Chapter 10
A GIFT FROM GOD
The journey across the Iranian border and into Iraq was made manageable by the Kurdish driver and his accompanists. Three Kurds singing at the top of their voices on the rough mountain roads concerned Little Brother as much as Leah giving birth without him there.
Thoughts rambled around in his head carrying guilt. The two soon-to-be new parents had put so much into breathing exercise practices prescribed by the nurses at the Tel Aviv hospital. Leah and Little Brother were taking the coming child very seriously as any parent should.
Now, the Team was overboard with their offers of help, prep, and nerves. Before Leah flew to her parents in Israel to stay near the hospital, she had gathered The Team to scold them about their being more nervous than she was. She shook her finger at them, saying, "If you don't calm down, someone among you will have a heart attack! Thon! What happened to your sense of humor? Mabior, I have been with you with bullets flying all around your head, and you never exhibited any nerves. You are an absolute wreck. Alek, you used to be so involved with your weapons that you rarely gave me the time of day. Twins listen to me, Sam and I cannot fit another baby present in our home. Look, I love all of you, but you must calm down!"
Inside Iraq, the driver headed the Rover toward Harir US Air Base near Harir in Western Kurdistan, a semi-autonomous area of Iraq. Arriving at the air base was not what Samuel expected. As the Rover and its passengers were fully expected, they were waved through the gate without stopping. As the dirt-covered vehicle came near the runway, a sizeable gathering of US military and Kurdish workers and dignitaries lined the road cheering the Rover on to its destination.
Samuel sat sheepishly waving the entire trip through the air base. Until he neared the waiting plane for his flight to Israel. An Air Force ground crew snapped smartly to attention as they approached, giving a crisp salute. Samuel and the Rover's crew jumped out of the jeep gawking at the plane before them - a Gulfstream III C20 US military passenger jet.
Major Korda, the pilot, released his salute and offered his hand to Samuel while introducing himself. "Sir, General Iverson ordered the best plane available. Welcome aboard. It's an honor to be your pilot, Mr. Winston. This is Lieutenant Armstrong, my co-pilot."
Taking a brief pause from gawking, Samuel asked Major Korda, "Major, is your last name an indication of Kurdish ancestry?"
Surprise showed in the Major's eyes as he answered, "Yes, sir, it is."
Hearing this, the three Kurds were in awe. The three dirt-covered men removed their hats and wiped their hands on just as dirty pants while taking turns shaking the Major's hand.
Asking for the driver's phone, Samuel prodded them to squeeze together for a picture with the pilots.
Commenting to his mates, the driver told them, "I've always told my sons they can accomplish great things even from a poor family such as ours. This Kurd from the United States is proof."
Overhearing the man, Major Korda pulled a card from a pocket of his immaculate uniform, offering it to the man and instructing him, "Sir, call me tomorrow at the number on my card. I'll arrange for your sons to spend some time at the base, and take a ride in some of the aircraft here."
The driver grasped the Major in a loving hug with tears wetting his face.
While those discussions went on, the flight crew was taking photos with Samuel.
Climbing the stairs onto the plane, Samuel turned, shouting, "Hey, we need to pray before we take off."
The crew chief gathered everyone in the area. After a strong prayer, Samuel climbed back up the stairs to the plane.
As the Rover driver was about to launch himself into his seat, he turned and asked the pilot, "Take good care of this man? I have heard many stories about him. He is an important man with a good wife and child waiting for him."
Major Korda smiled, "My brother, I'll take good care of him, but you take good care of your family, too. The world needs good families now, more than ever. Remember, call me tomorrow."
As the jet lost contact with the runway, Little Brother yelled to the Major and his co-pilot through the open cockpit door, "Are you a Muslim or a Christian?"
Both replied, "Christian."
Samuel mused, "Gentlemen, how can a person look out from that cockpit and not see the hand of God?"
Major Korda motioned for Lt. Armstrong to take the controls, and turned to face the passenger compartment, "Samuel, I asked the same question the first time I rode in an airplane. That plane was piloted by my Father. He had flown us, my Mother, brothers, and sisters, from Iraq to Turkey. We were escaping Hussein's tyranny. To be truthful, It was more than tyranny. It was genocide. He was gassing us Kurds in Iraq. Our people were dying by the thousands. A horrible time."
Releasing his seatbelt, Samuel stood and walked two steps to grasp the Major's hands, telling him, "I have read stories about those harrowing events. The Kurdish people are very loving and loyal. I am certain that if Hussein had given the Kurds even a small piece of sovereignty and shown just a little compassion, he would have had a loyal friend through thick and thin. I cannot imagine what would cause people to do such ghastly things to their fellow man."
Breathing deeply, the Major replied, "Now, Hussein is dead and Khomeini is close. Man struggles to serve justice because justice is God's. We Kurds are a patient people for we know that God's justice will come in his time and his way, and he may use the Kurdish people to administer a piece of that justice. My people were excited when we received word of The Team in Iran. We knew that God had not forgotten us. You cannot imagine the lift your presence has upon us."
Sdot Micha Airbase loomed in the distance as the pilots began their ascent to land. The ground crew was waiting with a car and driver nearby to transport Samuel to Sourasky Medical Center where Leah and the newborn awaited the new father's arrival.
With newborn, Aliza Eliana, in her arms, Leah lay there talking with her Mother, Hannah, and Father, Elijah. At that moment a nurse rushed into the room, shaking, "Mrs. Winston, there is a dirty and scruffy man, maybe homeless, wanting into your room."
At the same time, the door slowly opened revealing a man exactly as the nurse described him, dirty and scruffy. Leah shrieked, "Sam!" While immediately breaking out in tears.
With a sheepish grin on his face mixed with a hesitant move to the bed to embrace and view his daughter and wife, he was intercepted by Hannah.
"Son, put this hospital gown around you, first come to the sink to wash your hands. Then you'll be just fine."
The nurse stood there unable to speak at the sight before her.
Elijah, beaming with pride, leaned over to the nurse's ear, assuring her, "It's her husband, Samuel, just back from a mission in Iran."
The nurse blurted out, "Iran!"
Elijah gloated, "Yep, Iran. Samuel's a member of The Team, God's Special Forces Unit."
With a gulp, she said to nobody and everybody, "Forgive me for not knowing." Then she rushed out of the room to spread the news.
As the nurse traveled down the hall, excitement erupted throughout the hospital at the news of Samuel and Iran. Add to that the reverberation of the news that the PM, Netanyahu, was on his way up to see that dirty and scruffy man, wife, and newborn daughter. That event seemed to open the floodgate of important visitors. General and Mrs. Iverson and Mrs. Akech and her husband had the honor of attending the door and welcoming visitors awarding them a cordial addition to the waiting list. It was a grand event with hospital administrators seen frantically rushing here and there to arrange space and to create a spur-of-the-moment great experience for all. But there was one thing that Samuel and Leah kept searching for in the line of visitors each time the door opened. A piece was missing that would make the event truly exceptional.
A week passed by, and Samuel slept on the couch beside Leah's bed. That morning marked the beginning of the last day of hospital for the Winston family. Leah had experienced some minor issues that were safely resolved.
A head popped in the slightly opened door to ask, "Boker tov (good morning - Hebrew), are you ready for some aruchat boker (breakfast - Hebrew)?"
Leah looked at Samuel, who had just sat up, sleepy-eyed, "Boker Tov, Sam, ready to eat?"
Samuel was always ready to eat.
The bubbly lady exited the room with a heartfelt, "Shalom."
The two went about digging into their meals. Samuel looked at the wall clock. Leah, noticing, commented, "Sam, Aliza will be here shortly. After I feed her, you can take care of her while I shower and dress. It's so exciting to leave. Soon we'll be back home in Yei to start living as a family."
Samuel, his mouth stuffed, mumbled, "You bet. I'll take her down to see all the newborns."
Laughing, Leah chastised, "Samuel Nathanael Winston, don't talk with your mouth full."
"My Mother always told me that same thing."
Leah put her fork down. A sad look swept over her face at that last comment. "Sam, I wish your Mother and Father could have been here. I remember fondly our trip to Oklahoma to visit them. I remember how welcoming and loving your relatives and friends were. It's sad for us to be separated from your family at times like this."
Still eating, Samuel concluded, "Oh - I'll be fine. We'll see them soon, I'm sure."
Leah scrunched her face, responding, "Sam, I won't put up with you not making more effort to get your parents here. James said he'd put them on the first plane. All you had to do was say the word. But you - you hem-hawed around, never making arrangements."
As if that conversation were the intro, the same nurse that had announced Samuel's arrival, threw open the door and breathlessly announced, "Mrs. Winston, coming down the hall is a large group of men that look exactly like Mr. Winston did upon his arrival!" At that, she opened the door fully.
Leah screamed, "It's The Team! They're home."
Samuel jumped up spilling his food tray, shouting, "What took you guys so long?"
Mabior shouted back, "We had work to do, unlike someone we know!"
Leah's Mother walked out of the nurse's station at the same time that The Team appeared. She immediately sidestepped back into the room to muster nurses. They loaded up with extra hospital gowns to cover the men. Then she flew to the baby station to grab Aliza for The Team to see.
Diemba's wife, Fadoul, had been sitting in the waiting room till the Winston's finished their breakfast. She heard the commotion. Stepping into the hallway and seeing her husband, she ran to embrace him.
Once again, the hospital was a picture of madness, but a wonderful and Godly madness.
The nurse who had the privilege of announcing both momentous events stood proudly before all the nurses on duty who stood gawking at the sight, introducing the new visitors, "These men before you are the rest of The Team just back from a top-secret mission in Iran."
The Team packed into the small hospital room after being fitted with a hospital gown and washing hands. The sound of everyone talking at once was like a gaggle of geese. The whole family was home, and there was a new member who came down the hallway swaddled in the arms of a very proud Grandmother.
Without a word of caution, she handed Aliza gently to me, James Jefferson. The room went silent. I don't know if I had ever held a baby this young and tiny. It scared the daylights out of me. My only thought was, "Oh, Lord, you must approve of our work, for you are adding to our numbers, and, by the way, don't let me drop this beautiful thing."
I asked Hosseini what everyone was laughing about.
His reply, "Chief, the nurse asked for Aliza to give her a final examination before leaving the hospital. Leah explained to her that she had no idea where she was. The nurse's shocked expression at that answer was priceless. Leah looked at her with a 'what's the fuss about' look, saying, 'Do you seriously think something could happen to my daughter with The Team around?'"
Both of us laughed, as I made my way through the crowd handing Aliza to the bewildered nurse.
However, Aliza was snatched from the nurse's arms by Amani. Alek began complaining that he was supposed to be next. All this while Leah and Fadoul, Diemba's wife, sifted through the candy boxes brought as presents. Samuel held the attention of a group, telling them how he was quite the expert at changing diapers. Tales of his heroic changing of poopy diapers without gagging was a hit. What a family.
Unknown to us, powerful forces were gathering back in Yei, South Sudan. Fortunately, those forces were powered by God.
Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv
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