2012 Mission Trip Update

First of all, I want to apologize for being absent from writing on the blog for a number of weeks!  Besides the fact that I wanted to give undivided time to prepare mentally and spiritually for my mission trip to  Uganda, Africa with Called Out Ministries, I oversaw collecting a lot of the medical supplies we took along on the trip and also helped pioneer our first medical supply/medical equipment shipment to Uganda.  The medical supplies/equipment boarded a ship a couple of weeks before we left on the mission trip and it should arrive in Uganda around October 23^rd. 

The good part about my being absent from writing on the blog is the fact that it was left in the very capable hands of Dr. Gilbert!!!!!!  He has done a great job of taking over for me in my absence and I appreciate his help!!!  I may have been out of sight, but the blog was NOT absent from my mind, nor my heart!!!  As a matter of fact, it was a REAL discipline for me not to write on it!!!

We returned home Saturday, October 6^th and  I have spent the past week downloading pictures and putting together online picture albums for  the individuals being sponsored and their sponsors and also for the medical team and a couple of pastors.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words and I think that is true, because as I looked back over the pictures I downloaded/albums I have put together, it brings back a lot of good memories and puts a big smile on my face!!!  I am not going to say there weren’t any challenges, but what kind of a mission trip would it be without challenges, right?!!!  Challenges should cause us to grow!!! It is all to help refine our character and it is character that God is interested in!!! Our character matters to God!!!

For me going back again to Uganda again this year was a win-win situation!!! I had become friends with some fellow brothers and sisters in Christ there last year, so for me, it was like homecoming!!!  Even as I arrived in Nairobi, Kenya and was getting ready to board another plane for Entebbe, Uganda, I found myself feeling like I was home and kept looking for familiar faces such as Dr. Gilbert, Rashid & Janet, Shamiim, and Pastor Julius!!!  I really began to realize how much I had grown to love them over the past year and how God had knit our hearts together!!!!!  Several days after we had arrived in Uganda, I turned to Jena (friend of mine who went along on the trip with us) and said, “Do you smell the air?”  Of course she said yes and then I went on to say, “That is EXACTLY the same smell I have smelled the whole past year that I have been gone!!!”  The unique thing is that the smell was EXACTLY the same smell and there was NO ANY VARIATION IN IT AT ALL!!!!  I think that is only something that God could have done!!!!!  I am not sure what to do with all that yet, but I am sure that the Lord will show me!!!

It blessed me that Dr. Gilbert had worked so diligently to bring Denanvensi and her Pastor to his church so I could meet them and hear first-hand the testimony of Denanvensi’s life being saved by someone who did not even know her.  What a testimony it was that the whole village and the government officials came to know Jesus as Lord and Savior because of it.   I know that God has good plans and a purpose for Denanvensi’s life!!!

 I was very blessed that I got to meet some of the other individuals who have been sponsored, such as Andrew, Monic, and Brenda!!!  I see a bright future for them and am so proud of them for studying hard and doing well in school, and for their awesome testimony and walk with the Lord!!!

 I also got to catch up with Shamiim who is sponsored by Julie & Dan DeYoung and some of the people in their Bible Study Group.  She is a business administration major in college and has come such a very far way this past year!!!  Her face just beamed with joy and enthusiasm!!!!

Also, I was very blessed to get to work with Sam, Doreen, and Dr. Gilbert again in the medical clinics!!!  I bonded well with them last year and have worked a lot with Dr. Gilbert over the past year, so that part was easy this year.  Most of them seem to call me Momma there, and you know, I think that name seems to fit me well!!!  With that being said, I picked up 2 more sons this year named Alex & Elijah, who now call themselves my twin sons.  They are quite hilarious and I love their sense of humor!!  It kept the air light and kept us laughing!!!  Alex is the dentist who worked in the medical clinics with us!!!  We should all ask him about Jena working as his dental assistant!!!!  Isn’t that right, Alex?  He sure did try to make Jena his dental assistant, but she graciously declined!!!  The joke was that he was going to have her giving shots and extracting teeth!!!  LOL!!  Jena ran for her life and it made for a lot of good laughs!!!  We ended up nicknaming Alex “Trouble” because of all the pain he causes his patients. He said he thought we should name him “Troubleless” because by the time he is finished with his patients, they have less trouble. LOL!!! Elijah also had a sense of humor and did a great deal of joking!!  I really liked his hunger for the things of God and feel he wears the hat of an evangelist very well!!!  In one of the medical clinics in Kampala, because of the language barrier, he helped me bring a young Moslem man to salvation.

Now on a more serious note, the medical clinics went well!  As Dr. Gilbert stated in his follow up, we saw a total of 1,670 patients in our one 3-day medical and two 2-day clinics.  Because of the extreme poverty in Uganda, medical clinics really help serve the needs of the community, but more importantly, according to Matthew 25: 25-41 we will be judged by how we take care of the poor and the needy.  We will not be judged by how many sermons we preach or how many books we write (even though those things are important), but we will be judged by how we take care of the poor and the needy!!!!

Thanks to all the doctors, the pharmacists, and the dentist  for their willingness to donate their time to care for the poor and the needy!!!  They did a great job and their works of service do not go unnoticed by our great God, nor by me!!!

Also, a special thanks to all of you who donated money, dental supplies, and medical supplies/equipment for the medical clinics and those who donated money for the Women’s Conference!!!  We could not have done it without you!!!  God brought a great group of people together to help us get the job accomplished!!!!   We all have need of each other, as one person cannot do it alone.  I like something Max Lucado said in his book “Outlive Your Life” that everything works better when you do it as a team!!!  1 Corinthians 12:21 says “the eye cannot say to the hand “I have no need of you” nor can the head say to the feet “I have not need of you.”  We ALL have need of each other!!!  God has put all of us on earth to help each other!!  NOT ONE OF US POSSESSES ALL THE GIFTS THAT WE DO NOT NEED OTHERS TO HELP US ACCOMPLISH!!!  There is strength and accountability in numbers!!!

Blessed to be a blessing,

Mary

 

 

 

 

 

2012 Uganda Mission Trip Follow Up

This mission trip has been one of my best, as it was challenging and I have learned a lot. The trip has increased my burden for the vulnerable children in Africa, people suffering with diseases, and the less privileged.  My outlook and values about life has definitely taken on a new dimension. I was moved by the selflessness of team members and the willingness to identify with poor people of Africa. The willingness of the team members to do just anything for the sake of Christ was a huge blessing to me and it reminded me of Paul’s statement in Philippians 3:8 that “Yet indeed, I also count all things loss … that I may gain Christ.”  I was also thrilled by the patience of the people we attended to. Because of the large crowd, many had to wait several hours for their turn. Also, people were very receptive to God’s love and this was amazing to me.

I used to have the impression that missions was just about preaching the gospel of Christ and souls being saved, but God changed my orientation when I attended my first medical mission in 2008 with medical students. I can now appreciate missions from a whole different perspective of reaching out to the physical, natural, medical, and even emotional needs of people, and in the process, sharing the whole gospel truth with them. Even our Lord Jesus Christ said in Matthew 25:42-43 “for I was hungry, and you gave me no food; I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not take me in, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me…” The people Jesus was referring to were counted unrighteous, not because they failed to preach the gospel, but because they did not care about the needs of the less privileged among them. 

As a matter of emphasis, I now realize that living for others is the ultimate goal in life and it is whatever we do for the sake of Christ that matters most. That is our purpose here on earth!!!  I need grace to pray for missions and missionaries more than ever before, to support the work by giving more, and to become more of an instrument for the Master’s use when the opportunity arises.

This 3 week mission trip comprised of a VISITING team from the USA (GLORIA, RENE, MARY, AND JENA), doctors and other medical personnel from WBAMM, pastors from Africa and other Christians from local churches, who volunteered to work with us in the medical clinics. Our visitors also preached in numerous churches, held conferences, and passed out toys at Good Samaritan Orphanage. 

Medical Clinics:

We thank God for the medical clinics!!!  It is one of the ways we share the love of Christ to the unprivileged and also ministering mercy to them. We  provided free medical treatment and dental services in the slum swampy area of Bwiase, Kampala; in the remote village of Kigumba; and also went out into a very remote area called the “Bush” (Kasawo).  The total number of people who received medal treatment and dental services in these 3 particular areas was 1,670. We are also very excited that over 85 persons gave their hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ in the medical clinics.

Many of the people that came to the clinics traveled long distances on foot, without shoes on their feet, and some stayed at the station for more than 1 day, waiting to be attended to by the doctors and the dentist. 

Many have gone for a lot of years without getting any special attention from a doctor, and some are living in very poor, unhygienic environments.

We thank God we had a dentist who traveled  with us into all these areas, because you cannot find a dentist in the whole district and people can live out their years without seeing one, without cleaning their teeth, and lack necessary oral health, etc. Dental cases in the clinics were overwhelming, compared to the one dentist we had. Most patients were taught dental care and given toothbrushes/toothpaste and were taught to use them regularly. Others were referred for further dental care, though they cannot afford the cost for fillings, root canal treatment, etc.

Most Africans are very poor and cannot afford the cost of health care, so they either use herbs as medicine or just survive on God’s mercy.  As you can see, doing medical missions adds a great contribution to their lives.

                                             Hundreds of patients lined up for treatment!!!

                                       Multitudes waitng for medicine from the pharmacy!!!

The most common conditions seen in the medical clinics were: malaria, skin diseases, worms, cerebral malaria cancers, HIV/AIDs, urinary tract infections, upper respiratory tract infections, productive cough, peptic ulcer disease, low back pain, headaches, fibroids (these patients were referred for further treatment), candidiasis, worm infections, trichuriasis, laryngitis, hypertension, allergies, eye infections, cardiovascular disease, otitis, arthritis, and neuropathy.

During the medical clinics, we found some patients that were HIV /AIDS positive, so we counseled them and referred them for further treatment. Other patients need surgery or further treatment for breast cancer, testicle hernia’s, and osteomylities. In another case, both the mother and the 1 year child are HIV/AIDS positive with no care; and another young baby has hydro cephus.

The above patients, along with the testicle hernia patient, require further management and surgery in a hospital and need more intensive care that cannot be provided on the mission outreaches in the community.  The problem is that these individuals are so poor and need God’s intervention, as these medical procedures require finances to facilitate the necessary treatment.  Please pray and agree with us for the necessary finances. If God speaks to your heart about helping, please feel free to contact us!! God is able!!!

Other Activities:

Above picture left to right: Mary & Denanvensi.  At Mercy House of God Church, we had testimonies from Denanvensi and her pastor, who brought her from their village.  They testified how this 12 year old girl was given life by someone she doesn’t know that read the blog and how this has affected the whole village. Because of this miracle the whole village came to receive JESUS CHRIST AS THEIR LORD AND SAVIOR. This girl is a double orphan and has been out of school for two years. We are praying for her to be sponsored, so she can go back to school.   At

Left to right: Andrew, Monica, Brenda, Mary, Dr. Gilbert, Denanvensi’s Pastor, Rene, Denanvensi, and Praise. These are some of the children that are sponsored and are working diligently to become all that God has created them to be.  

We also had a testimony of the young gal named Brenda, who is an orphan and was sent away from school in her final year of studying nursing, due to failure of paying school fees.  Because of sponsorship, in August 2012, Brenda went back to school after setting out one year and having lost hope of ever finishing school. She is now working hard and is believing God to finish school in June 2013. We are so proud of you, Brenda!!!

Sam, our newly sponsored young man, feels called by God to become a dentist. During the mission, he found out he was admitted into dentistry school in Mulago Paramedical School.  We thank God that He has provided sponsorship for Sam.  Go Sam go!!!

As you can see, it was a great and transforming mission trip season!!!  WE ARE VERY THANKFUL TO THE LORD FOR ALL HE HAS DONE!!! To God be the glory, honor, and praise!

His bondservant,

Dr. Gilbert

Africa, Uganda