Dondon

We are doing Primary Health Care work in the neighborhood slums. We are helping people that gave up hope to get hope again. We see hopeless people stand up and walk again. With one hand we do medical work and the other hand we spread the Gospel. We work together as a team.

We feel that PHC opens many doors for us. It makes it possible for us to bring the Gospel into homes that were closed before. Over these years we helped people from all walks of life. We could help with the ordinary headache to serious infections, amputations and even assist people dying. We lost a lot of good friends but we gained so much more.

One example is of Dondon, which had a serious wound on his ankle. After Mordegai helped to maintain the wound, our friend Gary Jo
nes spends most of his time with them. Here is the result in his words.

“”Wow! So much has been happening since the last newsletter and e-mail update. I will try to encapsulate it and bring you all up to date. Some of this may be old news to those who get the e-mail updates. Shortly after one of our first hospital visits, DonDon and his

mother pulled two 4² worms from the gaping wound on his leg! Evidently the solutions that our health care worker had shown them to cleanse the wound with had driven them out! The wound continued to ooze pus out and we feared that the bone was infected. X-rays seemed to confirm that suspicion. However the government hospital was too full to admit any new patients at the time. On subsequent visits, one Dr. suggested amputating the foot. DonDon was not real enthusiastic about that idea! We alerted many to pray.

I am happy to report that now, some 2 1/2 weeks later, that the wound is healing up. It is less than half it¹s original size. The latest X-ray shows no bone infection. He still has no feeling below the knee which means he will need to keep a watchful eye that no other sores develop. His foot has ³dropped², meaning he has no control over the foot. We hope to start some physical therapy next week to help regain movement in the leg.Continue to pray for complete healing! Our health care worker said today that he believes we have seen a miracle of sorts already. This whole process has given me a platform from which to share the Gospel with DonDon. I had left some short gospel stories with him to read along with a few questions to answer.

Last week we had a bible study and went over his answers. What a delight to see the countenance on his face as we began to discover eternal truths! I could see hope and excitement in his eyes! His mother and older brother had joined in and were affirming the truth. At the end of the short time of study, I asked DonDon if he was ready to pray and put his trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins or if he wanted to wait and consider what he had been learning. I could see the struggle going on inside him. Wanting to, yet nervous or maybe a bit embarrassed. I had no desire to push for a premature decision, choosing rather to trust the Holy Spirit to do what only He can do. So I prayed for DonDon and gathered my things. I left him more Cebuano materials, encouraging him to continue his consideration of what he has been learning of God. I was almost out the door of their little shack when it seemed he could contain his feelings no longer. He blurted out, ³Kuya, I will be a follower of Jesus!² In the days and weeks to come we will explore together more fully what that means. It would appear that salvation has come to this mud floored shanty in the heart of Agdao.

That the kingdom of God is being established here in at least one more life that had previously known only darkness, poverty, crime, hopelessness, sickness and death. Who is like our God?! And how cool is it that He allows us to work together with Him to see His kingdom established? To see lives touched and transformed?! Because of His grace and your help in prayer and giving we are able to meet needs, buy medicines, supply bibles and bring Good News to the poor! It is a drop in the bucket compared to the sea of human need all around us......... but it is huge from the perspective of the Garzon family! “”

God is control of young man’s life. Gary wrote me and told me that Dondon recently did a Discipleship Training School through YWAM and visit Germany. That is such great news. So many people invested their extra time into Dondon. One of them was Amor. She helped him to study to finish his school as he dropped out. If it was not for these 2 people that invested time to save Dondon from hell. He surely would have been worse off by now.