Ruti’s Story

A heart-wrenching story involves one little girl named Ruti who was the best friend of Afik, the 4-year-old boy killed at the kindergarten. She was hysterical after seeing her best friend lying dead on the street...his mangled body lying on top of his mother. She began banging her head on the wall and pulling out her hair.

When we spoke to her mother by phone she told us that the family was very poor and though she worked, she struggled to make ends meet. She invited us to come to visit them. However, because of her work schedule she would not be home but the grandmother with whom she lived would receive us. The night before we were to meet, we made a routine call to the mother just to confirm that the meeting was still set. During this call, the mother broke down crying saying that the little girl had had a birthday the previous week but she couldn't afford to buy her a birthday present. Our hearts just went out to this little girl. Without telling the mother what our intentions were, we asked her if there was anything the little girl really wanted. She told us of a specific doll that her daughter really liked. Well, that settled it. Early the next morning, my interpreter, Daria, and I went shopping looking for this doll before we had to get to the bus station to catch the bus to Sderot. The whole time we were loaded down with food parcels and other treats (candies and toys) for other children we would also be visiting in Sderot. God was so good and we were able to find the doll...and make it to the bus station on time! Hallelujah!!

After getting off the bus in Sderot, and making our way to the first address we inadvertently came upon the kindergarten. We recognized it immediately not because of the name on the door but because of the obvious hole in the street in front of it where the rocket had landed. Also, as is the Israeli custom, there was a poster put up at the site as a memorial to those killed in a terrorist attack at the spot.

The little girl, Ruti, initially was very sad when we arrived at their apartment. As soon as I walked in and saw her, I dropped my bags and immediately picked her up, sat her on my lap and held her close in a big hug. She didn't resist at all but just rested in my arms and kind of melted there. The grandmother told us that since the attack, Ruti developed a nervous condition of twitching and blinking her eyes rapidly...something that we could observe for ourselves. The grandmother then showed us newspaper clippings of the little girl being interviewed after the attack. In the interview, when asked what had happened to her friend Afik she responded that "a rocket had fallen on his head." and now he was in the sky. The interviewer asked her if she knew who was in the sky and she answered "God." As I talked with her I asked her if she knew who loved her. She shook her head. I then told her that her family loved her and that we loved her. Then I told her that more than all of us, God loved her very very much! She then shook her head and said "No." I continued to just sit, hold her close and tell her that she was so very special and precious to the LORD.

A short time later when we gave her a small teddy bear, her face lit up as she hugged him and smiled for the first time. But then when we opened the package with the doll and gave it to her face lit up like a light and her excitement was obvious. Oh the tender mercies of the LORD!! Here was a child hurting and feeling so unloved and suddenly the LORD brings two people to her door with just the thing that she had wanted but didn't think she would ever get AND with the message of His Love for her.