“A Child’s Illness Braves a Mother’s Faith”

Posted by Helen Talia , Community Contributor
Nohadra learning the Assyrian (Neo-Aramaic) alphabet, taught by her father Simon Kucun, who is fluent in this Near East and near extinct language, which he home schools all three of his children. (Posted By Helen Talia , Community Contributor / October 29, 2013)
“And they were saying to him, ‘Have you heard what these are saying? Jesus said to them, ‘Yes. Have you never read, ‘From the mouth of children and infants you have composed a song of praise?’” Matthew 21:16, Aramaic Version

Some weeks ago, I spotted a precious photo [on Facebook] of a beautiful young Assyrian girl writing the Assyrian alphabet. I immediately sent a private message to her mother asking permission to use her daughter’s picture as my cover photo.

When Enise responded, little did I expect that she was going to share with me an intimate story about the struggles and triumphs of her young family.

The child in the picture is Nohadra [the youngest of her three children, Nahren and Banipal, all born in Germany], who was born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta, a genetic disorder characterized by bones that break easily, often from little or no apparent cause.

By the time Nohadra was only one month old, she had experienced the first of many series of broken bones. Throughout her six precious years, her bones have broken fourteen times, and she has already undergone six surgeries, with the last one three months ago.

To date, she still does not walk, and it is unbearably difficult, because every time she tries, it starts all over again.

But what made her story so intriguing was the connection that I felt between us, which was decisive for me to write about… in this family’s quest for their daughter’s healing, they met the mystery behind man’s faith and his relationship to his creator.

“I realize that no doctor in the world can help her,” the mother’s words echoed to me, “and that her surgeries are all temporary until the next episode occurs. We have tried everything, but no one has been able to help her. Then one day while at the hospital, I started to pray persistently, asking God for His help. What I did not expect was to start feeling His work in our lives… how He gives hope to the hopeless. Soon thereafter, the journey to my testimony began to unfold.”

“During one of Nohadra’s hospitalizations,” says Enise, “she saw me crying and said to me, ‘Mama, don’t cry, it will be ok.’ It was then that I realized that God speaks to her, because no one can be that strong. I know that she feels the love of Jesus, and that’s a miracle,” she added.

“Helen, I know she is a Gift from God, and she is the reason I started to believe so intensely, because we have been through so much together.”

“People often ask, how I can be this strong, and I tell them that Jesus has given me the power of hope in a big message for those who do not know Jesus.”

“Nohadra does not see any problem with herself. She says that ‘Jesus is with me, and I am not afraid,’ which is why she is so strong. I know that it can happen any time again, the breaking of her bones, but He gives us the power to hold on, and this alone has changed our lives as God has manifested into becoming the most important being in our lives through Nohadra’s illness, He has changed all of us.”

“The miracle is that God works in you if you ask for His help. She is not in complete health, but she is an example for the whole family, and when I look at her, I see how powerful God is; He can turn a negative situation into a positive one. With the birth of Nohadra, He has made the whole family turn to Him. Today, I am very happy, because if she was not like this, we would not have found God.”

“In conclusion, I know that God has a reason for everything. I know you [Helen] believe very strong and I can feel the love of Jesus between us.”

Nohadra’s parents, Enise Bektas and Simon Kucun are both Assyrians from the notorious village of Hessana, Turkey. Nohadra is the niece of Assyrian Belgian singer Nuwell [Benyamin] Bektas, whom I’ve had the privilege of writing about some years ago, and also the niece of my good friend, Bektas Matlup.

This story, told by Enise Bektas, is dedicated to the glory of God and the shrine of humanity, because no child shall walk alone.

For more information about the story, please contact Enise Bektas or Helen Talia on Facebook.

Helen Talia, Chicago
October 26, 2013
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/suburbs/community/chi-ugc-article-a-childs-illness-braves-a-mothers-faith-2013-10-29,0,1175512.story