My Journey

I really can't believe this...but I just finished writing a really good post about Christmas.  I spent about an hour writing it and ended it with I John 3:16-18.  And then.....it was gone!!! Now I am tired and going to bed, so you will just have to grab your Bible, read this passage and imagine what a wonderful blog I must have written.   :)

Where is Tanzania?  Tanzania is in East Africa on the Indian Ocean.  On the map below, Tanzania is located on the right just above the island of Madagascar. Tanzania is bordered by Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Republic of the Congo,  Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique and the Indian Ocean.  Whew, that is alot of borders!  There is a small island just off the coast of Tanzania which is a part of Tanzania (and not seen in this map).  This island is one you have probably heard of....Zanzibar.  The primary language of Tanzania is Kiswahili, although, those who have received education speak English as well.  There are two capitals of Tanzania....The official capital is Dodoma since 1996; however, Dar Es Salaam (harbor of peace), is the largest city, the commericial center, and the major seaport for the country and its land-locked neighbors.  The population of Dodoma is about 85,000 when the population of Dar is about 3 million.  Many people consider Dar Es Salaam to be the capital.

Two Months.....It has been two months since I last posted and talked about the "waiting room" which I found myself in.  These last two months have been very emotional for me.  Why? you ask.  Well, it is difficult when you feel so convinced that you are on the path which God is leading you to and yet, having to wait on others.  For instance, when I left Tanzania in July, I was expecting it to take about 8-10 weeks to obtain my residency permit which I would need before I could return.  However, I have only now received news that it should be completed within the next 2 weeks. Other factors involved in the "waiting room" are decisions regarding what and how much training should be done prior to returning to the mission field. One very big lesson I learned while in Ghana was that missions are not easy and do not have a "How to" manual to follow.  Of course, I truly did not expect anything different, but now I am even more aware.  So I found that many people

I am sure you dislike sitting in a waiting room for any length of time just as do I.  But sometimes, the waiting room is necessary.  I have returned from my wonderful trip in Guatemala and found myself back in the "waiting room". I have often asked myself..How do I know what God's plan is for me?  How do I know that what I believe HE wants me to do IS what HE wants or just my idea?  There have been times in my life when I just really felt HE was talking to me and leading me.  Then there have been those times when I wasn't quite sure.  Is it my desire?....or His?  I wish I could tell you that it is during these times that I really turn to prayer...but I must confess that even tho' I know prayer is the answer, I do not have the prayer life which God intends.  Perhaps this is one reason I find myself in the "waiting room". My desire is to be a medical missionary serving those who are orphans and poor.  I believe God gives each of us special gifts and th

Oh, wow, I had a really nice night of sleep.  So here we go again.  Up..dressed...put away all the cots and sleeping bags...get set up for breakfast.  This morning, we have breakfast here at the school building where we are holding clinic. This picture is of black beans, scrambled egg and pieces of hot dog.  And I can't remember if this was breakfast or not.  But it is an interesting meal. After breakfast, we rearrange everything and prepare for a morning of clinic.  Due to the long drive we have back to Chichi, we will stop the medical consults around 11:30-12:00.  We must be on the "road" ( and I use that word loosely) no later than 1pm.  I cannot tell you for sure how many patients we saw, because many times a person with a number would come in with his or her family and we would see the whole family....so the one number turned into 4 - 6 consults!  But the numbers we gave out were 90. We finish clinic at 11:15 and the wonderful people from the village serve

Well, the adventure of the drive here....wherever here is, was fantastic!  However, the adventure does not end.  I only got us to the arrival of our final destination on the previous blog.  Where was that destination?  The name of the village was San Cristobal.  There is no running water and no electricity unless you have a generator.  So when we arrived, all was DARK. We unloaded the vehicle and then the men of the village served us dinner by candle-light.  (the men serve because the women are in the kitchen cooking).  Dinner was a stew and tortillas my camera flash is so good that it looks like we have light....trust me, only candles. Then, with no lights, we go to bed.  They have cots and sleeping bags for us.  It is raining pretty steady outside, so the sleeping should be great......aaww, hold on.....the men keeping watch outside do not quit talking until like midnight or something like that.  And then at about 2:15am, a man and a boy begin hollering in a foreign la

Day one......a day of travel (Friday, September 21, 2012) Wow!  And again, I say WOW!  What an awesome experience I have had.  When I say we were " Off the Map", I mean we were OFF THE MAP!  The drive to Cobãn was amazing.  We were up, up, up the mountain and then down, down, down the mountain.  Then we would start up again and down again.  In many places the road did not exist due to rock and mud slides.  We traveled over rough, packed rocks and gravel from the slides themselves.  Much of the time, we were only able to travel at 15 kilometers per hour and at times I felt that was too fast! Would you believe we were charged 25Q to have the priviledge of traveling on this rock slide?  Well we were! There were 5 of us from HTI.  Sheri, our driver and a full-time nurse working in the Chichicastengao area for the last 6 years;  Gaspar, a trained healthcare provider who is from Xepocol, Guatemala and has been working with HTI for about 7 years;  Josefina, a p

As you know, I can not return to Tanzania until the administrator there has obtained a residency visa for me. So, I have been using my time in the states to learn as many things as I can which will help us be more successful when I am able to return. I decided I would spend some time with Dr. Lisa Dunham, her husband, Kimmel and Sheri, RN in Guatemala.  These 3 musketeers work with Health Talents International (HTI) in Chichicastenango.  They have been providing health care, mobile medical clinics and education in this area for more than 5 years.  I am certain they have a wealth of information which will help me as I strive to work in these areas at the Chimala Mission. I spent Monday and Tuesday with Sheri doing medical consults.  Although there are some differences in the countries, many of the common illnesses are the same as well as the available treatments.  I took many notes and Sheri was able to show me several of the educational tools she uses with her patients.  Many of th

Below I am sharing with you a copy of my fund-raising brochure.  My church family, Memorial Road Church of Christ, is very involved in missions and is providing me with a small salary.  However, there will be a continued need for funds to purchase medical supplies, medications and to deliver the care.  I am looking for others to partner with MRCC and myself in this work.     Showing and Teaching God’s Love through medical missions   About Africa and Tanzania…   According to unicef,   one-half of all the children under 5 who died in 2010 lived in sub-Saharan Africa.    This number comes to 3.6 million children.   Diarrhea was the cause of 1.8 million of these deaths.   In Tanzania, 68% of the population lives on less than $1.25 US per day and 547 million people live without electricity.   The average life expectancy in the US is 75 years compared to only 57 years in sub-Saharan Africa.   There is no “quick” fix for the challenges in Tanzania.   Howev

So what do I do while I am waiting around for my Tanzanian visa?  Well, there always seems to be plenty to do. I am enjoying the extra time with my family.  It is always good to be able to spend extra quality time with with your family.  I just wish it was a bit more uneventful.  My mother somehow managed to break the knee cap in her artificial knee.  Not sure when or how, but she had surgery this week on Wednesday.  Thank the Lord, all went well and she is back home and I am here to help with her recovery.  Then my dad was unloading some cows and somehow managed to fall face first into the cattle trail or.  He walks into the house with a big scrapped area right in the middle on his forehead, a small cut to his right eyebrow and his left knee all scrapped up.   I guess the ole' saying "never a dull moment" fits very well to our family. I am also attempting to learn some more Swahili which is the language I will need to know in Tanzania...but, I will have to admit I ha

So here I am beginning a new exciting chapter of service for the Lord!  I am preparing to move to Chimala, Tanzania in October.  I can't wait!!  I spent 2 months in Chimala this summer at the Chimala Mission and Hospital.  What a great experience.   This mission is over-seen by the New York Avenue Church of Christ in Arlington, TX.  My church family at Memorial Road Church of Christ will be generously sponsoring and supporting me while I work in Chimala. My focus will be going out to surrounding villages teaching health education, holding mobile medical clinics and sharing the love of God.  Even though the mission has a hospital, many in the surrounding villages can not access the services because of extreme poverty.  Many more do not seek out the health services they need until it is too late.  I believe teaching disease prevention and basic health care can improve the daily lives of many.  Through these services, I pray I will be able to provide a glimpse of God's Love for