If you were part of the December trip then you will remember a 32 year old man who had an extremely severe infection on his entire leg. A couple of years ago, the infection began as a small bite on his ankle and spread to his hip. He was in constant pain and spent the days trying to keep it clean while lying in the sun or by a fire (coldness caused even more pain). He had been to a doctor but they had not given him any hope. He cried as he expressed his hopelessness since he can’t provide for his wife and six children. He was treating the open wound with cheap dog medicine!
In December, Pastor Adán and Shadya tried to bring him to a local doctor in our town, but he refused to go. In January, Pastor Adán and Shadya contacted a doctor who was willing to go to his house and do a home visit. Enrique lives about 1 1/2 hours away from our town. The doctor assessed Enrique and quickly explained that without medical intervention then the infection will spread to his internal organs and he will die. The following week, our local EMTs graciously carried Enrique to a private doctor in Chimaltenango where he underwent a lot of testing and evaluation. On this day, the doctor gave him hope! The doctor spoke very direct and honest with him, but he had hope for healing the open wound.
Enrique returned a few days later for the doctor to began the process of cleaning and treating the wound while he was under anesthesia. Yesterday, he finished his fourth treatment! You would not believe the difference in the wound after only 3 weeks and 4 treatments. Enrique is elated! For the first time in two years, he is not in constant pain. He will return to the doctor on Friday and Monday to receive more treatments. We are hoping that he needs only 10 treatments.
A huge thank you to Pastor Adán, Edgar, and Vernick for being the transportation for Enrique! I can’t express how grateful I am for Shadya. She has made every doctor appointment, arranged for the ambulance transportation, and bought all medicines. She travels to his home to make sure his wife understands how to care for the wound. How many workers are willing to leave at 3:00am to transport a man to the hospital then work all day? How many workers are willing to return to their home at 6:00pm after working all day and sitting at the doctor’s office in the afternoon? We have the absolute best workers who understand the definition of serving!
We have been providing the family with food since December. The doctor has asked us to provide more protein in hopes that Enrique will begin to gain weight.
We often show the pictures of the school, house building, and food distributions, but there are so many more stories that go untold. This is one example of how we continue meeting the need of a man after the team finishes building his house. If the team in December had not built Enrique’s house then we would have never known about the medical need. We love how God orchestrates every single detail!
If you give to Grace Ministries or SLAM then you are the ones making the difference! You are the ones who are giving hope to a 32 year old father of six precious children! You are the reason we can provide him with food! We are so grateful to each person who supports and prays for Grace Ministries and SLAM!
I am choosing not to post pictures because they are graphic. If you would like to see the progress of his wound then please contact me.
If you would like to know how you can financially help then please contact me.
Shining Light Abroad Ministries 