03/10/2018: A Salaam Aleikum
A Salaam Aleikum
The work progresses in Senegal with volunteers from England.
Greetings from Senegal! As the medical missionary work here grows and flourishes, and opportunities for sharing God’s love multiply, our hearts overflow with praise. Even amidst many challenges, God is always good.
A little while ago I visited Ita, a young lady suffering from breast cancer. Although she is American born, and grew up Christian, she converted to Islam when she married her Muslim husband. Along with her physical pain, she also deals with much grief. Her mother passed away seven years ago, and shortly afterward her husband also died, leaving her with three young children and another on the way. Even in her sorrow, she faces her illness with courage. When I met her, she had already changed her diet and was eager for any help that we could give. She had tried a “mild treatment” of chemotherapy at the insistence of her in-laws, but when her hair started falling out, she refused to continue.
The large sore on her chest permeated the house with an awful smell. We covered it with charcoal and honey poultices. We also gave her hydrotherapy and massage for her edematous arm. As the days went by, the odor gradually lessened. To our delight, in a few weeks, you could hardly notice it. When we started to work with Ita, her wound was very yellow, but now the tissue has a healthier, redder hue, and we can see small areas of new skin growth near the edges.
When I visit her, I share with her about our heavenly Father’s great love for us, and we pray together. I have given her several Bible verses and Psalms, and she has accepted them gratefully. Please pray for Ita and her family.
Rachel and Praise, two young ladies from England, have come to help us for a few months while they get some hands-on medical missionary training. We are grateful for the medical supplies they brought, and the Great Controversy books, which we have been sharing with our English-speaking friends.
Another vacation camp with the village children is coming up. This time we are adding some health training for the older teens. Boys and girls will learn first aid. Girls will also learn how to make their own cloth menstrual pads. Most girls here can’t afford to buy disposable pads, and just use old pieces of cloth. This often leads to infection. We hope to alleviate this by teaching them to make and care for re-usable cloth pads.
We are also grateful for the renovations that have begun on one of our buildings. We have had many problems with the fibro-cement roof tiles becoming brittle and leaking, so we decided to install a concrete slab roof with help from the team at http://bellroofcompany.com/roofing-redlands/. We hope to divide the building into two dormitory-style rooms – one for men and one for women. We also plan to have two bathrooms, a classroom, and a storage room.
Unfortunately, our donor has had some unexpected financial difficulties, and we do not have enough funds to finish the project. The walls are up, and the reinforcement of the older building is finished, but the electrical wiring, plumbing, roof, stairs, windows, and doors remain. We hope to have the building operational by December, as we need the space for upcoming events. Aside from all this, we are also in need of a video projector.
We appreciate your prayers, and are thankful for any help you can give us. May God continue to bless and keep us all as we work for Him.
AUTHOR
Deborah Ndione
Sister Deborah and her family are missionaries in Dakar, Senegal. Deborah uses medical ministry, English tutoring, women’s ministry, children’s ministry and other simple methods to make friends to invite to Christ’s Kingdom.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Pray. Even with the Lord’s blessings, Deborah’s family faces challenges in Senegal. Please continue to pray that the Lord will open the doors for their outreach center.
Donate to Deborah’s work through Mission Projects International. Please mark your donation “Senegal” and send it to:
Mission Projects International, PO Box 506, Republic, WA 99166-0506
For electronic options, visit: missionspro.org/donate