Jean and his wife, Carine, worked
hard to enjoy life with their six children. They enjoyed simple
prosperity and stability . . . until a mysterious growth appeared on
Jean’s back in 2003. What Jean calls his maladie
was, in fact, a lipoma – a benign, soft-tissue tumor composed of body
fat. Left untreated, a lipoma can reach giant proportions.
Jean explains: “When my malady
started, it was barely noticeable. But after three years, it began to
rise from my shoulders. I became afraid; if I were to die, my family
would suffer greatly,” Jean said.
Driven by concern for the well-being
of his wife and children, Jean saved enough money for a hospital visit
in 2009. But the appointments, bloodwork, and medicine quickly emptied
his pockets, and he had to return home without surgery.
Nevertheless, Jean refused to give
up. Day after day, he worked to save more money, desperately hoping for
healing. Exhausted by the shifting, heavy growth, his work suffered and
his fields’ productivity decreased. His family now found itself in dire
straits. “At that time,” Jean says, “I abandoned myself to prayer that
God would help me.”
Help arrived in God’s creative,
unusual way. In 2013, Jean’s lipoma ruptured and began to bleed. He had
no choice but to seek emergency medical care in Brazzaville. He found
himself once again on the doorstep of surgery but without the means to
pay for it. While in the city, he learned of a hospital ship docked in
the Congo. “Go to Mercy Ships,” a friend told him. “The surgeons will
help you for free.” Jean was amazed, and he wasted no time in traveling to the coastal city of Pointe Noire.
By the time Jean boarded the Africa Mercy, the watermelon-shaped lipoma protruding from his back weighed 20 pounds!
Even in extreme cases, a lipoma usually reaches only 8 to 11 pounds.
Under the expert hands of South African volunteer Dr. Tertius Venter,
the massive lipoma was removed in a two-hour surgery.
A few days later, resting
comfortably on his back in his hospital bed, Jean grinned and said, “My
doctor thinks I’m a machine! I am too happy to feel pain. It has been ten years since I could rest on my back.”
Jean is overjoyed with the gift of
health he has received from Mercy Ships. “What could I give Mercy Ships
in return?” he asks. “What am I to say to God for what He has done for
me? This ship goes beyond. This ship is in God’s truth. All I can give
is ‘thank you.’”
Now, Jean Bosco – a farmer, a
father, and a husband – can return to his family . . . without his
terrible burden. His easy smile lights up as he envisions his
homecoming. “Imagine your favourite fútbol team
has just won the World Cup,” he says, “…that is exactly how my family
is celebrating as we speak. There is a very perfect joy that is waiting
for me and mine when I get home.”
Jean’s smile and easygoing nature
reflect a satisfaction with his life’s work and his faith. Now, with the
free gift of surgery, he will be better able to care for his farm and
his family.
The day of Jean’s surgery has
arrived. “Since 2003, while I had this tumor, I could not lie down or
sleep on my back, ever.” He is eager for that to change.
The watermelon-shaped lipoma growing
from Jean’s back weighed an amazing 20 pounds! The majority of extreme
lipoma cases typically reach 8 to 11 pounds.
“Because it was so big, it always
bothered me. I could not work hard, as it would exhaust me too quickly. I
have always been good at keeping the welfare of my family in
equilibrium, but my malady made our lives very difficult,” Jean says.
Jean’s surgery and healing has been
miraculously swift, and Jean is eager to get home: “My family is so
excited to see me now. There is a very perfect joy that is waiting for
me and mine at home,” Jean says in an interview on his last day in the
hospital.
Would you look at those shoulder blades! Jean descends the gangway of the Africa Mercy with
a grateful and triumphant spirit. “When I look at Mercy Ships, I feel
the presence of God,” Jean says. “Those who can support Mercy Ships do
not have to hesitate. This place is so wonderful, so in truth. Thank
you, Mercy Ships.”
Clem, the Communications Team
Translator, spends some time with Jean before he leaves. The two
Congolese formed a great friendship while Jean was onboard the Africa
Mercy.
“When I arrived in Pointe Noire a
few weeks ago, I crossed paths with a policeman on the street. He took
one look at my back and asked me where I was headed. I told him, ’to the
Mercy Ships.’ He smiled and told me, ‘You are in good hands there, my
friend.’” Today, as a healed Jean leaves the hospital, it is plain to
see that the policeman was right.
Story by our Communications Team"
Written by Grace Antonini
Edited by Nancy Predaina
Photos by Ruben Plomp and Michelle Murrey
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