It is just after noon on Sunday, I am sitting in a small courtyard beside my cottage overlooking the Zambezi River below. Chitokoloki Mission Hospital is built on a high embankment on the eastern side of the river. Looking westward I see the Zambezi River and beyond a line of trees that stretches all the way toward Angola (30 miles beyond). I hear the wind rustling in the tops of the trees all around me and bees flying above beautiful red and pink and yellow flowers. Ants scurry at my feet and I can hear children playing in their homes in a nearby village. I can smell the smoke from a fire in the distance. It is a beautiful and serene scene.

It has been a very busy week at the hospital. We not only take care of surgical patients but medical, pediatric and obstetrical patients. Dr. David is the only full-time physician here but is assisted by very capable nurse practitioners as well as various visitors that come to help. So I see the usual surgical patients—patients with huge thyroid glands that need surgery, burns, snakebites, hernias and infections, to mention a few. But we also take care of meningitis, malnutrition, diabetes, malaria, typhoid and the like. I saw my first patient with leprosy earlier in the week. The hospital has 100 beds and most of the time all the beds are occupied, with many additional patients being cared for on mattresses on the floor! There is no electricity in the area so all of our power comes from generators or solar power.

We are very busy during the day, but because of the remote location (miles from the nearest roads) patients cannot travel at night. That means we can usually sleep at night!

I have so enjoyed the community of believers here—the full-time missionaries that have made me feel so welcome. Many have been here at Chitokoloki for 20 or more years. They are a group of dedicated, faithful, godly men and women who live out what it means to live in unity and community. They have very intentional, regular times of fellowship, devotions and prayer. They have been so kind in welcoming to me into their community.

One thing that makes this hospital very special is that a group of people donated an airplane to the ministry. They built an airstrip right beside the hospital. Because the roads are nearly impassable during the rainy season, it would be impossible for patients to come to the hospital. But with the airplane, sick patients can quickly be transported here. What a blessing it is to have the little Cessna 206!

Overall, I have had a great first few weeks here in Zambia. I have been able to work alongside a team of wonderful brothers and sisters to touch and help and minister to many people. I look forward to the next 3 weeks of doing the same.

I’ll close with the scripture from our church service this morning:

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose confidence (hope) is in Him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes, its leaves are always green. It has no worries in the year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. Jeremiah 17:7-8

For all the fathers, Happy Father’s Day! And to my 5 incredible children, you are the BEST gift this father could ever be given.

Thanks for your prayers.

Blessings from Zambia,
Paul

Wow, what a journey! Houston to Amsterdam (9 hours), Amsterdam to Nairobi (9 hours), arrived late, slept for a few hours then back to the airport for a flight to Lilongwe, Malawi, then to Lusaka, Zambia (4 hours), then I hopped on a small Cessna 206 for a 3 ½ hour flight to Chitokoloki! Needless to say, I was glad to finally be “here”! Even though the journey was long, every segment was enjoyable, all my bags arrived with me (!) and I am excited to be here in far western Zambia.

The hospital is almost 100 years old! It was founded and is still run by Brethren missionaries, many from Ireland and Canada. It is very remote so people must travel great distances to receive care here. Each and every one of the missionaries has been so kind and helpful to me. It is so obvious that they have created a warm, caring, close, welcoming community of believers here at the mission compound.

My first day (Thursday) started with a bang. Dr. McAdams (the only missionary surgeon here) informed me that he was going to an outlying clinic to do surgery and left me “in charge” for the day. Quite a surprise! I did round on almost 100 patients that first day. We started early and finished late but it was a great orientation and “immersion” into where I will be working for then next month. There are no other full time doctors here, so Dr. McAdams and his team of nurses care for of all types of patients—obstetrics, pediatric and medical—in addition to taking care of all the surgical patients. So that first day I saw moms in labor, moms who had recently delivered babies, probably 20 children and adults with measles (outbreak recently), patients with malaria and typhoid and leprosy, just to name a few.

I so enjoyed rounding that first day with an Irish nurse named J.R. J.R. is an experienced midwife, an excellent surgical nurse and has great clinical skill in managing the patients she takes care of here in Africa. But her Irish accent, and the little phrases she uses can be SO difficult for this south Texas brain to understand. On rounds that first day, we came to a premature baby and were in the process of assessing why the child wasn’t gaining weight. J.R. picked up the little one, felt his tummy, looked at mum (mom) and said (in her Irish brogue), “I think he has wind and needs to spew”. I was totally clueless to what J.R. had just said to the mom. After a few minutes of difficult translation, I realized she had said, “I think he has gas and needs to burp”!

I did several cases, Friday including surgery on a man with a huge thyroid gland. All went well. Saturday was rounds most of the day and late in the afternoon a walk down to the beautiful Zambezi river (about ¼ mile from the cottage where I am staying). Special care was taken to avoid crocodiles (not kidding). And Sunday after rounds I attended the local church here at the mission where we took communion. As the single loaf was broken and distributed, as we passed around the juice and all drank from the same glass, it was a special moment to “remember the Lord Jesus” with my brothers and sisters here in Zambia.

Just a quick update on my first few days here. Thanks for prayers for “journey mercies”, thanks for prayers for safety and health. God is faithful and I appreciate you.

Paul

I want to let everyone know that I am leaving today for Africa to spend one month at a rural mission hospital in Zambia. I travel through Nairobi for one night, then off early the next morning to Lusaka, Zambia where I will be met by the missionary pilot who will fly me to the far western part of Zambia to a mission hospital called Chitokoloki Mission Hospital. If you want to look my location up on Google Maps, look for Zambezi (the town not the river), Zambia. This will give you a pretty close idea of where I am.

The purpose of the trip is not only to help the resident missionary surgeon—Dr. David McAdams; but also to see if this might be a place that I could bring the family back next year to give Dr. McAdams a 3 or 4 month furlough.

Please pray for “journey mercies”, pray that my luggage (and supplies!) arrive with me so there is no delay. Pray that I would transition well to a new hospital and system and that I would be a blessing to the missionaries and the people that I am going to help. Pray for health and safety and for Jenn and the family while I am gone.

They tell me that the internet works at Chitokoloki, so I will try to send updates as often as I can.

Many blessings!
Paul

Several months ago I was asked to relieve a missionary surgeon in Cameroon for a couple of weeks in February. The first thing I had to do was to find out exactly where Cameroon is located! Cameroon is located in West Africa and is bordered by Nigeria, Chad, the Central African Republic (north, east and west) and by Gabon, Congo and Equitorial Guinea on the south. Even though I was tired from my recent trip to Haiti, I really felt like the Lord wanted me to keep my commitment to help this missionary surgeon and his wife. I really felt God’s confirmation when my sweet and beautiful wife Jennifer agreed to leave the kids in capable hands and accompany me!! It is the best I could do for Valentine’s Day this year!

So on Sunday afternoon (after speaking at the church that weekend), Jenn and I boarded a plane bound for Cameroon. After a brief layover and change of planes in Paris, twenty hours later we landed in Yaonde, the capital of Cameroon. We spent one night at a Christian retreat center hosted by 35-year career missionaries. We so enjoyed the two meals they prepared for us and so admire their “long obedience in the same direction” as they have followed Jesus and His great commission.

We then met Rob–our missionary bush pilot. Rob is a single young man, his parents were missionaries for almost 40 years with the Wycliffe Bible translator ministry in the Phillipines. Rob’s dad was a missionary bush pilot for many of those 40 years. Rob felt God leading him in the same direction and, after getting his missionary aviation degree from Moody Bible College in Chicago and after language school in Switzerland, has been on the field for three years in Cameroon.

It was interesting, Rob told us that much of Cameroon is unihabited and very remote with roads being very difficult to pass during much of the rainy season. His missionary organization (SIL) provides travel and supply delivery to missionaries in very remote areas in Cameroon and adjacent countries. They also do medical evacuation when needed. Our trip to Ngaoundere would have take 14 hours travel by car in the best of situations in the dry season. Needless to say, we are very thankful there are young men and women like Rob all over the world, doing what they are called to do to advance the Kingdom.

We flew in a single engine plane called a Helio Corrier. I found out (when we were an hour airborne) that our plane was built in the late 1940’s–in other words, about 65 years old!! Little did I realize our plane is one of the most reliable missionary planes that has ever been built. It can take off and land on very short airstrips. I also found out our plane had been in use in Papau New Guniea as well as several countries in South America before being sent for service in Cameroon. Thank God for the people who designed and built such a capable airplane.

Our flight took a little over two hours. We were met at the Ngaoundere airport by Phil–son of missionaries, raised in Cameroon, and whose dad had pioneered a radio ministry here in the mid-60’s. He and his wife (June) spent 17 years in the Central African Republic as missionaries until recently returning to Cameroon two years ago. What kind, hospitable, generous people Phil and June have been to us during our stay. They are some of the true unsung heroes of the faith and have been such a pleasure to get to know.

We are in far northern Cameroon at the Ngaoundere Protestant Hospital. The first missionaries to this area were Norwegian Lutheran missionaries who came here in 1923. And it was through the efforts of this missionary couple (he was a pastor, she a nurse) that the idea, funding and building of this hosptial took place. It now has 200 beds and provides great care to the people in this remote corner of the world. And it has been a light for the Gospel for over 50 years.

Dr. Jim is a surgeon and his wife Carolyn a nurse and they have been working here since 2008 without a break. Jim was so grateful to have almost two weeks off to be able to attend a Christian medical conference in Nairiobi. They graciously allowed us to stay in their home.
We are thankful for their kindness and generosity to us.

I “hit the ground running”, seeing patients, doing surgery. It has been a privelege to work with two surgeons in training–Drs. Nesoah and Jacques–fine men, capable doctors and wonderful Christians.

The Cameroonian people are so kind and gracious and welcoming to us. They are an honor to serve.

I am still “processing” all I have seen and experienced so far this trip. Let me tell you about one young boy who came to us this morning. He and his family are refugees from violence in the Central African Republic. He is probably 6 years old and suffered terrible burns to his leg in an accident almost a year ago. His leg has a huge open wound and a terrible contracture at his knee (he cannot straighten his leg past 90 degress because of scar tisssue). I thought about the fact that his father must have physcially carried his injured son during their long difficult journey to Cameroon. The father told us that they were robbed of all money and all possesions while travelling. They were found by the Red Cross(probably in a displaced person’s camp) and brought to our hospital for care. The young boy is so malnourished. Until his nutrition improves, he will never heal his wounds. And yet they have nothing. What a pleasure it is to help them–to welcome them to this hosptial , to give them food and water and some vitamins and gentle care. As I thought about him, I couldn’t help think about Matthew 25. He is hungry, thirsty, a stranger, and sick. And for us…He represents the face of Jesus. What an incredible privelege it is for Jenn and I (along with others and with you) to be the hands and feet that minister to “one of the least of these”.

Pray for us. Blessings!

Paul

P.S. Reading a great new book: “The Hole in Our Gospel” by Rich Stearns. I highly recommend it.