Baby Isaac (less than a year old) was picked up from one of our farthest locations along the Sepik River, and his family had traveled another 5 hours in a canoe from their home village of Nagri to meet us there! When we met Isaac, his left arm had swollen to nearly twice its normal size due to a tropical flesh-eating disease known as a Buruli ulcer. Without medical treatment, we knew that it could mean permanent disability or even death for the young boy.

After his life flights and admission to the Boram Hospital, Isaac began receiving treatment and slowly recovered from the infection. Having never left his village before, he was frightened by our team’s new faces for the first several days of our visits. Eventually our missionaries won him over with their continued visits and a few lollipops! Praise God for the attentive care of the Boram Hospital staff and the company of some friendly visitors for helping Isaac find his smile!