CURE International

 CURE is an international non-profit organization that operates charitable hospitals and programs in 26 countries, and while its mission is to bring healing to the sick, it also aims to minister to the spiritual health of individuals by showing God’s love.

 More than 205,400 procedures treating clubfoot, hydrocephalus, spina bifida, cleft palate, and an array of other ailments, have been performed by CURE since its founding in 1996. The organization’s website says “CURE’s work is not limited to physical health. We are just as focused on the spiritual health of the children we serve. Often, they are told their condition is due to a curse. Through healing, we get to show them the God who hasn’t cursed them, the God who loves them, dearly.”

  Because of CURE’s intervention in the lives of these families, not only have they been able to bring healing and prevent deaths in these communities, they have also been able to witness more than 190,100 expressions of faith in Jesus Christ.

  It is hard to imagine that someone receiving medical care could be going hungry in a hospital room, but there are facilities in parts of the world that cannot provide meals as well as medical care, and patients must rely on family members to bring them something to eat while they are being treated. But CURE strives to change that practice, and it is through food that a whole new aspect of healing is introduced.

 The following is a firsthand account of Bryce Alan Flurie, written while he was serving as CURE’s mulitmedia producer in 2014:

  “As CURE’s multimedia producer, most of my time is spent with a camera in my hands. It is one of my greatest joys.

 “When I’m home, most of my time is spent with a spatula in my hand, stirring something in one of my vintage cast iron skillets. I love sharing our patients’ stories with people as much as I love sharing homemade food with my friends and family around the kitchen table in our farmhouse.

  “Unfortunately, some of the children we serve don’t get to experience that joy. To be a kid with a disability in the underserved world is a challenge, and not just a physical one. These kids also face social challenges. Even at meals with their own families, they often don’t get a seat at the table and sometimes only get the scraps of food leftover from the family dinner, all because of the stigma of being disabled.

  “We needed to set up a photo that depicted this issue, so our spiritual director at the time asked a family whose son had been treated at a CURE hospital if they would be willing to help us. (And just for the record, they never treated their son poorly.) They agreed and showed us incredible hospitality, but as much as I love to cook and talk about cooking, once we got there I was more concerned with placing their son Pedro in the best light in the house than with what his mom was making for dinner.

  “We found out later it was the best meal they’d had in years. It was like a big Christmas dinner in the barrio with meat, rice, and a green salad. What this mom did with such a small kitchen was rather impressive. And she did it with joy. She knew how to cook and showed her kids love and care through food.

 “And the kitchen staff at our hospitals love feeding people. In the U.S., we usually think of hospital food as something undesirable, but in most hospitals in the developing world, the family is responsible for bringing food for the patient. If your family doesn’t bring food, you go hungry. That doesn’t happen at CURE hospitals. Patients and their guardians have meals prepared for them by our incredible kitchen staff.

  “Many of our kids come in malnourished and need some good, healthy food to prepare their bodies for surgery. Just like the care they receive from the medical and spiritual departments, feeding patients is one more way we show love to the kids and families we serve.

  “Our hospitals provide emotional, physical, and spiritual healing, and sometimes the best way to start the healing process is by giving kids a plate filled with food and a seat at the table.”

  If you would like to financially help support the work of CURE, visit www.cure.org/give, or if you would like to become a prayer partner visit www.cure.org/pray and sign up for a prayer guide.

(Photographs by Bryce Alan Flurie)