Please Pray for Baby Evangeleen
Evangeleen has been in and out of the hospital since she was very young.
She was born during one of Thailand’s worst smoke seasons (where people intentionally set fires to propagate a valuable mushroom), and has been sick and coughing for most of her short life. Her parents, Josh and Chitty Bauder (who run the Jesus 4 Slum Kids project) took her to many doctors, but no one could figure out what was wrong with her.Finally, this June, Evangeleen was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF), a genetic disease which primarily attacks the lungs. About 70,000 people in the world have CF, and only ten of them live in Thailand. The Bauders weren’t sure at first what Evangeleen’s diagnosis would mean for their family, but God showed them that they needed to continue their ministry in Thailand.
They found a CF specialist in Bangkok, the only one in the country, who has a qualified team of doctors who have worked with other CF patients. The Bauders praise God for this, because resources like these for CF are incredibly rare in Asia. These doctors are also helping get Evangeleen enrolled in an affordable healthcare plan.
The Bauders praise God for this, because resources like these for CF are incredibly rare in Asia.
Evangeleen's current situation
This past week, Evangeleen has been at the hospital in Bangkok to see the specialist. Josh Bauder shared with us that “Evangeleen has 2 bad bacteria in her lungs (that will be there and cause problems in her lungs for the rest of her life), an upper respiratory virus, and a partially collapsed lung.” The specialist has given them a new treatment plan to help Evangeleen's health to improve.
In order to help Evangeleen’s breathing, the Bauders will have to move from Chiang Mai, where the air pollution index during smoke season is dangerously high, to southern Thailand, where the air is cleaner and doctors are closer. They are praying about joining forces with the Norton Family to open a larger children’s home and school.
Please join us in praying for this precious little one and her family as they face the challenges ahead of them, and for her healing in God’s timing.
Here are some specific requests that the Bauders shared with us:
-
Pray for her to grow: She is only around 16 lbs at a year and a half old.
-
Pray for travel to open up to and from Thailand so the Bauders can visit CF specialists in the U.S. this winter.
-
Pray for the Bauders to find property in southern Thailand that will accommodate their ministry.
New Missionaries joining the Bauder family
The Bauders have also been praying for volunteers to help care for and educate the nine children who are living with them. A young Thai woman called Chompoo, whom they worked with in ministry in the slums of Bangkok, recently quit her job to come help.
A young woman from America, Sabrina Petersen, has also made the decision to work with the Bauders. She spent time as a missionary in Thailand in 2013-14. After graduating from college, she felt God calling her to go back to the mission field. Please pray for travel to open up into Thailand so she can leave soon.
Chompoo, pictured right
Sabrina Petersen