By Ted Miyaki
Ayak. I met her with the team, the first day in the compound. A beautiful slender girl of 13, with an angelic face. Her right arm was recently amputated at the elbow – bone cancer that went untreated. Many have prayed for her and visited her. Yesterday, after the entire team and local staff went to the clinic to pray for her, I stayed by her side with “Mama Nini” (Dena). Ayak was in constant pain, moaning, and saying it hurt. The medications are limited in effectiveness. We prayed more, sang to her and caressed her. She placed my hand on the swollen her right arm and motioned for me to stroke it. That seemed to help her. What a heart break.
Early this morning, before sunrise, around 4.30, I heard Ayak’s distinctive little voice crying out from the clinic. Sound carries far in the compound with open windows and doors. Dinka children rarely cry out like that, so I knew it had to be her. I was compelled to go over and see her. More heart break. By the time I arrived, she had been calmed down by the elderly security guard and was hunched over in a chair, rocking and moaning with pain. The overnight health worker eventually gave her a pain killer injection, the pain of which also terrified her. I held her and she squeezed my hand as the dose was administered. Thankfully, she agreed to lay down and rest after that. Please pray for Ayak as we seek a way forward. Lord Jesus, have mercy…
Embrace Infant Warmers were introduced to us through a friend. These baby sized sleeping bags havebeen tested throughout India and some other countries to reduce infant mortality, which South Sudan has one of the highest rates. The device works like a traditional incubator, regulating the baby’s body temperature but at a fraction of the cost to buy and even to operate. It can work with or without electricity, has no moving parts, is portable and safe to use. Due to the high number of babies we deliver and treat in a high risk area of infant mortality our clinic was one chosen by Embrace to begin using this device in Africa.
While the Olympics were going on in London, we started our own Kids Games Olympic style for the kids in Tonj and the surrounding areas. As you can see from the photo not as flashy as the Olympics but these children had fun playing, and heard the gospel with open hearts. Two of our medical staff, Gabriel and Emmanuel, together with Donato, Pastor Santino and our compound manager Albino, formed a team to go from village to village conducting kids games.
Missionaries, John and Beth, from World Gospel Mission Uganda returned to Tonj for the 2nd C.H.E (Community Health Evangelism) training session. Twenty-one leaders from seven counties across three states in South Sudan came together as we hosted this life changing workshop.
Four weeks ago 12 year old Rebecca Ayak was brought to our clinic with a very swollen right forearm and suffering a lot of pain. She was diagnosed a year earlier in Juba with a tumor and referred for treatment to Uganda but the family went back to the village due to lack of money. Clinical officer Dennis and visiting missionary Dr. Rossi, both felt Ayak’s only hope was to medevac her to a Kenyan hospital. We do keep a running Medevac Fund for situations that arise unexpectedly like this as the costs can quickly accumulate. We always believe Jesus is our guide and brings such patients to us so we can help them without hesitation. Through our relationship with Tenwek Mission Hospital, Sabet made arrangements for her medevac and along with her brother traveled to Kenya with her. X-rays confirmed it was bone cancer and she was taken to surgery right away. Unfortunately, her arm was amputated.
One year ago on July 9th we joined our brothers and sisters of South Sudan in celebration and witnessed first hand an historic occasion as the ROSS or Republic of South Sudan gained independence from North Sudan and became her own nation.
Another celebration of birth is our second church plant this year in the small village of Maloney that we have been serving with weekly medical outreaches for the past 2 years. Two pastors currently in our Discipleship training school made it their mission to plant the church and are currently living in this remote village. Their hearts were stirred through Simply the Story training and Community health Evangelism training, and they passionately wanted to bring God’s Word to the Maloney people. They approached the village chief to allow them to meet under a tree every Sunday. The chief who is not a Christian, listened to their request and asked what kind of church. Pastors Joseph and Santino explained they were sent from our Bible school and this type of a church is more like a protestant church, so he called both pastors in front of a crowd to present their request. The Chief followed their request with a speech on how God has been good this year to their village, from a school being built by UNICEF to Australian NGO ‘Kingdom Assignment Sudan’ building a clinic and helping us to keep a Community Health Worker on staff in Maloney. He was excited at the thought of God giving them a church and acknowledged God had blessed them. He left the meeting with the pastors and immediately walked them to a piece of land they could have for their church. It was a miracle and turned into a celebration in keeping with Dinka culture, they were gifted a goat and officially welcomed to the community to begin the work of the church.
Hilary Langat volunteered with us for the second time from Tenwek Mission Hospital in Kenya. This allows us to give our Kenyan staff a break without reducing the service to the community. Hilary was blessed to see how much the outreach to Maloney has grown since his last visit a year ago. One lady from Maloney was transported back to our clinic with the ambulance due to severe malaria. Her condition was serious but after Hilary prayed with her, she asked Jesus to be her Lord and Savior. After that her condition rapidly improved and she went home.