| Georgia church leads effort to help Iraqi baby
Jan. 10, 2006
By Alice M. Smith
DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. (UMNS) — One United Methodist called his church and asked for help, and now a tiny baby girl from Iraq is resting comfortably after the first of three surgeries to correct a life-threatening birth defect.
Lt. Jeff Morgan, a Georgia National Guardsman serving in Baghdad and a member of Shepherd of the Hills United Methodist Church, sent an urgent plea to his home church asking for help in bringing Noor al-Zahra, a 3-month-old girl born with a severe form of spina bifida, to the United States for surgery.
At birth, she had been given 40-45 days to live.
The Rev. Adam Roberts, pastor of Shepherd of the Hills, admitted when Morgan’s e-mail came he was skeptical about what the congregation could do against such enormous odds. The church would have to find a doctor and hospital, arrange transportation and locate a home where the Iraqi family could stay while Noor underwent treatment.
“But, luckily,” he said, “that’s not what members of the church thought, and they jumped in and started working, particularly Debbie Stone.” Largely through Stone’s initiative, and the cooperation of other people and agencies in the right place at the right time, “Baby Noor” arrived in Atlanta Dec. 31. She underwent the first of three surgeries at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Jan. 9.
According to a report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the doctors who performed the surgery said she will be paralyzed from the waist down but should otherwise develop normally.
Stone, Roberts and the congregation became international media stars over the Christmas holidays, with the first reports of the Baby Noor situation in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The newspaper had a reporter embedded with the Georgia National Guard, and the story was picked up by CNN and broadcast internationally on an ongoing basis. The church’s Jan. 1 service was covered by reporters and filmed by TV crews, and Stone became adept at camera and print interviews.
The media attention wasn’t something church members expected, but they agree it has all been positive, with war-time soldiers wanting to help a terribly sick infant, a church working against odds to help, and all the elements falling into place to give Baby Noor a chance for survival.
“I say unashamedly God ordered my steps daily and had a big part in this,” Stone said. “It was God from day one.”
What has surprised her most about the media coverage is the incredulity of some reporters who wondered out loud why she would undertake such a colossal task for someone she didn’t know. “I think the concept of doing something for somebody just because you care about them and want to show God’s love is so foreign to people nowadays,” she said.
She hopes the church’s example has been an eye-opener not only to reporters but also to many non-churchgoers about how Christians are called to live out their faith.
It is not surprising that Stone’s heartstrings would be pulled by Noor’s life-threatening situation. A mother of two — Christopher, 7, and Paul David, 5 — Stone is a social worker who works specifically with children with handicapping conditions. Her oldest son has had five ear surgeries in his young life.
Her calls and e-mails to find help for Noor began with friends who work at Emory Hospital and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and included follow-up calls on any leads she received. Eventually, she came into contact with Childspring International, a Christian nonprofit agency that brings children from abroad to the United States for medical care.
The organization secured an Arabic-speaking family with which Noor, her grandmother and father could stay during their time in Atlanta. The baby’s 18-year-old mother did not make the trip because, according to Iraqi culture, the grandmother is considered the family’s matriarch.
After an e-mail from Morgan, U.S Sen. Saxby Chambliss’ office became involved and helped particularly with one hurdle: bringing the father to Atlanta. Childspring’s policy is not to bring male Iraqis to America, for fear they could defect, but Noor’s grandmother could not travel without a male family member, according to the Iraqi culture. Chambliss, of Georgia, was instrumental in getting the U.S. Department of Defense to take responsibility for the father and to arrange transportation from Baghdad to Kuwait. From there, Delta provided transportation to Atlanta.
The successful arrangements that were made through international protocols and cultures solidified Stone’s belief that God was in charge of the situation. “There’s no explanation for that other than God. In my eyes, that was God’s way of making sure this happened.”
Throughout the time she was trying to make a way for Baby Noor “nobody said no,” she said. “Every time I would call and talk to someone about this situation, if they weren’t able to help, they would say, 'you need to talk to this person or call this number.’”
Much credit also is due to Morgan and the other soldiers in Charlie Company of the 48th Brigade whose hearts were touched by the baby’s plight. Before Stone could go about finding a doctor to help, she needed specific information about Noor’s medical situation. A U.S. Army doctor went at night to the baby’s home to make the assessment. If insurgents had learned that the family was cooperating with the Americans, not only the family but also the soldiers would have been endangered.
Dr. Roger Hudgins, chief of neurosurgery at Children’s Healthcare, applauded the soldiers’ efforts. “Obviously, good works happen every day in Iraq, and good works happen with the soldiers,” he said, in an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “ ... It’s showing the tender side of the military. These are good guys. They went out of their way to help make this happen.” Hudgins volunteered his services to help Baby Noor.
Before Baby Noor’s plight became known, the Shepherd of the Hills congregation had been discussing establishing Lifeover Ministries, a nonprofit organization related to the church that would also work with other churches and community organizations to meet people’s needs. Some ministries were already in place, such as providing monetary contributions to tsunami and hurricane relief, establishing a children’s clothing closet where parents of foster children can secure needed items, and sending a work team to help with hurricane cleanup in Mississippi.
Now the church is well on its way to getting the organization incorporated and is already working to bring two other Iraqi children to the states — a 5-year-old who needs heart surgery and a 1-month-old with a cleft palate. Efforts are also under way to provide five older adults with wheelchairs, as well as baby formula and prenatal vitamins.
Such help is important, Morgan told Stone in a conversation, “so that my children will not be there in 10 years fighting again.”
In addition to Morgan, the congregation has two other soldiers in Iraq: Morgan’s son Daniel, and Christopher Clary, both in the Army. The church has “Blue Star” banners in its sanctuary, remembering all three. The banners originated in World War I and feature a blue star in a white center with a red border.
For Roberts, who was ordained elder in June, his church’s involvement with Baby Noor has taught him two lessons.
“The primary lesson for my congregation ... is to believe that anything is possible, that when they see an opportunities, they pursue them ... because God has shown us the things that can happen.”
His other lesson: “I have learned not to get in the way of them (church members) one bit. That’s really a good thing.”
*Smith is editor of the Wesleyan Christian Advocate.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org
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Resources
North Georgia United Methodist Conference
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