Little Ogechi wears her new pressure garments.

Caught in the midst of crisis and watching people running down the street, Edwin heard a loud bang. Next thing he knew he was in the hospital with burns on one side of his face, both arms and both hands. The loud noise he remembers was a petrol bomb exploding against the building beside him. Edwin spent two months in the hospital before being discharged. He came to Healing Touch about three months later with thick scarring on both arms and hands, and limited movement in his wrists and fingers.

Four-year-old Ogechi was caught in a house fire and suffered burns to her face, her left arm and hand. She came to Healing Touch six months later with scarring and contractures of her left arm and hand.

Burns occur in devastating numbers in Nigeria. Many people, just like these two, are left with thick, ugly scars and spend the rest of their lives trying to hide their skin from staring eyes. Seeing these patients scarred and disfigured inspired me to find ways to help patients recover better and prevent the development of thick scars. I opened a burn clinic called Healing Touch that serves patients who have healed from burns within six months or less.

By Anna Beth Wildman

“The armed robbery happened five months ago when I traveled to Jos from the airport in Abuja. I’d barely been in Nigeria 24 hours. They pointed their guns at us and made us lay face-down in the dirt. I thought, “This is it; we’re going to heaven,” but suddenly they ran away. I still have trouble sleeping at night, and I still jump at sudden sounds. You don’t just get over something like that.” This missionary attended Lyndon Wall’s seminar, “Facing Your Fear Factor.” Lyndon’s discussion of “fear of attack” helped her give each night to God, trusting Him to protect her from, or be with her through, trouble.