Mission Miracle
Submitted by Blaine UMC
This is an incredible story of God’s grace. There was a 15- year old boy, Joshua, from the village of La Democracia, Belize who was in an accident earlier in the summer in which 40% of his body was severely burned, including his face, hands, arms, chest, legs and back. He had been in the hospital for a month but was released before he should have been because the doctor was going on vacation. He wasn’t getting the medical treatment he needed & could die from infection or other complications! But God is good! In the Lord’s planning, PPM had a medical missions team scheduled to serve in La Democracia the day after he was released! There were medical people to help Joshua, staff to drive him to the hospital to have his dressings changed and people to pray for him. Praise the Lord that His timing is perfect! And, with the persistence of one of the doctors in the group, he was accepted to Shriner’s Hospital in Galveston, TX where he received the best medical treatment possible. By the time he reached Texas he was already infected so he needed emergency treatment. The mission group paid for a lot of this & set up an account at Shriner’s for Joshua because he will be returning for medical treatment for the next 2 years. Joshua could have died, but by the grace of God, he will be able to fight the battle. As he continues the long and painful road to recover, would you uphold Joshua and his family in your prayers? This is just one story of how God is changing lives through Praying Pelican Missions.
Little did the mission group that signed up for a short-term mission trip to Belize Aug 11-18 know that God was going to use them to help save a boy’s life. The group consisted of dentists, a doctor and families from Seattle, WA from Blaine UMC. God started planning this trip a long time ago, before the group even knew about it! They were supposed to go to Honduras this summer. But a tragic accident happened & they weren't able to go. The group was going to serve in a village called La Democracia, a very poor village about 30 minutes from the capital, Belmopan. On Sunday we were walking around the village inviting people to come to the dental/medical clinics during the week. A woman came out & asked if we had anything for burns. Not just any burn, turns out, her son of 15 years had gotten 40% of his body severely burned 1 month ago!! The burns covered his face, chest, back, arms, hands and legs. He was extremely self-conscious & kept his face covered with a towel. He had been released from the hospital the day before the group arrived because his doctor went on vacation! HE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN RELEASED! He was in serious condition and needed to be hospitalized. His bandages needed to be changed daily & he had no way of getting to & from the hospital, as his family couldn't afford it. So they were hopeless & didn't know what they were going to do. With the Lord’s perfect timing, our group arrived JUST in time! We took him to get changed while we were there. So we checked around & turns out NOTHING was happening to help him. He wasn't going to get the treatment he needed & could die. We kept getting the runaround & no one was taking responsibility! We were afraid that after the group left, he would die. So, with the persistence of one of the doctors in the group, she made tons of calls & finally she got in contact with Shriner's in Galveston who accepted Joshua to their hospital! With efforts from the group & the hospital, his expenses were covered. Joshua had surgery for skin grafting. Apparently he was infected and sick when he arrived in Galveston and they had to rush him to the hospital. He's in great spirits and says he can stand up straight and walk without pain. He has to return to Galveston every 6 months for the next two years for further reconstructive surgeries, so Blaine has set up an account at Shriners for him in order to cover these future expenses. Joshua could have died, but by the grace of God, he will be able to fight the battle. As he continues the long and painful road to recover, would you uphold Joshua and his family in your prayers?