When Mirriam was brought to the Sons of Thunder Medical Clinic after being bitten by a deadly puff adder snake, her leg was blackened like charcoal. The probability of gangrene and amputation of her leg was high. The medical team began immediate emergency treatment and prayed over her for healing. Miraculously, in the weeks and months that followed, Mirriam graduated from intravenous antibiotics and wound care to walking gingerly in flip flops. Today she has no more pain. Circulation, sensation and movement have returned and she is regularly seen at the Pilgrim Wesleyan Church at the Farm giving praise to God for her healing!
The importance of the medical ministry at Sons of Thunder cannot be overstated. Since its creation in 1999 the SOT Medical Clinic has been instrumental in changing the quality of life in southwestern Zambia. One of the incredible works that God has inspired is that through our medical ministry we are dedicated to care for physical needs by sharing the love of Christ and providing free medical care to our patients. Our medical ministry provides medical, prenatal and maternity services to help dramatically reduce the mortality rate. Each month the SOT Medical Clinic also conducts regularly scheduled medical outreaches to villages in the surrounding bush in which hundreds routinely line up to receive free medical treatment and prayer. In addition, our team is on call and goes out on emergency calls at all hours of the day or night when needed and often times in aggressive conditions. To put this in proper perspective, this past year the SOT medical team in Zambia treated over 22,700 patients!
In the middle of the photo insert you can see Sal Marini, our medical missionary since 2005, surrounded by the entire medical staff at the Sons of Thunder Medical Clinic. What is most remarkable is that this medical team is comprised of all Zambians who have been "home grown" and trained in clinical treatment, laboratory and diagnostic analysis, child birthing, medical education and nursing. This medical team plays a critical role on a daily basis and have become an additional great blessing within the medical ministry. They are dedicated, responsive and reliable and they greet patients with a loving smile. The skill and efficiencies of the team has reached a level that at times the hospitals in Livingstone and Zimba will refer patients to our clinic for medical treatment for load-leveling purposes. Furthermore, the Zambian government frequently organizes training and education classes for nurses and medical staff at the SOT conference center adjacent to our medical clinic.
As you can imagine our medical budget continues to grow and the need for medicines, medical supplies and equipment are great. The needs are never less, they are always greater. God has continued to open doors and make provision for this vital ministry and we trust in Him for all our needs. Sal and Renee Marini are self-sustaining medical missionaries but one of the growing concerns and challenges that I want to share with you is the compensation of our trained medical team. They are paid monthly wages through Sons of Thunder but we are now experiencing difficulty in meeting them with the value of fair market compensation that they could obtain elsewhere. It is a safe estimate that the members of our medical team are undercompensated by 15-20% and our desire would be to meet them with the fair wages they deserve. We are concerned that if we are not able to rectify this soon that we may begin to lose some of the vital personnel that make up this medical team to other opportunities.
We appreciate your generous support of Sons of Thunder Ministries and the medical ministry is most important to us especially with the burden we feel to reach out beyond our borders to minister to the physical (i.e. medical) and spiritual needs of Zambia and other neighboring countries. We simply could not fulfill God's mandate for this ministry without friends and partners like you. If you are not currently supporting Sons of Thunder please consider it prayerfully.
Please be as generous as you can. Your support is critical as we minister and proclaim Christ to the nations! Thank you for standing with us in this God-given ministry!