Serving at the Intersection of Despair and Hope..

   This is a story about a real person, a young lady that used to be in our church here on the Island. She was an Emergency Room nurse, then moved away to Virginia, then got married to a Marine Lt. Col, then moved to California where he was stationed. Her name is Lynn.

   She just got back from a 3 week deployment with Samaritan's Purse at their mobile hospital outside the city of Mosul, Iraq. Yes, that is the city that has been controlled by ISIS and is now in the process of being retaken by Iraqi troops with American help.

   Mosul is a dangerous place, with civilians trapped inside a place where the war rages. They face danger from jihadists as well as from the firepower of people who want to rid them of their persecutors. They are caught in the crossfire. They either try to leave the city if they can, or just hunker down and try to survive. It is no picnic for them.

   And it is no picnic for the medical personnel working in this mobile unit set up to minister to those who are caught here. I don't know the percentage, but many of the casualties are women and children. To those Iraqis, these doctors and nurses bring hope in a season of despair. But people also die there. Some are badly hurt when they are brought in, and, in spite of round the clock care and compassion, they do not make it out alive.

   It must be heartbreaking to tend to a wounded child, to pray for him and his family, and then to watch him pass on. You put your heart on the line for him, and part of you must die with him.

   Lynn served there for 3 weeks, caring for all those brought in. She was close to the front lines, and I am sure the sounds of war filled her ears a lot of the time.

   But she volunteered for this, as did the others in that hospital, and she had to make a difference, as they all did. (Lynn on the far left)

   At the Intersection of Despair and Hope, there was also the Intersection of Courage and Compassion.

   One picture says it all about her service:

   Where the ISIS forces leave IEDs behind to further wound and kill after they are forced out, these volunteers leave behind their own blood to help those who might need it soon.

   Lynn is one of my heroes, and I am proud to be her friend.

   And I support Samaritan's Purse as they show the Love of Christ in the Valley of the Shadow of Death.