In the Lord’s Army

“This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow, march down against them. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions, stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you! Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you!’”(paraphrase 2 Chronicles 20:15-17)

This verse has been proved o’er and o’er the last two days in Bamacounda. We are in the Lord’s Army now, and are positioned in the front line! Thankfully, we are but obedient soldiers seeking the direction of our Commander in Chief in fervent prayer, and His will be done.

Clinic days 2 and 3 in Bamacounda were another portrait of the many blessings and provisions of our God, as well as the sneaky shenanigans of the enemy. The team arrived in high, but prayerfully cautious spirits, with revelation that we should not let the many wonderful blessings of God that occurred Wednesday cloud our preparedness for battle. Everything seemed just a little harder today. Nothing major, mind you, but a lot of little annoyances, irritations, frustrations, miscommunications, etc. that work together to attempt to persuade tired surrender. Persnickety tooth extractions , a restless crowd, demands to be seen from simply more than we can accommodate, the heat of the day, even a ringing cell phone; all subtle but conniving little tactics used by our enemy to bring us down, distract us from the presence of the work of God. Through those “little interruptions”, though, God’s light shown through the darkness. There is much unity in this platoon, and we march through on the orders of Christ!

A note about our platoon: Sarah, Heather, Mike, Delayn, and Gwen are doing an amazing job managing the dental aspect of the mission. They have been working tirelessly with quiet patience, pushing through the tired, swollen legs and aching neck and backs to provide comfort (albeit not immediate!) to the patients they are caring for in the name of Christ. Their love shows through in so many ways: a gentle touch of the hand, a needed break for the suffering patient, a smile or shared song with the kids in the “viewing window”. Dr. Ray and Jeania are making a kingdom difference in major ways, beyond the physical care of their patients. Dr. Ray takes time with each patient to pray, from the patient with the simplest complaint to those with debilitating or life threatening disease, as no request is too big or too small for our great God. Jeania shows so much love not only in her nursing skills, but with the relational skills- every national within a ten mile radius have surely received a sucker, a babydoll, a skateboard, an army man, a piece of gum, a laugh or a smile with Jeania the past couple days. Gary and Marilyn are holding down the fort in the pharmacy, and boy is it a big fort! The hope in that room is palpable! Something as simple as a toothbrush given or a bag of Tylenol promise hope to those they encounter. With each patient they touch with the love of God in their hands, they bring new light into their life. Although we know that the medicine will eventually run out, the light found in the hope that was sewed by them this trip surely never will. Amongst a plethora of other things, Janie has been making sure all sight is restored on this mission field. Those many, many glasses have certainly already brought great joy to many, many African people. Armed with only a 5x7 eye chart and the “hold ‘em up and try ‘em method”, she has given many people new sight (often followed by the most sparkly smile you have ever seen), and we pray that soon, their eyes will be opened also to the love of our Lord and Savior. Larry and Curtis are our saving grace at the front entrance. This is likely the most intense position in the entire clinic, as the only thing standing between you and the people who think we can personally offer them a hope like they have never had before with our medicine, is these men of God, engulfed in His armor. Thankfully, even though they do not know it before they enter, our patients will receive the opportunity for a hope like that they have never experienced before; not through medicine, but prayer that they may come to know our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The prayer team continues to directly offer prayer and instruction to EVERY patient who is to be seen in the clinic. They are doing a magnificent job with management of the numbers of patients filtered through. (I wonder, does God employ loving, patient “bouncers”, because that may be a good position for them in Heaven?) Of course you will see Cindy wearing a million hats over the course of the day…facilitator extraordinaire seems like a good tag to me. Whether talking to the village Chief, the head surgeon, the elder women, or the smallest child, her most gracious, God-sought words and works are always on call. I can imagine that she must hear “cindy”, “Cindy”, “CINDY”! over and over in her worst nightmares! Her name must get hollered a million times in a day. As for me, I am in the triage room getting my hands on every infant and child I can muster (you already knew that, right?), and occasionally working. (smile) The flow of the clinic begins on my post and I have a wonderful African team working with me. Our African brothers and sisters complete our team. I wish that you could meet them all. They are amazingly wonderful, and it shows in so many ways- in their love for Christ, their commitment to His word, and their sincere desire to share it with their African brothers around them to name a few. There is much we could learn from them. What a privilege it is to serve in the Lord’s army with them!

We have seen many, many patients the past couple days, with the normal gamut of illness, aches, and pains showing the effects of their day to day grind, with some unique, more complicated cases mixed in. The normal strains of African living bring headaches, neckaches, backaches, joint pain, foot pain and abdominal pain, amongst other aches and pains. More severe cases come in the way of physical deformities, partial or complete blindness due to cataracts, diabetes, epilepsy, and many others. With every case, no matter its physical significance, we must remember that our medical interventions will last only a moment in time, yet the change that we are offering them by sharing the love, hope, and message of Christ will last an eternity.

We had the wonderful opportunity to see the school kids on clinic day 3, in the afternoon. I believe there were 96 of them in total! The well oiled machine of our team, at the direction of God’s hand, was able to provide care for generalized sickness, worm prevention, several dental extractions, and all children were given goodie bags with toothbrushes, toothpaste, suckers, stickers, coloring pages, crayons, and bracelets sharing Christ love for them. They are such a joy to watch. Their willingness to listen is one that I would love to somehow bottle up and bring home with me. They can get in a circle in no time flat- I can’t even get my small group of kids in a circle that fast! They bring the team offerings by singing the many Christian songs they have been taught over the last year, and it is surely a signal of hope in Bamacounda. What joy it must bring to the Savior when almost 100 children from this small African village join with the angels to sing His praises!

Finally, I want to leave you today with the story of Diauke’ and a request for prayer. Diauke’ is a special little 12 year- old girl who stole our hearts last year in Bamacounda. She had been burned severely several years ago in a fire, and because her wounds did not receive adequate medical attention, her scarring has caused contractures of her skin, where her right arm is fused to her body, limiting her range of motion severely, and her chin fused to her upper chest, making it impossible for her to either close her mouth entirely or lift her head. The team was so excited to see her again. For several of us, her pictures had burned a memory in our mind. Dr. Ray was able to discuss her case at a conference since our last trip, and initiated a vision to help Diauke’ regain mobility in her arm and neck. Since seeing Diauke’ and her parents in clinic, her case has been consulted with the head physician and head surgeon here in Sedhiou, and a recommendation for surgery has been made at a nearby hospital. I won’t share all the details, but the potential complications of a surgery involving the intricacies of the neck area cannot be overestimated. We do not take that responsibility lightly, and although the family has been explained the details of the procedure, there is a great burden that rests in this decision. My prayer requests are specific: please pray for God’s wisdom to be granted to those making the decision regarding the location of Diauke’s operation- if God does not ordain that the surgery occur at the hospital that is planned that He may just slam the door!; for provision of the funds and supplies for ongoing care before, during and after the surgery; for safety and success of Diauke’ during surgery and miraculous healing after; for her family- that they may understand the implications of their decision; that they may have people to assist them in the care of their other children during the surgery and aftercare; and finally and most importantly that God receive ALL glory, honor, and praise for the work He is planning to do through Diauke’, whether the surgery is physically successful or unforeseen tragedy strikes. God works in ways that are unclear to us as humans, at times, and this case requires great faith and intense prayer on behalf of His children. For me, the idea of this girl being able to lift her arms and face to the Heavens in magical, awestruck wonder of her Savior, God, and King is one that brings immediate tears to my eyes! Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord, God Almighty!

I am sorry that pictures are not uploading easily, and neither time nor signal allows, but I will keep trying! I am going to leave you with love and hugs! Please be in prayer for the team, for continued safety, health, and rest, as well as continued provisions for the remaining days. Continue to be in prayer for the people we will touch. Thank you for your support. We miss you and love you! See you soon!

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Hebrews 4:16

Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Ephesians 3:20