A slim, apprehensive Mabaan woman sat quietly next to me on the rough clinic bench as we prepared medicine for her three young children. It was early afternoon and the sun was hot in the sky. Her chubby breast-fed baby was coughing, with fulminating pneumonia. The scrawny toddler wrapped snugly on her back stared blankly, hot with malarial fever. The frail older sister’s too-small body was also waging battle against malaria—she sat to drink a dose of medicine, then slumped back on the tightly-woven string bed.

Berta steadily answered our concerned questions. As she did so, my mind responded with growing consternation: "I came this morning, walking from Guffah." That’s eight miles through desolate bush country! "I carried the two babies, one in front, the other on my back. My daughter? She was able to walk." She balanced the water bottle and a bite of food on her head along that bumpy path! And she must have almost carried this little girl! "My husband? He left us for Khartoum a few months ago." Oh, no! Why would he do such a thing?! "What will we do? We will walk home to Guffah this afternoon. My daughter will be able. My sister is waiting for us at the village."

The depth of the suffering borne by women and children in southern Sudan is beyond our comprehension.

God is graciously enabling us to meet some of the crying needs ... and that allows us to hold back tears and carry on. The clinic already provides medical care for upwards of 1000 patients a month. The nutrition village is a busy place ministering to mothers and their malnourished babies. The training school for Community Health Workers is rolling along toward graduation of the first class of proud health workers before the end of the year.

As we prayerfully consider the way forward in development of an excellent maternal-child care facility at Doro, we keep the priority in focus —a woman came walking to a well to fetch water; she returned home with 'living water'. She came with a physical need; she heard from Jesus the answer to her deepest spiritual longing.

Doro is a place where thirsty souls may find Jesus' living water. At Doro, unendurable physical burdens are lifted. Pray that the Lord of the Harvest would send workers to join us in this deeply fulfilling, joyful place of service.

Pray

• For a missionary base manager urgently needed to oversee Doro base activities.
• For more personnel to expand our health program.
• For a lab technician—urgently needed for TB ministry.
• For wisdom in starting small remote clinics using Community Health Worker graduates.
• For follow-up training for Traditional Birth Attendants.
• For a water tower for the clinic.
• That we can recruit some builders and an electrician for necessary projects.

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Learn more about the Memorial Health Care Center and Training School that is featured in this story and give a donation today.

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