It’s early on a Sunday morning and I’m on the front porch drinking my coffee and doing my Bible study.  The two dogs, Thunder and Sierra, have already wandered around the yard, sniffed out everything, and have now plopped down, panting on the cooler tiles of the porch nearby to escape the morning heat and humidity.  A friend stopped by yesterday for our usual get together, and I’ve had a chance to reflect a bit on what he had to say.

My friend began relating what his prayer needs are: he has a job, but in the African tradition, all of his relatives and friends constantly come to him for help.  They ask for help for medical fees for someone who is sick, they ask for school fees, they need a job, they need a job for one of their in-laws, they show up on his doorstep to stay for a few years while they attend school nearby, and the many needs go on and on.  I was sort of aware of the way things seem to work in Africa in general –  if a relative or friend has a job, he is expected to be generous and to help his family members and friends.  This is the African way, since their governments do not provide assistance or retirement, there are no pension plans or 401k’s, and the needs are so great.  And the immediate need takes precedence over any longer term requirement you have yourself, such as paying for school fees for your own children.

How much does my friend give others in need?  It is more than I imagined.  Now, bear in mind, the average church-going American gives on average about 2.3% of their income.  This does not include non-church-going Christians in America, or the inconsistent church-going Americans, but apparently, only the “committed” Christians.  Doesn’t matter that Scriptures tell us we should give a tenth of our income as a minimum.  So I was really impressed when my friend mentioned a figure of 20%.  And as he talked more, I realized that he did NOT mean that he gives away 20% of his income.  He actually said that he may be able to keep, at most, 20% of his income!  So he gives away more than 80%!  He says he is relying on God’s provision for his own needs.  His daughter asked him if he was saving up for her own college expenses, and my friend replied that he was depending on the Lord to provide.  And I truly do not think he was just tossing out a glib answer or a platitude or some Scripture that gets tossed out too much.  My African friend truly means that he will rely on God’s provision.

He learned early on in his life, growing up in a second generation Christian home, what it means to truly trust in the Lord’s provision.  When his father died when he was only 17 years old, his mother prayed,  “Lord, you said you are the husband to the widow, and you will provide for me.  I ask you now to be my husband since mine has died and I have no job or means of support.”  And she truly had to depend on God for her provision.  Before my friend became a Christian, he saw that God did provide for his widowed mother in many small but very meaningful ways, such as when the family was in need for some tiny amount of money for this man to continue his education due to another simple little fee being tacked on.  My friend was frustrated at the system that always keeps asking for more fees that were not in the original contract for schooling.  But when a friend stopped by very early in the morning the very next day, to pass along some “extra money” he had to give to them, my friend was indeed impressed enough that God is a Jehovah Jireh, my Provider.  This vignette was one building block on his road to becoming a disciple of Jesus the Christ.

Yet my African friend has grown beyond the phase that God provides for all of his little needs.  He has grown beyond the point of expecting God to serve him, but instead, he realizes that he was created to love and serve the Lord God, not the other way around.  And where at one time as a new Christian he could become bitter or angry when God did NOT meet his needs, he now knows and trusts God, in spite of adversity or illness or disease or the death of a close one or losing a job or not having enough of this or that. He still says, “Blessed be thy Name, O Lord,” with a full and tender heart of love for the Lord.  He has made the passage successfully from using God to serve him, to serving God faithfully, no matter the cost.

This month of October will be a busy month.  We just had a delightful Swiss orthopedic surgeon here for a week’s visit to do some orthopedics cases with our Swiss surgeon using our new real-time fluoroscopy X-ray machine.  We’ve had the Ministry of Health in to inspect our radiology facilities.  There was a workshop for clubfoot this past week for health care professionals, surgeons, physiotherapists, pastors, and counselors from across western Africa, to train others how to help heal children with clubfoot, both physically and spiritually (Counseling is often needed for parents, to explain that a child with clubfoot is NOT their fault, and that it was not because they sinned or displeased God, but that our Lord can use this unfortunate birth defect to teach others that He provides healing, whether physically or spiritually).

Karina is still in the US for now, taking care of business stateside.  While I am alone (along with my two tail-wagging buddies and Marco and Polo, the two African spurred tortoises), I am using this time for more prayers and devotions and quiet time and time to address the many aspects of my walk with the Lord that have long needed attention.  So please continue to pray for me and for Karina, Erica, and Daniel during this time.  And as always, please continue to pray for the children and their families coming here for healing at the Christian hospital.  And a few praises:  Our house in Fredericksburg finally sold!  Our patient numbers are growing slowly as word gets out about the great care patients are receiving at the Christian hospital in Niamey!  May our Lord be glorified.

I hope that your day continues in the knowledge that we are here to serve and love Him, even if we are faced with the dry desert before us.

The Story of a Patient in the words of one of our Nigerien staff

Salamatou

Salamatou Mahamadou is a 12 years young girl who came from the village of Bayawa, about 220 km from Niamey. Salamatou, a young orphan, stepped on a snake in the bush when she was six years old while she trying to catch some insects to fry and eat, because meat is very expensive for her in the village. The snake bit her, and she apparently yanked the snake off.  But the teeth of the snake stayed in her foot. The girl ran home with blood covering her leg. The old grandmother of Salamatou would not allow the villagers to take her to the hospital because of the fear that her leg would be cut off.

before

Young Salamatou died two times and came back to life, declared her aunty, but the wound refused to get healed since then. Salamatou’s grandmother died, and the family started thinking of taking the girl to the hospital.

One day, a young man from her village, who has a job as a night watchman at CURE Hospital, went home for holiday, and he started talking about CURE. Salamatou’s case was presented to him, and he invited them to come and see what God can do with Salamatou’s leg.

after treatment

At CURE, Salamatou’s aunty is very impressed by the welcome and the relationships she developed with the CURE personnel. She thanks God for how Salamatou was taken care of so quickly. She believes that now Salamatou will be healed and continue with her schooling, which is often a rare opportunity for a girl in Niger. The aunty declared that she will be the CURE ambassador in her village.