In June, Faithwire reported on the remarkable story of Demoa, a five-year-old Iraqi girl, who was rescued by the Free Burma Rangers in Mosul, after being forced to use her dead mother’s hijab as shelter for nearly 48 hours following an attack by the Islamic State. The photo of the young child being carried through a literal war zone by former special ops soldier and American missionary David Eubank of the FBR offered a frightening yet poignant glimpse into the life of children and families in territories occupied by ISIS.
READ: The Story Behind a Christian Missionary’s Daring Rescue of Girl Trapped by ISIS
On Sunday, Eubank shared a touching update on Demoa and her family. In a post titled “Rescued and Restored: Girl Rescued from ISIS Massacre Restored to Her Family,” he explained that, despite losing her immediate family during the ISIS raid, she was ultimately reunited with her grandmother and aunt, after they saw a picture of the child on social media.
Last week, the three paid a visit to the Eubank and FBR team in Erbil, Iraq, and he described how emotional it was to watch the once shy little girl interact with her family.
We were just reunited with Demoa, the 5-year-old girl we rescued from ISIS in June this year. She is now being cared for by her grandmother and aunt, and they came to visit us where we are staying in Iraq. When they arrived and stepped out of the car, I dropped to my knees to pray and thank God. She was very shy and held herself back, clinging to her aunt. Her grandmother began to cry and thank me: “I have seen your picture and have been hoping to see you to thank you. You not only saved Demoa’s life, you saved mine. If she had died I think I would have died also. I have no other grandchildren and only one daughter left. But God had mercy. Thank you for risking your life to save her.” She cried and dropped down to kiss my feet.
I was embarrassed and lifted her up and hugged her. I told her, “This was God who did this – God loves Demoa and helped us save her. And it was not just our FBR team, it was American smoke, an Iraqi tank, the FBR support team, and people praying for all of us all over the world.”
Eubank shared that the FBR team greeted Demoa with toys and games, and she quickly warmed up to the group. He said that the girl’s grandmother told him she had a dream after the rescue that Demoa was saved by a “shining and beautiful man,” who Eubank believes was Jesus.
“Her grandmother choked up at one point and said, ‘After the rescue I had a dream. Demoa was hiding among the dead and beside her was a foul and evil-looking stream. A man shining and beautiful appeared. He lifted Demoa up and carried her across the filthy stream, bringing her safely on the other side,’” Eubank wrote in the blog post. “The grandmother began to cry again and said, “I am so thankful.’”
“I believe that was Jesus who helped Demoa and you can call on His name when you need help,” he continued. “He loves you and Demoa.”
While Eubank admits that he will likely never understand what Demoa went through during her two days fighting for survival, he is “grateful” to see her “happy and thriving.”
“My heart felt full and I was grateful for this new chance at life. It felt like there was a completeness,” he concluded. “Demoa is happy and thriving. I do not know the depth of the emotional, psychological and spiritual wounds she bears but we prayed for her and trust God to keep healing her.”
Read the full post HERE.