To inject or not
Missionaries Andrew and Anne Marie Ferguson are learning the culture and language of the Southern Tepehuan people in Mexico. They use each experience to help them understand the culture and language of the people so that they can prepare to teach God's Word in a culturally relevant way.
The village is in a very remote mountainous region and at times the Fergusons face some difficult decisions.
Currently there are no medical personnel in the village and villagers bring emergency medical needs to Andrew and Anne Marie. A couple brought their little boy with a possible scorpion bite. The normal treatment is to inject the patient with anti-venom serum but if the bite is not from a scorpion, the serum can be deadly. Since the boy was too young to tell what bit him, they weren't sure what to do.
Andrew and Ann Marie immediately called a doctor in a larger city for advice. After several phone calls and much praying, they decided to observe the symptoms and see if they worsened. Andrew assured the couple that if their son became worse they would either inject the serum or drive two hours to the nearest clinic.
The couple returned at midnight frightened that their son was worse. Ann Marie gave him some bananas and he quickly ate them and seemed a little more alert. It seemed that the worst affects of the venom had passed and they decided to wait until morning to see how he was.
By morning he was running around as though nothing had happened.
"We praise the Lord for his recovery," wrote Andrew, "and that we didn't have to make the dangerous trip in the middle of the night."
Pray for Andrew and Anne Marie as they face difficult life altering decisions. Pray also that they will quickly learn the culture and language so that the Southern Tepehuans can hear the Gospel message.
The village is in a very remote mountainous region and at times the Fergusons face some difficult decisions.
Currently there are no medical personnel in the village and villagers bring emergency medical needs to Andrew and Anne Marie. A couple brought their little boy with a possible scorpion bite. The normal treatment is to inject the patient with anti-venom serum but if the bite is not from a scorpion, the serum can be deadly. Since the boy was too young to tell what bit him, they weren't sure what to do.
Andrew and Ann Marie immediately called a doctor in a larger city for advice. After several phone calls and much praying, they decided to observe the symptoms and see if they worsened. Andrew assured the couple that if their son became worse they would either inject the serum or drive two hours to the nearest clinic.
The couple returned at midnight frightened that their son was worse. Ann Marie gave him some bananas and he quickly ate them and seemed a little more alert. It seemed that the worst affects of the venom had passed and they decided to wait until morning to see how he was.
By morning he was running around as though nothing had happened.
"We praise the Lord for his recovery," wrote Andrew, "and that we didn't have to make the dangerous trip in the middle of the night."
Pray for Andrew and Anne Marie as they face difficult life altering decisions. Pray also that they will quickly learn the culture and language so that the Southern Tepehuans can hear the Gospel message.