It is good to be home! God is good, and has blessed me so much while I was in Africa. He used each place I was at to teach me something. I wanted to share with you about my last few months in Africa, and let you know what the next step is going to be.
I started out by heading to Abeche, Chad in July to stay with the Broten Family. I spent six weeks with them and helped with the delivery of baby Hadassah. We had some great late night conversations about missions, unreached people groups, and what it’s like raising a family in a Muslim culture. Being in Chad, I had the opportunity to see a new side of missions that I hadn’t seen before. The Broten’s other missionaries there in Abeche are reaching out to a largely unreached people group. All the other places that I have travelled to previously had well established churches and missionaries that had been there for some time. So seeing missionaries spending their time trying to build relationships with people who hadn’t heard the Gospel really made me think about what my priorities are as a missionary. It reminded me of the need to make sharing the Good News the most important thing. I may be going in as a midwife, but that is just the way to get in and build relationships with people so that I can tell them about how much Jesus loves them.
After leaving Chad, I met up with Sarah and Daniel Bell in Kenya. We stayed with Bob and Ann Tayloe and Sarah and I had the opportunity to volunteer in a hospital in Kijabe. We both delivered babies in Kijabe, and Sarah had the opportunity to help a missionary family who had come down from where they work in central Kenya for the birth of their baby.
From Kenya, we went to Malawi and stayed with the Chale family in a village outside of Kenya. They were such a blessing to us, and it was wonderful to see old friends from when I lived in Malawi. I think the best part of being in Malawi was seeing the people that first touched my heart for missions. We spent a lot of time going to surrounding villages and talking to people and getting an idea what their needs are and learning about the best approach to helping people in that kind of situation.
From Malawi, Sarah, Daniel and I bused to Mozambique. We stayed at the orphanage that was formerly Teen Missions and the place that Sarah worked at for a year. It was amazing seeing the place that made Sarah fall in love with Africa and meet the kids that touched her heart so much. While in Mozambique, we got to meet several missionaries in the area and made a lot of new connections.
The three of us then flew back to Kenya for some time of rest and to talk and pray about what our next step is. I think we all needed some time to become refreshed and debrief for a time. While in Kenya, I met Charity Lanman who I had been emailing before leaving the US about possibly visiting her clinic in southern Sudan. She asked me to consider postponing my flight home and come help out in her clinic for a few weeks. It seemed crazy at first, but after praying about it, decided that it was an open door from the Lord that I needed to walk through it. After a while longer in Kenya helping Charity to get the necessary supplies together for going back into Sudan, we flew into the village of Nyinbuli, southern Sudan. It was really incredible there, and I learned so much during my two and a half weeks at the clinic there. The people in the area, mostly from the Dinka tribe, walk for hours to come to the clinic in Nyinbuli as it is the only medical facility around. One lady who came to us had been walking for over four hours while bleeding heavily from an incomplete miscarriage when she arrived at the gate. Others came for everything from malaria and tetanus to simple coughs and diarrhea. It was an amazing time in Sudan, and I loved every minute of it.
The next step for Sarah, Daniel and I is in Mozambique. There is a missionary family working there who is going on furlough back in Australia and they have asked us to stay in their house and help with the administration of an elementary school that they run for the village near their home while they are away resting and reconnecting with friends and family. Sarah and I are also hoping to start a women’s group, do some health and nutrition classes with them, and build relationships with the women in the area. We will be flying to Mozambique the middle of February and will be there for six months. Please consider coming along side of Sarah, Daniel and I with this next step. And more than anything, we covet your prayers. And thank you so much for your prayers over the last few months. Each of you blesses me more than you can know.
