11/14/04: Tribal Update: Time to Help

Hello Everyone:

We just got this note from our mission nurse who just got back from Tribal land. It is quite sad to read. Here are some quotes from her note:

"I got back from Tribal land late yesterday afternoon. It was a good time, yet also so sad to see the people so thin and malnourished and many kids sick. Today that I am back and sit down to write and describe how things were, I could just cry. At almost every village the people would show us the mounds where they had buried their loved-ones, telling us who was buried where."

"The day before yesterday we went to see the people that live on the other side of the river. Of that village 11 people had died in the last months. It seems that 10 adults have died too along with all the children."

"We had 4 patients staying on the base at the dispensary. One was a teenage girl who was severely anemic. I thought she might even die while we were there, but she kept hanging in there, so I am hoping she will make it. Her legs had been all swollen when she arrived."

"Another little girl, probably about 11 or 12 months old was not doing too well, very fragile in her condition. The other girl I think will be fine if she continues to take the iron to build up her blood, but two of her sisters have already died."

"So many of the women and kids were so anemic that they had either no red or very little red in their lower eye lid when we checked."

"The reason for the anemia I am sure is from the little nutrition and also from parasites, probably both hookworm and roundworm. W e figured that some of the illness in the kids was whooping cough, but that there had also been some hepatitis A. In one of the villages that we went to, a couple of the kids were yellow, not only their skin but also their eyes."

Anyway, there you have it. Quite sad indeed!! She writes that the Tribal are eating a little fish and casave bread but need help. And they are planning on going back into Tribal land once again to immunize everyone, to do follow up, take in more medicine, and get some food to the people. So folks, there is a real need at this time to purchase food and medicine for this upcoming trip, and for following trips that will be made down the road. Would you please pray with us about getting some help to these folks? Even now we are writing and making plans to purchase the needed supplies to have them flown in there. So thanks in advance for your help with this emergency. These are our Tribal brothers and sisters in Christ and really need our help at this time. If you aren't sure how you can help, please write back and ask.

And please be praying for our Venezuelan co-workers who are out there with the Tribal people, seeking to help them. Some of them have spent days on end weeping over the many deaths and sick people all around them. It has been hard on them. They are Jose and Elia Ruiz, Jacinto and Ruby Porrello, and a single guy, Andres Diamont. Thanks so much!!

Leaning hard on the Comforter,
Merrill and Teresa