Please Pray for Sofina!

                                                                Meet Sofina!

Sofina was born with a rare and abnormally large Nasal Encephalocele. What that means is that she has a large tumor on her nose that is filled with brain tissue. She is now 2 years and 4months old. This type of tumor is usually removed by very specialized pediatric brain surgeons at a very young age, even shortly after birth. I just met Sofina and her family for the first time a few short weeks ago. At that time I fell in love with her. She has spunk, and she is just like any other little 2 year old girl, she laughs, and smiles, and when you tell her to point to something big she points to her belly and shouts "BIG!(BE)"while she laughs. This is why her story is so heartbreaking, there is no treatment for Sofina in Madagascar. She is slowly dying. Day by day she gets smaller and smaller due to Malnutrition, she is still breastfeeding as her primary source of nutrition, and she is able to eat very soft rice with water 3 times a day. But due to the location of her tumor when she tries to sit up, move her head up, she loses her airway, the tumor smashes down on it, causing her to suffocate. So she remains lying flat or slightly elevated all day. Her mother loves her very much, and is always holding or nearby the child wiping the gunk out of her sweet daughter's eyes. She isn't lacking in love that is for sure!

Now I need to tell you that since I first asked you to pray for this precious little baby, I have heard from a group of Doctors that work in Kenya Africa, they said that they would be able to do the surgery for this little girl, and the cost was extremely reasonable. I believe the air fare will cost more than the surgery. They said that in the next 2 weeks they would like to receive this little girl while they have 2  pediatric nasocranial surgeons willing to do the surgery. When I first heard this news, I was a little bummed, because I know how hard it will be to get a little girl and her mother paperwork/visas/passports in a country where we have no government. However the great reminder that I serve a God who is above all that spurred me to keep asking questions on how to do those things. It turns out there is a doctor that is willing to write up all paperwork, and he thinks that it would be possible to have all those things within 2 weeks.

 Tomorrow I will set out to Sofina's village with all of this wonderful news. This surgery could give Sofina lots of tomorrows, and she could have a normal life. This surgery will save her life.

 Now the hard part........Sofina and her mother will be terrified! They won't likely receive this news with tears of joy, and thanksgiving. They don't come from a world where there is medical care. They are use to death, they are use to losing their children.  They are use to a life of difficulty and suffering.They are NOT use to the "white people" they are NOT use to people wanting to help them. They are NOT use to the Love of God, but are in fear of the power of their dead ancestors and doing something that could anger them. When I go to this village tomorrow, I am aware that I could actually be doing harm to the relationship we have with this village if something goes wrong with the surgery. This is the whole reason I am writing this and begging you in joining me to pray for this Village, AMBIA, and this little girl, and the situation that we find ourselves in. Pray that this Mom will be able to find a way to have courage to leave their village in the middle of the rainforest for the first time ever, and go to a place where they won't be able to understand or communicate a single word. Pray that through this situation this village will come to understand and give their lives to a God who loves them. Pray that this sweet little girl will have a strong enough body to make it through such an intense surgery! Please pray for us, as we speak with this family, trying to communicate all of this in a language that is not our own. Pray against the work of Satan's lies, and that the Truth would be made known. There are a million things that I can think of going wrong, pray that we continue to walk through each detail trusting in the power of God, and following His leading!

Please send this to anyone who will engage in prayer for this little girl!!!!



With Love for All of You,
Holly Jones