“Oak Harbor school teacher Michelle Lind is helping a man from from the other side of the world save face – literally. While travelling through Ukraine two years ago with her husband Hilary and Youth With A Mission student missionaries, she met Husen Amanov, a devout Christian who works with orphanages and street kids in Kiev.Husen Amanov has a genetic disorder called Neurofibromatosis, commonly referred to as Elephant Man’s Disease, which causes bulges and folds of tissue to form on his body. The right side of his face has slipped heavily down his neck, eroding his skull and affecting his ability to breathe. When Amanov was in third grade he began developing deformities all over his body, and they intensified mostly on the right side of his head and on his back, where a large tumor bulges between his shoulder.I was so moved by this man, his condition and who he was, that we promised we would do anything we could to help him, Michelle Lind said.Since returning to the United States, the Linds have become part of a large network of people who have been working together to bring Amanov to this country for surgery. He will be an example to other people that you can change your circumstances, Lind said. There is hope.Lind contacted Dee Malchow, a nurse in prosthetics at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, who then tracked down Dr. Joseph Gruss, chief of craniofacial plastic and reconstructive surgery at Children’s Hospital and a nationally known expert on Neurofibromatosis. Gruss agreed to perform the surgery and will be donating his services during the two 14-hour plastic neurosurgery and bone reconstruction procedures Husen will endure at University Hospital.John Murphy, the missionary who introduced the Linds to Amanov, sent photos of him to friends in Louisville, Ky., the Fausts, who welcomed Amanov into their home for several weeks before his arrival in Seattle last week. The Fausts, along with Team Expansion, an international ministry organization similar to Youth With A Mission, have helped raised the $100,000 minimum charge for Amanov’s surgery in the last couple of months, including a $25,000 donation from Southwest Christian Church in Louisville. It’s just been miraculous, Lind said. Every time we run into a wall it disappears and something good happens.After Amanov’s surgeries are complete the Linds plan to move to the Ukraine, where they will devote themselves to human service work.Sometimes God puts you in the right place at the right time and he gives you the compassion to help, Lind said. We saw that, through our lives, change can happen.———————How to helpTo contribute to Husen Amanov’s hospital costs donations can be made to New Covenant Fellowship, 29470 State Route 20, Oak Harbor, WA 98277. The checks should be made out to the fellowship but with a separate piece of paper with Amanov’s name on it to keep the fund tax deductible. “