“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33

Thank you for your recent prayers for us here in South Sudan. Today things did not turn out the way we thought they would. Sadly young Anoch, the 12 year old amputee, died following her surgery. She was severely anemic and needed a blood transfusion before she could be operated on. Our Community Health Worker reported the Wau hospital did a blood transfusion on arrival, so we are not sure what went wrong exactly. We have many unanswered questions for those at the hospital but we have chosen not to pursue this any further. Her father came to us this morning requesting our ambulance to carry Anoch’s body back to Tonj. We are all so sad for this family. Sabet was able to pray with Anoch and she acknowledged she had understood his invitation to receive Jesus as Savior. Please pray for her family especially the grandfather that shot her accidently. When unexpected events unfold you realize how fragile life really is and how quickly our lives can change forever. Our hope is in Him, HE is our ROCK and our ANCHOR. Pray for Sabet and I as we continue to minister the love of Jesus to this family.

In His Love,

Suzy (for Sabet too)

For Anoch, in just one day her whole life has been changed. She went from being a normal 12 year old Sudanese girl, fetching water, sweeping, cooking and caring for her younger siblings to never walking again. How so? She was shot. Not from recent cattle raids, or the fighting in the town yesterday where the police came and fired guns to disperse crowds, no she was not harmed in either of those cases. Her injury came when her grandfather was trying to unload his gun and accidently shot her at point blank through her thigh. Her family carried her writhing in pain and distressed but thankfully the bullet had passed right through her leg. After stabilizing, cleaning the wound and praying our ambulance drove her the following day to the nearest hospital 75 miles away in Wau. But what happened next was quite unbelievable. The hospital refused to admit or treat her without a police report because it was a gunshot wound. Despite pleas and explanations from our staff that it was an accident and even with the child’s family verifying the story the hospital would not change their mind. This was so disheartening to me and a picture of how hardened South Sudan has become from the years of suffering and war. This poor child was transported back to Tonj, a three hour drive on a dirt and bumpy road in sweltering temperatures where she spent her second night in our clinic. By now the leg was very swollen, an infection had set in and the blood flow was disrupted. Our whole team was praying for options, medevac to Kenya or Juba, try and go back to Wau? These arrangements are challenging, requiring time to arrange transport, care and translators. Meanwhile we could see her leg was dying, smelling very bad and she was afraid. We encouraged the family to put their trust in the Lord and not to lose heart and not to call on the local magicians and witchdoctors. Sabet reassured Anoch we were going to take care of her and she would be OK. No matter what, we were here for her and would stay with her to find someone to take care for her medical needs. After the family received the police report Sabet decided to call the doctor and talk to him directly. He was told to bring her back to Wau. Knowing that Wau is our best option but very unreliable we prayed for her and sent a medical worker with her back to Wau. Sure enough on arrival they were told they could not be helped, but Moses, our community health worker (CHW) refused to return to Tonj and insisted they help Anoch. After hours of persistent pressure and negotiating, the hospital admitted our patient. Moses waited around until he was confident they were taking proper care of her and then returned to Tonj. By this time there was no other option but to amputate her leg. Please pray for Anoch and her family during this difficult time.

“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do  it.”  – Proverbs 3:27

I am preparing to leave Tonj, South Sudan after 3 months of helping out in surgery, and would like to share some experiences.

Three days after I arrived here, IDAT had a team working in theater. The team functioned almost at the outset like veterans, though most were new to theater. Each of us on the team sensed the leading of God almost daily.

Patients lined up for surgical bookings. Regrettably, we turned away  many  for lack of  sufficient facility and equipment.  Still,  we did 60 surgeries in theater,  most of them hernias,  common among the Dinka  people in South Sudan.

The picture shows Gabriel and Santos, two South Sudanese, closing up a surgery. Anne is the anesthetist (and seasoned midwife). Not shown are Margaret and Auxillia, also anesthetists-in-training (and skilled midwives). These young men have become skilful at assisting in surgery, and closing surgeries with minimal supervision.

What lies ahead? We hope to build a theater to attract and heal the South Sudanese. Early building has begun on what the  citizens call Sabet Hospital. We believe the Lord is preparing a way forward. Please pray that we may be sensitive and obedient to His leading.