The Anthis Family Adventures

Volume 4, Issue #7 joel.anthis@sim.org

www.anthisfamily.com December, 2005

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Anthis Update and Year in Review

Dear Friends and Family,

Merry Christmas and may God bless you and your family in 2006! We are so grateful for the prayers of so many of you. As Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians 1, this year has been filled with hardships and great pressure beyond our own ability to cope. We agree with Paul that this happened so that we would not rely on ourselves, but on God. It is through God’s gracious answers to your prayers that we can testify to His faithfulness in 2005. Here are some of the highlights:

January 2005: The year started with tragedy as two of our neighbors and co-workers (Dr. Bill Ardill and Elias Naatz) were shot when armed robbers attacked our hospital compound. We are grateful to God for His healing and restoration in both of their lives. Dr. Ardill has returned to his work here at Evangel Hospital and Elias is in his first year of college in the US.

February 2005: Joel has become the area “expert” in airway foreign bodies thanks to the wonderful equipment that has been provided through the generosity of our supporters. This little girl named Princess was referred to Joel eight months after having aspirated a nut into her lung. The nut was removed and her father was so grateful that he arranged for a local TV station to tape a show about her illness and successful surgery. We are thankful to God for His Divine provision.

March 2005: God has continued to give us the awesome pleasure of helping some hearing impaired patients to hear again. Through the use of surgery, conventional hearing aids, and specially designed solar powered hearing aids, the deaf are hearing!

April 2005: Cindy again traveled to Gamu village in neighboring Bauchi State with a team from our Church here in Jos. The team was able to bring the Gospel to this Muslim village in word and in deed. We administered vaccinations and helped to dig a well for the area. A church is slowly growing in this previously unreached and hostile area.

May 2005: You never know what a day in the clinic here in Nigeria will bring. A man presented to Joel’s clinic with an enormous tumor protruding off the side of his face. It had been growing for 24 years and the man had not found anyone to remove it. Joel was able to remove the tumor and spare the nerve that allows the face to move. We praise God for His healing hand that guides our work.

June 2005: Training Nigerian doctors and students is an important part of our ministry here at Evangel. Joel and Cindy continue to model competent and compassionate care for these young doctors in training, and challenge them to incorporate their Christian faith into their medical practice.

July 2005: As a family we traveled to the country of Niger. We visited Galmi Hospital where Joel was able to teach a national how to do hearing testing and dispense solar powered hearing aids. Cindy was able to help in the outpatient clinic. The highlight for the kids was their first ever camel ride!

August 2005: Cindy continued her weekly Muslim women’s outreach clinic. Her patients call her “Likita Mama Abigail,” which means “the doctor who is Abigail’s mother.”

September 2005: The adult Sunday School class that Joel teaches at our local church was given an award for being the most faithful in the church!

October 2005: A deaf patient named Irene who had received a cochlear implant in August at Evangel (the first successful cochlear implant ever performed in Nigeria thanks to a visit from Dr. Doug Green) was able to hear again after her implant was successfully stimulated and programmed via an internet connection to the US! God is the God of technology.

November 2005: Joel participated in a meeting of all ENT specialists working in Nigeria. It was an excellent time of networking. We anticipate that some of the ENT doctors he met will come to Jos for further training with Joel.

December 2005: On December 7^th our patient Emmanuel was discharged from the hospital one year to the day after he was admitted. When he arrived at the hospital, the hospital staff considered him to be a living corpse that had yet to die. His face was severely injured in an industrial accident when an oven exploded sending a huge burning hot pipe through his face. Yet the Lord in His mercy chose to spare Emma’s life. His physical healing required numerous surgeries this year; yet God has healed Emmanuel in so many ways. Before the accident he was homeless and living on the streets, aimless, and without true hope. One year later he is being discharged from the hospital with joy in his heart, a goal of glorifying the Lord with his life that was spared, and he is moving into an apartment. The hospital had an official “Send Forth” party for Emmanuel to celebrate the healing in his life and to say thank you to God. The hospital chaplain preached from John 4:11 and applied it to Emmanuel: “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Everyone at the Send Forth clearly saw the mighty hand of God and praised him for this miracle.

Kid’s Corner

Austin, Allison and Abigail love the new and varied experiences they are having as MK’s. The firsts for 2005 included a camel ride, a donkey ride, a trip to the OR with Dad, a visit to Niger, an encounter with a spitting cobra, constructing a two story fort, mastering the art of market bargaining, and successfully completing the first half of Grade5, Grade 3 and K-4!

Prayer and Praise

Praises:

For God’s presence and protection in our lives
For God’s healing in our patient Emmanuel’s life and in the lives of so many we see here
For our awesome support and prayer team

Prayer Requests:

That each member of the Anthis family would maintain our focus on Loving God and Loving Others
For God’s guidance as we make our plans to furlough, Summer of 2006-Summer 2007 (in the Houston area)
For more discipleship and teaching opportunities with national students and doctors
That we would not grow weary or fearful in doing good