Continuing to smile

She came to Kudjip to be a nurse and be able to minister God's healing to the sick and hurting.  She finished her first year of nursing school at our College of Nursing, but not without a struggle.  For about 2 years she has started to notice weakness of her muscles of her arms and legs, hoping it would pass, she continued to study in her first year of nursing school.  When she found it difficult to sit up by herself, to raise her legs off the bed by herself, raise her arms up by herself - she came to see us for help.

We were hoping she might have TB which had caused weakness making it difficult for her to get around, but blood tests showed something else was going on.  We don't know exactly what is it, but it seems like she has a form of muscular dystrophy which is making her muscles weak.  This wouldn't be so bad if there was a medicine we could give her to make her strength come back, but we don't have a medicine to do that, no one does.

Sharing news like this with a patient is never easy, but Malisa's smile has never left despite the news that she won't be able to be a nurse.  I am not sure what life will look like for her now, her mom is coming to take her back to the Sepik (her home), but after that, I am not sure.  She will need the support of family and friends just to help her get through the day.

Would you pray for her and her family, pray for these days and the challenges ahead.  Pray for her to maintain her faith in the face of the difficulties ahead.