The Action of God always has a Purpose

 "Be still and know that I am God!
I will be honored among all nations;
I will be honored in the whole world. "
Psalms 46:10

Having a quiet soul these days has been a great challenge in the face of so many demands and responsibilities. Conflicts, illness, always occur at less expected moments. Oh, because our heart is deceitful, deep down we think we have the control, the answers, the ability, and the conditions to solve problems. But in fact we do not!
This time our greatest challenge as children of God is to practice this counsel, this command, "Be still and know that I am God."

At the Clinic in Dakar

Complications after surgery.

 
This word came to my heart when I learned that I had a complication after cholecystectomy and that I needed to undergo a new surgical procedure in an attempt to repair a fistula in the biliary tract and drain the biliary fluid that circulated in my abdomen. Receiving this news, after almost three weeks suffering from pain, frustrated and debilitated, my heart sank with deep concern. Then I thought, And now Lord? You give me this word, for there is nothing else but to quiet my heart and believe that the Lord is God, even when things do not seem to improve.
That morning of the 31st of July, for the second time, the surgery was performed and after 24 hours my situation became even more complicated. Then I was taken to the ICU with an initial  generalized infection and the antibiotics were not working. And that's when God started to operate ... Two missionary doctors together with my wife Joana talked to the clinic doctors in Dakar where I was hospitalized to change the antibiotics and finally the surgeon changed the antibiotics. By Friday, July 3, I was feeling better, but this second surgery had not solved my problem, so the fistula was still open and the biliary fluid was still in the abdomen. This is how my wife and the missionary doctors concluded that it would be better to transfer me to a better place.

plane took Jeff to Portugal

at the Hospital in Lisbon

 On August 5th, I was then transferred through an ambulance plane to a private hospital in Portugal. It was a 7-hour flight in a twin-engine airplane, and on many occasions I thought I would not resist this flight. The company that made the transfer asked for $ 46,000 and this amount needed to be made at the time of requesting the service. Miraculously, the money came from the United States borrowed from the New Tribes Mission, with which we work. Now at the Hospital da Luz in Lisbon, I was very well attended. After 12 days of hospitalization at this hospital I was discharged, there were two interventions and seven days of constant care and struggle to fight infection, and the last 5 days were for observation and recovery.

The brothers and sisters in Christ from all over the world, interceded for me, for my family, offered and publicized this financial challenge in social networks. Our debt was $ 65,000 including airfare tickets and hospital expenses.
 
Soon after I was discharged, I stayed in Portugal for a few more days, with friends who welcomed us with great love throughout the time I was in convalescence.

Jeff and Joana

The most important of all that has happened to me is that God acted through the prayer of all the brethren in Christ and He answered the prayer of a son of his who was in difficulty through all who prayed. God hears the cry of his people.

Beloved, God is acting, and the purpose: To teach to quieten our hearts, to trust in Him, to learn that the church of God is beyond the four walls, beyond denominations, and that God is responsible for his name to be honored among all the Nations.

Daniel and Lucas

Today after 4 months, our debt is all repaid. Praise God with us, because his name has been honored in the whole world. Thank you for you generosity.

Note: Jefferson and Joana are missionaries in Senegal, working with the planting of indigenous evangelical churches among the Manjaque people. Jefferson arrived in Senegal in 1995 and Joana as a wife has been with him since 2008. She holds a Nursing Degree in Senegal and serves as a volunteer nurse at a health center in Sedhiou, where she lives and works. His sons Daniel and Luke study in a school in Dakar for Missionary children. Daniel is at his Senior year in High School, and Lucas is at the Second Year of High School.