A Cry in the Night

As told by missionary nurse, Noeleen Loughran, our partner on the ground in Rumbek.

Just around Christmas time, as I was sitting outside the Parish House as usual here at night, I found myself listening to the sound of a baby’s cry.  It was a lingering cry, and it stood out from the usual cries one hears from babies in the distance.  It bothered me, but being late at night there wasn’t much I could do.  The following night, the cry pierced my head again, and so on and so on every night.  I knew it was the same baby’s cry. 

Every night I complained to the church Fathers, “Where is that child crying from?”  Everywhere I went I could hear the cry.  It began tormenting me with frustration as to where the child was and how I couldn’t do something.  We made inquiries to no avail – no one knew the whereabouts of the child.  I felt like I was the only one who could hear the painful sound, and no one else seemed overly concerned, as it is quite regular to hear children crying here.  There were times I felt God was purposely making me hear it more than anyone else.

In my frustration one night, I could stand it no longer and I got out of bed just after midnight.  I awoke the guard at the gate and told him to open the gate. Against his advice, I proceeded with a flashlight toward the sound, knowing very well I could get bitten by the snakes that come out at night. But with trust in God I proceeded.  I knew a girl in this area called Lucky, and I woke her up to ask her if she knew where the child was.  She knew. At last I had found her.

Under the stars lay a young woman with a tearful baby wrapped in her arms – a very frail young lady. Beside her lay two more children sleeping, and beside them lay an elderly woman with her legs tied together and her arms tied together, chained to a pole.  They had no shelter of any kind, no blanket, and only a piece of plastic over four sticks to cover their heads. 

The old lady gave me a beautiful smile. I later learned that she was an elder in the church from the town of Yirol, some 3 hour’s journey by car, and they had walked to Rumbek looking for medical help.  Due to the war, the elderly lady had – as many do here – temporarily lost her sanity from the trauma, and was tied up for her own safety. 

The baby was so hungry and the mother could not produce enough milk to feed her.  Being late, both Lucky and I ran back to the parish house, and gathered up anything I could find in terms of food. We ran back to them with a few slices of bread, a box of porridge, and a half of a yogurt for the baby.  That would see them through until morning, I thought.

The next day I bought everything they needed in terms of food, and powdered baby milk for six months.  Now there was the issue of what to do for the elderly lady.  At that time, I had a doctor come from Uganda to work with trauma victims for one week, who was a psychiatrist and medical doctor.  When he came with me to see the woman, he wept. He said it was so sad to see the pain in her eyes, and yet a little help can change all that. And yet a little help can change all that. We bought her some needed medicine for her trauma, and now she sits comfortably smiling, no longer needing to be tied up or of any danger to herself.  I have not yet found somewhere for them to live, but I am working on it.

There is no longer the cry of a baby each night. I have comfort and peace now in my heart knowing she is ok.  What I have learned in this experience is that God makes us hear things that others may not hear. He makes us feel things others may not feel. And he gives us the strength and courage to do something about it.  We sometimes think God is far away and that we can’t hear him. But in truth, his voice comes to us in many ways, and we can see him in the places we least expect.  The infant – a little girl – did not have a name. And as she was born at Christmas, we have called her “Iosa,” the Irish name for Jesus.

-Blessings, Noeleen

Your support makes these life changing stories possible. Would you like to pray for this work? Sign up for our email prayer group. You’ll receive weekly emails sharing important needs to pray for. Join a faith community around the globe praying to bring hope and help to suffering people in this forgotten part of the world. Click here to find out more.

Baby Grace

Sudan Relief Fund is dedicated to changing lives, relieving suffering, and bringing hope to struggling people.

Baby Grace is an 18 month-old living in the Leper Colony of Maloh. Her father died before she was born, and her mother died when she was six months old. After that, Baby Grace’s aunt, who is herself stricken with leprosy, was trying to take care of her.

But to say there was little food was generous. Adults in the community were eating leaves to avoid starvation. The complete lack of medical help meant the onslaught of disease in her family would continue until the inevitable happened. The future held nothing hopeful for this baby girl.

That was before our partner and missionary nurse, Noeleen Loughran, found this community and Sudan Relief Fund stepped in to help. Today there is clean water, new housing, new clothing, and sufficient food. There are crops growing in the fields. And most importantly, a new health clinic onsite where people can get treatment for this curable disease. And Baby Grace can look forward to a life marked with hope instead of tragedy.

Baby Grace is one of the many here who have been saved by the intervention of Sudan Relief Fund. Says Noeleen, “Baby Grace is now supported through food and healthcare and continues to grow, thanks to all of our donors.”

Noeleen continued, “Baby Grace always shows her great love for me with hugs and smiles. I am greeted every day by gestures of love from Grace, as well as by the many children of this colony.”

Thank you for helping transform lives like that of Baby Grace and countless others. Your support is what makes stories of lives saved like this possible.

Would you like to pray for this work? Sign up for our email prayer group. You’ll receive weekly emails sharing important needs to pray for. Join a faith community around the globe praying to bring hope and help to suffering people in a forgotten part of the world. Click here to find out more.

Hanan

Nearly Comatose Young Woman Makes it to Medical Help Just in Time

Each person who helps support our work through donations, prayers, or volunteering on the ground is a hero in their own right. Just ask Hanan, a 20-year-old woman who wouldn’t be here to share her story without your support.

“Dr. Tom, plus his team and the generous donors who are behind the scenes, are our heroes,” she proclaimed, as Hanan recounted the story of the timely medical intervention that spared her young life.

Hanan is a high school student from Sarbule, who began to suffer from upper back pain a year ago. She visited clinics in the Kakuma Refugee Camp several times. Unfortunately, nothing helped and her pain continued to worsen.

Hanan’s older brother was able to take her on the long trip to Mother of Mercy Hospital. There, Hanan was seen by Dr. Tom and his staff. She was admitted immediately and underwent a series of tests. Hanan was suffering from such severe diabetes she had almost fallen into a coma. Diabetes mellitus, her diagnosis, can cause heart attack, heart failure, stroke, kidney failure, and coma. Without treatment it can become fatal.

Hanan began receiving a series of injections to reduce her high blood sugar. Now, Hanan is stable and looking forward to returning to school and her life as a young adult. “I am really happy,” she reports. “The back pain has been reduced greatly and I am generally much better.” She spoke of the heroes who are the medical team and supporters who make their work possible, as she expressed, “May God bless the work of your hands.”

Mother of Mercy Hospital in the remote Nuba Mountains is the only facility of its kind for many hours in each direction, serving a population of over a million people. Your help makes lives saved stories like this possible.

Would you like to pray for us? Lifting Up South Sudan is a group of people helping transform lives in South Sudan through the power of prayer. You’ll receive a new prayer request weekly by email. You’ll be part of a vital team praying to bring light and hope to this despondent part of the world. To learn more or sign up to receive prayer requests, go here.