When I died in that hospital room in 2009 and spent those precious moments with God, something amazing happened to me. I was FILLED with His love. Upon my return to my life all I wanted to do was be able to pour out the love that He had given me to the rest of the world. Before long, I realized that I wasn’t the only one who felt this way and I became determined to showcase the stories of ordinary people living out an extraordinary love…God’s love. And thus, Project 4:19 was born.

Project 4:19 is based on the scripture of John 4:19 which says “we love because He first loved us”. All love that we exhibit to others in this world is derived from the great well of love that God first bestowed upon us. Project 4:19 was founded to showcase stories, individuals, charities and organizations that are actively living out the scripture of John 4:19 and pouring Gods love back into the world.

When my editor told me about the story of an American team crossing the borders in Iraq and performing life saving heart surgeries on children, I knew that Preemptive Love would be my first feature for Project 4:19.

So friends, meet Jeremy Courtney, the executive director of the Preemptive Love Coalition, a development organization that works across Iraq providing lifesaving heart surgeries for children.



Preemptive Love invites you to walk along the front lines of the struggle for peace with Jeremy Courtney in a firsthand account of his team’s quest to mend hearts and save lives in the world’s most notorious war-torn country.

In the middle of the Iraq war, Jeremy and his wife Jessica found themselves with their two children caught up in the turmoil, just hoping to make a difference. After an encounter with a father whose little girl was dying from a heart defect, they began to investigate options for helping and learned that untold thousands of children across Iraq were in similar need, waiting in line for heart surgery in a country without a qualified heart surgeon.

With the help of their closest friends, they dived in to save the lives of as many as they could, but sending children abroad proved to be expensive and cumbersome, and it failed to make an impact on the systemic needs of Iraqi hospitals—the places where these children really should be saved. Despite death threats, bombings, imprisonments, and intense living conditions, Jeremy and his team persevered to overcome years of hostilities and distrust in an effort to eradicate the backlog of thousands upon thousands of Iraqi children waiting in line for much needed heart surgery.

In his book, Preemptive Love, Jeremy writes a firsthand account of lifesaving and peacemaking in the world’s most notorious war-torn country.

This story reminded me of the scripture of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10: 25-27

An expert in the law tried to test Jesus by asking what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus asked the man what was written in the law. The man recites to Jesus that we are to love God with everything we have and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus agrees but the man asks Jesus who exactly is his neighbor.

Luke 30: In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii  and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Preemptive love is the story of the ones who went into the world and did just that and in doing so began to change nations. Because, in the heart of conflict, there is only one kind of love big enough to change a nation: a love that strikes first.

To find out how you can partner with this amazing cause or to get your own copy of Preemptive Love, visit their website or find them on Facebook.

PreemptiveLove.JeremyCourtney.com

PreemptiveLove.org