Happy Christmas from Cameroon

Merry Christmas! In Cameroon, the more often used term is actually Happy Christmas. Our family genuinely hopes that you had a great Christmas Day, and we hope you got to sit down and think about the true "reason for the season".

We began the festivities on Christmas Eve by caroling through the hospital. It was a great blessing to see the patients smile.

The kids handed out toys at the pediatric ward.

Many of the kids were able to be discharged home for Christmas, but some still had to remain. Emory also passed out some candy.

Baby James' first Christmas!

There was definitely no shortage of food! 

We went over too the Bardin's house for dinner with the other missionaries. The kids enjoyed running around in the yard with the frisbee and soccer ball.

To end the night, we read the Christmas story as the kids acted it out with the nativity scene and sang a few Christmas carols. Merry Christmas!

Meet Ebude

Ebude is a 14 year old girl who I saw last week. When I met her, she hadn't been able to swallow anything, even water, for 2 days. For many months, she has been struggling to find medical care. Almost a year ago, Ebude contracted a serious infection in her esophagus that scarred her shut, making it impossible to swallow. When her problems began, she traveled around Cameroon seeking hope. She was told it was caused by an evil spirit. She began to cry as she explained that her family is eating less because all of the finances go to her. Her Aunt (Ebude is an orphan) said she shouldn't cry because God has blessed her with life. Thankfully, a colleague and mentor of mine was able to open up Ebude's esophagus here at Mbingo a few months ago. However, her struggle persisted.

Ebude has been trying to get here for continued treatments, because her condition requires dilations of the esophagus for months. Due to social and financial issues (food and transport cost) Ebude often arrives too late, just like when I first saw her. By that time, her esophagus has closed off again.

However, by God's grace we were able to get her open yet again. We don't have access to all the modern equipment here at Mbingo. Therefore, we had to explore her esophagus blindly, not knowing if we were actually in her esophagus, or veering out into her chest near her heart and lungs. As we proceeded during her surgery, I merely relied on God as we moved very carefully toward the stomach. We were taking a risk, but there was no choice. By the end of her procedure, we still didn't know if we were successful or not. We performed a followup procedure a few days later that verified we had successfully reached her stomach! She left the hospital today.....able to swallow!

Ebude will require at least another 4-5 treatments. To our supporters, Sherwood Church of Christ, and James Island Christian Church: Thank you all for your generosity. Your giving will allow Ebude to travel and return to Mbingo to receive the remainder of her treatments so she can be healed of this problem. Please pray for this sister in Christ, that she will once again be able to eat well and be free of this condition.