You won’t find the term “refugee” in the Bible.  But the Word of God has plenty to say about people called “strangers” and “sojourners” or “foreigners” and God’s heart for them!  This little boy had a head wound from a government attack on their village.  The FAME partner medical team there treated, bandaged and cared for him!

Displaced Burmese are now living along the Myanmar/Thailand border – over 1 Million people now live along this nearly 1500-mile border who are displaced!  One of your FAME partners is actively serving these Internally Displaced People – or Refugees.  They build simple homes, (pictured here) and just do what it takes to live in this safe zone.

The Medical team with this partner helped this young mother who was bombed out of her home and had to leave her village deep in the valleys of the mountains (that’s her above looking back at her village).  These refugees are in great need of help and hope.  They have so much instability that this partner is building a permanent clinic that will impact generations on the border that will be central to 20,000 of these refugees who need this care.  The goal is to build this quality Clinic, as a care center that will be a place of access to healthcare that will give access to the gospel! The good news of Jesus is spreading among these refugees, from FAME partner to patient, person to person, tribe to tribe – God loves the Refugee!

“I’d read about it in textbooks during nursing school, but never thought I’d witness it!”

On a short-term medical mission trip to one of your FAME partners in Kenya, this nurse experienced something about which she had only read in textbooks.  A woman came to the clinic for the first time after seeking many solutions from village witch doctors and African traditional remedies.  She was weak and barely able to come into the clinic, but a Christian in her tribal group brought her to this Clinic!

The nurse mentioned above began to ask questions and notice her condition.  Anemic, internal bleeding, broken teeth, and severe pain in her abdomen didn’t help the nurse identify anything she recognized.  The Nurse Practitioner resident of the clinic came in and asked a few more questions.  Much to the surprise of the Short-Term Trip Nurse, the woman was experiencing, “Geophagy.”

Which as I heard the story, didn’t help me at all either!  Geophagy is the eating of rocks and soil!  Rocks are even sold in Kenyan markets called “odowa.”  This terrible practice can introduce parasites, puncture internal tissue, cause bleeding, liver damage, kidney damage, and as you can imagine – destroyed teeth!

Your FAME partner clinic Nurse Practitioner, according to the visiting nurse, “changed the woman’s life in 20 minutes.”  Because not only did she give her options for the minerals her body was craving by introducing her to a better diet and some simple vitamin supplements, she was introduced to the Jesus who gives hope to the hopeless!

When you partner with FAME, you set up many situations where “20 minutes can change someone’s life!”  Here are some direct ways you can help:

• Praying for God to provide Christians in villages to evangelize their neighbors like this woman.
• Collect Vitamins FAME sends to your global partners – Click HERE for a link of what to collect
• Go on Short-Term Trips – we need NON-medical and medical people on our teams!
• Financially support FAME to empower global partners to use 20 minutes to save lives! 

Thank you for your partnership, changing lives, even in 20 minutes!

Lawrence, an active and spirited 7-year-old, fell and seriously cut his arm. The West African village where his family lives traditionally treats cuts like this with herbs and dirty bandages.  Soon, Lawrence developed an infection from the treatment given and became very sick and lethargic. His family made the decision to bring him to a FAME partner’s clinic.
 
When the family arrived at the clinic, the medical staff saw that not only had the infection spread, but the original care given was to sew his wound with a yarn-like thread.  The nurse, Lindsey, who told the story to FAME staff recently, removed the yarn, cleaned the wound, and gave Lawrence antibiotics.  She explained to his parents how infection begins and how to keep the wound clean.

What reminded me about your impact in the story is when Lindsey explained to the family that the clinic gives care in the name of Jesus and that they could come anytime with little or no cost for care, because they want to bring the Hope of Jesus to this West African community. 

Lindsey shared that they use equipment and supplies from FAME every day!  Children like Lawrence, as well as adults, learn about love and hear the good news of Jesus, because of YOU!  

Thank you for your partnership!

Thank you for your continued support of the ministry of FAME through prayer. You continue to be a blessing to people all around the world!

This month we have several conferences that we will be attending. Two of the conferences will be in Louisville, KY; the TECH (Technical Exchange for Christian Healthcare) Conference on November 9 and the GMHC (Global Missions Health Conference) November 10-12. Please pray that God will direct the conversations at these conferences and that some partnerships can be developed with people from all over the world. These conferences are great opportunities where God can bring people together! 

One other conference/convention we will be attending is ICOM (the International Conference on Missions) November 3-5 in Columbus, OH. For more information about ICOM or to register for the convention visit www.theicom.org. This is a great place for us to connect with our mission partners around the world. 

Please also pray this month for some of our faithful volunteers that help us with our mission of sending help and hope in the name of Christ to the world through medical evangelism. They are a blessing to not only the staff and board of FAME, but also to our mission partners around the world and the people to whom they are ministering.

Other items of prayer for the month include:

• The FAME Staff
• Planning for the next Night of Hope scheduled for April 15, 2023, at Plainfield Christian church. Continue to watch the website at www.fameworld.org/2023-night-of-hope for updates.
• Church visits that Bill Warren and Jeff Coon will be making.
• FAME Mission partners around the world, especially those in India, Ukraine, and Haiti currently experiencing persecution, violence, war, and political unrest.
• Our US Veterans who have served and who are currently serving (Veterans Day November 11).

Blessings in the coming month and may you and yours have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Click HERE for the November Prayer Calendar