Recently, one of our missionaries and a few volunteers in Israel distributed fifty soft and squishy teddy bears to children in the cancer wards in a hospital near Jerusalem. This ministry was started by a staff member who has a daughter with severe heart problems and knows how much a teddy bear means during scary appointments and check-ups.
The children smiled and hugged their bears while the parents smiled tearfully. They were also able to share with the parents that God loves them and offered silent prayers. It was very heartbreaking for our missionary to see children suffer.
Our missionary on the team also had cancer when she was four and has been wonderfully healthy since surgery and chemotherapy eradicated the cancer. She was able to share her story with the nurses in the hopes that they would be encouraged in their work and to share the story with others.