See more photos of Anthony, Mary, Mercy, and Jedidah.“With each short-term medical mission trip that we go on, there seems to be one particular person or situation that touches us the most,” Dr. Allan Sawyer said as he recounted his family’s recent experiences at Kijabe Hospital in Kenya.

Dr. Sawyer volunteered to treat patients for a month at Kijabe Hospital, a Christian facility located about 37 miles northwest of Nairobi. He was placed at the hospital through World Medical Mission, the medical arm of Samaritan’s Purse.

“Without question, the focal point of this trip was in a small pediatric surgical room that was home to four children in the Bethany Kids unit,” he said. “These four children, Anthony, Mary, Mercy, and Jedidah, would touch our hearts. I was working in the women’s ward and the operating theater with adult female patients, but it was the work that my wife, Teresa, was doing with these four children that had the greatest impact.”

When we asked what we could pray for, Anthony’s mother simply said, ‘A future.'Like her husband, Teresa arrived at Kijabe Hospital with a servant’s heart. She never imagined that she would find herself wrapped up in the lives for four Kenyan children who had been savagely burned during post-election violence that erupted earlier in the year.

As a brutal wave of killing swept through the town of Eldoret in the wake of Kenya’s disputed presidential elections in January, Anthony, Mary, Jedidah, and Mercy were with a group of women and children that sought refuge in a small church. The church became a death trap when debris was piled against the outside walls, doused with gasoline and set on fire. Thirty-five people died in the blaze.

Six months later, the four children were still at Kijabe Hospital, receiving painful skin grafts and treatments when the Sawyers arrived.

The children captured Teresa’s heart. Although she hadn’t taught school in years, Teresa became the children’s teacher and special friend.

“I made it a point to go down to their room every day,” Teresa said. “The favorite subject for the three older kids was math. I think if I just gave them math every day they would love it. I finally felt like I had come to a point where they trusted me when they started laughing and smiling.”

With her love of teaching rekindled, Teresa also began visiting a class of 5th grade students at a local elementary school. She read chapters from Treasures of the Snow, a Christian novel for children, as a way of teaching reading comprehension and vocabulary.

“I never really saw myself ever being in a classroom again, but I am grateful that I have had this opportunity,” Teresa said.

Back at the hospital, Teresa and her husband helped treat the emotional needs of their four new friends in various ways. Teresa would bring in her laptop and show photos of far-away places. Mounds of Play-Doh became the inspiration for an “art class” filled with laughter. The kids loved Tootsie Pops, and Teresa became their secret supplier. The Sawyers’ son, Andrew, made some silly home videos that made the kids laugh hysterically.

“One day we brought down our four World Medical Mission navy blue baseball caps and put them on the heads of the four children,” Dr. Sawyer said. “This was a big hit, especially since Anthony and Mercy both had burns on their heads and faces.”

The next day the Sawyers showed up with four World Medical Mission matching polo shirts. The kids’ World Med outfits were complete.

“Anthony, who had the most burns and suffered great emotional trauma, put on his shirt and cap and went quickly into the bathroom to check himself out in the mirror,” Dr. Sawyer said. “Then the two of us walked down the hallway of the Bethany Kids unit. Anthony proudly strutted down the hall, hoping that someone would notice his good looking outfit—and notice they did! He was so happy, and I was overjoyed that he had a happy moment.”

After spending a month with the children, Teresa was encouraged by the improvement she saw, humbled by their courage, and blessed by the faith of the children’s mothers, who stayed by their sides around the clock.

“Their mamas are faithful and patient, and their smiles brighten when they see their children happy,” Teresa said. “They have seen their children endure an enormous amount of physical and emotional pain, yet they still know the compassion of God. When we asked what we could pray for, Anthony’s mother simply replied, ‘A future.’ These families have lost everything, but they still hold tight to the fact that Jesus loves them and He loves their children.”

The children’s room was filled with tears when the Sawyers said goodbye. Dr. Sawyer was too choked up to pray, but hugs and tears have a language of their own. Everyone in the room knew they were loved.

“Our trip to Africa was an amazing journey, both emotionally and spiritually,” Teresa said. “God has softened my heart and opened my eyes to the needs of so many people in our lost world. I’m not sure what impact we made on the people we met and interacted with, but I know I will never be the same because of the way they touched my heart.”

Samaritan's Purse , Kenya , World Medical Mission , In Search of a Future