Tanzania Blog #3
Wrapping up another full week at the hospital, we have been blessed to have numerous divine appointments with many more patients with positive outcomes, which created more opportunities for prayer. There were many memorable patients, but two particular cases reminded us of how important this ministry is for the physical and spiritual wellness of each person.
Rishoni was a stroke patient who had suffered from paralysis and was recovering. He was a patient that faithfully sought care the past two weeks to improve his quality of life. When we first met Rishoni, he had difficulty walking and shuffled his feet into the clinic. We, also, noticed that his facial expressions reflected hopelessness and discouragement when he first walked in. After persistent treatments and prayer, we noticed the patient made substantial progress each visit with us. His spirit and attitude became positive each time we treated him, which also improved his physical health. On our last day at the clinic, we had the opportunity to meet with Rishoni one more time and he came in with immense joy and gratitude and decided to model his progress with a huge smile on his face because of the improvements he made.
We also had the opportunity to treat and talk with 3 Somali sisters who were morbidly obese and suffering from various musculoskeletal problems. They were very interested in receiving treatment. Each sister had a specific problem that stemmed from their obesity, high blood pressure, and low back pain. Over the course of their treatment we improved one sister’s high blood pressure with proper nutrition and exercise. The sister with the low back pain saw improvements with manual therapy interventions and exercise treatment protocols. The 3rd sister began a weight reduction exercise program and worked very hard. Each time we met with these sisters we were able to have conversations with them about the Truth of the Gospel and pray for them. However, by the end of our time at the clinic and on our last day only one sister showed up and got offended when we prayed over her in the name of Jesus one last time. Although her heart was hardened, the seed was planted about the Gospel and we ask for prayers that the Word of God will flourish in their hearts and bear fruit one day.
We would like to extend our gratitude because this past week we were able to go back to the village, meet with the people, and dive deeper into the Gospel. This was a huge blessing because, in the previous week, we were not able to go and share the Gospel. As we are finishing our last week in Kigoma and heading into the weekend we are looking forward to spending time and sharing the Gospel with children in a different village. We ask for prayer at this time over the people of Tanzania for more seeds to be planted and to see growth in their faith towards God. This may be our last blog post—keep praying for us. This trip has been an incredible blessing and adventure.
