May 2007 - Posts
"For I know the plans I have for you" declares the Lord,
"plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."Jeremiah 29:11
As the postoperative days passed by, mother and child gradually stabilized
and improved. Mother had great difficulty initiating *** feeding but Debbie
tirelessly worked with her and largely through her efforts the mother was able
to successfully continue *** feeding. The mother was so thankful for Debbie's
help that she asked her permission to call her baby, Deborah in honor of Debbie.
Debbie graciously accepted and we were pleased that there would be a Baby Debbie
in southern Sudan. After four days, we had to catch our plane to fly off to the
next village. There was no one in the village to continue giving parenteral
antibiotics so we stopped the parenteral medication and switched over to oral
antibiotics. When we left, both mother and child were doing better but they were
still ar risk for complications after the ordeal they had been through. Several
months passed by and my friend Dr. Hopper went on a mission trip to southern
Sudan and stayed at Lohutok. My eyes opened wide and my heart sang when he sent
me a picture of the mother and her beautiful baby daughter, Debbie, both healthy
and doing well. I am not sure what plans God has for Baby Debbie but in my
heart, I feel that there must be something special in her future. To God be all
the honor and glory.
Mike McMahon
"A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on." - Carl
Sandberg
Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, I want to pray for the children all over the world. There is
much hunger and illness. Lord we pray for your beautiful children, protect them,
watch over them. In Christ's name, amen.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer
and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to the God.Philippians 4:6
The conditions were primitive to say the least. The room had one open window
to provide light and ventilation. Unfortunately, it also had no screen and
provided a steady stream of flying insects, including wasps the size of small
birds. It was very hot in the room and we all were perspiring heavily. We used
alcohol to clean the instruments and prep her abdomen. We used the plastic
sheets for drapes. We all prayed fervently because we knew this would not work
without the Lord's help. I started the IV, administered the ketamine and served
as both the anesthesiologist and surgical assistant. Debbie worked as our
circulating nurse and tried to find whatever else we needed during the surgery.
Burt had spent many years in Africa and had done many cesarean sections before
but none under conditions as primitive as this. As the light faded, I held a mag
light so that Burt could see to finish the operation. We delivered the baby and
she was in surprisingly good shape. Her APGAR scores were good but she was
febrile. I was sure that she was septic after three days being in the mother's
womb with ruptured membranes. After we had stabilized the baby as best we could,
we turned out attention back to the mother. The placenta was very scarred down
and could not be separated from the uterus. Now, in addition to doing the
cesarean section, we were going to have to do an emergency hysterectomy. With
great skill and copious prayers, Burt performed the hysterectomy. We were
finally able to get the surgical wounds closed and finished the surgery. Now
that the emergency delivery and surgery were done, we attended to the medical
needs of the mother and child. Both were likely septic and we looked to see what
antibiotics were available. We found some amoxicillin and gentamicin and gave
the mother and child a dose of both. We prayed and thanked the Lord for his
provision. What a day for our first day at the village of Lohutok!
Mike McMahon
"God has not called me to be successful. He's called me to be
faithful." - Mother Teresa
Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, I thank you for being with us and calming our anxious
thoughts. Knowing that you are always with us gives us strength to persevere
even under difficult circumstances. In Christ's name, amen.
And God will meet all your needs according to His glorious
riches in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever.Philippians 4:19-20
As Bert, Debbie, and I entered the OB ward, we saw a pregnant woman lying on
a stretcher in the corner. She was sweating profusely and looked truly near
death. I walked over and checked her pulse which was very weak and thready. I
asked Michael, the medical assistant, what was going on. She had been in labor
for three days with ruptured membranes, her baby was in the breech presentation,
and they had been unable to deliver the baby. The midwife had tried everything
that she knew to do but nothing was successful. After three days of labor and
ruptured membranes, both mother and baby were getting toxic, septic, and rapidly
approaching death. They had no way to transfer her to any other facility and at
this point they were waiting for her and her child to die! The husband had
accepted the reality of her impending death and returned to their village to
care for the other children. We looked at each other, knowing that God had
called us here to intervene. We had not intended to do any surgery and did not
bring much in the way of surgical supplies. We surveyed what we had and came up
with several vials of medicine for anesthesia but we found little else. We
searched the supplies available through the clinic and the hospital and were
able to find basic scalpels, sutures, alcohol and a few plastic drapes. There
were a few very old and rusty surgical instruments. Steve and Iris Matussak, a
new missionary family, had just moved into the village two weeks before we
arrived. Iris was a trained midwife and had a box of OB equipment! Even more
incredible was the fact that Iris had been given this box by Dr. Hopper from
Princeton, West Virginia, just 30 miles from my home in Pearisburg, VA. Now we
had enough supplies and instruments to attempt a cesarean section. God will
provide. No major surgery had ever been done in this village before.
Mike McMahon
"Tears are often the telescope by which men see far into Heaven."
- Henry Ward Beecher
Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, thank you for always being with us. Thank you for your
promise that you will never leave us nor forsake us. Thank you for always
providing for our needs especially at times when circumstances are difficult. In
Jesus' name, amen.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you
and you will be my witness in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the
ends of the earth.Acts 1:8
Many people would consider Sudan and Chad the ends of the earth. In January
of 2006, CEF, along with Partners in Compassion Care and Christian Mission Aid,
sent a short-term mission team into southern Sudan to visit several of the
villages, provide medical clinics and assess their need for additional medical
services. Dan Sponner, our pilot, carefully landed the Caravan on the dirt
runway outside the village of Lohutok, southern Sudan. Dr. Burt Oubre, Debbie
Williamson and myself were part of the CEF team coming in to hold medical
clinics and to evaluate the medical needs of the local villages. We carried in
basic medical supplies which we had picked up in Nairobi and were paid for by
Voice of the Martyrs. We were greeted by the village elders and escorted to our
tukals (mud huts) which were to be our home for the next week. After we dropped
off our possessions, we were given a tour of the village and then taken to the
hospital/clinic in the village. Approximately 40-years-ago, there had been a
medical missionary doctor who lived in this village. But after he left, no other
physician had been in this village. The clinic was your basic cinderblock
building constructed on a concrete slab. There was a small laboratory area, a
clinic area, a medical/surgical ward area and an OB ward. There was no
electricity or running water. They did have a lab tech that could do basic tests
such as malaria preps and parasitic stool examinations. There was no x-ray
facility. They did have a medical assistant, Michael, who had worked as a
medical aid with SPLA during the war years. There was a local midwife to help
with deliveries. This was your typical, remote, rural medical facility in
southern Sudan. As we toured through the facility, little did we know what the
Lord had prepared for us.
Mike McMahon
Prayer Power
Lord, thank you for your Holy Spirit to empower us to be your witnesses and
to share your story with peoples even to the ends of the earth. In Jesus' name,
amen.
Whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.Matthew 20:40
In December of 2006, I had been working in Werkok, Sudan, for the last month running medical clinics. Everyday, 40 to 80 people would show up form the medical clinic. There were many cases of malaria, dysentery, tuberculosis, parasitic infections, and other tropical diseases. We started the clinic at 8:30 in the morning and we would work until everyone was seen that day. Usually the clinic would finish before two o'clock in the afternoon. The afternoons became so intensely hot (over 100 degrees) it became very difficult to continue working. Late one day, as I was finishing seeing the last few patients in the clinic, a young Sudanese woman came in with her two healthy robust sons. My thoughts were less than pure as I saw her approaching - “What is she doing here with these two healthy robust looking children? Didn't she know that I was hot and tired and would like to take a break and have something to drink and sit under the shade for a while?” She approached and sat down and through my interpreter, told me of how in Janurary her children had been very severely ill and she had been very afraid that they would die. She had brought them to see me, I treated them and they had gotten well. She came back this time because she just wanted me to see how well her beautifully two sons were doing and to say thank you. I was truly humbled and bowed my head and asked God for forgiveness for my earlier thoughts. Lord, thank you for this precious gift in reminding me why I am here. I am here to serve others, to love you and to love them with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.
Mike McMahon
“One of the world's worst tragedies is that we allow our hearts to shrink until there is no room in them for little besides ourselves.” - A. W. Tozier
Prayer Power
Lord, help me to remember that you came to serve and that you are my model. Help me to truly love you with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. Help me to lover others the same way and to serve them as you would. In Jesus name, amen.