The Lord is Jake's Shepherd

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“I have prayed for so long that God would send people our way to help my son’s condition.” These are the heartfelt words of Maris, mother to nine-year-old Jake, one of the most recent patients treated by the Tebow CURE Hospital. For Maris and her husband Roque, life has not been easy. Just a few years after Jake was born with clubbed feet, a second son, Aivhan, was born with the same condition.

“I had a lot of questions as to why they were born that way,” Maris told the CURE staff. Some in her village suggested her pregnancy cravings were responsible for the boys’ condition, while Maris herself admitted to wondering if God had somehow punished her for her own mistakes in life. Unfortunately, in a community where medical care is not available, there was no one to answer her questions, offer any solutions, or even give her a word of encouragement. With zero support system other than her husband, Maris resorted to doing whatever she could at home in a vain attempt to resolve the situation naturally – massaging the boys’ feet everyday, and even rubbing her own saliva on them when they were just babies.

For Jake, life has been equally challenging. He has been the subject of ridicule and bullying for many years, to such an extreme that his parents felt it necessary for him to change schools at one point. In spite of this, Jake has chosen to remain positive and gracious in the face of such adversity, always caring more about how his situation affects his mother than himself. “Whenever people bully me, I just don’t mind them,” Jake said. This young man is truly living out the words of his favorite Bible verse, Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”

With that verse giving him strength, Jake recently underwent a tendon lengthening procedure that should help to correct the positioning of his feet. His courage and faith were on full display post-surgery as his first words shared with the CURE staff were how grateful he was to the Lord that his procedure was over! And even though he did experience a bit of pain and discomfort in the day that followed, it wasn’t long before he was already beginning to feel better.

Would you join us in prayer for this brave young man as he continues to heal from his surgery, and then travels 16 hours via bus back to his home village? He will have several follow up visits at the hospital in the months to come, but with his strong faith and admirable attitude, there is no doubt he is well on his way to recovery!

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