“Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity” – Psalm 133
For nearly three long years we’ve mourned the growing division between Jews and Arabs in the land of Israel. It seemed the Hamas massacre had quashed the hope of brotherly relations between the ancient sons of Abraham.
But this week the counteroffensive began. Like the kingdom of God, it looked small and insignificant at first. A Jewish Zionist, a well-respected former police commander, announced he would run for the Knesset next month on the list of an Arab Muslim party. There’s never been anything like this in Israeli politics. And those with ears to hear know this is a seismic shift.
Of special note to our community is the source of inspiration for the bold move of this Jewish commander. "The future model for the State of Israel that I see before me is a model familiar to anyone who enters the doors of an Israeli hospital. There, a person sheds the narratives and identities they carry. There, first and foremost, human beings meet. Patients, doctors, nurses, administrative staff, families — everyone is equal."
Yes friends, this is the same picture which we see and share with you week by week, and year by year. What happens when Jews and Arabs meet in the hospitals in Israel is indeed a future model, a foretaste of the coming kingdom of heaven:
https://shevet.org/?p=128509
Just before Shabbat began here in the land, we received a text and a phone call from the hospital. Montaser went to be with the Lord. His body went into cardiac arrest as everything was too much for him to handle.
This loss is deeply devastating for so many who knew and loved this young boy. Even more so, the grief of this family is unimaginable. I have never seen such deep love for a child as this entire family has shown time and time again. Our hearts break for his family. Please join us in surrounding them in prayer as they walk through this inconceivably difficult time of loss.
https://shevet.org/?p=128501
Little Montaser lives next to one of the most violent West Bank outposts, which has been evacuated 65 times by the IDF. He’s now in the hospital in Israel, with unstable oxygen levels. And after some significant support received in recent days, we see that he needs just $2000 more for his big heart surgery scheduled for this week:
https://shevet.org/?p=128427
The heart surgery of Anas, which should have only lasted five hours, went on for almost 15 hours. Ever since, this precious child from the West Bank has been in critical condition in the ICU in Israel. He has been intubated, on dialysis, with an open chest for over a week. His kidneys have failed, his liver has failed, and his hands and feet have turned a deep blue color because of an extreme lack of circulation. He is teetering on the edge of life and death.
We praise God that Anas is still alive and fighting. We praise God that Anas’ heart function is now good. We praise God that the doctors are working hard day and night for Anas. We praise God for Anas’ parents who stay faithfully with him.
https://shevet.org/?p=128370
On Tuesday precious, shy, mischievous, blue, frail Montaser from Bethlehem is finally coming back to Israel for heart surgery, two years after his last one. We love his humble and sincere family, and simply cannot be quiet as their son is failing. So we’ll share with you tonight that $15000 is still needed to cover our share of his hospital costs: https://shevet.org/?p=128335
Elisa and I were pleasantly surprised when a Palestinian father and his young daughter approached us and asked if we were with Shevet Achim. We soon had an unexpected new patient! Precious Watar, a seven-year-old girl from Hebron, had no one to help her gain admittance to the echocardiogram clinic in Israel.
It so happens that Watar’s father is an incredibly gifted oud player and singer, and brought his oud to the hospital. As an act of gratitude, he delighted us with his music. We sat in the echo clinic as he played and sang. A few doctors even gathered around:
https://shevet.org/?p=128310
This week in Jerusalem we buried David, the only child of our founding board member Jim and his wife Leslie. David grew up in Israel, and had only recently found the cause he wanted to give the rest of his life to. He joined an Israeli group called the Jordan Valley Activists, as they went out to place their bodies between some of our Arab neighbors and some of our Jewish neighbors who were attacking them.
Such intercession is costly. David took a rifle butt to the head, that left him wounded (also in spirit) and ultimately back in the US. A lifelong competitive swimmer, his body was found in Lake Michigan under circumstances still unclear.
At the cemetery this week, the thought came that this really was a cause worth giving one’s life to. It’s not just political activism. It’s the battle for the core truth that all the New Testament revolves around: the inclusion of non-Jews as full and equal recipients of the promises of God.
https://shevet.org/?p=128205
We had the delight of walking out of the hospital with Bairam and his parents after his heart surgery in Israel, and transporting them to their home in Jericho. Little did we know that the best was yet to come. Upon approaching their home, one of the most beautiful moments I’ve ever witnessed occurred.
Bairam, with a huge smile, had tears streaming down his face. His mother told us that he was beyond overjoyed at returning home. As we got out of the car the tears continued as their family ran to meet him, weeping with joy at his return home:
https://shevet.org/?p=128196
While waiting for an echocardiogram with Nihal from Hebron, it was lovely to have a sweet interaction with a Jewish family at the hospital who were waiting for their appointment. The Jewish family had a daughter who kept coming to high-five Nihal, her mother, and me. We spoke with their family for some time, and it was such a blessing to witness a Jewish and Muslim family laughing together and sharing in conversation. God is healing the Abrahamic family moment by moment.
https://shevet.org/?p=128121
10-year-old Bairam from Jericho was born with only one ventricle in his heart, and has already undergone several open-heart surgeries; this week marked his first visit to Israel for treatment not available in the West Bank. His mother was anxious, and it was a privilege to pray with her and ask the Lord for peace and for Bairam’s operation to go well. After more than six hours in surgery, God answered those prayers!
The operation was successful, his chest was closed, and soon afterward Bairam was opening his eyes, responding to his mother’s voice, and even breathing on his own:
https://shevet.org/?p=128086
Three years ago tonight a day-old baby girl named Abeer was rushed out of Gaza to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, for emergency surgery to switch her great arteries. We didn’t know at the time that we were just two months away from the October 7 war that would cut off all access to Israel for Gazans; now all the newborns there like Abeer who need emergency heart surgery are dying.
Tonight we gathered to celebrate Abeer’s third birthday, and the anniversary of her arrival in Israel; she and her father were still in the hospital in Israel on October 7, and since her discharge have been sheltering in Bethlehem.
Truly a candle in the darkness. We thanked God together tonight for the miracle that Abeer is alive.
https://shevet.org/?p=127987
Layan was born in Hebron three weeks premature, and came to Israel at the end of June only a few days old. She had multiple congenital heart defects which required surgery almost immediately, and has been recovering for a few weeks now and has shown great improvement. Before she can go home, the two goals the doctors set for Layan were to bottle feed, which she has achieved, and to weigh two kilograms (4.4 lbs), which she is on the cusp of finally reaching. Lord willing, this sweet baby and her loving mother will return to their home this coming Sunday or Monday.
https://shevet.org/?p=127980
Jews and Muslims live side by side in the land, and are increasingly strangers to each other. And the precise calling of our community is to put them in front of each other, to let them look the stranger in the eye and–with shock–recognize a brother.
It happened again this week, when Reda’s desperate young Palestinian parents saw a dozen of Israel’s leading doctors gathered around the bedside of their firstborn son, fighting for his life. After Reda died in the ICU, his father insisted on gathering the doctors before he left. He wanted to thank them for the way he’d seen them care for his son; he even asked them to forgive him for putting them through so much trouble.
https://shevet.org/?p=127923
Tiny newborn Layan from Hebron continues to grow stronger and more alert each day since her surgery in Israel two weeks ago. There is so much to praise God for with this beautiful little girl! Earlier this week she was extubated, and now her oxygen levels are nearly perfect. Her vital signs continue to look excellent.
Before she can be discharged, Layan needs to reach two important milestones: weighing at least two kilograms (4.4 lbs) and bottle feeding successfully. She is getting so close to both.
https://shevet.org/?p=127886
In a few hours newborn Reda from Ramallah goes in for his emergency heart surgery in Israel. Our coworker Elisa was with his young parents today:
"We enjoyed a lovely conversation filled with smiles and laughter even amidst the heaviness of the unknown future for their child. Though they face great difficulty and uncertainty, they seem strengthened and encouraged by sweet glances at each other while they work as one to love on their firstborn child.
"After continued conversation, we met with the doctor who conducted Reda’s CT scan. He spoke with encouraging kindness to Reda’s parents as he delivered the news that Reda needs surgery tomorrow to switch his left and right atriums. At this news, our sweet couple seemed very concerned. Reda’s mother confided that she was worried and scared for her sweet baby boy. But together, as the Shevet team, the Lord allowed us to minister to her as we shared that our Lord is the Healer, and Reda rests safely in His hands."
https://shevet.org/?p=127843
Well friends, this week concludes our family’s current period of service in Israel. We are headed to Jordan and then to the United States for a few weeks of rest, refreshment, and reconnection with friends and family.
Our experience serving as a family with Shevet Achim has been uplifting and rewarding, though not without challenges, refining us and causing us to grow in ways we might not have grown without enduring those challenges. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your prayers for not only the families we serve, but for our family as well.
https://shevet.org/?p=127832
Could Israel`s third commonwealth be in jeopardy? Prominent voices in Israel warn so; and Israel`s Christian friends must take heed.
https://shevet.org/?p=127816
We’ve come to know and love little Rose well over the last six months. In that time she went through a heart surgery and three interventional catheterizations at Sheba Medical Center in Israel, as doctors tried to pull her out of heart failure. We were all hopeful when she returned home to Jenin after her last cath just 12 days ago.
But at the end of last week she was hit by an apparent viral illness, and it was too late in the week to receive the approval for her return to Israel. Her concerned parents, in an effort to do all they could for her, took her to their local emergency room in the West Bank, and from there she was transferred to an advanced ICU in Nablus. We learned Sunday morning that the combination of the virus and her weak heart was more than Rose could bear.
We are heartbroken at the loss of this beautiful little girl, made in God’s image, and we ask that you pray for God to comfort the family of Rose.
https://shevet.org/?p=127795
Two weeks ago our beloved little Hur returned from Bethlehem to Gaza, even though she still needs urgent heart surgery which is not available there. Today we received this photo of Hur in Gaza, together with this note: "She is very exhausted, and if she has to remain in Gaza, we are afraid we will lose her."
https://shevet.org/?p=127781
At the start of the week our little Rose from Jenin was given the green light to return home, after her successful catheterization last week to place two bilateral stents that widened her narrow arteries. But we have late word now, just before the start of the Shabbat, that Rose is hospitalized again in the ICU of her local hospital. Her doctor at Sheba hospital in Israel is attempting to clarify what is happening, and has asked for, and received, our commitment of financial support to bring her back as needed. Please join us now in trusting Rose into the hands of our Father in heaven.
https://shevet.org/?p=127777
“Will you help us?”
Few of us know how to respond to a request like that. But we found if one person will hear that question–and then pray, give whatever they have, and share the child’s story–our Father will form a rescue community that unites all kinds of people around the shared goal of saving a child’s life. And doctors and hospitals in Israel are ready to partner with us and take more than half of the costs on themselves.
Here are some of the families of children who are asking the same question today: “Will you help us?”
