Last night in our clinic we saw a patient injured in a cattle raid – a young man, living about 20 kilometers from Tonj. A gunshot wound had pierced the patient’s lower leg and shattered both bones. The patient had stayed in a small clinic overnight and had come to our clinic 24 hours after being shot.

Even if the patient had immediately gotten good medical care, he still might have lost his leg. But a day’s delay in treatment means almost certain loss of the leg.

The unfortunate young man deserved good medical care just as much as we in advanced countries enjoy. In the meantime, we can perhaps play some small role in bringing better medicine to his countrymen one small step at a time. A little help goes a long way to improve somebody’s life and all glory is to our God.

The medical team from Australia, though only here a few days, have already enabled us to double, even triple, our daily surgeries. May the Lord bless them for their sacrifice.

Not only have we broken through our previous limitations, but community health workers have begun to first-assist the surgeon, while Dennis tends to the clinic, and Tom relaxes from his labors in Rumbek. All of us hope South Sudanese will rise to become clinical officers, nurses, and surgeons who will raise the standards of medical care in South Sudan. Our labor in the Lord is not in vain.