Mr. M, the Bouyei man with TB had begun coughing up blood again. He and his wife went to the hospital which has a special ward for TB.  It was none too soon, since within 10 minutes of their arrival, he had coughed up between 200-300cc of fresh blood and his blood pressure had dropped to 70 systolic.  We thank the Lord that this did not happen while we sitting in a taxi mired in Chinese New Year's traffic! After 2 days he was stabilized.  He has now been returned to the regular ward.   The bad news is that after 6 months of 4 drug therapy, Mr. M is still positive for the tuberculous bacilli.  This is considered a treatment failure.  Now they are trying a somewhat different regimen on him hoping it will be more effective.  Cultures take at least a month before we can see if he is truly drug resistant.  If this is so, his prognosis is very poor.
   
Mr. M's wife prayed to receive Christ the night they came to the city.  She had watched all the video disks the Christian workers had given her husband on his last visit over a period of a few days.  She was clearly moved by the message and wanted to put her faith in Christ.  During these difficult days, she has been doing her best taking care of her 3 year old daughter while anxiously waiting to see if her husband would survive.  Both she and her child stay on the ward with her husband.  She herself is handicapped, having only one arm and a deformed leg, both resulting from a fall into a well as a child.  She relies solely on her husband to collect trash to support their family.
   

• Please pray for this family, for his healing, for their growth in Christ.