Planned interviews with potential heart surgery patients was on our schedule today. We have done this before and your heart is always ripped out when you see the hopelessness in the eyes of the parents and the sadness of sick children. But today my heart was in for a surprise. The staff of GIBTK had gone to great lengths to arrange for previous heart, eye, and orthopedic surgery recipients to come to the office. All of this was to be a surprise. And surprised  I was. Looking through the mass of parents and children, I began to make out familiar faces. In the room were people that three months ago I wept with over the physical condition of their children. Today I saw a transformation of not only the children but of their parents. Their sorrows had turned to joy. Seeing this caused a flood of gratitude to well up in my heart when the reality hit me that we truly are changing lives by helping to save the lives of these children. In the room was a beautiful 14 year old girl who had received a corrective eye surgery to repair a drooping eye. In the past she shyly smiled at you with downcast eyes…now she is radiant and doesn’t hesitate to meet your gaze. Also in the room was a little four year old rambunctious boy whose orthopedic surgery now enables him to run as he once could only try to do. I sobbed with joy as I recognized a mother who had already lost one child to heart disease as she proudly showed off her healthy six month old baby boy – saved by a heart surgery her dream was alive! How do I put into words emotions and feelings that I cannot describe? The events that transpired today have impacted my life. Seeing the results of the procedures that we helped to fund in March brought to me an overwhelming flood of tears of joy and thankfulness. I am thankful to be a part of helping the Creator of the universe help children and families to find hope for a better tomorrow. I am humbled to not only be able to witness these transformations but to be a part of the solution. As we moved into the interview phase for those families that came today seeking heart surgeries for their critically ill children, I was even more motivated to help each of them with a transforming solution. I had a more confident resolve that yes, in three months we can see their sorrow turn to joy. We can see our God transform their fears of losing their child into hopes for the future. Today I wept with the parents that were weeping for their children. I am confident that when I see them the next time I will weep tears of joy with them too. – Bruce

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