A Parent’s Heart
Dr. Carlan Wendler, his wife, Michelle, and their newborn daughter recently returned to serve with the Burundian people for the next two years. Before they left, Dr. Wendler shared this story that so beautifully illustrates how our love as parents reaches across any cultural or socio-economic divide:
On my last shift in the LA County + USC ER, I got to pray with a 37-yr old woman who was worried about her 20-yr old son, a medical student in Guatemala. She came in with burning, squeezing, left-sided chest pain that occurred after she would go for a walk around her neighborhood. After the resident presented her case I went to see her myself because 37-yr old women don’t tend to have heart attacks and something about the story didn’t add up. The more I spoke with her (in my now French-influenced Spanish), the more I realized that this was less a physical malady and more a psychological one. After concluding my questions, exam, and reviewing her EKG and blood results with her (all reassuring), I asked if she would like me to pray for her. She readily accepted and we shared a moment of prayer, specifically praying for her son who had been in a near-fatal car accident in Guatemala where he was supposed to be attending medical school. When I looked up at her afterwards I could see in her eyes that she was on the road to recovery. I love that look.
As I took leave of this caring mother, I paused to reflect on how similar and different our lives are. She had her first kid at age 17 in her home country of Guatemala. Now, though we are the same age, she is sending her firstborn to medical school. Michelle and I just welcomed our firstborn into our home 3 months ago. She lives thousands of miles away from him and worries about his life and career. We’re about to take Gabrielle thousands of miles away to Burundi where I will continue to worry about her. Yet we both have high hopes for our offspring. And the best thing we can do for our kids is pray for them…
We appreciate Dr. Wendler allowing us to share this story with you. While they were still state-side, Dr. Carlan Wendler was also able to speak for us at the 2019 M3 Conference, and you can click here to listen to his session. As the Wendlers return to their work at Kibuye Hope Hospital and Hope Africa University, please keep them in your prayers.
Also, please join us for the next M3 Conference on February 21-22, 2020, in Houston, Texas. We are very excited to have Dr. Alyssa Pfister, another member from the Kibuye Hope Hospital medical team, speaking at M3! Click here to register and save $5 with code: M3MISSIONS20
Dr. Paul Osteen Shares About His Zambia Trip at Lakewood Church
In a recent Lakewood Church service, Dr. Paul Osteen shared with the congregation about the last three and half months he spent in northwestern Zambia at Mukinge Mission Hospital. As a missionary surgeon, Dr. Paul spends several months each year serving in mission hospitals, and it is through this service that he was inspired along with his wife, Jennifer, to start the Mobilizing Medical Missions (M3) Conference. M3 is an annual conference with a vision to help people “connect with others, be inspired, and find their mission.”
To attend the next conference, which will be held on February 21-22, 2020, in Houston, Texas, click here to register and save $5 with code: M3MISSIONS20
Dr. Paul Osteen on Mission to Mukinge
The rugged bush country of Zambia’s Northwest Province holds special meaning for Dr. Paul Osteen. At the foot of Mukinge Hill stands a nearly 70-year-old mission hospital complex, where patients flock to receive compassionate care as well as quality medical treatment. Mukinge Mission Hospital has become a second home for the surgeon, a sacred place where he spends three or four months a year operating on patients and lending a helping hand to the overworked staff. Click here to continue reading this great article written by World Medical Mission on Dr. Paul’s mission to Mukinge.
To find your mission, we invite you to attend the 2020 M3 Conference set for February 21-22 in Houston, Texas. Register by July 31st and save 25% with code: M32020SPECIAL
First Canadian Surgical Team Serves at Tenwek Hospital
Dr. David Horne, a Halifax paediatric heart surgeon, attended the 2016 M3 Conference and was so inspired by Dr. Russ White’s presentation that year. Dr. White, who is the Chief of Surgery and Director of Medical Education at Tenwek Hospital in Kenya, East Africa, and Dr. Horne had the opportunity to connect and talk about opportunities to serve at Tenwek. A year later, Dr. Horne joined Dr. Mike Liske’s Tennessee cardiac team who have been serving at Tenwek each year since 2008, and immediately, David knew it was where God had called him. So, he joined them again in 2018, bringing two more Canadians with him to work on building a Canadian team. Excitingly, just this past May, Team Canada Paediatric Cardiac surgery team, consisting of 13 medical and 3 non-medical volunteers, went to Tenwek to fulfill the team’s mandate to train Tenwek’s staff and build the surgical program to perform increasingly complex open-heart surgeries without the need for North American support. To read more about Dr. David Horne and his passion to serve the people of Kenya through Samaritan’s Purse World Medical Mission, click here.
To join us for the 2020 M3 Conference, to be held on February 21-22 in Houston, Texas, click here to register by July 31st and save 25% with code: M32020SPECIAL.