other responsibilities, had no prior knowledge of carpentry. Even so, he managed to finish the house where he and his wife would live and complete the construction of the church where they would meet with 80 to 100 people. The Fords didn’t speak Spanish when they arrived. But in three months, they were able to communicate fluently in the language, and soon they had 30 people prepared for baptism. Pomata had a population of some 10,000 people, and the only health center was at the Adventist mission run by the Fords.3 One of the more notable experiences of their ministry in Peru happened when Pastor Ford received an urgent request to treat the son of a local chief. The boy was about to die from a gangrened leg. The locals called it a “warlock leg,”4 and amputation was the only way to save the boy’s life. With just four months of medical training, Pastor Ford knew little about surgical procedures. He also had no surgical instruments. Yet he did the best he could with improvised tools, and according to his words, “God did the rest.”5 With a butcher knife and a carpenter’s saw, and without anesthesia, he removed the boy’s leg, and in a short time, the youth was completely healed. The successful surgery helped
Pastor Ford performs a dental exam at the Colta Lake Mission in Ecuador
Pastor Ford win the hearts of a family who had been hostile to the mission and enabled him to get closer to hundreds in a tribe that hadn’t wanted to listen to his message.6 At the end of his time at the Pomata mission, Pastor Ford had 28 requests to open schools. The church, despite its capacity to seat 400 people, was not big enough, and many who came to worship had to remain outside the building. Ford prepared 75 people for baptism and had more than 400
Pastor and Mrs. Ford with their children, Elden left, Sylvia, and Billy. The Fords had six children. Theodore, Arlis, and Donald died in childhood
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