URGENT Prayer Needed for Shad

Please pray for Shad, one of 5 kids that traveled to Turkey through the Preemptive Love Coalition this week for heart surgery. Before arriving in Turkey, it was unknown whether Shad would even be eligible for the surgery. His dad (who traveled with him) was elated to receive the news that his son would be a surgical candidate. The surgery went well, and on Tuesday, Shad was recovering remarkable well in ICU. However, earlier today, Shad went into cardiac arrest and was rushed into emergency surgery.

Below is an email from Jeremy:

Join us today, tomorrow, the next day in praying for Shad’s recovery. Pray the Lord Himself would reach down (like we see in Psalm 113 where He humbles Himself to behold the things in heaven and on earth to care for the poor and the needy), hold together, and breathe strength and life into Shad’s fragile heart and lungs.

Pray for the nurses, doctors, surgeons, and all who are involved in the process of Shad’s recovery. We’ve seen with our own eyes the weight they carry as they care for these precious children whose bodies are fighting with all their might to hold on. Pray for peace and rest for them, that they would not carry this burden into Shad’s room, but instead they would walk in with hope that would move Shad to keep fighting even when he feels tired and weary.

Shad found the tubes, his inability to talk because of them, and his inability to get up from his ICU bed very agitating and miserable previously. Let’s pray that the Lord would release him from this frustration this time around, that he would not emotionally or physically work against the things that help to sustain his body, heart, and lungs until he can do so on his own. Pray that the Lord would place people and things around him to give him joy, make him smile, and help him relax despite uncomfortable tubes and his inability to communicate.

Pray for Shad’s father. Any of you who are parents can consider what to pray for this man who is waiting to see if his son pulls through, waiting in a foreign land away from his family and friends. Pray for me, that I would be able to carry the presence of our Lord to this hurting father, that this time together would give us a deep bond, and that we together would know His real peace and be able to rest in and trust our Lord as thwey wait today, tomorrow, and the next day to see how Shad will do.

You can also pray for Shad's mother who is still in Iraq with his little brother and sister. She feels completely helpless for her firstborn and for her husband.

And please pray for Jessica, Emma, and Micah who have suffered in their own way during my absence.

Pray however the Lord may lead you. But please do not stop praying. We have strongly felt today that this little boy needs to be covered in prayer. We have a surgeon and team who are able to perform the most complex surgeries and understand what is needed to repair hearts in a way that can give these kids the opportunity to live, to live into adulthood, graduate, marry, have kids, work. But God is the One who sustains and strengthens their bodies, that are far weaker than they should be, after living for way too long without the health care needed to have repaired hearts. A good hospital and a good surgeon just aren’t enough. We need God.

Click here to see pictures of Shad and read blog updates from this group of surgeries.

Above all, pray like Joshua, that God would act for the sake of His great name. Pray that God's name would not become a by-word among Shad's family, their Kurdish friends and neighbors, or their Iraqi brethren. Pray that God would be known and loved in this. Pray that in acting God would draw people to himself. Indeed God values the life of one child, but there is so much more at stake here than that alone.