Aileen Coleman Part 2

[00:00:04] Welcome to Women Worth Knowing, the radio program and podcast hosted by Cheryl Brodersen and Robin Jones Gunn Okay, we have a part two today of another woman who is worth knowing. Every woman is a woman worth knowing. Aileen Coleman, absolutely no exception, and also her companion, Eleanor.

[00:00:25] These women were able to do what would look to anyone just hearing their plan, their call from God, that this would be impossible to serve as doctors, as nurses in Jordan. In the time of, we're all the way up to now the 60s, going into the 70s. You have to listen to part one. It's just amazing what God's done in their lives.

[00:00:55] Cheryl, would you start this episode with the beautiful quote that you had from one of the books you read? It was actually on a podcast, a Samaritan's Purse podcast, where they were interviewing Aileen Coleman a few years ago. She was 88 at the time. She's 95 now. And they were asking her, like, how she, where her fortitude and where her perseverance to come through so much.

[00:01:24] You know, as we said, here's two single women in a very chauvinistic culture who are... Up against all the odds. Oh, yeah. There's war. There's... War and terrorism. Lack of supplies. Right. Insecurities, bureaucracy, all sorts... There's a shadowing culture coming against them. Exactly. Methods for healing. Right. Which are very dangerous. Superstitions. And yet, through all of this, and they opened a Christian hospital, which is paramount. I understand.

[00:01:53] Yet the Lord gave them so much favor. Yeah. But she said, when they asked, you know, where did you get your fortitude? She said, when you are sure of the call of God on your life, you are sure of everything else. I just love that. It just brings this incredible security, I know, when you know you are doing exactly what God has called you to do.

[00:02:17] In fact, I remember reading about, oh, Rosemary and Jonathan Goforth, who I will, in future, we're going to do one on Rosemary Goforth. I have had so many requests. She's one of my favorite people. But one of the things that she was known to say is there's no safer place than to be in the will of God. And so, as we continue, they've just gone through.

[00:02:47] They've gone through already. They've moved to Jordan. They bought this 2,100-square-foot house in Mufrock. They've turned it into a 16-room sanatorium is what they call it. And they are taking in all the Bedouins who come sometimes by camel, sometimes by mule, every once in a while by car, but not for the most part. And they're coming with injuries.

[00:03:11] At one time, one of the Bedouin tents blew down and injured the occupants. And they came to the sanatorium with their broken limbs, and they were able to help them. But by this time, they've got such a great reputation, just even with this little hospital. And the King Hussein, his cousin, whose princess, I can't remember her name, but she's taken notice of them. I think her name is Princess Zen.

[00:03:40] And she begins to come and help and work with them and even travel with them because she's so excited about the work that they're doing. And she's seen these results. And she loves her people. And she sees that these women are devoted to her people, and that gives them favor. And also, she's a woman. So she also has that in common with these women.

[00:04:03] Now, Dr. Eleanor and Aileen chose to live in primitive housing. They wanted to live like the people lived. So they dressed for the most part like the women dressed. They wore sandals like the people. They wore shoes. They modeled their lifestyle as the people did.

[00:04:25] And they lived in a little one room, and they shared the room together in this just tucked away in this house. And one of the problems that they had a lot was rats. Rats were a constant problem at the hospital, at their own housing. But to remedy this, they found themselves a long-haired cat that would catch the mice and catch the rats.

[00:04:52] And it would often come in and snuggle with Aileen in the morning hours, you know, when it was still dark. And Aileen would pet it and cuddle with it and coo over it. And one morning, she felt what she thought was her cat snuggling with her. And she realized, wait, my cat is long-haired. And so she jumped out and turned on the lights and realized for the last hour she'd been cuddling a rat. And somebody said, were you scared? And she said, oh, no, I thought it was hilarious.

[00:05:20] I just lit out peals of laughter. So that tells you a little bit about her character. You know, she was undaunted. Yes. Whether it was rats or whether it was terrorists, she was undaunted. She had that confidence in the call of God on her life. On another occasion, she was asked to this Bedouin, this wealthy Bedouin woman's tent. And this woman had created a huge feast to honor Aileen.

[00:05:50] And so Aileen's looking at the food. And she knows that one of the ways they honor you is sometimes to give you lamb brains. And she's like, oh, I hope they don't give me lamb brains. And the woman had cut the head. And then she's doing this. And the next thing she knew, she presented her with the eyeball of the lamb. And Aileen knew she could not refuse it. So she prayed hard and popped the whole thing in her mouth and decided to swallow it whole.

[00:06:17] And swallowing it hurt and brought tears to her eyes. And the women looked and said, oh, she's so honored by how we're honoring her. She's crying. So the Lord gave her favor.

[00:06:34] But after that, Aileen went out and purchased a whole bunch of eyeballs and trained herself to, like, eat eyeballs so that she would never offend a Bedouin who was seeking to honor her. The word that just keeps coming to mind is undaunted. Exactly. Or when she was a child, if anyone double dared her, that meant for sure she was going to do it. And here she is, undaunted. Undaunted. Double dare. Doing it.

[00:07:03] So they're getting so many. I don't know if I could do that. Yes. The eyeballs? No, I don't. Or the brains? I couldn't do either. Lord, anything? Anyone who knows me knows I couldn't. That's why the Lord's called me to costumies. That's right. Right. So the facility is just way too small. And they find themselves unable to house as many patients as need to be housed at Anor. And so they begin to pray, Lord, we need a bigger facility.

[00:07:31] And they found 25 acres, which they could afford to purchase. A bit larger. Right. But here's the problem. Jordanians, there's a law that the property can only be sold to Muslims and Jordanians. So they don't know what to do. So what do they do? They go to their friend, the princess, who cuts through the red tape for them and allows them to buy this property, 25 acres.

[00:08:00] Well, now they have 25 acres, but they know nothing about building. They know nothing about designing a hospital. And so they begin to pray again. Well, in the meantime, there's a man named Lester Gates. And Lester is 56 years old and he's just lost his wife. He's a widow. And he just can't find himself and can't get over the grief. So he writes them and he volunteers his services to them.

[00:08:30] He's a farmer from Ohio. And he says, I don't know how to do much, but maybe you could just use somebody help. So they invite him over and he says, I'll come and I'll stay for six months. Well, he stayed for over 22 years. And you know what? Lester could do anything. He could build anything. And if he didn't know how to do it, he would talk to somebody and he would do it. And he had very limited Arabic.

[00:08:57] But somehow he trained all these men on how to build and worked with him. But they still needed an architect, right? They've got Lester. He's getting this building crew together, but they need an architect. Well, there's a young man in California who hears about their plight. He's just graduated from architectural school and he'd really like to try designing a hospital and especially one according to Islamic designs or, you know, according to the culture,

[00:09:27] Mideastern culture. Exactly. So he begins to study all these hospitals and all these designs. And he comes up with a design that he gives them because they specifically wanted a design that would not intimidate the Bedouin people. And that meant that there had to be lots of windows to allow the Bedouins to see outside.

[00:09:49] It had to be almost designed like a tent, but a building to make them feel at home and not afraid. So he designs this hospital and Lester sets out building it. So they would build and then something would happen, you know, maybe a terrorist attack or you never... Just another one of those. Yes. You never knew what would happen.

[00:10:16] And so there'd be all these times of stalling, maybe red tape. So every time the plants got stalled, Lester would plant trees. So he planted peach trees that he brought over with him from the States. He planted apricot trees and nectarine trees. And then he planted pine trees as a barrier around the property because the wind could come so fiercely through Mufrak. But another thing they needed was water.

[00:10:47] And Lester was convinced that there was an underground well. And so he got one of those divining sticks and said, the Lord will show us. So they prayed. They asked the Lord to show Lester. And so he used it. He'd seen others do it. And he said, here, we're supposed to dig a well. They dug in. Sure enough, they found water. I really like Lester. Oh, don't you love Lester? If I was going to write a story about imaginary character who's doing all this, his name would be Lester. Okay. This is great.

[00:11:15] And not only that, but Lester brought over, he brought over a cement machine from the United States as well as his truck. He brought them over with him and he sold his house so he could give more money to this endeavor. He ended up staying with them. I think I mentioned this, 22 years, just helping them build in everything they needed. Well, this tells you how many barriers or times they were stalled.

[00:11:44] He planted over a thousand trees. I remember he only planted when the building stalled, either for lack of funds or lack of help or bureaucracy. He planted over a thousand trees. He planted an orchard of olive trees. And his peaches and nectarine trees were known to be the sweetest peaches and nectarines in Mufraq. I mean, people loved them and they used them for the patience.

[00:12:12] What's so funny is we know about the cedars of Lebanon from Scripture, but Lester brought the peaches in the nectarines. That's right. So he also taught the Jordanians how to do drip irrigation, which saves so much water and really strengthened this orchard. Now, the Yom Kippur War was 1973. This happened the same year that the hospital was completed.

[00:12:40] And next to the hospital was the military airport where all the Jordanian planes were kept. And they were completely destroyed by the Israeli forces. And so the women could hear the bombs dropping and the planes exploding just right next to the hospital. So, again, when you're sure of the call, right, of God on your life. So while they were still building, though, many young people came over from the United States.

[00:13:10] In fact, they got their fair share of prodigals who came over just to meet these women and work with them. And one of those prodigals... I think I know what you're going to say. Tell me. I know you know. I think it's Franklin Graham because you mentioned Samaritan's Purse. Yes. Isn't that amazing? It was. In fact, their story is mentioned a little bit in A Rebel with a Cause. But he credits these two women and their faith on working with them and Lester as part of

[00:13:38] the catalyst that brought him back to Jesus. Glory. I know. So good. Yes. So 15 years afterwards, in 1988, they were able to open a nurse's school. Lester left Jordan in 1988 but visited from time to time. After quadruple bypass when he was in his 80s, he returned. And when Eleanor looked out, he was in the fields on a tractor.

[00:14:08] Taking care of those trees. He was. He died in November of 1994. In 1990, when Eleanor was 74 but still going strong, Princess Zine asked the women to open a diagnostic clinic near Aquabaugh, which is, you know, the south of Jordan, past Petra, down on the coast of the Red Sea.

[00:14:32] And they found a hilltop with a beautiful view, just a view of the Red Sea and just all the surrounding lands. And they were able to build that diagnostic center on the top. And Eleanor Soltau kind of took charge over that. And Eleanor would visit, you know, at least monthly when she could. They also were able to staff a mobile unit that could visit the outlying villages and offer help.

[00:15:02] And one of these things with the mobile unit, at one point, they looked at Jordan and they said, have we even made a dent? Have we even made a dent in the needs and for the Lord Jesus Christ? And one of their visits to one of these outline stations, this woman came up and she recognized them and she said, I've been a believer in Jesus Christ for, you know, over 10 years now,

[00:15:28] having come to know the Lord at your house at the sanatorium. And then they were at a different outline village. And this man came up and talked about how he had been saved in his whole family because of what he discovered at the sanatorium when he met Jesus. And it was incredible for them to realize that these people had literally come from 100 miles away and met Jesus at the sanatorium and had taken it back to their families and to their villages.

[00:15:56] In 1996, Aileen was involved in a terrible traffic accident with two other missionary passengers, but they all survived and they recovered. However, a year later in November of 1997, Dr. Eleanor Soltow's apartment caught on fire and she succumbed to her wounds. She was 81 years old at the time.

[00:16:21] After telling Aileen, grabbing her hand and saying to Aileen, I do not want any preferential treatment. Over 500 Bedouins came to her funeral that was held next to the hospital. And Princess Anne had an area cleared just so that they could have a beautiful ceremony that would honor Dr. Eleanor Soltow. I wanted to do something on Dr. Eleanor Soltow.

[00:16:51] I'm minding all these things. Yes, but I couldn't find any more information than what I found. I looked, you know, online. I searched for any books and I could not find anything. And I am sure that she is a woman worth knowing even better. But when you're telling the story of Aileen, you're telling Eleanor's story also. Well, and it clearly shows that she didn't want any preferential treatment. No, she didn't. She wouldn't have wanted her own podcast episode. That's right.

[00:17:19] It's just so humble. You know, it's interesting because even though she was 81, she was still going strong. She was still working with patients. She was still commuting between Aquabah and Mifrock. Yeah. You know, even at 81, still going strong for Jesus and in the service of these Bedouin people. Now, Aileen always downplayed her extraordinary service to the Lord and her beloved Bedouins.

[00:17:48] Yet, she was knighted by Queen Elizabeth. Was she really? Mm-hmm. And she was awarded an honor by Queen Noorah of Jordan. Really? She appeared on the cover of Qantas Airlines in-flight magazine. I love it. As well as a host of other honors that she never talked about. She would just be like, no, you know, and you would never know these things if you interviewed her.

[00:18:15] In fact, when I listened to her interview, she refused to talk about those things. She never even brought them up, all the honors that she had received. Now, a typical day for Aileen. I just want to say, look at the hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of lives she touched. Just by being the gracious hands of the Lord in offering healing and hope and prayers and hymns that were played in the hospital.

[00:18:42] And years ago at a conference in England, a writer's conference, I met a publisher from Jordan who's publishing Christian books in Jordan today.

[00:18:53] And I would imagine if I had known about Aileen, I could have asked him specifically, what connection might your family or someone you know have with this ministry that started so sincerely and humbly and that God blessed? Like you had said earlier, the favor of the Lord was upon them for sure.

[00:19:16] Well, you know, we did an earlier podcast on Lillian Trasher, who was a single woman who ended up going to Egypt. And if you mention the name Lillian Trasher to an Egyptian, they know right away who she was. And the Lillian Trasher orphanage still stands in Egypt today. And I think I told you that I went to a doctor's appointment with my husband and the doctor said he was from Egypt. And I said, oh, have you ever heard of Lillian Trasher?

[00:19:46] And he said, heard of her. I spent my summers as a teenager working at the camps that were started as a result of her orphanage and ministry. Yeah. I mean, and I'm sure change the course of a nation by following the call of God. Women. I'm sure. Exactly. Women worth knowing.

[00:20:16] Lillian was known known as El Reza. I hope I'm saying that right, but it meant the leader. But she called herself the desert rat. Isn't that cute? Yes. Especially since she had cuddled one. I want to say this, too. She actually had quite a few marriage proposals. One by an American businessman who really pursued her and was sure she was the one that she turned down.

[00:20:43] And also by some handsome Bedouin men. But she was just sure, again, of her call to singleness and to the service of the Lord and to the Bedouin people. Now, a typical day for Eileen consisted of five o'clock wake up and personal devotions until 630. 630 breakfast and devotions with the Jordanian nurses. Seven o'clock catching up on her correspondence. Eight o'clock met with patients in clinics, examination of patients and diagnosis and treatment.

[00:21:11] One o'clock lunch and six o'clock dinner. This is beside hosting visitors at the hospital, interviewing prospective employees, traveling weekly to Amman and her administration of the hospital and training new nurses. Wow. So presently, she is still in the frock among our Bedouin people and she's 95.

[00:21:37] I would guess that she might be retired by now. Again, I was trying to find out more information because, you know, the book ended and the last thing I hear about her is, you know, 88 on this podcast. But then I saw an article that I read just kind of skimmed over where she was 93 and giving this interview. So I was doing all the math and going, she's 95.

[00:22:02] And from everything I hear, 94, 95, everything I hear, she's still in Mufraq. I don't know. You know, I think she's 94 and she'll be 95, but I don't know how much interaction she's still able to have at the hospital. But again, most people thinking that her native language was Arabic. Well, and I wouldn't be surprised if someone who listens to the podcast knows the update. Oh, please. Please reach out to us. Please.

[00:22:32] Tell us the latest. Yes. I can't wait to meet Eileen in heaven. I know. Because, you know, when we do these podcasts, we really do. We have an affection for these women. We hope that the listeners do, too, that they say, besides loving these women and their stories, we hope that these stories are inspiring to the listeners.

[00:22:55] Again, that Eileen's purpose when she was in college after she found Jesus was to know the call of God on her life. What did God purpose? What was God's purpose for her and to walk in it? More than once, she mentioned that it was Romans 12, 1 that really affected her, that she was a living sacrifice. Yes.

[00:23:24] And that her life was for the Lord. And I think of how Paul says in Romans chapter 6, that even as you yielded your members of your body to ungodliness before you knew Jesus, now once you know Jesus, it's time to yield all your members to the Lord for his services. And we see that she yielded her brain. She yielded her life. She yielded her skill. She yielded her comforts. Everything to the Lord.

[00:23:52] What I love about looking back at the lives of these women, because they are so—Cheryl, even if it's just to inspire you and I— Yes. We're inspired. Yes, we are. It's a win. But to see how the faithfulness in their lives and the goodness of God and the grace poured out on them, that these are full lives. These are beautiful lives. Nothing's missing. I forgot to mention— Nothing's wasted.

[00:24:21] That by the time, you know, I don't know how many to date, but in the last interview, she said that over 150,000 Bedouins have been treated at some time or another at a Noor Hospital. Oh. I mean, that's a tremendous amount of men, women, children, babies. I just realized how many times I've said wow during these two episodes, and it's because it is— Yes.

[00:24:49] It's unexpected that there would be that blessing of the Lord, and there it is. Beautiful. And I forgot to mention that she took under her covering nine children that consider her like their honorary grandmother. And she kept them for a year and then found a mother and father for each of the children. I'm telling you, Aileen is a woman worth knowing. Thank you for listening to Women Worth Knowing with Cheryl Broderson and Robin Jones-Gunn.

[00:25:15] For more information on Cheryl, visit CherylBroderson.com or follow her on Instagram or Facebook. For more information on Robin, visit RobinGunn.com or follow her on Instagram or Facebook. Join us each week for a lively conversation as we explore the lives of well-known and not-so-well-known historical and contemporary Christian women. If you think there is a woman worth knowing, we'd love to hear from you. Email us at WWK at CCCM.com.

[00:25:44] We hope you've enjoyed today's episode. Make sure you rate us on your podcast app, subscribe, and share it with a friend. Thank you again for listening to Women Worth Knowing with Cheryl Broderson and Robin Jones-Gunn. Women Worth Knowing is a production of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa.