Abdul* hurried into his family’s tent. What were those strangers doing here? He heard one of them say “heart surgery,” and his heart skipped a beat. Half excited. Half afraid. Abdul had heard these words before. He knew they were talking about him because he had a hole in his heart. It made his body shake because his heart needed to work hard to pump blood. That’s also why he was smaller than other six-year-old boys and got tired sooner than his brothers when they played in the river. This made him sad because Hamudi liked playing with his brothers.
Abdul and his family are refugees. They fled to this camp after a group of men came to their city with guns and bombs. Before moving to the camp, Abdul’s father had taken Abdul to a hospital, but he did not have enough money to pay for the heart surgery. The evil men who had come to their city told Abdul’s father they would do the surgery for free if he would join their army. Abdul’s father didn’t want to hurt people, so he refused to join them and quickly left the hospital. Abdul didn’t know if his heart would ever be fixed. But he really wished it could be.
Now these strangers visiting their tent were talking about surgery. Would they want his father to hurt people too? But the strangers were smiling. His mother and father were smiling too. Hamudi got excited. If these kind people would help them, maybe he could have a good heart after all!
When the time came for Abdul to go to the hospital, the kind people came and prayed for him and for the surgeons who would fix Hamudi’s heart. When they finished praying, Abdul’s father had tears in his eyes. He loved his son very much.
For seven days, Abdul stayed at the hospital. When the doctors told him that he could leave, Abdul was thrilled. This meant his heart was fixed!
When Abdul returned to his tent home, his family celebrated with hugs, candy, and a big meal. They were so excited that Abdul’s heart was as good as new!
Abdul’s family is happy that kind people gave money to pay for his surgery. You can pray that Abdul will continue to be healthy and that he will grow up to love God.
*Name changed to protect identity.
