It Started with a Tiny Mosquito

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”

                                                Mark 16:15, NIV

It’s no secret that Sowers4Pastors takes the instruction in Mark 16:15 very seriously by spreading the gospel throughout the villages surrounding Gracias. One side effect of getting to know people by spreading the gospel is that staff members of S4P are frequently made aware of different kinds of needs as well.

As Alejandro shared, sometimes S4P staffers learn about other ways the ministry can support the children and their families. They frequently encounter health needs. Alejandro said, “We cannot cover the medical needs of 2000 kids. That is not possible and that is not our goal. But sometimes we find things that are urgent things that are putting the kids’ education or lives at risk. When that happens, we try to find the resources to support the families.”

The first step is almost always to contact the sister church involved with the area where a significant need is found. Alejandro said, “In that way, we are able to reach out and support the kids.”

One special case that recently came up involved little Emely Rivera, a six-year-old studying in Guacutao. In this case, the need can be traced back to a tiny mosquito. Back in February, a team from Edgewater Alliance was visiting to help pass out backpacks. When Emely walked up to receive her backpack, team and staff members noticed that she had an infected wound on her face. They asked Emely’s mother about it and she said Emely had been bitten by a mosquito and then started experiencing pain and fever. The bite, which had started out like a small pimple, was growing.

Michelle and her husband Mike

Michelle, an EAC team member, is also a nurse. She checked Emely and offered to pay for Emely’s medical costs. S4P staff took Emely to the doctor where Emely was able to receive the needed medical tests. It was not a simple mosquito bite. The mosquito was carrying a type of parasite that was eating away at the flesh on Emely’s face, called leishmaniasis. Left untreated, it would have reached the cartilage in her face and started eating that, too! 

The case generated an alarm to the medical system in Lempira. Officials visited the area of Guacutao to eradicate the disease-spreading mosquitos. The act of helping one child ended up helping the entire community.

Emely’s treatment involved receiving a total of twenty-two injections but she is now doing great. The wound is closed and she is once again a healthy little girl. Thank you to Michelle and EAC for all you guys do for these communities. And, of course, as Alejandro said, “We are once again declaring that God is good!”

- posted by Christi