A Time to Be Silent . . .

By Peggy Drake, RN

Peggy, an Alliance international worker, is a nurse at a clinic administered by ACCEDES, the relief and development arm of the national Alliance church in Burkina Faso, West Africa.

Each day many hear the gospel for the first time as they see the JESUS film in the waiting room of Clinic Life in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.

During three scenes in the film there is total silence in the room, and we make sure not to interrupt. The first is when Jesus heals the blind man, the second is when Roman soldiers pound those huge nails into His hands on the cross, and the third is when the tomb is found empty.

These scenes lead to many questions and discussions with our patients in the consultation rooms. Two Alliance international workers follow up with these new believers, who come to Bible studies, widows’ classes and the many other activities in the churches here.

A Time to Speak

The two female workers are very good at assisting these women and counseling them as they find their way to our churches. Last fall, when the clinic held a special screening for cervical cancer, the pastoral and medical teams worked together to provide holistic care.

Because two thirds of all new cases of cervical cancer are found in developing countries, Dr. Adama Dembele, a Christian physician who works one evening a week at the clinic, felt an urgent need for this screening. In Burkina Faso, the majority of women with this cancer are diagnosed at a late stage but could have been saved if they had been screened early, followed by treatment of the precancerous lesions.

We screened 501 women, and 55 of them tested positive. In only a few were these precancerous lesions destroyed by cryotherapy (freezing). The rest could not be treated. Our two workers, who are well-known in Bobo for their compassion and biblical teaching, contacted many of the women who discovered that their results were not what anyone wants to hear.

“Thank you for thinking of us,” one of the patients said. “The women are very glad for this opportunity because they will know right away if there is a problem.”