Father's Day

I had been hoping to get to video Skype with my family today, but circumstances have changed and I won’t be able to do so. I plan to call and talk by phone, though. This is not the first Father’s Day I haven’t been with my dad, but as far as I can recall, it is the farthest I have been from him on this day. That being so, I’d like to write a few words about my dad. 

Being as he’s not the most talkative person in the world, it can be a little difficult to know him well, or understand what he’s thinking. I’ve had a conversation continue after a 20 minute pause...I had thought the conversation was over. But he had just been thinking. He often likes to think over his words carefully, especially in a deep discussion. But he can be quite talkative at times as well. Many of you know my dry sense of humor...well, I get it all from my dad. Things like “it’s like the sun, it will finally dawn on you,” or “when is a door not a door? When it’s ajar,” or when you have two different socks on “I bet you’ve got another pair just like it at home.” Get him into a game of Scattergories and he’ll try to reason his way into getting everyone to accept his sometimes outlandish entries. 

There were things I learned about my dad I never knew until he had grandchildren. He would say they “are the berries”, because they’re so sweet. He’s always liked holding babies, but let him hold one of his grandchildren, and you’re lucky to get him/her back unless the baby is crying, needs to be fed, or needs a diaper change. 

He gives hugs and kisses, but they aren’t his main mode of showing he cares. He mainly shows his love through providing for his family. I remember coming home from college and he’d give me a little extra money before I left to go back after the weekend. He still did the same in medical school, and I think occasionally in residency as well. He’s helped me buy my cars (ok, maybe more than just helped), and helped me in the process of buying and selling my house. It’s in these small ways that I know he loves me. 

In addition, I can tell he’s proud of me. He’s told me how he’s bragged to his clients about me. He tells me he’s proud of me. I know he likes to spend time with me. When I’m home to visit, we’ll sometimes try to plan a time just for the two of us to go see a movie or have dinner. Sometimes with my sisters and my mom around, he doesn’t get a word in edgewise, so we make time that we can spend together. 

I think one of the hardest things about leaving home, was leaving my family behind. Seeing my dad cry at the airport broke my heart. I could see how hard it was for him to let his little girl go so far away, even though he knew God had called her there. I know he still worries about me, as from time to time he calls or texts just to find out if I’m okay, or just to hear my voice. 

All this to say, “Thanks dad, for all you’ve done for me, for loving me, and providing for me. I love you too.”

Father's Day

I had been hoping to get to video Skype with my family today, but circumstances have changed and I won’t be able to do so. I plan to call and talk by phone, though. This is not the first Father’s Day I haven’t been with my dad, but as far as I can recall, it is the farthest I have been from him on this day. That being so, I’d like to write a few words about my dad. 

Being as he’s not the most talkative person in the world, it can be a little difficult to know him well, or understand what he’s thinking. I’ve had a conversation continue after a 20 minute pause...I had thought the conversation was over. But he had just been thinking. He often likes to think over his words carefully, especially in a deep discussion. But he can be quite talkative at times as well. Many of you know my dry sense of humor...well, I get it all from my dad. Things like “it’s like the sun, it will finally dawn on you,” or “when is a door not a door? When it’s ajar,” or when you have two different socks on “I bet you’ve got another pair just like it at home.” Get him into a game of Scattergories and he’ll try to reason his way into getting everyone to accept his sometimes outlandish entries. 

There were things I learned about my dad I never knew until he had grandchildren. He would say they “are the berries”, because they’re so sweet. He’s always liked holding babies, but let him hold one of his grandchildren, and you’re lucky to get him/her back unless the baby is crying, needs to be fed, or needs a diaper change. 

He gives hugs and kisses, but they aren’t his main mode of showing he cares. He mainly shows his love through providing for his family. I remember coming home from college and he’d give me a little extra money before I left to go back after the weekend. He still did the same in medical school, and I think occasionally in residency as well. He’s helped me buy my cars (ok, maybe more than just helped), and helped me in the process of buying and selling my house. It’s in these small ways that I know he loves me. 

In addition, I can tell he’s proud of me. He’s told me how he’s bragged to his clients about me. He tells me he’s proud of me. I know he likes to spend time with me. When I’m home to visit, we’ll sometimes try to plan a time just for the two of us to go see a movie or have dinner. Sometimes with my sisters and my mom around, he doesn’t get a word in edgewise, so we make time that we can spend together. 

I think one of the hardest things about leaving home, was leaving my family behind. Seeing my dad cry at the airport broke my heart. I could see how hard it was for him to let his little girl go so far away, even though he knew God had called her there. I know he still worries about me, as from time to time he calls or texts just to find out if I’m okay, or just to hear my voice. 

All this to say, “Thanks dad, for all you’ve done for me, for loving me, and providing for me. I love you too.”

Calling all occupations

Most people think that to be a missionary you need to have a certain occupation, such as something in the medical field, a teaching degree, or training as a pastor, for example. However, there are many more occupations that are needed on the mission field. Let me give you a few examples of the type of occupations we could use here, and currently lack:

Craftsman: We have wood here, and make much of the furniture we have here. The wood is also used to make repairs to existing structures such as ceilings, doors, window frames, and many other things. 

Handyman: Anywhere from electrical to plumbing, we could use someone full time. Much of the things you can buy here are not high quality, and so are consistently needing repair. We could also use someone to teach the Congolese workers here how to properly do the electrical and plumbing work.

Information Technology: From maintaining our wireless satellite internet to teaching people how to use their computers effectively (especially those who did not grow up using a computer), we could use someone to help us out!

Administrative: A hospital is a business, not just a place for healthcare, and thus there are many administrative functions that have to be accomplished. Invoices, accounts payable, and many other administrative tasks constantly overwhelm our few administrative employees. In addition, the government is consistently asking for more reports-from statistics on TB and HIV patients, admissions, discharges and deaths, as well as maternal morbidity and mortality, we could use someone to put these reports together for us. Currently it is the nurses and physicians who put these together, which takes away time from helping patients. 

In addition to the above, we could use people in pastoral and healthcare professions. Nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, dentists, persons to perform health education, and physicians of all specialties are needed. No matter if you can come for 3 weeks or several months, the time here is helpful to us.  

So, if you are interested in coming here to help, drop me a line, and I’ll give you some more details. If you know of a mission or hospital in another country, email someone there to find out if you can help. Don’t think you can’t help just because you aren’t a doctor or nurse or teacher. There are many more opportunities than you realize are available. If traveling is not for you, but you want to sponsor those who are overseas, then you can help in several ways:

Support me, through World Medical Mission (instructions are on the right of this webpage)

Support the hospital through Global Outreach Mission here

Support our missionaries here (look for the ones serving in Congo, then click on 'Donate' and follow instructions from there)

We have five African missionaries from the Democratic Republic of Congo (Siko and Delphine Bambema and Melanie Madinga and Domain and Patience Fuka). They have a much harder time raising support than their American/European counterparts. Please prayerfully consider helping them. You can do so through the link above.