January 24-31, 2015
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” — Galatians 6:9
We were recently in the village on the “top of the mountain” called Peyi Pouri that looks over Love A Child’s land. While we were standing in this village high on the mountain, the poor pastor pointed down to our Love A Child Village and said, “My wife went to your clinic while she was pregnant and we have a healthy two-week-old baby girl.” Then he continued saying, “All of us up here on the top of the mountain depend on the Jesus Healing Center. That is where we all go when we need medical care.” Hearing this brought tears to my eyes.
We have a wonderful staff at the Jesus Healing Center that is led by Barbara MacMannis. We want to thank our Love A Child Partners for building this clinic for the poor. We want to also thank Joyce Meyer Ministries – Hand of Hope for sponsoring the monthly operating expenses of this life-saving facility. This journal is an update about the Jesus Healing Center.
An update from Barbara MacMannis…
It is not unusual for a father to bring his young children to the Jesus Healing Center. The father will bring the children when a mom stays home with other siblings, or if the mother is no longer living.
Recently, a Haitian man (we will call him Joseph) arrived at the Jesus Healing Center with three very sick children. It was a Monday and already a very busy day. We are very blessed to have a caring and educated nursing staff that evaluates patients as they arrive. The nursing staff realized that Joseph’s children were very sick. The staff alerted our Pediatrician Dr. Mardy about the three children. He went right to work examining the children and he immediately recognized the symptoms of diphtheria.
The children and their father were loaded into one of our ambulances and sent to the local children’s hospital for emergency treatment and isolation.
We found out later that the mother had not come because she was also sick with diphtheria. We also learned that two of the three boys that were sent to the hospital had died. The father left the hospital with only his surviving son to return to his village. A villager told Joseph that a Voodoo curse had been cast upon him and his family, so he gathered his belongings and fled from the village, possibly spreading the disease along his way.
This story shows us the importance of quick medical responses to emergencies and the value of having employees grounded in the Word of God. The Jesus Healing Center is where patients can be introduced or encouraged in Christian faith. Much of the Haitian population is tormented by superstitious Voodoo beliefs, and is hungry for the hope that we have as Christians.
The story about the family with diphtheria is very sad. It serves to underline the importance of Joyce Meyer Ministries – Hand of Hope partnering with the Love A Child Jesus Healing Center and being such a light in this community.
The Jesus Healing Center
We start each morning with devotions led by a staff member. While they are praising the Lord and asking for His help with their lives, the other staff members are gathered together in the emergency room praising the Lord and asking for wisdom and strength to do His work with whatever gifts we have been given.
The Changing Face of Death in Haiti
I will now show you the hand of God at work. If the clinic were not available, this disease would have taken the lives of the entire family with blame going to their superstitious beliefs, and leaving the entire village vulnerable to a very contagious and deadly disease. Instead, the chain of events put in motion a plan to protect many from a possible epidemic.
The government agency was contacted and the situation explained. Within days, a plan was put in place to vaccinate everyone in a 20-mile radius for diphtheria. It has always been a priority for the Jesus Healing Center to be integral in providing health education to the community. Our Director of Nursing and the Public Health Nurse worked together with the agency to come up with a logistical plan for treating the many people who would come to our area for vaccinations.
The nurses pulled together as a team and volunteered to go to the neighboring villages after the clinic closed, and teach the people about diphtheria.
We will never know how many lives were saved because of the quick actions of the Love A Child Jesus Healing Center and the local health agency. Over the next few days, some of the staff traveled to neighboring villages to do mass vaccination protection for the people.
The great, but little known Christian Missionary C. F. Andrews wrote a short parable called
“The Legend.”
When Jesus returned to heaven, he was asked by an angel, “What have you left behind to carry out the work?”
Jesus answered, “A little band of men and women who love me.”
“But what if they fail when the trial comes? Will all you have done be defeated?”
“Yes,” said Jesus, “If they fail, all I have done will be defeated.”
“Is there nothing more?”
“No,” said Jesus, “There is nothing more.”
“What then?”
Jesus replied, “They will not fail.”
We are so grateful to Joyce Meyer Ministries – Hand of Hope for their continued monthly support of the Jesus Healing Center. Our partnership allows us to provide life-saving and life-giving services to one of the poorest countries in the world. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit, and we will not fail!
The Many Faces of Malnutrition
“Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.” — 2 Corinthians 9:10
We are called to be a blessing to others, and in fact, we are blessed to be a blessing. The staff at the Jesus Healing Center understands this, and we are thankful to have partnership in discovering better ways to deal with the continued problem of malnutrition in our area. We again thank Joyce Meyer Ministries – Hand of Hope for their support in reaching the children in our area with education and medications. We hope to one day eliminate the effects of malnutrition in our area.
Marasmus is a form of malnutrition, which is a complete lack of nutrition and calories. A child literally wastes away to nothing.
Kwashiorkor is another serious form of malnutrition. Although, the patient is full in the face as a result of severe protein deficiency, this child is suffering from malnutrition. He might get his fill of rice, but the lack of protein causes his whole system to shut down, shifting fluid to the face and abdomen. If this situation does not change, he may develop chronic and fatal liver failure.
We must not hesitate; we must not fail to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
Every morning as I make my way to the Jesus Healing Center, I thank God for His faithfulness in my request to be used by Him to serve in the way He chooses. I am able to use my gifts, I am able to be the witness the Lord has asked me to be, and I am able to serve all because of Joyce Meyer Ministries – Hand of Hope. Together, we will not fail.
We thank Joyce Meyer Ministries – Hand of Hope for sponsoring the “monthly costs” of running this big clinic with a complete staff of doctors, nurses and many other workers. Without this help, it would not be possible to offer this clinic to the poor. Joyce Meyer Ministries – Hand of Hope have been sponsoring the operating expenses every month “since it was built!” We praise the Lord for these miracle gifts!
Barbara MacMannis
Jesus Healing Center Medical Administrator
P. S. The Jesus Healing Center staff has a “wish list” that we want to share with you. One item needed is a piece of equipment called a Doppler. This equipment magnifies the sound of pulses in the extremities and is useful in determining if a person is getting proper blood supply in those areas. Another need is a Finger O2 Sensor. This allows the medical staff to quickly identify patients with low oxygen levels and then refer patients to a higher level of care. Another great need in the Malnutrition Clinic is baby formula. Baby formula is needed on a regular basis because when a mother dies in childbirth and the grandmother is caring for the baby, she is not producing any milk. If you are able to help with any of these items, please label your box “Jesus Healing Center” and ship to:
Love A Child, Inc.
12411 Commerce Lakes Drive
Fort Myers, Florida 33913-8664
Below are numbers of illnesses treated during the fourth quarter of 2014.
Population seen in the clinic 8780
Diagnosis
- Anemia: 183
- Asthma: 17
- Conjunctivitis: 103
- Diabetes: 139
- Diarrhea: 23
- Hypertension: 327
- IRA: 1276
- Kwashiorkor/Marasmus: 27
- Malaria: 3
- Parasites: 146
- Vaginitis: 200
- Pneumonia: 173
- HIV (Tested Positive): 13
- Syphilis (Tested Positive): 30
- TB (Tested Positive): 1
- Typhoid (Tested Positive): 62
Joyce Meyer Ministries – Hand of Hope partnering with
Love A Child and providing medical care for the poor in Haiti…