One Great Physician

There are more developments on the medical front out here. Yeye continues to fight TB with only minimal improvement, but we are pleased that God has allowed her to live this long. Pray that the medications would help her fight this sickness and that she would come to saving knowledge of our Lord.
We are also mourning our second death in the camp in the last month attributed to AIDS. Kosene was only sick for a few months, but she declined quite quickly. When presented with the Gospel on her deathbed on two separate occasions, Kosene refused. Our hearts grieve. She leaves behind two young boys, Angu and Ambili. The other young mother who died a couple weeks ago left behind a one year old daughter who is also fighting for life. Her name is Adja Noelle. We do not know if she has also contracted AIDS or if she is simply suffering from malnutrition due to her mother’s illness. Pray that her young body would gain strength and that those who are caring for her would be attentive to her needs.
Jeelo is also in need of healing and encouragement. She has been fighting a constant onslaught of illness for a few months now and is now battling a gastric ulcer and irritable bowel syndrome. She is very discouraged. Today she came to us asking her to take her to the hospital. She is convinced that she had a miscarriage and that her symptoms are complications. We ruled out the possibility of miscarriage once more and got her started on drug therapy for her abdominal symptoms.
With these recent deaths and illnesses, there is suspicion in the camp that someone is practicing sorcery against all the young women. While we don’t discredit the possibility, we know that the recent rash of sickness and death among young women can also be explained medically and that God is sovereign over spiritual powers and over medical conditions. One young woman, Ndae, who started treatment for leprosy about a month ago, is experiencing a painful leprosy reaction. She is quite discouraged and depressed and is convinced that sorcery has been practiced against her. Pray for wisdom in how to interact with her and how to treat her symptoms, and pray that God’s power would be demonstrated in her life, bringing her to knowledge of the Great Physician.