Written by Suzy Kuj
“Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.” – Psalm 62:8
Lual Mawar is 25 years old and lives about 4 hours walk from Tonj in a village called Thon. He is married to one wife and has a small child.
Yesterday afternoon, while tending to his cattle in the camp, he was shot. The cattle raider sprung from a bush and shot him at close range and stole 55 cows. Lual lay on the ground helpless for more than 4 hours. Eventually a boy found him and raised the alarm. A passing motorbike carried him to Tonj where he arrived late last night and was admitted into our clinic.
Last night, while our staff gathered for prayer night, we were interrupted by the guard to come and tend to Lual. On examination the doctors were skeptical if Lual could survive. He had lost a lot of blood and the bullet had entered through the chest and exited, leaving him with one collapsed lung. He was having severe pain and blood loss. Some of us remained in the compound and prayed while the others ministered to the patients physical needs and also prayed over him.
This morning we were surprised even to find this young man alive and sitting up. Pastor Judah, recently graduated from IDAT’s Discipleship Training Center, lead prayer over him and explained to Lual how the Lord Jesus loves him so very much and spared his life so far. He asked him about his faith and the time he spent laying on the ground after he was shot. Lual said he thought he was going to die and was so scared. We prayed with him and he asked forgiveness for himself and vowed not to retaliate this offense.
After praying we explained that as he had survived the night the next step was to get him to a medical facility where they could truly assist him long term. We all agreed Wau hospital was also limited in what it could do to help him. While we contemplated this another man, Ater, was brought in from the same cattle raid last night. He had endured a night in the bush with a gunshot wound to the upper arm shattering his humerus bone. He walked to the clinic to get help.
Both of these cases needed advanced medical care beyond what was available to us. We notified the relatives that evacuation was necessary and asked them to gather money in preparation. Suzy contacted MAF to see if any flight was in the vicinity and could divert to collect the patients and take them to Juba Training hospital. Unfortunately, the victims were not in a position to collect money as home was so far. MAF confirmed there was in deed a flight available but we were not able to help due to lack of funds on the ground. The last thing we wanted was for the patients to reach Juba and be stuck with no money. So we were about to cancel the medevac when the commissioner called Sabet and vowed to contribute money to the cause, this in itself was a miracle and the timing was perfect. This promise meant we were able to move forward and immediately called MAF and rescheduled the pick-up. Both patients were carried to Juba with MAF’s assistance.
Pray the seeds of faith planted would be watered and take deep root in their hearts. Already we are seeing the repercussions of retaliation, just one hour after the medevac a man arrived with a gunshot wound to his face. There is no exit wound and he is in severe shock and pain. Our understanding is he was trying to get back the cows that were stolen.
We ask for prayer for him as well as protection over our staff as they tirelessly work to serve this community. Jesus, our Prince of Peace, has spoken and said “peace be with you.” We have full confidence in His presence and ability to give us strength to endure each difficult case.
Without MAF we could not complete our work, fly in our medical staff, medicines, missionaries, food and supplies and fly out these frequent emergencies.
Thank you MAF for your generous support.
As we waited on the Lord’s will we felt an urgency to get her out of the gloomy crowded observation room that had become home to her. Yesterday we choose to have a bedside vigil throughout the day so she would not be alone and to help her. Each staff took one hour to be with Ayak, praying and talking and encouraging her. Today we managed to get her into a wheelchair and I offered to sit with her while I homeschooled Hannah in the garden. We drank ice tea and I rubbed lavender lotion on her body. Even though she had hardly spoken in days she told Awad she liked being outside. It really was a beautiful day, shady under the Neem tree, birds singing, cool breeze rustling the branches. While Awad and I were tending to her she transitioned from being fidgety and uncomfortable to being peaceful and sleepy. Five women relatives (never happened before) stopped by to greet her. They saw Ayak asleep and after 10 minutes asked to leave and come back later. I felt an urgency to pray with them before they left and asked Awad to translate the prayer. The prayer in my heart was for them to understand our Lord’s mercy and love. Ayak’s body was failing but her spirit was healthy and needed to move on. When we finished praying some were weeping, all thanked me and left. I positioned a small fan on Ayak’s lap to help keep her cool and sat watching her sleep peacefully. Just a few minutes later she slipped into the arms of her Lord and Savior. Though she is absent from her body we are confident she is present with the Lord, no tears, pain or cancer.
