Monday saw about 40 patients from 9 to 12 then scrubbed a hernia with Michael. It was an inginal hernia in the right groin the hernia sac was freed up quite easily and the vas and its vessels that come up from the scrotum through the inginal canal and into the abdominal cavity were isolated quite easily. If you do not isolate them and you cut as we often do you cut off blood supply to the testes and the testicle dies and the patient gets upset .We then had to work quite hard on freeing the hernia sac from the hernia walls so we could return sac and bowel back into the abdominal cavity. It was fun. Around supper time a vehicle with two gunshot victims were brought in I believe some Tonj police were trying to stop two drunk soldiers from fighting and bullets were fired one into the upper abdomen of a young man his stomach was lying outside his belly . The other had a in out wound to the upper leg which fractured his femur (the big bone in upper leg)He was given dressing and I splinted the upper leg  There is talk of him going to the village surgeon(witch doctor) but he is still here. The other patient with stomach outside abdomen was transferred to Wau. We are still not  quite ready to open abdomen in which we have no idea what we will find. We need suction and electrocautery and a little more experience with anesthesia . It all will come in God’s timing. #1rule in medicine is do no harm. We just trust God to guide us. I still think it is amazing how God got Mike and I here. I knew 20-30 years ago him and I would be in Africa together someday. God is amazing.

A team of five men from a German company called Diguna which is based in Kenya arrived on Wednesday  for the completion of Radio Tower. They are all knowledgeable and experienced in doing this work. A cement foundation or base as it’s called was built before the team arrived to erect the tower. From that base sections are added. Actually the correct term is an element. There are 23 elements in total. When finished the total height of the tower will be 69 meters or 226 feet. Kerrie Snow is here for the follow up of the radio tower and she is also helping in the clinic with dressings.

Kerrie came here specifically to try and understand more about the culture and beliefs as it pertained to health so that she could write lessons that would address needs as she perceived them. It has been extremely helpful and eye opening. It is easier for her to gather information in the afternoons as the clinic has generally slowed down and translators are more available.  She sometimes just hang out on benches in front of the clinic and ask a lot of questions. All the young men that work in the clinic are very eager to help her and seem to enjoy  discussions.

After Kerrie  gathers information she will then process and categorize it so that she can place it in the right lesson that she want to present. Next she will need to write out her questions in English ahead of time so that the translator can review them and know what she is looking for.  After some practice runs they finally get to record on her computer. Her kind and patient son- in law helped her set up a the recording program.

That’s not the end of the process by any means. After the interview it may be necessary for her  to add information that will enhance the lesson. When it is all final she will send it to Houston where it will undergo editing and finally it will be sent via satellite going through Canada back to radio towers in Southern Sudan. Wow, modern technology!

“I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.My soul will boast in the Lord;let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.” – Psalm 34:1-3

Friday nite I subbed for a tired midwife. Delivered a baby the head went right into the bulging amniotic sack and I believe it made for a nice controlled delivery. everyone did fine. Saturday morning a real sick 3 month old came in Dennis our IV starting champion got an IV going and we gave fluids and meds to stop the convulsions.  We started antibiotics and anti malarial meds and prayed.  The child was sick for over one week with care by the village witch doctor and only when the infant was at death’s doorstep did it come to the clinic.  Another seizure and aspiration into the lungs ended hope of a recover.  I always say we need 12 hours to turn things around and we only got 6 hours. It is always sad but we can only do so much. During that time interval I pulled a tooth of a 15 y/o girl it was a tough pull because the crown of the tooth was very decayed and the roots were very strong. I have pulled about 40 teeth now.  Michael Stick the surgeon from Madison continues to be a great asset to us here. He cannot believe all the hernias here and he is enjoying doing the surgery thing even when I assist him. I am starting to understand this hernia thing.  – Tom

Feb 28th started out much as any other day.I was taking care of people who came in for dressing changes and just before lunch, Dennis, one of the medical staff asked if I would take over caring for a 5 month old baby that needed to be watched closely. Baby Anyar, had been very dehydrated and was in shock initially suffering from possible pneumonia and amebic dysentry. I gave some IV medications and kept an eye on him out on the back porch. After I had seen all my patients for dressings I went out with the translator to ask a few questions of the mother. There was a man sitting there also who I asked if I could pray for the baby. They said yes, and I did. The uncle asked if I prayed because the child  was suffering? I said yes, that’s partly the reason, but that we all needed prayer and pointed to each of us.

I went to lunch and do some other things but felt drawn back to them. I asked Isaac who is a translator and A Community Health Worker if he had time to translate for me. He was happy to help. We started a conversation that lasted quite a while. Apparently the child had been sick for about 10 days. They had gone to another clinic quite some distance away and were given medicines. After 3 days the medicine did not seem to have made any difference. A family member said if it hasn’t helped then they should go to the witch doctor.

I know that all of you reading this in various parts of the world, outside of Africa, think this is very strange. For those who have many questions about this I would love to talk with you some time face to face about it. Let me just say, it is very, very real. They ended up going to two witch doctors. The first one asked to be paid 50 Sudanese pounds. This is a huge amount for most people. This witch doctor said the baby had gases in it’s belly, and rubbed oil all over him to remove the gases! It didn’t help. The 2nd witch doctor wanted a bull, goat and chicken for payment. This was a big problem because when the mother of the child got married her uncle was supposed to pay with a bull, goat and chicken but never did. The witch doctor stated the baby won’t get well without the payment. Fortunately I  asked them if they knew God to whom I had prayed earlier. They did not know about God at all. We talked about God, his son Jesus and the Holy Spirit. It was a long conversation that I can’t go into details but it was very obvious that God had set this appointment for us to meet together this day.

In the end the brother and sister prayed with us to ask God’s forgiveness for their wrong doings, accepting that Jesus paid the price for their sins and invited Him into their lives. I explained that this was a free gift, no money, no bulls, goats or chickens for their healing.

They will never again go to, or trust in the witch doctor.The power of the witch doctor pales in comparison to the power of the One who made heaven and earth and rules over all his creation.

“There is no sorcery against Jacob, no divination against Israel. It will now be  said of Jacob and of Israel, ‘see what God has done!’” – Numbers 23:23

Guaria village has a population of about 496 people. One of our Bible School Trainees planted a church in Guaria village. The Gauria people love God so very much and they usually meet for fellowships every Saturday in the evening and they have invited us to come. They also have Sunday services. Albino (Compound Manager) has gone to the Saturday evening service a couple of times along with Pastor Joe and Peter Malok (Community Health worker) and some of our Pastors from the Bible School.

The major challenge they had was the lack of clean water for drinking. They requested our Ministry to drill a borehole for them if possible.  One interesting thing about this village is that they have unity or a oneness. They all joined hands; Pastors, chiefs, elders, men, women and youth and sent to our ministry a proposal that stated that they are in need of a borehole. Our partners, Aid Sudan, sent a group on Saturday morning to Guaria village to drill a borehole. Every member in Guaria along with the women and children were there together to see what was going on in their village. These people are so very excited because they are looking forward to having a borehole which will give them clean water for drinking and will help prevent many of the common diseases such as diarrhea.

Because of this borehole and the availability of water, they will now be able to implement projects such as green vegetable planting and mango planting. This will result in the growth of Guaria and the other surrounding villages.

They thank God above all for remembering them, and they also thank Aid Sudan, our Ministry IDAT and our supporters and all those who participated.

“So that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.” – Isaiah 41:20

Holy Spirit we invite you to come and intercede on our behalf and stir hearts to pray for our clinic staff, survivors and families of those who died.

Yesterday five patients were brought to the clinic that had been shot and wounded in a cattle raiding in Agulget Village. One was wounded on his neck, one on his leg, one on the foot, one on the hand while the fifth one had a wound on the back. This is the second case of cattle raiding so far this New Year. Already so many people have been killed and many wounded.

Two of the wounded patients were rushed to Wau hospital late yesterday while three of them are still here in our clinic. We still don’t know how many were wounded because we only received these 5 and only one person was reported dead. All of our medical staff was in the clinic trying to help where they could. Our pastors also came to pray for the patients and to encourage them.

Yesterday we also had an adult patient brought to our clinic, Makor Kuch, who had been operated on a few days ago in Rumbek Hospital. He had returned to Tonj and yesterday when a fight broke out in the neighborhood, he was kicked hard on the operated area. He was wounded again on his lower abdomen and on his back. The doctors admitted him in our clinic and he is being kept in the observation room to be reviewed.

Please pray for God to intervene and stop this senseless cattle raiding. Please pray also for those wounded to be healed. Please pray for our medical staff that God would give them grace and strength. The surgeries are still going on with Dr. Stick and we are receiving emergencies almost every day.

We pray for a few days of calm and rest for our medical staff.

“You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.” – Psalm 10:17-18

Surgeries for Tonj!

Hannah, Suzy, Sabet, Nancy Losee, Agum, Joe Losee, Jed, Dr. Stick

What joy to have a General Surgeon with us in Tonj. Dr. Stick arrived mid-January from USA and will be with us for three months. He is greatly needed in so many ways but as this is a new area of medical care for us as well as the community we are taking things slowly. The main focus for surgeries will be hernias and people are coming for miles to book an appointment with him. Dr. Stick arrived with much needed skills in this remote place that has little technology to offer him yet he just has a heart to serve the Lord. He is a pleasure to meet, a blessing to be around, humble and open to what the Lord wants to do through him. We can testify and relate to his passion for missions and for the work God has put in his heart, using his professional skill to share Jesus’ love with those who are the least privileged in this world. We are excited to report the testimonies back to you all over the next few months. So far he has managed 10 surgeries with 100% success. As the patients are ministered to, pray they would understand God’s love, grace and forgiveness. We are very happy to see the hope in people who have been restored and the future in their eyes now looks brighter. The town is at ease more than ever because of these surgeries. And so are we, as we have the realhope and now the opportunity to present it to these patients knowing it will bring long-lasting change and make a real difference in their lives if they choose Jesus as their Savior.

Dr. Stick and IDAT medical team performing a hernia surgery

As with the cataract surgeries in September we have partnered with the government hospital which is not being used to its full capabilities and we are using their operating room to perform the surgeries. We have added some local staff to help with translation and other minor duties that will hopefully help free up our regular medical team who are being stretched to help cover the afternoon surgeries as well as our normal clinic program and outreaches. We ask you to pray for them over this next few months as their workload is heavier than normal. It is our biggest challenge not being able to find medically trained Sudanese staff and the cost of bringing sufficient Kenyan medical staff, flying them in and out and providing accommodation and board is very high. Pray for Sudanese that were displaced during the war to return to their home country. Many were able to train and acquire medical skills overseas. We are praying for medically trained Sudanese to return to their home as missionaries.

“The humble also shall increase their joy in the LORD, And the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.” – Isaiah 29:19

Aid Sudan!

Aid Sudan is a Christian ministry that is partnering with In Deed and Truth to bring a radio ministry to our area. This month they began work on erecting the tower on our compound. Their vision is to plant radio towers across Southern Sudan to broadcast the gospel message in local dialogs. We are very excited for this opportunity to have the Message of Hope aired through a satellite feed in local dialogues of Dinka, Jurchol and Bongo. We are estimating more than 45,000 people will be able to hear and listen throughout 3 different states, Warrap, Lake and Western Bahr El Ghazal. It will also be a great tool to bring health and hygiene awareness and education.

Prayer Requests

• For our staff and missionaries as they serve the Lord selflessly. That in the midst of the busyness they can enter into HIS presence and experience the peace of the Lord.
• For the Losee’s as they continue to teach the pastors in the final year of school.

Yesterday in the evening a certain lady brought her child to our clinic. Malek Malok one month and a half was left in the house when a goat came in and stepped at the right side of his head. The temporal bone depressed or sucked  inside but the baby was breastfeeding well and no prior loss of consciousness when he was brought to the clinic. When the temporal bone is depressed (pressed  in)it  can cause pressure in the brain and cause neurological dysfunction, thus causing bleeding. The Doctor said it was a miracle for that child to be alive. We prayed together with the mother and she said that she has a reason to praise God for her child being alive.

Please pray for this child because there is a possibility for him to have a deformity. Operating on the child also is risking. The best thing we can do is to put him in the hands of God and to trust Him for His mighty work upon that baby’s head.

We thank God and also you for praying with us regarding the accident in Tonj which happened on Sunday 12^th February. The survivors who were rushed to Wau Hospital in critical condition are feeling much better now. They are also happy and together with their families they thank God and also In Deed and Truth Ministries for taking them to Wau with the ambulance and for buying the medicines for them.

Please pray for Nyok Deng Mayiik who was one of the patients in that accident and was taken to Wau. We have not succeeded in reaching his relatives. Awad our compound guard took some clothes to him and also bought medicines for him and he is very thankful to God and our Ministry.

A certain man heard about the accident on Sunday night and he was told his son died in the accident. He came to our clinic to take the body to his home but he was astonished to find his son alive. Bilal Amac was doing okay and was regaining enough strength so that he could even speak. His father danced for joy and all who were there in the clinic were excited and rejoiced with him. He asked our doctors to help him to transfer his son to the Wau hospital.

“Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation will commend your works to another, they will tell of your mighty acts.” – Psalms 145:3-4

Aid Sudan an organization with a large focus on health education and evangelism came to visit us last year to discuss the possibility of building a radio tower on the compound.

The tower would broadcast the gospel and public health messages to small hand-held radios that would be distributed within the community.

Two weeks ago, the first part of the tower was dug. Yes, dug.

Two engineers, loaned out from a German NGO named Diguna, came to plan out the project and lay the foundation.

It took them longer than expected to dig the necessary holes but eventually they finished. They re-enforced them with rebar, then poured the concrete.

Now I’m told it must settle for three weeks before the tower can be erected. It’s an exciting project, with a potential for much fruit. I can’t wait to see what God does with it

We know God is the One who started this good work and He will help us to accomplish it, so it doesn’t matter how much the enemy will try to discourage us.

“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”  – Philippians 1:6

God bless you all for your support and for praying for this project.