I. For Our Patients

Senegal, located in West Africa, has a tropical savanna climate. It has two seasons – dry season that runs from November to May, and rainy or wet season from June to October. During the dry season, temperatures average between 72°F and 86°F. There are neither early warblers competing for warmth, nor the new swallows looking for spring mud. During the wet season, temperature can reach as high as 120 Fahrenheit. Torrential rains come from time to time, and it is during this wet season that the dormant mosquitoes bites multiply, bringing malaria, yellow fever and diarrhea are everywhere.

 Our “Africa Cries Out” Medical Team have been serving in West Africa for 11 years. Every spring (dry season in Senegal), doctors, nurses and volunteers come to Senegal from all over the world. Our destinations include Fatigue, a leprosy village of people with missing legs and stumps, and other isolated villages in the jungle.  Starvation is everywhere in Senegal, and due to mosquito-borne diseases, poor, inaccessible healthcare, and lack of potable water, diseases are almost always a constant among the population.

From March 7th to March 24th this year, our team of 140-strong people, including more than 30 doctors, went to more than 10 jungle villages, where we treated more than 2,000 patients, and more than 460 dental patients. We also rented an operating room of a local hospital, and performed 19 gynecological surgeries. The savannah of West Africa is full of desert smoke and sunsets, but the lack of water and the diseases caused by unclean drinking water make us feel powerless.

(2024, Group photo of the first batch of volunteers）

 

（2024, The second group of volunteers took a group photo.）

 

 

I remember a mother who brought her 2-year-old son with a very dry skin, high fever, a drooping head, and a scorched tongue. The boy was severely dehydrated caused by diarrhea and the treatment was very simple. We gave the patient antibiotics and a bottle of Coca-Cola, and his head was immediately raised.

                                                                                        (A sick child with diarrhea and dehydration.）

 

In 2013, Africa Cries Out planned to build a technical school. Accordingly, a well was in urgent need. We were in financial distress at that time, after bargaining with the local well drilling team, they finally agreed to dig a well for $9000, and promised to only try drilling twice. If there was no water welling up after the second try, they would give up, and $9000 would not be returned. We looked up to the sky, prayed to the Lord to take care of it. The result was that water came out at the first drilling, and the water output could meet the needs of five or six hundred people. But the price for well-drilling was so high that the local villagers were discouraged.

Pastor Anna raised money and dug a well in the leprosy village of Fatigue and brought a medical team there. A French epidemiologist who detected 72 new cases in 9 other leprosy villages found none in Fatigue. This is the result of the changes in drinking water and sanitation.

Although we went to the village of Jinjin, a place cut off from the outside world, every year, we found many villagers were sick because three of the four wells dried up and the villagers didn’t have access to clean drinking water.

                                                                       (A dry well in the Jinjin village.）

 

Judging from these two cases, there is a strong relationship between the improvement of clean drinking water and sanitation and the number of diseases found locally.

Depressed, we looked up to the sky and sighed. If there were also summer rain and clean streaks, how many lives could be saved? It would also save us from being emaciated and running to Africa again and again, doing some useless work. Again and again we prayed to God to give us a well-drilling team.

 

II. Purchased well-drilling equipment with faith in God 

Africa Cries Out is a non-profit organization registered in the United States. God above in heaven is the source everything. We looked up, tears in our eyes. Our prayer was like joyful birds with fluttering wings, flying across the oceans. We often prayed that we would have money to buy well-drilling machinery and help more patients. But as we have more and more ministries in Africa, we are still in short of money. We have financed two clinics, employed doctors and nurses, and we only charge $1.5 per visit for local patients. We have established a technical school, built a 10,000-square-foot teaching building and a 12,000-square-foot student dormitory, and about 50 students graduate every year in fields like electrician, masonry, computer and other majors. The annual accommodation and tuition fees cost us about $150,000. These ministries almost take up most of the donations we receive, but we still often pray for the ministry of drilling wells, hoping to drill more wells, have drinking water, and prevent the spread of diseases from the root cause, so as to help more people.

It wasn’t until 2021 that with the support from philanthropists and brothers and sisters around the world, we finally had extra money. Though it wasn’t enough, with our faith in God, we still bought a big truck, a drilling rig, and an air compressor. Brother Yingming in China, who was in charge of this batch of goods, helped us with all the formalities, waived our export fees, and loaded the equipment onto the ship of Maersk Shipping Company. The reed flute played beautiful music, the hymn of life flew from the bottom of my heart, and the dream was about to come true.

After more than two months at sea, this batch of machinery arrived at a port in Senegal. The customs noticed us that taxes and customs fees must be collected and paid according to the local market price, otherwise the goods would not be released. We argued, “This is a non-profit organization, and we are also here to get  clean water for your people.” The officials at the customs arrogantly replied: “No, not a penny can be waived.”

The wanderer wandered from place to place and finally returned home; people have to hit walls everywhere to find their way to get started. Looking upward, we found a voice telling us, “Don’t be afraid, children, just believe”. We were unwilling to use the charity money to bribe the officials, so we had to strictly follow the rigid code and paid a large sum of money. And the machine finally arrived at the camp base of Africa Cries Out in Dakar. 

                             (A full set of drilling equipment obtained from donations of caring people finally arrived at the base.）

 

All the way, we had no time to rest carefree, for difficulties are coming one after another. Now that we got the machine, who would operate it? We came up with the idea of sending two co-workers to learn how to drill wells elsewhere in Senegal, but Senegal’s profitable drilling teams refused to teach us for fear of competition. Sister Marina of our team said she knew a certain David, an American engineer who had dedicated his spare time to drilling wells in Mozambique for seven years. I immediately contacted David and he said that he would only operate the machine.  We still needed an engineer to detect the water source, and David recommended an engineer, Peter, who was willing to help with drilling wells in Africa, but for a fee.

I cautiously asked him, “how much would it cost a month? Peter replied, “Since you’re a non-profit organization, I promise to teach your staff how to find water, and I’m willing to charge a very small fee, only $4,000 a month for three months.”

To be honest, a salary of $4,000 a month is very low for an engineer in the United States, but the food and accommodation of two people, plus airfare and salary, would cost us a large amount of money before a well was dug, so I began to feel hesitant. I replied that we needed time to think over this question. But we’ve already spent two hundred thousand dollars, what should we do next?

 

III. A bruised reed He will not break 

A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.  You fill my heart with silence, and I wait in silence. When I was at a loss, someone helped me get in touch with Brother Zu Yanqing from China mainland. He has a wealth of experience in digging deep wells for Tibetans on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau 25 years ago, and now works with the Ugandan government in drilling hundreds of wells.

                                                                                                  (Brother Zu Yanqing）

 

We prayed together that the Holy Spirit will move among us, with heavenly palaces shining upon us. Brother Zu Yanqing flew to Senegal and set our machine in motion. Brother Cai Jinxi and Brother Li Shengcang from the Dakar Chinese Church also came to help, and after a lot of hard work, we finally saw water coming out. We were so excited believing that we finally succeeded. But unfortunately, our drill bit could only go down 50 meters deep because of the pressure limit of the air compressor, and the water pipe could not be put down deeper. Sediments flooded the water source, and the first well-drilling ended in failure. At the same time, Brother Zu Yanqing still had something to do in China, so he had to return to China.

                                                                                      ( Drilling site.）

 

(Our drilling machine has finally started.）

 

Sorrow and anxiety strikes us one after another, waking us from our dreams, and causing ache in our hearts. Brother Zu Yanqing told me in frustration that the pressure of the air compressor was not enough, and we needed to buy an air compressor that could hit 100 to 200 meters deep. As soon as I heard this, my head banged. We had spent more than $200,000 and we didn’t have enough money to buy a more expensive air compressor.

I had sleepless nights. I had been seeking hope in the dark, but I saw nothing. I didn’t know which way You want me to take! Bowing our heads, we together prayed to the Lord for help and continued to ask for donations, confident that since God had started this mission, He would not abandon it halfway. Thanks to the support of the caring people and brothers and sisters, we soon collected enough money and purchased a larger air compressor that could drill to a depth of 100 to 200 meters. Once again, we had to deal with the customs, pay high taxes and customs fees, and the second air compressor finally arrived in Senegal.

Brother Zu Yanqing flew from China to Senegal again, and our drilling started, but the machine rumbled and stopped. A component broke and the rig could not be used.

                                                                          (Broken parts.）

 

Brother Zu Yanqing’ had a very busy timetable. Uganda still needed him, and the business in China also needed him. We prayed to God and bought parts from China, which arrived at Senegal after a three-day flight. At the same time, Brother Zu Yanqing took Pastor Anna, Brother Cai Jinxi, Brother Li Shengcang and two local co-workers to teach them how to find water, and we imported a set of expensive water finding equipment from China to ensure that there was water for drilling. Under the guidance of Zu Yanqing, Brother Cai Jinxi and Brother Li Shengcang, together with two of our local co-workers, we finally succeeded in drilling the first well at the base.

                                                              (Brother Zuyanqing and the “African Cries out” Well Drilling Team.）

 

                                                              （Our first well finally produced water.）

 

 

IV. Future

So many times have we gazed at the east, waiting for dawn to appear. Now the light is dawning on us, and everything is ready. We plan to drill 100 wells in 100 villages and provide 20,000 people with clean water by the end of 2025.

Currently each well costs us about $3,500, including oil, pipes, towers, pumps, labor, and more. Brother Zu Yanqing is willing to contribute a patent to provide each village with a solar-powered water pump so that the villagers can easily fetch water. The local village is in a state of hopeless poverty, and it is impossible for them to pay us a penny.

Dear friends, brothers and sisters, we all hope that the best life should be as gorgeous as summer flowers and as quiet and beautiful as autumn leaves. I would say every day that it is a waste of life when love is not given. Giving is more blessed than receiving. Trickling streams can merge into an ocean of love, and your love will change the lives of thousands of people. Now is the time to devote your love to people in need, otherwise love itself will wither.

                                                           (This is a water counter that will be mounted on the outlet of the well.）

 

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If you feel moved to support our ministry in Africa, please contact us：

Jun Xu’s WeChat: jun9174343767

Email: Africacriesout@gmail.com

Public WeChat account: LifeExploring (人生天路)

Website: https://africacriesout.net

 

Editors in charge: Cao Juanjuan, Zhang Kun

Translator： Xiao Liang Wang

English editor: Xi Wang

Editor: Doris Cruz