july.august prayer guide - cure international · dedicated to the provision of orthopedic care for...

CURE International Prayer Guide July/August 2013

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July/August 2013

I will extol the Lord with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly. Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them. Glorious and majestic are His deeds, and His righteousness endures forever.

He has caused His wonders to be remembered; The Lord is gracious and compassionate.

He remembers His covenant forever. Psalm 111:1-5


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Prayer “To pray for others means to make them part of ourselves. To pray for others means to allow their pains and sufferings, their anxieties and loneliness, their confusion and fears to resound in our innermost selves. To pray is to enter into a deep inner solidarity with our fellow human beings so that in and through us they can be touched by the healing power of God’s Spirit. When, as disciples of Christ, we are able to bear the burdens of our brothers and sisters, to be marked by their wounds, and even be broken by their sins, our prayer becomes their prayer, our cry for mercy becomes their cry. In compassionate prayer, we bring before God those who suffer not merely ‘over there’ …but here and now in our innermost selves. As so it is in and through us that others are restored; it is in and through us that they receive new light, new hope, and new courage; it is in and through us that the Spirit touches them with God’s healing presence.” (From Henri Nouwen’s book Compassion) Pray for the New Believer in your email who has recently come to Christ through the ministry outreach of CURE. Continue to pray for the impact we have on patients, both physically and spiritually. This month we will highlight our ministry in Malawi. Opened in 2002, the Beit CURE International Hospital (CURE Malawi) currently has 56 beds dedicated to the provision of orthopedic care for children with disabilities. According to global health estimates, as many as 400,000 children in Malawi suffer from some type of disability. CURE Malawi provides care for children suffering from a variety of conditions like clubfoot, burn contractures, osteomyelitis, and other acquired or congenital conditions. In addition, CURE Malawi also provides physiotherapy and chiropractic services.

Located in Blantyre, the hospital attracts patients from every region of the country. The hospital has a total staff of 127, including two expatriates, and provides outpatient diagnostic services as well as inpatient direct care through surgical procedures, post-surgical nursing care, post-surgical medicine, physical therapy and post-procedural follow-up. Annually, CURE Malawi provides care during about 7,500 outpatient visits and 1,200 surgeries, while training local medical practitioners in the delivery of expert, compassionate patient care.

Through these activities, CURE Malawi has unique opportunities to minister to the spiritual needs of patients and their families. Since the hospital’s inception, the spiritual ministry team has witnessed over 20,000 expressions of faith in Jesus Christ. Additionally, the spiritual ministry team reaches out to local church leaders, providing retreats and training in understanding the true nature of disability, ministry to the sick and disabled, personal evangelism, and other topics. Establishing and cultivating these relationships with churches across the country enables CURE Malawi to not only identify and provide healing for more patients, but also to connect them and family members who commit or recommit their lives to Christ with nearby pastors for continued discipleship.


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Afghanistan Praise God for the fellowship that takes place between the patients in the hospital as they are able to connect with others with similar conditions. Our fistula program brings together women that can share their experiences and encourage each other. Pray for the hospital staff as they are experiencing hardships due to the political and economic challenges facing the country at this time. Bethlehem Pray that we will continue to be faithful to the Lord’s guidance as we await His plans for CURE’s presence in Bethlehem. Dominican Republic Praise God for the impact that the new crocheting ministry has had on patients and families. Elba Lopez, our Spiritual Director shares, “One morning as I was walking through the clinic at CURE I came across a mom with her baby. I touched the baby as I was greeting them and I noticed that the baby was very cold. I asked the mother for her blanket to cover her up and the mother replied, ‘I do not have a blanket or even a towel to cover my baby girl.’ We had found another patient need - to provide blankets for the women and children that come to the clinic for surgeries. When I shared the situation with my own mom, she went out and bought me lots of yarn to use for making the blankets. Some of the women at the clinic started crocheting blankets that the employees would then pray over and look for a baby to give that blanket to. Many heart warming stories were gathered from this project.”

Pray for the four short-term groups that will be coming to visit and volunteer at the hospital during the next few months. Pray for safe travels and a valuable time at CURE.


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Egypt Praise God for keeping the hospital and staff safe thus far during the turmoil in Egypt. Pray for the patients and families who are unable to reach the hospital due to increased violence in the country. Pray for their protection and patience as they wait until it is safe to come for treatment. Pray that safety and security would be restored in Egypt. Ethiopia Praise God for Dr. Tim Mead who is covering in Ethiopia until a new orthopedic surgeon is in place and for Dr. Mary Bernard who has been appointed the new Medical Director at the hospital. Pray for the families who have the courage to seek help for their disabled children, despite the pressures from family and friends who believe the children are cursed and even suggest that the child be abandoned or killed in some cases. Such is the story of Tolessa and Necho Tolassa whose son, Bulibuli, was born with bilateral cleft lip. When his parents sought help for him at our CURE hospital in Addis, they were touched by the smiling acceptance of the staff and the tender care that they exhibited toward their son whom family and villagers had condemned. After successful surgery and counseling by the spiritual ministry staff, they both received Jesus and decided to follow him. They are very thankful and testified, “CURE gave new life for us and for our child.” Kenya Praise God for the opportunities the Spiritual Ministry staff had to minister to 210 patients and caretakers in the hospital during the month of June. Pray as these seeds sown take root and as new believers become connected with pastors and churches in their home communities. Niger Praise God for the monthly pastors meetings that are held at the Niamey hospital. The number of pastors and church leaders that attend has grown recently, and we are excited to see what God will accomplish through this group. Pray that God will continue to grow this network of pastors connected to our CURE hospital. Pray also for Niger during this month of Ramadan, which began on July 9th. Given the current security situation and the vulnerability of the Christian minority, please pray that God will protect His children and that peace and tolerance will reign. Philippines Praise God that the building of the hospital in the Philippines remains on track and that the Lehman family returned after a much needed holiday in the US.


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Philippines (continued) Pray as we are working on our first shipment of medical equipment to the Philippines and navigate through the necessary import regulations to obtain clearance from customs and other government departments. Uganda Praise God for the recent short-term team that ministered to patients and their families in our Mbale hospital and at an outreach in Mbarara. They humbly served in the following ways: bedside evangelism, counseling and discipleship, creating artwork in some of the rooms, preparing and serving meals to the patients, teaching skills that the mothers could use to generate a small income, and caring for children while their parents were attending bible studies. Pray that the Bibles and Gospel tracts that are handed out during outreach events will be a great source of encouragement to our converts in their newfound faith. Pray that these people would have the courage to shine Christ’s light into their communities. United Arab Emirates Praise God as Oasis Hospital welcomes its new permanent CEO, Dr Jack Borders, along with a new Finance Director, Chief Information Officer, and Chief Operations Officer. Oasis is thankful to have a permanent team in place and is optimistic about how God will use the team to grow Oasis as a ministry. Pray as the new leadership team takes root and the hospital staff transitions under new management. Zambia Praise God for the opportunity for a group of 9 college students involved with CURE U (CURE University) on their campuses. They will be able to meet and serve the children they have been supporting and catch a greater vision of CURE. They will be visiting the CURE Lusaka hospital for a week and then participate in a local outreach. Pray for smooth and safe travels and that this trip would deepen the students’ hearts for the Lord and for his people as well as be a blessing to the patients and staff at CURE Zambia. CURE Clubfoot Worldwide (CCW) Praise God for the country coordinators in Africa, Central America, the Caribbean, and Asia. Praise also for all the workers in the 265 clubfoot clinics within CCW as they continue to serve in challenging situations at times. Pray that they would exhibit Christ’s love to all they are in contact with in CCW clinics as they directly serve our clubfoot patients. Pray for wisdom, health, and safety for Santosh George, Linda Hansen and Phil Hudson in their roles as regional directors and for Chris Lavy, CURE’s Chief Medical Officer. Pray for wisdom, safety, freedom from illness, and for each of them to be encouraged in the Lord


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CURE Hydrocephalus Praise God for the safe arrival of Dr. Vincent Wekesa in Uganda where he will begin his three-month training through the CURE Hydrocephalus Surgeon Fellowship Program. Dr. Wekesa is an experienced neurosurgeon from Nairobi, Kenya with a passion to expand his skills in treating children with hydrocephalus. We praise God for the life-saving impact Dr. Wekesa will have in the lives of our patients in the years to come. Pray for those on our CURE Hydrocephalus Care Coordinator team who serve in 12 countries by supporting the CURE Hydrocephalus surgeon fellows and ministering to the children and families battling hydrocephalus. Pray that they will be strengthened in their ministry to these vulnerable children and the colleagues they work alongside at public hospitals. CURE Board Praise God for the ongoing commitment the CURE board members have made to CURE. Home Office Praise God for the first CURE U symposium held at the CURE US headquarters. CURE hosted a group of 15 college students from all over the country who either already have established CURE U chapters or who will be starting CURE U chapters at their schools (http://cure.org/u). It was a time to join together in an effort to unify the greater CURE U team. Pray that the students would be encouraged and equipped with knowledge about CURE. They focused on unifying strategies about raising awareness, establishing themselves on their campuses, planning events, and reaching college students with opportunities to get involved with CURE.


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Please use these lines to add prayers and praises as they come up over the next month.

701 Bosler Avenue • Lemoyne, PA 17043 • 717-730-6706 •

www.cure.org • [email protected]

july.august prayer guide - cure international · dedicated to the provision of orthopedic care for...

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