For a long time now Mohammed and his mom were anticipating the day where they could go to the hospital to have his next echo. Finally we could take them to the hospital today. Thanks to his doctor who moved Mohammed’s appointment from the end of January to today, Mohammed didn’t have to wait for so long in our house, but was even discharged to Kurdistan after his doctor saw him. He made clear that everything is fine with him. But he also stressed that Mohammed needs to take good care of his teeth as an infection would be really bad for his artificial valve. Because it is artificial, it won’t grow by itself even if Mohammed gets older and continues to grow. That’s why he will need another surgery in the future where his current valve should be replaced by a new one. In all the happiness which we could experience with Mohammed, his mom and the other Kurdish family that was released back to Kurdistan, I could still feel that his mother was a little worried. She kept asking for recommendations and important things which Mohammed should do. Thankfully she called a family member who could talk English and he translated everything for us. Now we can be even more sure that she understood everything and that she knows what is important in his current situation.

We left the hospital with two happy families who have been waiting eagerly for this important day. The rest of the day was filled with happiness and anticipation for the day they will finally fly back home. As the time went by here at Shevet, the two boys grew closer and became like brothers who would laugh and play video games together.

We are grateful for this good news and give all the praise to the Lord who did so many wonderful things in Mohammed’s life. Thank you for praying for him and his mom.

Just before the beginning of Shabbat, our new coworker Lea and I went together with Mohammed for some small shopping since we needed a few things for our Shabbat evening dinner. Mohammed usually doesn’t like to go outside so much, so we always have to motivate him to do something. And since he wanted some cookies, he was fine with going with us to the markets and getting them himself. At the end, his mother was smiling brightly at him when we came home as she was also really happy to see him outside of the house.

Please continue to pray for Mohammed, that he would find the motivation to be outside of the house and to be more active. Thank God, he is doing really well since he got discharged from hospital the last time. His next echo is only in February next year, so he and his mother will have a long time spending in our house. Hopefully, we can take them somewhere once in a while during our wait for the echo.

Yesterday around 12 am, coworker Petra came to us and told us that something was wrong with Mohammed. We were shocked and immediately followed Petra to Mohammed’s room in our guesthouse in Jerusalem. There he sat on the couch, in a warm jacket, right in front of the heater which was on the highest level, and still he was shivering very hard.

We took his temperature and every vital we could, only his blood pressure was higher than it should be, everything else seemed fine. We tried to consider what was the best for him, maybe to take him to the ER and make sure everything is fine, or would everything be resolved in five minutes? And, indeed, five minutes later, he told Petra that everything was okay, and his vitals confirmed that.

But at that time, Jonathan was already on his way to the guesthouse. With the other mothers as translators, we had a small conference around the dinner table, explaining what exactly happened to Mohammed and how he was feeling right now. Mohammed said he was probably shivering because he still had wet hair from taking a shower, so he doesn’t have to go to the ER. We promised to keep a close eye on him and to check his temperature and vitals every 1-2 hours.

When we took his temperature in the afternoon, it was just a bit elevated, but only half an hour later, it was 39.3°C (102,7°F), higher than before. That was also the time when his mother told us he had to throw up the last night, so we made the decision to bring him to the ER as fast as possible. It just took us half an hour by taxi to reach Hadassah Hospital. We entered the ER and talked to doctors earlier than we thought possible. We secured Mohammed’s X-Ray very quickly as well as a short Echo to check on his heart. After some time, doctors seemed to have more urgent patients and let us wait for hours.

Now and again a nurse came to take some samples, mostly blood samples. Unfortunately Mohammed didn’t like that at all, he was very exhausted from enduring the blood sampling over and over again. At least he and his mother got a bed and a couch and could get some sleep between all the tests.

After several hours in the ER, the doctors let us know that there was no room in the hospital proper until the next morning, so although Mohammed and his mother were admitted to the hospital, they stayed in the ER for the night. We had to go home, but we promised them to visit again next day. And that’s what coworker Luisa did today.

Unfortunately, we found Mohammed and his mother still in the same room in the ER when we came to see them today. Luckily Luisa met another German volunteer who is working in the ER and promised to call Luisa as soon as there was news about Mohammed. Also another nurse told Luisa that the doctors will already start with some treatment and try to find out what’s causing the Mohammed’s fever.

We are very thankful for the staff in Hadassah’s ER. They’re trying their best to help Mohammed. He is really not feeling well and hates being in the hospital. Please, Lord, give him and his mother strength for the following days in the hospital and let the doctors find out what is wrong. You can see how hard it is for this young man and his mother to be in the hospital, so please find a way to show them that you are the one we can rely on and the one in whom we can find hope and patience!

Today was the day Mohammed could finally get discharged from his brief stay at Hadassah Hospital. When I visited him and his mother, they were currently having their lunch and invited me to join them. It was some wonderful quality time. I really enjoyed sharing in their joy about the discharge.

Mohammed’s nurse was very lovely and took very good care of him and his mother, making sure that everything was clear and understood by them. Mohammed’s mother was a little worried about a small bald spot on his head, but the nurse reassured her that it was caused by being in the bed of the ICU and that it will grow again. After everything was clear and Mohammeds IV-canal was removed, we were ready to go. After a 40 minutes bus drive, Mohammed was very tired and immediately fell asleep, very understandable. He has had a very long day! Now he can rest for one more week until he has his next Echo appointment to check if everything is fine.

Please pray for Mohammed and his mother, that they can both get some rest and maybe already go back home to Kurdistan if his Echo results are good. Let’s thank the Lord, our God, for they are now able to stay with us!

Mohammed was moved to the pediatric ward at Hadassah Hospital today! He’s feeling well today.

When I visited him, he was sitting up in bed watching football/soccer on his phone. He asked me to get him a hamburger and a coca cola. I found the coca cola, but I could only find him a sandwich. However, he was quite pleased with it and ate it up hungrily.

Hopefully within a few days, he can be discharged back to our guesthouse in Jerusalem. He and his mother are definitely looking forward to getting out of the hospital. Please pray he’ll be cleared to go home soon!

After spending the night in the PICU of Hadassah Hospital, Mohammed received a medication treatment and a new test. Praise God, there were better results this time.

Mohammed’s doctor checked the ECG, the echo and the blood results. The doctors and specialists discussed Mohammed’s condition and concluded Mohammed doesn’t need any surgical intervention.

Mohammed still needs to stay in the PICU for observation and medication treatment. Your prayers are coveted for this young man.

This afternoon, Mohammed started to have some high temperature and in the morning he was nauseas. During the drive and in the hospital too, he was laying down on his mom’s legs, he and his Mom didn’t want to stay at the hospital and constantly both said, “I’m good, I’m just weak, I want to go home.”

While in the ER, a blood test was ordered.

The results were quite fast because they knew about Mohammed’s high levels of troponin last week. An ECG, and other tests were also done.

After seeing inflammatory markers,  they knew Mohammed needed to be admitted. Medical staff called the doctors in charge of the Pediatric Intensive Care unit, who in turn ordered an echo and checked Mohammed’s condition. After the echo, the doctor explained to us that Mohammed has some fluid build-up in the heart and will be admitted in that unit, and they also needed to do more blood testing.

Mohammed’s Mom was worried about the weakness of her son. The doctors suggested to give him fluids and medication through the cannula. When we got to the PICU, the doctors were just amazing. They tried to support and welcomed Mohammed again; the same doctor who was helping our Iraqí child on floor four also had a shift in the PICU. She recognized Mohammed an, “We knew after a surgery like he had, that there could be a complication.”

Tomorrow he will have another echo, more tests and according to the results, he might or might not have an intervention. Our prayer is for wisdom for the medical staff and God’s love and peace for all of them as they work tirelessly to find the safest way forward for Mohammed.

Earlier on this Shabbat eve, Mohammed was stabilized and moved to the Pediatric Ward. Then he was discharged from Hadassah Hospital later in the day on Saturday.

The doctors say he looks normal, and they want him to return in a few weeks for a check up echo. Praise God! Please pray that he’ll continue to do well. And thank you for your prayers when Mohammed went to the ER.

We took Mohammed to the emergency room of Hadassah Hospital. Mohammed said he wasn’t feeling very good and was experiencing some tachycardia.

Doctors decided to have him admitted to the hospital as he had elevated troponin levels. They gave him some fluids and medication and kept him overnight for observation.

We continue to pray for Mohammed. Thankful for the medical staff at Hadassah. They’re very caring and ready to serve.

Mohammed was feeling a bit tired today. When coworker Berith and I visited him at Hadassah Hospital, he was lying in his bed with a nasal oxygen tube and happily watching videos on his phone. He kept laughing at something in his videos, and it was very sweet to see how he always explained the joke to his mother when she asked what he was laughing about.

When we came in, his mother immediately offered us cheese pastries, and happily tried to communicate with us. While we were sitting with her and Mohammed, some doctors came in and were discussing some x-ray images of Mohammed’s chest. Later, when we asked about it, his doctor told us that he has a pneumothorax – a partially collapsed lung – and he is having oxygen therapy to correct it. His doctor is not very worried about it, and said that depending on how he is feeling, he could be discharged to our house as soon as tomorrow.

Please pray that the right decisions will be made about him, and that he won’t be discharged until he’s ready.

Today Mohammed was moved from the Hadassah Hospital’s Pediatric ICU to the Pediatric Department at Hadassah Hospital.  So in the medical world, that’s a definite step in the right direction.

During this weekend, Mohammed was much more active. He seems to be recovering his strength and is experiencing less pain, What a great picture it was to see Mohammed stand up from his bed and walk around without help.

In addition to that, today was a new experience for me to see Mohammed so expressive and communicative.  He was smiling and also happy to see so many people from so many different countries and religions on the same floor of the hospital.

Mohammed is receiving respiratory therapy to help his lungs so please pray for the therapy to make a difference for him. Also, Mohammed has a strong preference for Kurdish food and isn’t really eating anything other than cookies and juice. Please also pray for this to change. He needs a good balanced diet to begin building his immunity back and to grow stronger. Please also pray for his continued stability.

This afternoon at Hadassah Hospital in Ein Kerem, Jerusalem, Mohammed is clearly continuing to improve after his surgery last Sunday.

We found him today sitting up and out of his bed and playing games with the social worker, she and others offer each day different kinds of activities so that Mohammed can play and resume some activity during the day.

Mohammed’s chest drains have been removed and he’s starting some physical therapy to help strengthen his lungs.

The doctors at Hadassah have stressed the importance of taking things very slowly after such a big surgery. We’re hoping for Mohammed’s continued cooperation in all the ‘take it slowly’ requests being made of him. He also needs to begin eating more solid food. Until now, he has only been eating a lot of biscuits and some juice.

Thankful to God and to the staff at Hadassah for their excellent care of this young man and for Mohammed’s rapid recovery and improvements so far.

Surgery day for Mohammed began exactly on time at 7am.  Mohammed remained calm and friendly with every interaction as teams of nurses and doctors surrounded him with questions and assessments.  Confusion began as the medical team realized that they need a Kurdish interpreter.  This was one of our early morning prayer requests – that barriers with communication would not be a problem today.

Prayers were answered when we called Mohammed’s uncle in Kurdistan who speakers good English and  was willing to interpret for the day.  The doctor explained that this will be a very long day and that Mohammed will go through an extremely difficult surgery and that he faces many risks in the days to come.  The mother agreed to everything – what more could she do?  And more prayers are answered as communication seems to not be a problem.  We were amazed when the surgical team handed mom and the Shevet volunteer surgery clothing, and invited us to accompany Mohammed into the OR, and to remain at his side until he fell asleep.

Then suddenly – in a moment – Mohammed was asleep and we were asked to leave, and Mohammed’s strong mother ‘B’ began to cry for the first time.  Her tears flowed and flowed for almost an hour.   The Shevet volunteer would have been feeling alone and at a loss for how to comfort her with the chasm of language, gender and culture between us – but for the Hand of God.

Within moments of settling into the waiting room, with B still crying & crying – three Arab families who were also waiting in the hospital, jumped up to assist and comfort.  We were given tea and breakfast treats, B was accompanied to the bathroom to wash her face, then more food arrived, and then more food.  At the end of the day, B had more food than she could ever eat.  The other families were confused about why this American man was helping this Kurdish woman and wondered how she could be in Israel at all.   They had trouble understanding that this mother comes from Iraq.  Doors flew open and walls collapsed when I was able to share with these families the amazing work of Shevet Achim.  I shared stories from the website and described the great work that God is doing for these families. One of the Arab girls wiped her eyes and responded, ‘this is really a beautiful thing – thank you for everything you are doing.’   Coworkers Berith and Tatiana joined us in the morning and B began to melt, then even smile, then even laugh as the arms of the Lord wrapped around her with love and peace and comfort.

One of the OR nurses came through the waiting room with updates and was bursting with joy to share that she is Jewish and that her family comes from Kurdistan!  Instead of calling the uncle for interpretation, this wonderful Jewish-Kurdish angel offered the few Kurdish words she could remember from childhood and comforted B.  We were moved to tears to see the Hand of God working in our midst, in such a beautiful and special way.  Berith offered a perfect reply to this amazing encounter:

‘Wow.  This is the Hand of God, for sure – He has eyes and ears and hands and feet working all around us – to help us – with whatever we need.’

Amen to that, Sister Berith.  Amen

Within the hour we were invited to move to the PICU to see Mohammed for the first time.  Dr. Seraf explained that the surgery was completely successful, that Mohammed’s damaged aortic valve had been replaced and that all of the cardiac defects had been repaired, noting that there were no complications or concerns with the surgery today.  B began calling all of her family members.  She was full of joy with the news and embraced the Shevet volunteers with thanks and gratitude.

As we said good bye for the night, we knew that we were not leaving Mohammed and his mother alone tonight. We were confident that we were leaving this beautiful mother and son in the hands of our loving Abba – who has eyes and ears and hands and feet working all around us – to help us – with whatever we need.

We came with Mohammed and his mother to the Jerusalem guesthouse on Friday before the beginning of Shabbat – with plans to bring Mohammed for admission to Hadassah Hospital on Saturday night, God willing.

They were excited to see Jerusalem and asked if they could go to Al-Aqsa mosque to pray.  We drove to the top of the Mt of Olives so they could see the city when we first arrived to Jerusalem.  After lunch in the guest house, we walked Mohammed and his mother to the entrance of the Temple Mount and Al-Aqsa.  Mohammed was very curious about the Christian Pilgrims whom he noticed walking the Via Dolorosa.  He was also curious about the Jews who were dressed for the beginning of Shabbat.  I explained to Mohammed that Jerusalem is a very important place to Muslims, Christians and Jews.  His mother replied by holding her hands together and simply said ‘Abraham.’  Mohammed replied, ‘I think we are brothers.’

On Shabbat afternoon we were able to return with the family to Al-Aqsa for prayers, but on the way, Jonathan guided us to the Garden Tomb.

He explained to the family that this mountain is the same mountain where Abraham obeyed God to offer his son as a sacrifice – the site of the Dome of the Rock near the Al-Aqua mosque.  Jonathan then explained that in this place God offered his only son as a sacrifice and that we rejoice because God raised him from the dead.

It was humbling to see Mohammed’s mother holding her hands open and praying inside the empty tomb.

After the sun set, we were able to drive the family to Hadassah for admission.  Mohammed is very curious and calm about everything.  We were so touched by his nurse, Raquel, who was giving extra attention and loving care for Mohammed.  She quickly downloaded Kurdish-Sorani translation to her phone so she could communicate directly with Mohammed.

Raquel told us before we left, ‘you are doing holy work.’  But Jonathan replied, ‘I think you are doing the holy work – we are just helping bring this boy to you.’

Lastly, we prayed and blessed Mohammed  before leaving for the night and plan to return early tomorrow morning when surgery is planned to start.

This evening we picked up our “new” child Mohammed and his mother from the airport in Tel Aviv. They had some delays because it was difficult to find the right suitcase, but after some time we could finally spot them coming out of the airport. Both of them smiled so much and seemed to be very happy to be with us. After a first hello, Mohammed showed us his phone and we could see that he was calling the father of Lalo, a child from Kurdistan who was recently treated here and returned to Kurdistan! It was so surprising and heartwarming to see how he cared for our new arriving passengers and how Shevet is creating families somewhere we aren’t actually working! When we arrived at Ashdod in the family house another resident mother was immediately taking care of them, starting a conversation and showing them the house a bit. We are sure that the women will get along very well and we are very looking forward to Mohammed’s and his mother’s time here with us. We’re thankful for their safe flight and that they could finally come to Israel. Please also pray for both of them to make themselves at home in Ashdod, and for Mohammed, that his treatment here will be successful.