Leprosy
 

Brazil is second, after

India, for the total number of cases of

leprosy in the world. In 2003, there were nearly 50,000 new cases

of leprosy detected in the country. Several million Brazilians

live in favelas today. The situation in the favelas, with people

living

in cramped quarters, are ideal for the transmission of the disease.

I am going to paste a picture here of one of our pastors that is a leper.

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/a...tion2024-1.jpg Notice his hands...he cannot open them...The reason he has sunglasses on is that light affects their eyes. Many lepers go blind.

It was his church that a tornado destroyed...We raised some money in our special service in the north and I was up trying to raise a little more as he is rebuilding his church.

Brazil has one of the highest rates of leprosy in the world.


Brazil continues to suffer despite the fact that leprosy can be cured by giving patients a powerful cocktail of antibiotics.

Brazil is not alone. Figures from the World Health Organization show that 524,000 people in 103 countries were diagnosed with leprosy last year.

Leprosy is caused by a germ similar to that which causes tuberculosis.

The problem is early diagnosis

Professor Terence Ryan
It attacks the nerves of the hands, feet and face and, if left untreated, can deaden movement in fingers, toes and eyelids.

It can also destroy the ability to feel pain, so those affected are prone to injuries and burns which can result in serious infections, and can ultimately lead to the loss of fingers, toes and sight.

The longer the disease is left undetected, the more likely it is that the deformities, so often associated with leprosy, will occur.

BBC NEWS

When in Bible College, I preached about Leprosy. Actually in the 10 mins I had, I read the outline.

Sister, has the pastor you mentioned been able to receive that "cocktail?"

I remember the tie that you wore that day. I thought that it was a sermon illustration.

No because his was not caught in the early stages...He is from a little interior area where they probably have no real medical outreach...a very remote area...
One of his sons also pastor one of our churches and another son is a preacher. We are very blessed to have this whole family as a part of the work here.

For a very enlightening look at leprosy, read Phillip Yancey's book, "The Gift of Pain" with Dr. Paul Brand.

One of the main problems with an individual with leprosy is that due to not feeling pain they injury themselves then infection sets in. Thus the title the "Gift of Pain" Dr. Brand spent much of his life treating individuals leprosy, living with them.

Yes, I have that book.a If I am not mistaken his daughter married a man that had leprosy.
Here in Brazil I worked many years at a leper colony and baptized some of them and prayed them through to the Holy Ghost.

I was not aware of his marriage to one from the colony, but the book clearly declares how he came to respect many of the lepers due to their deep and incredible faith.

Sister, I bless you in Jesus Name for the sacrifice of your life in the declaration of the Kingdom of Our Lord, and the "ministry of reconciliation."

I Sat Where They Sat

The room that we walked into was filled with lepers. "Come in Missionary," they said. "We have prepared for you a cake and coffee." Up to this point, we had never eaten in their homes. Not even as much as a cup of water. As the leper reached for the piece of cake, I saw blood on his fingers. As he picked up the piece of cake to give to me, I silently whispered: "Oh Lord, you’ve got to help me." As I took the cake from his hand the lepers stood watching. It was the "love test." Would I eat their cake and drink their drink? They were watching for my reaction. Oh the sacredness of that moment. Holding the piece of cake in my hand as I looked at them, they faded from view, and it was no longer a little group of bleeding lepers, but it was Jesus handing me the cake!
Jesus was standing where they had been. A tear trickled down my cheek as Jesus said to me: "I baked this cake for you, I wanted to see if you would eat a cake I baked." Suddenly my mind went to when Jesus ate at the house of Simon the leper. Yes, I would eat their cake. They were precious souls that Jesus had died to redeem. In their deep poverty, they had reached out in love to me.
There are thousands of lepers in Brazil, and leprosy is on the increase. Brazil is second in the world population of lepers, behind only India. Their foremost need is Christ. Only He can fill their world with joy unspeakable.
The people of the heathen world are not just cold statistics. They are real living, breathing, ordinary people like you and me. There are many others just as the ones mentioned in this book, still waiting for their turn to hear the Gospel.

Emilia

In my mind is yet a vivid picture. I still remember the first time that I walked into Emilia's room. Just a small little lady with no legs or fingers. After a few introductory words, she looked me in the eyes and said: "Missionary, are you afraid of us lepers?" Looking at her small helpless frame, suddenly I realized that all fear was gone "No, Emilia, we are not afraid." She said, "Then come sit on my bed and talk to me." For sixty years, she had been a leper! It was yet during her life time that lepers were caught like wild animals and put away in walled cities that were like prisons. No one was even allowed to leave.
Slowly she told the story that soon we would hear from so many, the frightening experience of discovering that you are a leper. The shame, the agony, the pain, the fear that lepers know so much about. We became good friends. Every Thursday, we read the Bible to her, and since light is stronger than darkness, we soon notice her soul's awakening. Plans were being made for our first service at a church at the colony. Sister Sonia, sister Olga and I were so excited. We had cleaned the church building that had been loaned to us. Emilia asked: "Is it true you all are having a baptismal service Sunday?" "Yes," we replied at the same time. With a twinkle in her eyes she asked: "Would you consider baptizing a poor limbless leper like me?"
She had heard the music of His call. Emilia was baptized in the lovely Name of Jesus, and it has made a difference in her life. Even though she has since then gone blind, she still has a smile, because her life has been changed.

Jesus Really Does Heal Lepers

Standing in the background I watched as a group of our sisters were witnessing at the leper colony. What caught my attention was a leper lady asking Sister Sonia: "Is it really true that the Bible says that Jesus healed a leper:" "Yes it is really true, and I will read it to you," Sister Sonia replied. Sister Sonia read Matthew 8:2,3 and Luke 5:12-14. After she had finished, one leper lady looked at the other one and said: "See, the Bible really does say that Jesus heals lepers."
Needless to say tears were in my eyes and my heart overflowed with compassion in the midst of seemingly irreversible circumstances. But you see, our God specializes in impossibilities! Since that day we have seen our God work many healings and miracles among them. We have seen many of their homes transformed by the Word that lives and abideth forever! Most of the people that Jesus healed during His earthly ministry were impossible cases, and we know that our God still reigns beyond the curtained skies of a leper colony.
Walking into a little home at the colony, a lady whispered: "Come in Missionary, I am very sick. She had strep throat, and was really very sick. Immediately after prayer, her voice returned and her fever left. She was amazed that a miracle had happened in her life. Her healing took place before our very eyes. Now she knows that there is power beyond the power of the Catholic saints and chalk Gods. A Christ that could become living reality in the world of the "living dead."

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/a...7/geral123.jpg The church pastored by a leper was destroyed by a tornado...we are raising funds to rebuild it...

I thought of the song...when you have nothing else but God...their only hope is that God will speak to somebody to help them...You may help by sending an offering to our home address...