Surgery's Timely Impact

By Dr. Jack Sorg

Thomas, who lived with his friends and relatives in a remote village of Liberia, was dying. After a sad farewell, he began a difficult journey to see his son, Thomas Jr., and to seek spiritual and medical help.

Years before, both father and son had confessed Christ as Savior. However, Thomas Sr. had drifted back to his village rituals, and had even become a leader in the initiation of young boys, using tribal markings.

Thomas Jr., taking a stand for his faith in Christ, refused the tribal markings. After Bible training, he became pastor of a church in Liberia 's capital, Monrovia. On occasional return visits to his home village, he was ostracized, unable to preach or witness, and could only fellowship with his father. His lack of tribal markings caused him to be shunned as an outsider.

Before our medical team trip to Liberia in 2002, we were contacted by email about the older Thomas. We were asked to do his operation at a local hospital, since no one else there had any experience doing it. The surgeon in our group had performed one such operation 25 years earlier. Armed with a surgical textbook, we studied the procedure on the plane trip to Liberia.

Thomas Sr. had been in the city under his son's Bible teaching for nine months before the surgery, and had improved, in part, with medical care we prescribed by email. While continued medical care could give him weeks or months of life, the operation could cure him. God used those nine months to improve his health for the rigors of surgery, and to bring him to repentance and growth in Christ. His son's faithful ministry had a tremendous impact on his life.

For the operation itself, the jungle hospital had about half the instruments that the textbook said were needed. Part of the team helped with the surgery and part remained in a nearby house praying. Thankfully, the surgery was successful and Thomas Sr. recovered well.

After five months, Thomas Sr. and his son returned to their village. There the father openly testified of the Lord's grace and salvation. Friends and relatives marveled at his return to health and were convicted by his testimony. This all made a wonderful introduction to the son's preaching, and for the first time, villagers listened to Thomas Jr.'s message about God. Over thirty came to Christ and a new church has been established nearby.

Attend ABWE's Medical Missions Interface July 16-18, 2004.