07/16/2025
On the night of July 9, 2025 we heard of the blessed departure of our precious Aileen Coleman to be with the Lord forever. Yet we received this news not in mourning but in awe - in reverence and gratitude for the extraordinary life of Aileen Coleman. For Aileen was a true exemplary servant of Christ, a nurse, a missionary, a mother of medical and nursing missions to the Middle East, and to many of us, a personal friend, mentor, and hero in the faith.
For almost 70 years, Aileen walked the roads of the West Bank and Jordan, not as a visitor, not even merely as a nurse — but as family to the people she served. Known lovingly as “the Angel of the Desert,” she wasn’t just a title — she was the embodiment of compassion, courage, and Christlike love in some of the most hurting and most forgotten places on earth.
She didn’t build empires. She built trust. She built clinics, medical facilities ( Al Noor Sanatorium), friendships, and bridges of Grace across cultures and faiths. In a time and region where women, foreigners, and western Christians often faced suspicion and at times opposition, Aileen showed up — quietly, humbly — with a stethoscope, a smile, and the Good News of the Savior and through her life, Jesus showed up too.
Aileen was the mother of nursing missions to Arabs, and we considered her the Mother of HOME who always encouraged us and showed us the unwavering and uplifting love of Christ. Yet more than any organizational legacy, it was her personal touch that changed lives. She knew her patients by name. She prayed with them. She listened to them. She loved them — with the kind of love that only comes from someone who has surrendered everything to Christ. When I used to visit the Al Noor Sanatorium in Mafraq, she used to ask me to see some of the most complicated Tuberculosis patients introducing them by their first name referring to them as such “this is my daughter Nadia“ ……”this my son Samir“. They were family to her, deeply embedded in her heart.
When you met Aileen, you didn’t walk away impressed with her. You walked away impressed with Jesus and His magnificent love.
She never chased platforms, status, or recognition. In fact, if she were here today, she’d probably laugh and tell us to get on with the gospel. She believed her reward was not in earthly praise, but in the smile of her Savior, whom she now sees face to face.
Aileen lived among the Bedouin people of Jordan, devoting herself to their care - physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Alongside her friend Dr. Eleanor Soltau, she founded the Al Noor Sanatorium for Chest Diseases in Mafraq, which became known throughout the Middle East as “the preaching hospital,” offering compassionate care and a living witness to Christ’s love.
To the Bedouins, she was A’raisa - “the leader.” To us, she was a pioneer, a dear friend, and a Christ-like example of humble, sacrificial service.
In recognition of Aileen’s profound impact, HOME has named our future nursing school at HOME Hospital in Cairo in her honor: The Aileen Coleman Nursing Institute. This institute reflects her passion for training Christian nurses who serve with both skill and compassion.
Over the past decade, HOME has supported more than 120 nurse assistants and nursing students, and continues to sponsor students in Egypt and beyond. Through their hands, Aileen’s legacy of healing and hope will reach countless others in underserved communities across the Middle East.
Not knowing of her passing, we were planning to further honor her living memory by offering Dr. Mona Fikry (a key HOME and CNF nurse leader in Egypt and missionary to Jordan) the Aileen Coleman Distinguished Nursing Award during our Egypt HOME conference this coming Saturday July 13, 2025. Mona cared for and served with sister Aileen for years and was so close to her like a daughter to a mother.
Hence, Aileen’s life was an inspiration and living testimony of Isaiah 6:8 - “Here I am, send me” from the esteemed Rev Franklin Graham to so many medical missionaries around the world.
Therefore, we will always celebrate her remarkable legacy - one that continues through every nurse trained, every child comforted, every patient healed, and every soul introduced to the love of Christ.
On Wednesday, July 9, 2025, Aileen Coleman was finally called home. And oh, what a homecoming it must have been. Imagine the scene in heaven — thousands upon thousands of lives she touched, now worshipping alongside her. And at the center, her Lord — Jesus Christ — saying the words she lived her whole life to hear:
“Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Matthew 25;23
Now she has laid down the burdens of this world. No more heat, no more long nights at a clinic, no more shortness of breath, heartbreak or struggle. Just rest, with eternal Joy, Peace and Glory.
Yet as we think of the “Angel of the Desert “the question we must ask is not just how do we honor Aileen’s memory, but how do we continue her mission?
She didn’t want to be admired. She wanted us to go — to serve, to love, to preach, to heal the least of those in the Arab world. Whether in the Middle East or your own neighborhood, she would say, “You don’t need to cross the desert to obey Jesus. Just cross the street.”
To the people of the Middle East and beyond — you didn’t just lose a nurse. You lost a mother, a friend, and a sister in Christ. But take heart: her life was a seed, and that seed has grown into a forest of love, hope, faith, and healing that will not die with her.
To those of us who follow Jesus — may we have half her courage, her perseverance, her patience, and her devotion.
And to Aileen…
You ran your race. You fought the good fight. And now you wear the crown of righteousness.
Rest well, Angel of the Desert.
You are finally home.
Lord Jesus:
We thank You for the gift of Aileen Coleman. Thank You for the way she poured out her life as a living sacrifice for Your glory. Comfort those who grieve and raise up others to follow her example. May her legacy not be a monument, but a movement. Until we see her again in glory — may we be found faithful to you Lord Jesus.
Amen.
On Behalf of HOME
I Raad MD
