Dear friends,

A guest in our home in the Gaza Strip this afternoon, speaking in Arabic,referred to the "amaliyya" which took place in Netanya today, as a suicide bomber from the Hamas killed himself and four others. "Amaliyya" means"operation." While he was thinking of a military operation, he used the same word we use for the heart operations which are saving lives of Palestinian children.

Indeed, even as ambulances were rushing the wounded from Netanya, another ambulance was returning 11-year-old Mohammed (pictured right) from an Israeli hospital to his home in Gaza. Mohammed was thought to be healthy until he suddenly collapsed while playing sports several weeks ago. He went into a deep coma and his aorta was found to be severely restricted. Two days ago he underwent a balloon dilation of the aorta at the hands of Israeli doctors with excellent results. Tonight he's already back home, and his family has just called to express their thanks to God.

Let's pray that the righteousness of the kingdom of God burns forth in brilliant contrast to the surrounding darkness.

Jonathan