PRAYER GUIDE “It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:11-13 February–March CUREkids Coordinator Highlight: Mark Barrett In January of 2012, Mark received an email from his friend asking him to forward Fun Facts on a job opportunity to anyone he knew who might be interested in telling kids’ stories at a CURE hospital. Mark never forwarded it on because he was the one interested in the position. After applying a bit late for the CUREkids Coordinator Started: 2012 (CKC) spot in Kenya, Mark continued to stay in touch, feeling more and more convinced that this was the opportunity that God wanted him to pursue. Now, two CUREkids Coordinator in: Malawi (2012- years later, Mark is preparing to become the CKC at CURE Uganda after spending 2013) and Uganda (2014) a year and a half faithfully serving our kids, families, and staff at CURE Malawi. Favorite Food: Sabina’s (a cafe cook at Recently, Mark finished a visit home to Columbia, South Carolina, before passing through CURE headquarters and moving on to Malawi to help train CURE Malawi) chocolate cake his CKC replacement. Unexpectedly, he came down with appendicitis and underwent emergency surgery at a private hospital in Blantyre. Despite the setback, Mark is looking forward to what God has in store for him at CURE Uganda and has been enjoying the extended homecoming in Blantyre. If you’d like to read more about Mark’s journey with us, please check out his blog posts here: http://cure.org/blog/author/mark-barrettcure-org/ Diane Lawrence and her husband, Chuck, along with their three daughters, served at CURE Uganda for a year when the hospi- tal first opened. Diane, a CRNA (certified registered nurse anesthetist) who has volunteered with CURE since 1998, continues to travel to each of our hospitals, teaching adult and pediatric advanced life support courses to our CURE nurses and physicians. She recently sent the following statement: “Although I have made many ventures overseas on medical mission trips, it is always difficult for me to leave home, never seems to get any easier. Several have mentioned that they will be praying for me [… and] I have realized over the years that prayer is the key that enables Christians to accomplish what we are called to do. So if you would devote a minute each day to remember me in prayer, I would be very thankful.” Like Diane, CURE depends on the power of prayer. Let us then take time to pray so that we might be better able to accomplish the work that the Lord has called us to. February–March Niger Ethiopia Uganda Kenya Malawi Zambia Africa Kenya Shitandi is a 6-year-old boy who was born with six digits on each hand. This caused him to be taunted by peers at school. They even often tried to pull the extra digits off. This resulted in both physical and emotional pain. The surgery to fix the problem was not complicated, but his parents were not in a financial position to seek medical treatment for their son. Thankfully, they were referred to CURE Kenya. Once there, our surgeons were easily able to remove Shitandi’s extra digits. By the next day, he had the full of use his hands as he played with toys in the hospital playroom. We normally treat much more complicated cases than that of Shitandi’s, but the scars of being seen as cursed or disabled, no matter how minor those disabilities might be, deeply affect the children who have been labeled “different.” Shitandi can now go to school knowing that his schoolmates will no longer mistreat him. We praise God that through the support of our donors, CURE is able to provide for families who do not have the ability to pay for restorative surgeries themselves. Ethiopia Our hospital in Ethiopia has partnered with 108 churches around the country, 86 missionaries and pastors are directly involved with the hospital, and 22 pastors serve as counselors in the CURE Clubfoot program. We praise God for His provision of these men and women who have enabled us to expand our ministry to unreached and underserved peoples. Malawi We would like to take this opportunity to welcome Dr. Kaiser Raphael back to the CURE family! Dr. Kaiser is no stranger to CURE – he has served in various CURE hospitals over the years. Most recently, he served as the Anesthesiologist at CURE Ethiopia. Originally from Pakistan, Dr. Kaiser and his family will now be serving at CURE Malawi. His family includes his wife, Wajahat, and two children – Ozem (age 11 years) and Hanan (age 7 years). Welcome Raphael family – we are glad to have you back! We ask that you join us in prayer for Wajahat as she is running into difficulty in obtaining her passport. Please pray that her paperwork will be quickly processed and approved so that the family can be reunited in their new home in Malawi. Niger Our hospital in Niamey has been serving the families and children of Niger for three years. During that time, the Nurse Manager, Angele Fischbach, has established a cohesive nursing team, training them to the standards required by CURE. Now Angele is returning to her home in Europe to regain health and strength. Please pray for Angele as she leaves the mission field and says farewell to the staff in whom she has invested so heavily. Pray also for the many families, both national and expatriate, who have been impacted by Angele’s Christian witness and friendship. We thank Angele and praise God for her ministry. Uganda To some, “he has a big head” or “she has sun setting eyes” might describe a person who thinks too highly of himself or a child with beautiful eyes that resemble a sunset. To families who come to our hospital in Mbale, Uganda, those words have a very different meaning – those words mean that their child is suffering from hydrocephalus. This was the case with Samuel. Just two weeks after he was born, Samuel started to show signs of hydrocephalus. By God’s grace, his mother, Deborah, was referred to CURE Uganda, and his surgery was very successful. Samuel recently turned eight months old, and his mother brought him back for a checkup. His head was a normal size; he was able to sit up and was even beginning to crawl. His parents are overwhelmed with joy that he has been given a chance to live a normal life because of early intervention that resulted in little or no brain damage. Deborah also shared that as a result of the spiritual ministry counseling at the hospital, she is now attending a bible believing church that continues to disciple her. We praise God that we are able to share the story of Deborah and Samuel – there are so many more such stories; please continue to pray for the families whose despair is turned to joy through the ministry of CURE. Zambia Counseling children and their families is an integral part of the ministry of CURE in each of our hospitals. Our spiritual department team members also provide marriage counseling. Often; ungrounded fears attached to the birth of a child born with a disability cause marriages to break-up and at times, financial stress is also a factor. We praise God that our Spiritual Director, Harold Haamumba and his wife Nomangolwa (Na), Assistant Spiritual Director, are in a unique position to counsel couples both one-on-one or jointly, and we rejoice when marriages can be restored. Please pray for Harold and Na as they minister to these couples. February–March Afghanistan Philippines UAE Asia Afghanistan Presidential elections will be held in Afghanistan on April 5, 2014. Incumbent President Hamid Karzai will not be eligible for re-election due to term limits. Please join us in prayer for the next two months for a peaceful election and for the safety of the people of Afghanistan. We are also recruiting for senior staff positions in the CURE Afghanistan hospital; please pray that the Lord will bring the right people to fill these key positions. Philippines The construction of the Tebow-CURE Hospital in Davao City is nearing completion. There is much to be thankful for, including elevators that are now operational. This new CURE hospital now has the task of unloading containers filled with medical equipment throughout six hospital floors. Undoubtedly, being able to use the elevators will make the task of furnishing each floor much easier. Dr. Tim Mead is currently in Davao City to help establish medical protocols and to interview medical personnel. We praise God for His hand of protection over this project during a time when the Philippines has experienced earthquakes, political unrest and, most recently, super storm Haiyan. Thank you Father for establishing a safe harbor for CURE. UAE The construction of our new Oasis hospital in Al Ain is also nearing completion and again, we praise the Lord as we have seen His hands covering the construction and providing talented staff that has been diligently working on every aspect of the hospital’s operation. Pray that this new hospital will serve an even greater number of patients, and that it will continue to be a place where God’s love and compassion will be evident.