• ‘Preemptive Love’ takes readers to the children behind Iraq’s front lines

    While in Iraq several years ago, Jeremy Courtney, MDiv ’04, was shocked by what he heard in a conversation with a cafe waiter. The waiter conveyed that his niece had been born with a hole in her heart, but that there were no doctors in Iraq who could treat her.

    That discovery sparked a mission that Jeremy has pursued even in the face of death threats and fatwas. The 2004 Truett Seminary graduate co-founded the Preemptive Love Coalition, an organization that seeks to meet a dire need by providing surgeries to children and training to doctors and nurses in Iraq.

    Nearly one in 10 Iraqi children is born with a birth defect, yet the medical community in Iraq is outmanned and lacks resources, leading to a backlog of children needing surgery. Preemptive Love brings international teams of heart surgeons to treat the children and educate Iraqi doctors to meet the need in their home country. Their efforts have led to a dramatic increase in the number of pediatric heart surgeries in Iraq.

    Now, Jeremy has written a book that takes readers “along the front lines of the struggle for peace.” Preemptive Love: Pursuing Peace One Heart at a Time is the story of Jeremy and his organization’s effort to remake a war-torn nation through love that can heal hearts — both literally and figuratively. Love that has impacted the lives of scores of children. The book is available through the Preemptive Love Coalition and other online outlets.

    Sic ’em, Jeremy!