Anwar* came to our clinic complaining that he’d lost feeling in his ulcerated feet. No doctor had previously been able to help this diabetic, who is in his early 40s.
As the lead surgeon, I told Anwar that unless he agreed to an operation and hospitalization, he would eventually lose his feet to infection. He was terrified but reluctantly agreed to our treatment plan.
In the operating room we prayed for Anwar in Jesus’ name. After the surgery, Anwar awoke to find both of his feet swathed in bandages and plastic wrap, with a plastic tube connecting to a suction machine nearby.
We explained to Anwar that the machine was a wound VAC (vacuum-assisted closure) device, which uses constant negative pressure to treat wounds previously considered untreatable. During the next three weeks, this device worked a miracle!
But we’re getting ahead of the story.
Arabic Literature and an iPad
A week into his hospitalization, Anwar was making great progress in his healing but was bored and wanted to leave. We asked him if he would like something to read. When he said “Yes,” we gave him the Gospel of Luke in Arabic and a small tract.
The next day during rounds, we asked Anwar if he’d read the booklets. “They were very interesting,” he said, laughing. Later, one of our team members let Anwar watch the JESUS film on his iPad.
When we saw him the following day, Anwar pointed to John 3:16, which was printed on the gospel tract I’d given him. “What does it mean when it says, ‘God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son?’” he asked.
For the next hour, members of our surgical team explained the good news to Anwar and answered his questions. Later, he asked if he could have a Bible. We gave him the New Testament in Arabic, praying that God would open his heart to understand its message.
A Safe Place
Anwar went home 10 days later with an appointment to return to our surgery clinic for follow-up. In the weeks that followed, we noticed a change in his mood. Previous to reading the Bible and watching the JESUS film, he had often looked sad and depressed; now, he was smiling and cheerful.
Anwar later told one of our nurses privately that his life had completely changed—not because of the surgery, but because of the Bible he was reading.
He is one of a small, growing number of our patients who have made steps toward the Light in recent months. We rejoice in the spiritual hunger we are seeing, but we are deeply concerned that there is no safe place for these new believers and seekers to gather and learn more about God’s Word.
It is dangerous here for people to openly attend established churches, and when they no longer need an appointment with our surgical team, we lose contact—sometimes permanently. When patients come to faith, they don’t know whom to trust so most of them remain isolated.
Our dream is that God will soon provide these new believers with a leader of their cultural background who can meet with them somewhere in this city without fear of harassment. Would you pray with us for that to soon happen?
*Name changed
—Based on a report by an Alliance medical worker serving in a creative-access country
What You Can Do
Pray
Use the weekly Alliance Prayer Requests to join the Alliance family in interceding on behalf of our teams in creative-access countries and worldwide, who often face challenges that require Holy Spirit–inspired words and deeds to communicate God’s love to those who do not yet know Him.
Learn More
Read “Clothed in Compassion” for more about Alliance compassionate ministries in creative-access environments.