Nyanachek
But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance
or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man
looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."1 Samuel 16:7
A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives
health to the bones.Proverbs 15:30
The Lord occasionally gives us the opportunity to help change a life. We had
been in Werkok, Sudan for more than a week when Joy (Joy and Dave Mueller, long
term missionaries with PCC) told us about a little girl with a cleft lip. She
lived in Padak, a village 10 miles to the north. We had been trying to contact
her family without success to let them know that a surgical team was coming in
and could repair her cleft lip. Children with cleft lips are ostracized by
society now as they were in Biblical times. A team from CMA (another partner
Christian organization with an outpost in Padak) just "happened" to drive by our
compound. We asked them if they knew of the little girl and they knew where she
was and told us they would contact her. Several days later her father brought
her to us for evaluation. She was a beautiful little 4-5 year old girl who would
not smile because of her deformity. When Drs. Bert Oubre (Cutting Edge
Foundation) and Jim Munis arrived, they talked with the father and girl about
surgery and repairing her cleft lip. The family quickly accepted and surgery was
planned. The little girl was a trooper - she did not even cry when her IV was
started. The team had prayer with her and her father and then proceeded with
surgery. The wounds healed well and without infection. Two days later she was a
new person. She and her father had smiles from ear to ear. Her life will now be
different. The little girl's name had been Nyanachek-which in Dinka means one
with a deformity. After the surgery, the father had a renaming ceremony and
changed her name to Deborah, in honor of Dr. Oubre's wife. She will now be able
to be accepted by her people, find a husband and hopefully lead a normal life. I
wonder what the Lord is going to do in her life.
Michael McMahon
P.S. Before and after pictures will be posted on our web site at Cutting
Edge
"I treated him, God cured him." - Ambroise Paré
Prayer Power
Pray for the true healing which comes from our Lord Jesus Christ. Pray for
the medical personnel on the mission field.