Monday, May 30th

I shared this passage with the team this morning at breakfast. I think it really applies to our mission here in Africa. “Let’s pray that we may have more generous hearts that we may be like Christ in giving everything of ourselves to God and his people that we may give to others not judging their worthiness, but instead, recognizing them as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Wow the team proved today the hearts that they have for the mission field. What awesome teachers Marni and Sarah were. The doctors, residents and staff could not stop talking about how great the team did. Thank you God for the wonderful people you send to Hope Ministries. The teaching that the medical team will make a lasting impact in the medical world.

Gayle

Today the team split up and half of us went to the orphanage and the other half went to the clinic. At the orphanage we started a project priming and painting the fence surrounding the orphanage. We worked throughout the morning and afternoon and got about halfway done priming the fence. We will continue working on this project throughout the next few days and hope to get the whole fence finished. If felt good to be doing something useful and it is always fun to be around the kids watching them play and interacting with them. The thing that amazes me the most is to see how grateful the people at the orphanage are for the little bit we can do for them and how warm and inviting they are to us. It makes the work a lot easier knowing how much they appreciate our efforts.
Sarah

From the hospital team…where to begin! The great news is the hospital fundi (biomedical engineer) replaced a fuse in the audiometer and it works!!! Marni nearly jumped for joy. She performed the first audiogram in the hospital…ever!!! Our team proceeded to start teaching audiology to a couple of assistants that will be administering the tests. So much to learn in so little time, but huge progress. In the medical clinic we ended up seeing 51 patients and sending 30 other patients just for hearing tests. We saw some very sad cases that we didn’t have the resources to help. We saw many chronic ear and sinus disease patients. Several difficult neck mass and sinus cases. Being here just reminds me of how fortunate we are with the incredible resources we have in our medical system…it isn’t perfect but it is amazing compared to what is available here. We have many surgeries planned the next few days. We continue to pray for strength and guidance.
Dr. Sarah Powellimage image image image