[ad_1]
Imagine being 6,000 miles from home, in a third-world country where medical care is at best dismal and cleanliness an afterthought, and your 12-year-old son has punctured his lower abdomen, a life-threatening wound that needs immediate surgery. Where do you turn?
That was the scenario on July 1 for Chris and Amy Compston and their son Jarek, all missionaries to Uganda through Amy For Africa, an independent organization that the Lord has graciously allowed to operate since 2013. The Compstons are Kentucky Baptists, as members of First Baptist Church in Russell, but they are first and foremost believers in Jesus Christ. Their very clear calling has been to Uganda. They are beloved in the community where they are serving in Uganda and have been supported through God-breathed donations in the United States, enough so that a $550,000 school was built during COVID. What was once a dark, dark community has seen the light of Jesus Christ through this ministry.
They are dedicated servants of the Lord who spend six to eight months in Uganda and the rest at home in Kentucky sharing what has happened with churches who support them and anyone else who will listen. They ask for nothing, yet it comes anyway. God is in it. They do what they do for one reason: Jesus Christ.
There have been situations in the past 10 years that have occurred that will send chills from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet. They experienced sickness so much they could barely move, one time coming home with malaria and each of them requiring hospitalization for weeks in Ashland. They have had items and money stolen from their home in Uganda, dealt with corrupt government officials and businessmen, and learned lessons the hard way. Disappointment has come from some Ugandan partners, but they soldiered on and never stopped praising God for allowing them the joy that has come from the ministry.
The circumstances of how God spared Jarek has them and those who follow Amy For Africa, which now numbers in the thousands, a reason to praise God from the highest mountaintop.
It has been about nine days since the incident happened on a Saturday afternoon in the front yard of their home. Jarek and some friends were playing soccer when the ball was kicked over a short fence. Jarek jumped the fence to retrieve the ball, threw it back over the fence but on the climb back, he impaled himself on a 15-centimeter arrowhead-shaped spike.
Jarek was miraculously able to pull himself off the spike and find his mother and father in the home. They immediately knew it was bad and not just because both have nursing degrees. It was obviously bad and immediate action was necessary. That first meant prayer, the kind of prayer that takes you to your knees in a hurry. They needed guidance from God. Taking Jarek to nearby care centers was not an option, not for a wound this severe. They needed the best for their precious boy. Their only means of transportation was a motorcycle and that wasn’t going to work for a bumpy ride over rocky terrain to the hospital in Jinja since Jarek was unable to sit up. Their neighbor had a vehicle, and they were able to take him to the Nile International Hospital, about a 10-minute drive.
A visiting pediatric surgeon who was volunteering happened to be on duty and Jarek underwent surgery to see how much, if any, of the bowel was punctured. If it was a small wound, they would just repair it. If it was multiple wounds, they would have to cut out a section of the colon and repair it. The surgeon told them to expect him to be in the ICU for one to two days depending on what they found. He wouldn’t be able to eat for three days. At this point, that was the least of the worries.
They prayed more and Amy sent out prayer requests to friends and family. She understands the power of prayer because she has experienced it. The AFA organization was built on prayer, plain and simple. Chris and Amy’s faith has grown dramatically over the 10 years that AFA has been operating and so has their prayer life, which is much of their life now. Amy takes no step, no matter how big or small, without praying over it.
Once out of surgery, the doctor told them there was small damage that he was able to stitch without removing any of the intestines. Jarek would be in ICU for 24 hours and could not eat for three days.
What happened next cannot easily be explained. Here is what Amy sent me in a text message: “Under anesthesia Jarek couldn’t quit praising JESUS! He went on and on about JESUS loves me, JESUS loves you, JESUS protected me … on and on. It was so beautiful to witness. At one point he said “I see JESUS. HE’s like lightning. His eyes are like fire and HE’s beautiful, Mom. JESUS is so beautiful.”
Two days later he was walking and eating and beating his friends at chess — a game he happens to be extra good at playing. He was also sharing this new testimony of what Jesus did for him in vivid detail. The Ugandans who serve with the Compstons were in awe of what God had done. They are such beautiful souls. They showed so much kindness to the Compstons, praying nonstop and bringing food to the hospital. Their love is unending for them. Jarek isn’t just the son of the missionaries. He is a missionary in his own right, making inroads with friends his age who want to know about this Jesus that Jarek serves.
God had spared Jarek’s life. He was impaled by a sharp spike and miraculously no organ was touched. Consider that the arrowheads are designed to rip out the organs of anyone who tried to get over the fence.
How does the following happen without God? Jarek was able to lift himself off the spike, the neighbors with the vehicle were home so they could get him to the hospital quickly, a visiting pediatric surgeon was on duty, and the doctor and hospital bills were paid when a church in Tennessee felt led to take up a love offering the next day — an offering that nearly covered the bills to the penny — and Jarek left the hospital four days later with some scars but also a testimony that can shake the rafters.
Jarek, like his mother and father, is so beloved there and here, where he is a student (sometimes virtually) at Rose Hill Christian School in Ashland. Everybody has been praying for him here and there. They are also listening to his story of how God protected him, provided for him and promised him life. Amy has recorded his message and posted it on the Amy For Africa Facebook page.
It was another unforgettable God moment for AFA that makes those involved with the organization want to trust and obey that much more. Jesus showed up and protected the life of a young man who has so much more to give and the heart to give it. May this testimony ring out for the ages.
MARK MAYNARD is managing editor of Kentucky Today and president of Amy For Africa.
[ad_2]
Source link
