Today Vicki, Grace, and I went to G. for Creation to Christ teaching. It was fun to greet everyone there--they are so warm and friendly in that village and they were so happy to see us back. The person I was most anxious to see was little Issa, who I and many others have been praying for over several weeks. My prayers for Issa have been a real test of faith for me. In many ways his situation seemed hopeless and I found it difficult to believe that it could change. When we arrived, his mother greeted us with a big smile and Issa's baby brother (who weighs more than him) on her hip. She pointed to where Issa was lying asleep on a bed outdoors in the shade. I went over to have a look at him, almost holding my breath, hoping that he would look so much different than the last time I saw him.
Well, he certainly looked different! I would not call him a healthy-looking child yet BUT the swelling in his body had completely subsided and he had some "meat" on his arms and legs. His face also looked fuller. He could stand up and his father told us that he's been able to run around! Wow--that certainly was not about to happen 3 weeks ago! He looks like he still has a big worm load--we need to try a different medication to take care of that. His father indicated they are still giving him milk every day and trying to give him a variety of foods. Both parents seemed happy and encouraged with his progress. Even more exciting is the work God appears to be doing in his father's life. He eagerly came and sat down for the Bible teaching and was very engaged in Vicki's teaching about creation. At the end Vicki asked if anyone from the group would like to close in prayer and he volunteered. It was wonderful to hear him pray in Mabaan. He's working with John on our compound each day and John is a Godly man who speaks fluent Arabic and is seeking to be a witness to those he works with. It's amazing to see God connecting our various ministries--caring for malnourished children, Bible teaching, building work--to reach out to this family and their community. Please keep praying for Issa.
Another malnourished child we've been concerned about for some time is 5-year-old Martina. She has a very loving, attentive grandmother that she's been living with but made so little progress over the weeks that we saw her at the clinic. I didn't know what else to do for her but pray. We had given her all the different medications we could to treat her infections but still she had symptoms (could she have TB?). We kept reinforcing the feeding formula for her grandmother but didn't know how closely it was being followed.
Well, today Grace noticed some medical notes that Dr. Rob had written on the back of Martina's record card while he was here. We didn't know this, but he had seen her at the clinic while we were away. According to the notes, she has gained a considerable amount in her Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (a good indicator of nutrition status), is mostly symptom-free, and is eating with a good appetite! We were so excited when we read this--I can't wait to see her for myself! Hopefully she and her grandmother will come to the clinic this week so we can weigh her and see how she's doing. Praise God--we have now seen good progress in each of the children!
And still He brings us more...
I'd like to tell you about a 10 year old girl named Tienga. On Wednesday morning, the day after we returned to Sudan, the medic at the clinic in B. sent her to see us with her father. I went out to the gate to see them and met a tired looking girl with strange nodules and patches of discoloration on her face, arms, and legs. They had walked for A WHOLE DAY to the reach the clinic, in the hope of finding help for her. When I saw her my mind immediately began to race through several different parasitic diseases that I had learned about during my Tropical Nursing course--filariasis, leishmaniasis...Just then Vicki came out to give me a hand and I'm sure glad she did. Vicki has a lot of experience with leprosy patients and is hoping to start leprosy/TB community outreach here in Mabaan soon. It turns out that this girl's skin condition is very likely leprosy. She has a strong family history; her father described both maternal grandparents as having lost fingers and toes due to lack of sensation). It was heartbreaking to see such a young girl with such a horrible disease. Unfortunately, we currently have no way of testing to confirm leprosy or the medication to treat it so we had to send them east 30 km to another town near the Ethiopia border where there is a clinic with leprosy treatment. The little girl looked completely exhausted from her journey and we were sad to tell them their journey would be even longer. We prayed for them, asking God to heal her as He healed so many people with leprosy long ago. Please pray for Tienga, asking for God's mercy upon her, however He chooses to touch her. Pray for hope in the midst of despair. There are sometimes tractors pulling trailers heading to that town from here. Maybe God will provide a ride so they don't need to walk all that way.
Well, my computer battery is about dead for tonight so I will have to continue with the stories of 2 more children tomorrow. Stay tuned...
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