Praise God! Fanta and her mother declared their faith in Jesus Christ this morning!
Fanta is a 15 year old girl who suffered from a cough and labored breathing for over a year. When she came to us, she had a completely collapsed right lung. After placing a chest tube, her lung still would not completely re-inflate. Therefore, we performed a video-assisted surgery to remove any scar tissue that was trapping her lung. We removed a cyst that we had discovered and scar tissue allowing the lung to fully inflate and she went home greatly improved. While she was at the hospital both she and her mom watched the Jesus Film and other evangelistic films.
A couple of months after her discharge we went to visit her and her family in their somewhat remote village.
They were so thankful for our care and honored by our visit. They showered us with precious produce from their garden.
During her follow-up visit, we noticed that her lung was encased again and not fully inflated. She was still feeling well, but we felt it was necessary to go back in for her long-term health. This time we did an “open” surgery and noticed something strange in her chest. There was very hard dense tissue in several locations attached to the inside of her chest wall. It wasn’t clear if they were scar tissue or masses so we took some biopsies and sent them to my old hospital in Atlanta. She recovered well from the surgery and we gave her and her parents an In Touch solar MP3 players with the Bible and 65 of Dr. Stanley’s messages in Bambara to take home.
One month later we received the biopsy result. It was an aggressive small round cell cancer of unclear origin. After consultation with an oncologist, we recently started chemotherapy and as you can imagine, Fanta is not feeling well. This morning we shared the Good News that Jesus died on the cross for all of our sins and that only through placing our faith in Him, can we find forgiveness. Furthermore, one day we can live eternally with God in heaven where there is no sickness, no cancer, no suffering, no war, and that Jesus will wipe away every tear from our eyes!
When we asked them what they thought, they both said that they believe in Jesus! They said that they had watched the Jesus Film, that they listened to their In Touch Messengers, and that they saw how we loved and cared for them! Praise God!
Please pray for Fanta and her mother. Pray that God would also bring physical healing when there doesn’t seem to be much hope. Pray for their growth in the faith. There is no church in their village. Pray for Fanta’s father and the rest of the family to know the Way, the Truth, and the Life! We hope to visit them again in the future.
Thank you for your prayers and support that allow us to be the hands and feet of Jesus in Mali.