The True Spirit of Christmas in Baghdad
Baby Nourah was born blind. Her condition is reversible with surgery, but being born in a small village outside Baghdad, her parents had neither the income nor the opportunity to do anything about it. In addition, the city's hospitals lack the facilities and physicians to perform the procedure. What they needed was a miracle.
Their miracle would come in the form of Army 1st Lt. Jason Hickman, a platoon leader with the North Carolina National Guard.
Divine Intervention
It happened on a dark road about five months ago when a convoy made a wrong turn and ended up in Zwaynat, a small village southwest of Baghdad. The girl happened to be there visiting her uncle, and he met the convoy commander and informed him of the baby's plight.
"So there we were at a place we hadn't intended on being," said Hickman. "Wrong turn, perhaps, but that's not how I see it. My interest and contacts with the Order of Saint John, the wrong turn, her being there with her uncle instead of with her parents in Baghdad -- no, not a coincidence."
The Order of St. John, accredited by the United Nations, provides first aid, health care and support services in more than 40 countries.
"I do believe that God puts people in certain places at certain times," Hickman said. "Things don't happen solely by coincidence. All you have to do is look for the road signs. The signs were clear, so I sent some e-mails, and that's how we arrived here."
Once Nourah was diagnosed, Hickman e-mailed St. John's Jerusalem Eye Hospital, the main provider of eye care in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, and a cause he has contributed to in the past.
but the operation would be costly. So Hickman and his fellow soldiers passed the hat - and with the help of their hometowns in North Carolina and West Virginia, raised over $5,000.00 and paid for the operation.
Today Nourah has to wear glasses until her eyes are fully healed, but she can see. All because some Christian soldiers knew the real meaning of Christmas.
"The Lord may not push you around the board like a pawn, but every now and again he puts you where he wants you," Hickman said. "We were supposed to end up in Zwaynat that night. It was just up to us what we were going to do when we got there."
adapted from this story posted by Office of the Secretary of Defense Public Affairs.