Bandages Come Off!
Very exciting!! Yes the morning after the cataract surgery we got to be a part of the patients having their bandages removed and eyes retested. What an amzing sense of joy and thanksgiving as these people regained their sight. Some jumped up running and throwing down their trusty cane. Hallelujah – we give you Jesus all honor and praise.
Hannah’s Field Trip – A day in Surgery
We are always looking for interesting things for the kids to ‘do’ as field trips and the cataract clinic was an amazing opportunity for our kids to see something new and different.
When the doctors invited us to view a surgery we jumped at the chance and Hannah and I did a ‘walk through’ with a patient from start to finish.
So please join us on this journey through a cataract operation:
First the patients are assessed to make sure their sight problem is truly cataract as there are many other eye diseases that cause blindness here.
Patients then wait in line for the surgery. 173 surgeries were performed in 4 and half days, which is quite a remarkable accomplishment.
First stop before surgery is with Wilson, who uses an ultrasound machine to scan and measure the eye and the current lense to make a perfect synthetic match for each patient. They also check if their is suspected retina detachment or other complications. He puts numbing drops in the eye ready for stage 2!!
This was much harder to watch than the actual surgery. After Wilson they go to Emily. She cleans the eye with povidine and injects a local anesthetic into a small space between the bone and the eyeball. Thankfully the patient can’t see yet!
A pressure ball is placed over the eye to prevent the eyeball bulging out and they then wait for the surgeon.
The doctor starts with clamping the eye open and making a small incision. I can’t remember all the details but he basically slipped out the cataract and then slipped in a new lens.
It was fascinating to see how the once cloudy eye was now perfectly clear. Hannah closely watched the entire process which took only 15 minutes. I was so proud of her, I think she did better than me.
After surgery they are bandaged and taken to the ward to spend one night before having the bandages removed and being retested.
Achol Deng the First Referral Patient on the Ambulance
Achol is from Thiet village 24 miles away and she was brought to our clinic last Friday night. Her husband stabbed her in the abdomen two nights before, thought he killed her because she was unconscious and dragged her body to the forest where she was left to die. When she regained consciousness she was not able to move or even call out. Eventually someone found her and brought her to us. When she arrived here her guts were out, a very difficult thing to see. Dr. Tom and Dennis did the best they could with the limited resources we have in our clinic and they made her stable so she could make the jouney to Wau and get surgery.
Suzy and I shared the gospel with her before she left and even when she seemed to be very weak, she was still able to pray and accept jesus as Lord and Savior. We knew the situation was grave and Achol was hanging on a very thin thread between life and death, that’s why we were so clear with her and her family explaining what might happen and what the Bible says in regards to life after death.
Achol’s mother was there and we shared about the hope we have in Jesus for life after death and His healing even in the most challenging of circumstances. I could see a glimpse of hope in her face and I am sure it meant something special in her most time of needs.
I was glad she prayed and I was glad the ambulance was there to help. We really thank our Lord Jesus for providing this vehicle to Achol, to give her a chance to save her live and be the tool for her to hear the gospel message and be saved. Our God is so good if He gave us His live what else that can be withheld from us in order to be saved and know Him!!!
He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Romans 8:32
The doctors in Wau teaching hospital were glad to see we have an ambulance and impressed by the health care Tonj is receiving. We paid for her surgery about $150 and they received the patient and prepared for surgery.
Today our ambulance took it’s second patient to Wau with an urgent heart condition. Our staff were told Achol died that morning, five days after getting the surgery. Please pray for this family. We are confident Achol is with Jesus.
To support our ambulance program and help us meet the cost of running it and covering emergency medical costs, please click here and give through our medical evacuation fund.
September 2011 Newsletter
Prayer Walk Fundraiser!
In Deed and Truth Ministries (IDAT) holds a ‘prayer walk’ fundraiser every year to help meet the growing costs of the ministry operations and to focus our prayers collectively on Sudan and its physical and spiritual needs. Sabet Kuj will travel to San Diego to host this event on behalf of IDAT. It’s not just about raising funds but brings all those that have stood with us over the past 12 years a chance to join us in prayer and thanksgiving for what God has done, is doing and will continue to do by His grace. Sabet arrives on October 1st and is looking forward to seeing many friends during his 5 week trip. If you are interested in knowing more about how you can help us please email us or Jeamette Lock. On October 22nd, IDAT’s 5th Annual Prayer Walk will be at Shelter Island. Sudan is lacking in so many necessities and our medical clinic alone sees over 2,000 patients every month. The desire to plant more churches and reach out to the most isolated villages is a great passion in our hearts.
WE NEED YOU… to partner with us in reaching this NEW nation, the Republic of South Sudan, for Jesus Christ. HOW: Follow these steps:
- Download the sponsorship form from our website and aim to fill it with sponsorships from family, friends, neighbors and coworkers who will support you spending 2 hours prayer walking for Sudan.
- Register online or mail the registration form to get your prayer walk t-shirt (we are happy to assist out of town walkers to arrange their own prayer walk fundraiser for Sudan).
- PRAY: For the Lord to bless the walk, walkers and use it to impact many both in Sudan and within your community.
- INVITE: This is an opportunity to invite non-Christian family and friends to walk with you and hear the gospel. Also invite your Christian friends and family to join you and help make a difference and impact an entire African community for Christ.
- WALK: Give a few hours of your time to make an eternal difference in Sudan through your prayers and gifts. Enjoy worship, fellowship and testimonies as we walk and pray side by side in support of In Deed and Truth Ministries.