for your partnership in loving these children.
Jonathan Miles
Coordinator
Shevet Achim
www.shevet.org
"Behold how good and how pleasant for brothers to dwell together
in unity" Psalm 133.
