Dear friends,
My heart is burdened by what I saw during my visit to Baghdad. My daughter
Renanah and I went to the Ibn Al Nafis Hospital, one of only two heart
centers serving the 25 million people of Iraq. All surgeries there have
ground to a halt due to a lack of supplies, including such basic necessities
as oxygen. The doctors received us openly, but also expressed some skepticism.
Many groups had come to visit, they said, but never returned with any
help. Even the American administration, after three visits and lots of
picture-taking, had not yet supplied a single item.
We talked with them about first of all taking children who need urgent
heart surgery to the U.S. or Europe. The waiting list, we were told, had
reached 1450 children before they stopped taking new names. It is impossible
to contact the families as telephone service, more than three months after
US forces arrived in Baghdad, still has not been restored. So the pediatric
cardiologist, Dr. Hassan, suggested that we go with him to his clinic
and simply take the names of the first 20 children to come through the
door.
It was an unforgettable experience to sit with Dr. Hassan in that tiny
room as a throng of desperate parents pushed at the flimsy wooden door
and begged for help for their dying children. It was a powerful metaphor
for Iraq. A door has unexpectedly opened into the heart of the Arab and
Muslim world. After decades of suffering people are longing for a touch
of grace and mercy. I cannot be a man of integrity, or a follower of Jesus,
if I turn and walk away.
I am asking you to join me on several fronts.
Contacts: contact major medical centers in your area and ask if they will donate a heart surgery if we bring to their door a properly-diagnosed child. A first Iraqi boy has already been operated on through Jewish contacts in New York. It has been a joyful experience for all parties, one shared with the community through the local media.
Funding: a pediatrician/missionary in Denver has offered to go with me to Baghdad in September to help prioritize children and be an advocate for the hospitals with the American administration. We need funding NOW to get there and establish a presence. A second person may need to be posted to Amman to facilitate transportation and visas for children. And our Jerusalem office is in critical need of funding to keep the door open for Palestinian children who are coming into Israel for surgeries.
Prayer: God's grace was palpable throughout
our last trip, and is the only thing that will sustain us into the future.
Yours faithfully for Jesus' sake,
Jonathan Miles
Coordinator
Shevet Achim
