Helping the Sick

Recently, Blaine & Michelle Warner , missionaries serving with MB Mission learned a bit more about the complicated medical system in Burkina Faso when God used them to help their friend get the care that he needed in a critical situation.

It was clear that Drissa needed to see a doctor. The stomach problems that he had been having were getting worse, so Blaine got ready to drive him to a clinic in the town of Bobo. Drissa, his wife Teni, Pastor Madou, and Blaine loaded into the truck. As Blaine drove along the road, he could hardly see at times because of all the dust. But they arrived safely in Bobo that evening and got settled in for the night.

The next morning, they had to wait almost three hours at the clinic before the doctor saw Drissa. After he had an x-ray taken, Drissa was immediately sent to the hospital for surgery. They drove up to the emergency section of the hospital but soon learned that they had to pay before anyone would even look at Drissa.

After a payment was made to a cashier at the front of the hospital, Drissa was put on a gurney and brought to the operating area. He was in extreme pain by now but still had to wait another five hours before his operation. During this time, Blaine and Pastor Madou spoke to many doctors in the hospital. Some of the doctors didn’t want to do the operation while others thought that they should try. Finally, the decision was made to operate on Drissa.

Blaine and Pastor Madou were given a list of items that they needed to get for the operation. But when they went to the hospital pharmacy, they discovered that the pharmacy didn’t have all of the necessary supplies. So they had to go into town to purchase the other items.

During the four hour operation, Blaine had to make eight trips to find more supplies. At one critical point, Blaine ran to the hospital pharmacy but found a sign on the door that said “Back in 30 minutes.” Another time, the computer at the cashier desk crashed so Blaine and several other people were unable to buy the necessary medicine. Thankfully, Blaine was able to use the truck to drive into town and get what the doctors needed for the procedure.

The doctors successfully untwisted Drissa’s intestine and he survived the operation! After spending a week in intensive care, Drissa was moved to another ward of the hospital. Praise God for using Blaine, Pastor Madou, and these doctors to bring healing to Drissa’s body. Pray that God would bless Drissa with good health. Praise God for the opportunities that they had to make new friends at the hospital and to share God’s love with them.

“I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.” – Matthew 25:40