Soon after Doug's visit to the Rai Coast we had word that Nafian was ill. Initially he thought malaria and treated himself. He never improved and since then has developed a myriad of symptoms. This situation has been especially difficult for a number of reasons. His language team at this moment does not have an official advisor working with them because he has been on furlough. Often advisors working closely with the national translation team also act as advocates for them in many different areas, including medical issues that arise. We are a 5 hour drive and then boat ride from him, so although we communicate frequently on the phone, it has been hard to get a clear picture of his medical situation. Nafian also waited very long to seek medical care, despite frequent urgings from us to see a doctor in town. Dealing with a medical system that is very different than ours and limited resources is also a constant challenge. On different occasions we've heard he had malaria, typhoid and the most recent mumps. We saw him last Saturday and were extremely concerned about his condition. Please pray for him that God will heal him. Pray that the tests they are doing will not reveal anything ominous. Pray we will put him in God's hands. This has been an emotionally draining time for our family.
We also apologize for the gap in communication. We have not been able to send out updates due to our computer's hard drive crashing over a week ago. I don't know when we will have access to it and retrieve all our addresses.
Thank you for sharing this burden with us.
