Container shipment headed to Liberia

Last week, we loaded up and shipped out another container to John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Liberia, West Africa. This container is full of medical equipment that will greatly improve patient care at the hospital-- including 4 x-ray machines (since the hospital currently doesn't have one), surgical instruments, operating room lights, a central suction system, sterilizers and patient monitors, hospital beds, and dental equipment.

We picked just about the coldest day so far this year to load up the container, as you can see from all the layers we're wearing! But we got everything loaded up and shipped out safely, and it's on its way. Mike and Daniel will be headed to Liberia in February to unload the container and install the equipment.

"Christ Therapy": Healing Bodies and Souls

We recently received an update from Nestor Hugo de la Fuente Murillo, our staff pastor / counselor in Bolivia, and I wanted to share some of it with all of you.

Nestor Hugo recently completed a master’s degree in Applied Psychology and Social Intervention, with specialties in geriatric psychology, addictions, sickness, and other areas that will help him to minister more effectively to our patients. He did all of this without using any of his time at the hospital for his studies; instead, he did most of his work on his hour-long commute to and from the hospital, along with some night-long study sessions, “accompanied by Nescafe.”

Nestor Hugo has already begun to see the effects of his study on his ministry. He writes, “With my new degree, I have been able to open an area of “Christ Therapy.” That is to say that my ministry with Hospitals of Hope has improved; my work is wiser, broader, more effective, and much more complete: body, soul, and spirit.”

This is exactly what we want to do at Hospitals of Hope—to show Christ’s love by healing bodies and souls. Please keep Nestor Hugo and the rest of the Hospitals of Hope Bolivia staff in your prayers as they minister to the community around our hospital.

Can We Change the World without God?

“Can we change the world without God?”

That’s the question posed on a recent blog post on urbana.org. To a certain extent, the answer is obvious. After all, even Hitler changed the world. The question of whether we can change the world for the better is trickier.

Communism in the USSR changed the face of the globe dramatically. The Communist leaders had incredible visions of what the world could be like—there would be equality, an end to injustice and poverty. Yet their visions of equality led to oppression, environmental devastation, and mass murder. “Men have forgotten God,” Solzhenitsyn explained. “That’s why all of this has happened.”

Of course, Communism in the USSR is a bit of a straw man. There have been many who have made positive contributions to humanity who have been atheists, agnostics, or followers of other religions. The Urbana blog post cites Einstein, Edison, and Benjamin Franklin as examples. Or how about the many leaders of NGOs providing relief in the developing world who don’t share our faith? Your faith, or lack thereof, makes very little difference to the starving person that you feed.

So what do we, as Christians, have to offer? The Urbana writer offers three unique benefits that Christians have: a real hope, communion with Christ, and the perseverance of faith.

While it’s possible to make many positive changes without these things, they have a transformational power that can’t be found outside of Christ. We have a real and lasting hope—and without that, we (and those we’re trying to help) too easily succumb to despair. Our personal connection with our Maker helps ensure that we don’t fall into all of the traps laid by the wayside—“the road to hell is paved with good intentions,” after all. We know that each individual has incredible value, that we cannot ignore “the least of these.” And our faith sustains us when the going gets tough and helps us to “not grow weary in doing good” (Galations 6:9).

At Hospitals of Hope, our faith is essential to our work—to our attempts to change the world. While we offer medical care to provide for physical needs, we also seek to provide for spiritual needs. We don’t force anyone to share our faith, but we hold out the hope that we have, and we offer it to them freely.

The Urbana writer examines this question much more thoroughly than I do here, so check out the original post. Also, Hospitals of Hope will be attending Urbana ’09 in St. Louis December 27-31 this year, so, if you come, be sure to come by our booth (#1231) and say hello. We would love to see you!

Count your many blessings

With Thanksgiving coming up, now seems like a good time to reflect on all of the ways that we have been blessed. And we have truly been blessed. Here are a few of the things we have to be thankful for. (You’re on the list!)

• Our good and generous God, whose grace is the reason for everything we do here.
• The opportunity to spend every day working to bring hope to those without accessible health care.
• Our local volunteers, who give up their time to come and sort surgical instruments, pack crates, inventory supplies, stuff envelopes, plan events.....
• Our “virtual” volunteers, whose work frees up countless staff hours for other tasks.
• Our international volunteers, who are our hands and feet in the countries we serve.
• Our individual supporters, without whom we couldn’t continue our work.
• Our church supporters, whose prayer and financial support are invaluable.
• Our business supporters, like Wesley Medical Center and Cornerstone Builders, who make events like our concert possible.
• Our staff in Bolivia: Rudy, Nestor, Tomas, Iris, and so many more who work hard to keep our hospital and guesthouse functioning.
• Brianna Brown, our Xelda Ministries administrator, who has left her home here to minister through building relationships in the community around our hospital.
• Our staff in the US: Mike, who works incredibly hard to keep everything running smoothly; Daniel, who’s proved himself to be a jack of all trades; and Leta (me), about whom I won’t say anything, because that would feel a little weird. :)
• Our board members, whose experience in missions, business, medicine, and ministry of various kinds provides valuable direction.
• Our partnership with the Bolivian National Police, with whom we’re saving the lives of traffic accident victims.
• Our partnership with John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Monrovia, Liberia, where we’re blessed to be able to help them rebuild.
• The other ministries we work with in Bolivia, Liberia, and other countries around the world, with whose help we’re able to greatly increase our impact.
• Our newly redesigned website, thanks to Brian White of Trilion Studios.
• Our new inventory system, thanks to David McQuoid of Computers in Ministry.
• All of you!

Volunteers help provide medical relief to Liberia

As many of you know, Hospitals of Hope has been working with John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Monrovia, Liberia for the last two years, in an effort to help this hospital rebuild after the country’s devastating civil war. After this summer’s successful trip and further discussion with the staff at JFK, Hospitals of Hope has begun packing another container of essential medical supplies and equipment that is due to be sent out at the beginning of December.

We’ve had a great group of volunteers helping us out as we get ready to ship this next container. This past weekend, volunteers from Pathways at Central Christian Church came and sorted through surgical instruments, and a couple of surgical techs from Wesley Medical Center have been putting the instruments into packs to be used during surgery. We (and the people of Liberia) are so blessed by all of you who help us in our goal of providing quality, accessible medical care!

If you or your group is interested in helping out, call the Hospitals of Hope office at 316.262.0964, or send an email to leta@hospitalsofhope.org.

The 648,957,200th Richest Person in the World

I'm not exactly wealthy.

Of course, I have enough to eat every day, I can pay my heat and electricity bills, and my car, while a bit beat up, is still functional.

That's not quite enough to get me on the Forbes 400 list, but still, when I visited the Global Rich List, I found that I am the 648,957,200th richest person in the world-- in the top 10.8% of the approximately 7 billion people on this planet.

Just out of curiosity, I retried the experiment with my salary as a grad student, "making just enough to starve on." Even in my first year, when my stipend was considerably below the federal poverty line, I was in the top 14.17%.

I guess that's not too surprising, considering that "At least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day" (GlobalIssues.org). The top 20% of people, of whom I've always been a part, are responsible for 76.6% of the world's consumption (GlobalIssues.org).

It's easy for statistics like this to make us feel guilty. Who are we to take up three quarters of the world's resources?

That is a valid question, of course, and I'm certainly trying to be aware of how much I consume and cut down on wastefulness. But I don't think we should feel guilty about the ways we have been blessed. We should be thankful for our blessings-- and we should consider how we can use them to bless others. After all, it is "more blessed to give than to receive." Sounds like a win-win situation to me.

In 1 Timothy 6:8, Paul writes, "But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that" (NIV). I've definitely got plenty of both of those things, but not everyone does. In 3rd world countries, 1 in 3 children lacks adequate shelter, 1 in 5 lacks safe water, and 1 in 7 lacks basic health care (GlobalIssues.org).

We can't do everything, but we also aren't powerless. I think we often underestimate the impact of small sacrifices on our part. For the 80% of people living on less than $10 a day, even $10--the price of a pizza or a trip to the movies--can make a huge difference.

Those are sacrifices I can definitely afford to make. After all, I am the 648,957,200th richest person in the world.

Short-Term Volunteers Have Long-Term Impact

Can short-term missions work? Jonathan Flesher firmly believes that the answer to that question is “yes,” after his experiences volunteering with Hospitals of Hope this past summer.

Jonathan was one of over 60 volunteers who passed through the Hospitals of Hope guest house between April and August of this year, working at the hospital and in the community to meet people’s physical and spiritual needs. Many of these volunteers were students or full-fledged medical or dental professionals, but many others had no medical training and served in other ways.

Jonathan felt that the most tangible difference he and his team were able to make was at the Casa de Alegría—the House of Happiness—a home for girls who have been victims of abuse. Over the course of three weeks, these volunteers set out to bless these young women. The volunteers with medical and dental training did checkups on the girls, cleaned their teeth, and performed any necessary extractions. The men in the group replaced broken windows and used pick axes and hoes to break up the hard ground of the orphanage’s garden. The women spent time building relationships with the girls, taking them to church and to lunch, and giving them makeovers. Over the course of the three weeks, the volunteers witnessed a visible change in countenance in the girls, from quiet and withdrawn to joyful and engaged.

Another aspect of his ministry in Bolivia that Jonathan felt was particularly meaningful was outreaches to street children. Again, Hospitals of Hope volunteers provided basic health and dental care for these kids, along with health and hygiene education. While other volunteers worked on meeting these physical needs, Jonathan and Andy Hilton, another Hospitals of Hope volunteer, set up a prayer station where they talked and prayed with these young men and women. While drug abuse is widespread on the street and interfered with some aspects of the volunteer’s ministry, Jonathan and Andy were amazed to see that the drug use stopped while they prayed. This was the only time during their ministry that the kids were not sniffing glue. As Andy wrote, “This was the only time I remember the kids being still and calm, during prayer. It was an amazing and humbling sight to see as some of the kids actually knelt before God, as their Father, asking us to pray for their original families that they left behind to live on the streets.”

One of the things that impressed Jonathan the most during his time in Bolivia was the way Hospitals of Hope partners with other organizations and individual missionaries. These partnerships, he believes, provide an opportunity for God to really work through the Christian community there. We are just one group, but our partnerships allow us to minister to the girls at the Casa de Alegría and to the street children and ensure that this ministry will not end when our short-term volunteers leave.

When many of our volunteers come back, they tell us that their time in Bolivia has changed them, that God has used it to transform their life and their perspective. Jonathan’s experience was no different. In fact, he believes that God used his time with Hospitals of Hope to call him to long-term missions, perhaps in Bolivia.

Can short-term missions work? Jonathan believes that his experience is proof that it can, “if you’re willing to put your heart into a situation.”

The Concert and Beyond

Thanks to all of you who came out for last week's concert! We had around 200 of you come out to show your support and hear some amazing music from Waterdeep, Justin McRoberts, and SHEL. We especially want to thank all of you who volunteered to help with childcare, tickets, cleanup, etc. You all were great!

Now that the concert is over, we're turning our full attention to our other projects. One of the biggest ones we're working on right now is preparing to send another container of medical equipment to Liberia. The container we sent earlier this year has already made a big difference there, but the hospital still lacks many essentials. We've been talking with the hospital administration and are working on procuring some of the most important items that they still need. We've already got 3 x-ray machines, a bunch of hospital beds, and thousands of dollars worth of surgical instruments ready to send. As you can probably imagine, our warehouse is getting pretty full!

We're also continuing work on our longer-term project of implementing our new inventory system and getting the warehouse organized. This will be easier once we get the Liberia container sent, but there's a lot of work to do between now and then! If you're interested in helping out, send me an email at leta@hospitalsofhope.org.

Music and Missions at the Concert of Hope

We're really excited about the benefit concert tomorrow night, featuring Waterdeep, Justin McRoberts, and SHEL. They're all amazingly talented, and we're thrilled to have them partnering with us to help bring health care to the poor around the world.

I've just been reading a bit more about Justin McRoberts on his website and blog, and I'm really excited to get to hear him in person. Justin is deeply committed to supporting mission work, especially groups like Compassion International, the International Justice Mission, and the Blood Water Mission (and now us!). In regards to working on behalf of the poor, Justin writes, "I believe these are the defining characteristics of our likeness to God. The need and desire to care for the poor and oppressed is something we share in common with all humanity, not simply the religious."

Here's an excerpt from a recent post from his blog, talking about his song "Man Like Me":

Regarding the songs theme: I had just finished reading Jonathan Kozol..s book Savage Inequalities and was struck by the situation many poor find themselves in; the cycle of having nothing to stand on to help them climb out of their dilemma. For many poor, their desire is to not to be carried or receive a lifetime of free handouts, but to receive the initial help they need to get their foot on the first rung.. as Jeffery Sachs writes in The End Of Poverty. I realize full well that I say this in direct defiance of many who look upon the poor collectively as lazy and ill-intentioned. This social perspective is part of the dehumanization that the spirit of Poverty is most bent upon instilling in those who have. It begins with a sense of entitlement; that we have been something other than fortunate or blessed, but have in fact received our due. Those who are poor, in turn, receive what they deserve according to their efforts. In the long run, this perspective leads us to equate value with wealth and that kind of blindness is something far more than ignorant, it is destructive and shameful.

So come out tomorrow night and join us at Maranatha Worship Center (888 S. Webb Road in Wichita) for a great evening of music and missions. We hope to see you there!

Suffering and Redemption

I’ve always thought that the question “Why do bad things happen to good people?” seemed sort of cliché. Not only that, but it’s a question that I can theologically dismiss in about two seconds:

Q. Why do bad things happen to good people?

A. There are no good people. Next question.

Unfortunately, though, that answer doesn’t get rid of the issues of injustice and pain. And these are issues that resurface again and again. The current recession continues to cost hardworking people their livelihoods. A friend of mine recently lost a couple of people close to her in a tragic accident. My sister witnessed the effects of decades of war while teaching in Afghanistan. Our staff and volunteers have seen people dying because of lack of basic medical care in Liberia and Bolivia. I, personally, have been faced over and over again with children begging on the streets of Bolivia and Guatemala.

Especially in this profession, these are issues that I can’t escape from. And, really, none of us can.

Some people buy into “Oprah theology,” as my pastor recently pointed out—they comfort themselves by claiming that everything is supposed to happen, that God planned for these bad things to happen in order to bring about some greater purpose. Others claim that God is powerless to change things—that he hates the tragedies we experience but can’t stop them. Others claim that God is simply cruel, or distant, or nonexistent.

I can’t buy into any of those theories. I can’t believe that God orchestrates evil—and to me there is no question that many things that happen are evil. And I think that the Bible is clear that God is all-powerful, that he has the power to stop bad things from happening, as well as that he is loving and deeply personal.

I could go on writing about this for hours, about how this ultimately comes back to the Fall and to the question of free will, etc, but I don’t have time to write that, and I’m sure you don’t have time to read it. Really, though, I think the key to this issue lies in Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (NIV). It doesn’t say God causes the pain, just that he uses it for good, and I find this immensely comforting.

In my own life, I’ve found that the main way God uses the evil that I’ve experienced to accomplish good is through other people. It’s amazing to me how He uses such fragile instruments as human beings to redeem suffering—to fight evil, and to replace it with good.

And that’s what we’re trying to do here. We can’t change the histories of the places we work or of the people we work with. We can’t change the fact that war and injustice and natural phenomena have caused untold suffering. But we can let God use us to bring healing and hope. Bad things will continue to happen, but God is good and will redeem our suffering. And I’m willing to bet my life on that.

Our site is back up

Our site is back online, and our email is back up, too. Hurray!

Website down

Our web host's server went down, so our website and email aren't working right now. We hope to have this resolved shortly.

In the meantime, if you need to contact us or if you would like more information about our benefit concert on October 16, you can call the office at 316.262.0964 or email me at leta.reppert@gmail.com.

Sorry for any inconvenience!

Operation Bolivia

I was just reading the Bolivia page on the Operation World website, a site dedicated to helping Christians know how to pray for mission work around the world. Even though I've been involved in mission work to Bolivia for over a year now, there are some facts that continue to shock me and remind me of the need for prayer.

Some things that stood out to me:

-Even though the literacy rate is 77%, the "functional literacy" rate is less than 50%.

-The drug trade is a growing problem in Bolivia, and, due to diplomatic tensions between Bolivia and the US, the DEA was expelled about a year ago. And, while I completely agree that the drug trade needs to be eradicated, it's easy to see why there is so much resistance. When you are a poor farmer, it is hard to see how growing bananas is going to support your family as well as growing coca would.

-Over 80% of children live in extreme poverty, and over 80,000 are known to be addicted to drugs.

Not all of the facts are depressing, though. The evangelical church has a growing presence in Bolivia, despite the challenges it faces. In fact, the Bolivian church is even sending missionaries to places like the Middle East (see the blog post I wrote a few months ago about how Hospitals of Hope is helping with this). God is at work in Bolivia, and he is using his people to carry out that work.

If you get a chance, check out the Operation World site and take some time to pray about what you read there, as well as for our staff, volunteers, and patients in Bolivia.

Missions and the Economy

I recently read this post from John Piper's blog, in which he argues that "the worst of all times is the best of all times for missions." This is so, he says, for four reasons:
1) because tough economic times force us to be more dependent on God,
2) because our impact is increased when people see that we have sacrificed to serve them,
3) because people are more receptive when they see how uncertain life is, and
4) because difficult economic circumstances can make us more aware that material possessions don't possess true value, inspiring us to be more generous with what we have.

There is a lot of truth in what Piper says here. While the state of the economy is scary for just about all of us, frequently the most difficult circumstances are the ones that God uses to make the biggest impact. When we trust in Him, rather than ourselves, we frequently find that the results are beyond what we could have dreamed. He is, after all, "able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine" (Ephesians 3:20).

Actually, it seems that frequently our possessions get in the way of our generosity. Studies have shown that lower-income Americans consistently give a greater percentage of their income that those with higher incomes. When we have less, we know that we're trusting God for everything anyway, and we're less inclined to rest in the security of our possessions. We're more inclined to be like the widow in Mark 12:41-44, who gave all that she had to live on, trusting that God would provide.

Not only do difficult economic circumstances change our attitude and actions, but, like Piper says, they open doors for ministry that would otherwise remain closed. While stepping out in faith to do missions is frightening, we can rest assured that God will use our sacrifices.

I certainly hope that the economic climate improves soon, but, in the meantime, I don't want to waste the opportunities that we are being presented with. Whether or not the worst of times economically are really the best of times for missions, they are the circumstances we have been given. And God is faithful, in the worst of times and the best of times.

Concert of Hope featuring Waterdeep on Oct. 16

On October 16, Hospitals of Hope will hold its 2nd annual benefit concert to support our international medical mission work. This year’s concert will feature popular Christian band Waterdeep, talented singer/songwriter Justin McRoberts, and SHEL, a neo-acoustic quartet of sisters.

Tickets, which are $12 or $10 each for groups of 10 or more, can be purchased online at http://hospitalsofhope.org/concert.htm or at the door the night of the concert. The concert will be held at Maranatha Worship Center, at 888 S. Webb Road in Wichita. Doors open at 6:30, and the concert will begin at 7:30. For more information, contact the Hospitals of Hope office at 316.262.0964 or via email at info@hospitalsofhope.org.

Waterdeep, composed of husband and wife team Don and Lori Chaffer, is an independent Christian band which recently moved to Nashville, TN from the Kansas City area. Formed in 1995, Waterdeep has included several other musicians over the years and has released over ten albums. Waterdeep is best known for a joint project with 100 Portraits that yielded the worship album Enter the Worship Circle— reported by some media outlets as the biggest-selling independent Christian album of all time. Released in 1999, it included original worship songs such as “You Are So Good To Me,” “I Will Not Forget You,” and “You Have Redeemed My Soul.”


Justin McRoberts is a highly respected singer, songwriter and speaker who has carved out a niche for himself in the independent music scene. He is one of those rare artists who blends artistry, honesty and humor almost seamlessly. McRoberts’ most recent release, Deconstruction (2008), is laden with the same disarming honesty he is known for both in his recordings as well as his live performances.


Shel, of Ft Collins, Colorado, glides effortlessly atop the lilting, sublime voices of the Holbrook sisters, Sarah, Hannah, Eva and Liza. But Shel's appeal goes way beyond the vocals. These gals are exceptional musicians as well, with each member playing an array of instruments including violin, electric bass, piano, mandolin to drums.

Both dire need, reasons for hope in Liberia

The woman who came into the ER didn’t have anything obviously wrong with her. Although she told the staff she thought her leg was broken, there were no bones protruding from the skin, and her leg looked relatively normal. The injury, she told them, had happened months before. First, she had tried visiting a “country doctor”—a practitioner of traditional medicine—who had subjected her leg to a regimen of daily massage. Finally, when his treatments made no difference, she came to the hospital.

Because of a power surge a month before, the hospital had been left without a functioning x-ray machine, but there was another hospital nearby that had one, and a couple of days later, they were able to transport the woman there for x-rays. They found that her leg had, indeed, been broken severely, but, because she had waited so long to come in for treatment, the bones had already begun to re-calcify at a sharp angle, requiring major surgery to repair the damage.

This is one of the many cases the Hospitals of Hope team saw in Liberia during their trip there in August. They worked primarily at John F. Kennedy Medical Center, the referral center for the entire country—which makes its lack of a functioning x-ray machine especially problematic.

While JFK was once a top-notch facility, currently only 1 of its 5 floors is in use, due to the devastation wreaked by Liberia’s civil war. While many organizations and foreign governments are working to help repair the damage, work at JFK faces several challenges.

A couple of the primary problems with re-development are the poor quality of some donations and the lack of infrastructure to receive the donations. When the Hospitals of Hope team arrived, they found that another aid organization had recently sent two sets of surgical lights—but they had neglected to include the controllers for the lights, which left these expensive pieces of equipment useless. In addition to this, our team found that the hospital did not have enough qualified staff to process all of the donations they had received—leaving many useful items stuck in storage because no one had had the time to sort through them.

We avoided these problems with the shipment we sent earlier this year by carefully considering the hospital’s needs before sending the items and by sending the team in August to install them. Our team was able to install patient monitors, ventilators, and other equipment and train the hospital staff how to use them properly. The hospital was grateful for their work, and one hospital administrator even commented that we are the first organization to send good, quality items and that, on top of that, we even came to install them.

In addition to installing equipment, the team treated patients at JFK and at another nearby hospital and completed staff training in everything from sepsis to anesthesia. This kind of work is crucial in Liberia, since many doctors fled during the civil war and many of those who remain lack training. Without sufficient doctors or proper training, patients will continue to receive poor care, no matter how many x-ray machines are available.

While this situation may seem bleak, the team was able to see improvements from last year. JFK is almost ready to open up three new patient wings, and the country's infrastructure is steadily improving. Life expectancy has increased significantly in Liberia in the years since the civil war, and it has now reached 56—still low, but climbing.

Hospitals of Hope is making a difference in Liberia, and it is your support that makes this possible. Thank you for helping to bring hope in a country that has seen so much despair.

Dental Outreaches in Bolivia

This summer, Hospitals of Hope volunteers did a number of dental outreaches in the communities around the hospital. Here's a report from one of the volunteers:

As I was getting ready for dental clinic this morning, Iris told me that we might not be able to have the outreach as our trufi driver (Manuel) was not able to get to us due to the road blockade. [Road blockades are common in Bolivia.] Then half an hour later, we got word that we had patients waiting for us already in Comunidad Oachaca Grande. Monica, a local missionary, volunteered to come to pick us up in groups so we could still have the dental clinic, as patients were already waiting for us to show up. That is exactly what God had in mind as He knew we needed all the volunteers to do the dental clinic. We had planned to have a small dental team go to Comunidad Oachaca Grande, with the rest going to an orphanage to minister through hair cutting and seed planting. The hair cutting and seed planting will have to wait until God opens that door.

We arrived at about 11 am after driving through fields and nowhere. The place where we set up clinic is an actual medical/dental room with a manual dental chair. We set up another 5 stations for the volunteers to do cleanings and fluoride treatment in that small room. When the second team showed up later, they set up clinic in an unfinished room. So we had about 15 chairs going at one time. We did mainly cleaning and fluoride (as all team members are experts at that by now), and extractions when the patients request or agree to the extractions. Almost 90% of the patients we see needed extractions, but most do not want the extractions as their teeth do not hurt them anymore, but the infection is still there.

During lunch time, Jonathan shared the gospel with the patients. Tomas, our house dad, was there to interpret (again God's plan) because he could not go to work due to the road blockade. It is amazing to see how the day unfolds as we commit our days to our Lord. Since this was a last minute change of plan, we were not prepared to pack lunch, so all we had to bring was bread to make PBJ. Again God had better plans, and while we worked in the dental clinic, Monica cooked a delicious Bolivian meal for us. We saw probably about 70 - 80 patients today. We ended our day @ 6.30 pm and Monica drove us back to the guest house. We experienced the perimeter of the road blockade, but were able to turn around and get back to the hospital - Praise God!

After dinner, we had a campfire and everyone shared their experiences, and it was good to hear how each one has grown in the Lord, or learned something about themselves and about living together as a family in such a short time. God's love really binds everyone together.

The Trouble with Missions

I just read an article called “Short-Term Missions Can Create a Long-Term Mess” from the Chalmers Center (full text available online). In this article, the author writes about the problem when mission teams “do things to the people instead of with the people,” making people feel disenfranchised, rather than empowered. It’s a thought-provoking article, especially for those of us who are deeply involved in mission work. How do we make sure that we’re not hurting those we’re trying to help?

The author of this post argues that mission groups need to join with the people they are trying to serve, working with them instead of simply for them. That is an approach we are trying to take at Hospitals of Hope, in order to make our work truly beneficial and sustainable.

In Bolivia, nearly all of our staff members are Bolivians, with only a couple of American missionaries involved in the administration. Our volunteers work with our Bolivian staff, as well as with other organizations in the area, run both by Bolivians and Americans. We are training local police and firemen, as well as hospital staff, in emergency medicine, trying to ensure that we help them meet local needs in the long term. We are working to involve the local church in the coffee shop we plan to open, hoping eventually to turn over most of the control to Bolivian Christians.

In Liberia, we are working with the primary government hospital in the country to help improve care in their Emergency Department. Having lost a great deal of equipment in the decades-long civil war, the Emergency Department was in need of basic equipment, such as patient monitors. Having discussed the need with the hospital, we sent a container full of equipment earlier this year. A team from Hospitals of Hope is there right now, installing the equipment and working with the staff to ensure that they know how to use and care for it, while other members of the team treat patients. Our goal is to not only provide short-term relief, but to help the hospital to become self-sustaining in the long-term.

It’s often difficult to know the best way to work in an international context, how to truly help those we’re trying to serve. Ultimately, we have to just do our best and trust that God will use it. Fortunately for us, we serve a God whose “power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9)—and that’s a promise that we can count on, whether we’re working in Bolivia, Liberia, or here at home.

HOH Team Brings Hope in Liberia

Imagine never having been to the dentist. I, for one, think it sounds great-- or, at least, it would until I needed to have a tooth pulled.

Even worse, imagine having to go to the emergency room, wait in line for hours, and then find that the hospital didn’t have the equipment necessary to treat your illness.

This, unfortunately, is the situation facing many in Liberia, West Africa.

Hospitals of Hope sent a team to Liberia last summer, and now, after much prayer, hard work, and a few unexpected challenges, a Hospitals of Hope team has returned. The team, made up of volunteers from the US and Britain, is treating medical and dental patients—an incredibly important task in this country with only 1 doctor per 28,000 residents and even fewer dentists. Many of those they see will probably never have visited a dentist before, and any doctors’ visits will have been few and far between.

The team is also planning to supervise the installation of the equipment in the container that we shipped to Liberia in May, which is due to be delivered at the hospital either today or tomorrow. This equipment, containing everything from patient monitors to hospital beds, will greatly improve patient care in the ER at John F. Kennedy Medical Center, the referral center for the entire country.

The team has very limited internet access, due to their busy schedule and the unpredictability of the power supply in Liberia, but I will post further news from the trip when it is available. In the meantime, please keep praying with us for the team members and their work in Liberia.

Ways to pray for the Liberia trip:

- that God will use the medical and dental team to meet many needs—both physical and spiritual
- for the quick, safe, and successful unloading and installation of equipment in the hospital
- for encouragement, health, & safety for the team members
- for the continued stabilization and re-development of the country in the wake of its civil war

Report from Thailand & Laos

One part of what we do at Hospitals of Hope is supporting short-term trips sent by other organizations and churches. Earlier this year, we donated medical and dental equipment to a team sent to Thailand and Laos by the Mennonite Church, USA & Canada.

During their trip, the team served approximately 900 patients, using a cosmetologist's chair in place of a dental chair and performing dental extractions under local anesthetic-- extractions necessary due to the local habit of chewing on sugar cane. Here's an excerpt from a report on the trip written by Wendell Wiens, a general surgeon who went along:

The language barrier and newness of our clinic gave us no way to use the usual mental preparation and magic a dentist and parent might use here. One 6 year old himself wanted his abscessed and carious lower premolars on each side out so badly that he cooperated amazingly well on each step of the process. It was amazing to me to see a child so young be so determined to get rid of what hurt him during eating, and even during sleep. He bravely tolerated the dental extractions of all four just to get relief....

In the end it is amazing that the right instruments and dental supplies were donated in time for the trip.... God did provide in an amazing way. Acknowledging the unpredictability of human life, I would be willing to do it again if the situation arrived. Versatility in the end must be a characteristic of general RNs, general family physicians, general surgeons, and general Christians.

At Hospitals of Hope, we welcome the opportunity to support teams serving around the world. As Wendell wrote, "To be 'one in Christ' has special significance when we work together for others' benefit."

Long road to recovery for women in Liberia

Liberia's civil war is over, but many of its effects remain. Much infrastructure was destroyed--but, in some ways, this is the easiest problem to fix.

Up to 10% of children may have served as soldiers. Up to 75% of women were raped.

Unfortunately, the type of mentality that caused/was produced by 14 years of conflict is not easy to change, and Liberia's women and girls, in particular, are still facing its effects.

Rape, even rape of young children, is widespread. The government and NGOs are taking measures to change this, but there is still a long way to go. Check out Nicholas Kristof's opinion column in the New York Times for more information on the situation and the progress being made.

A team from Hospitals of Hope will be headed back to Liberia in a week and a half, where they'll be caring for patients at a couple of hospitals and working to refurbish the emergency room at John F. Kennedy Medical Center, the referral center for the entire country.

Pray for safety for our team as they travel, and pray for the patients they will see. Pray that they will be able to demonstrate Christ's love to those they serve, and pray that God will use them to bring a measure of healing in Liberia.

New Inventory System: Volunteers Needed

Hospitals of Hope is in the process of transitioning to a new inventory system, built specifically for us by David McQuoid of Computers in Ministry and Mission Builders International. This system will make us much more efficient, decreasing our response time for requests, improving our record keeping, and freeing up staff time for other work, allowing us to do a better job of accomplishing our mission of showing Christ's love by healing bodies and souls.

We will be making this transition over the course of the next several months. During this time, we will need several volunteers who will commit to coming in on a weekly or bi-weekly basis as we work to enter our current and incoming inventory into the system.

Previous experience is a plus but not required, as training will be provided.

If you are interested in helping us with this transition, please contact Leta by phone at (316) 262-0964 or by email at leta@hospitalsofhope.org.

Returning

Check out the final post from Thomas' blog about volunteering in Bolivia:

Our time in Bolivia has come to an end. Our bags packed, our goodbyes said, and with our souvenirs we closed the door to the guest house. Our ride to the airport is a long and bumpy one. There was a protest going on and most of the roads in Quillocollo were blockaded with tires and debris. Our driver, Manual, navigated through the busy streets finding unblocked routes getting us to our destination. My heart is heavy, my mind is torn between all the new memories from the last month and all of the tasks have to do when I return to my home. My emotions are high; I’m excited, sad, joyful, and somewhat fearful.

The biggest fear that I have about returning is that I will return to life in the states the same as before. I try thinking about all of the things I’ve learned and the transformations that have taken place and try imagining what will be different, but I don’t know what being different looks like. I know in my heart that the work I did in Bolivia was there to prepare me to do the work that exists in my life. I also don’t want to work on some kind of emotional high that leaves me burnt out and spawns no real sustainable change.

I’m still trying to figure out what this whole month has meant for the rest of my life, what will be different, or what will improve. I know that without a doubt that my trip was meaningful and purposeful and God had a reason for me to be there, but as I return home, I realize that it is time to start life again, to jump into the ruts and routines of the daily life. But I pray that in my ruts and routines I show God’s love, provide for the needs of others, and truly live a life of service to the people in my reach.

Thank you for reading this blog,

Thank you for your financial support,

Thank you all for your prayers.

Another article about our emergency base

The Cochabamba newspaper, Los Tiempos, has published a second article about our new emergency base. For the Spanish full text, see the Los Tiempos website.

Or, you can just read a (somewhat awkward, but accurate) translation here:

Unit Will Attend Accidents

The police will be able to arrive more rapidly to help the victims of traffic accidents that occur in the lower valley and the highway toward the west with the creation of the first Highway Rescue Unit of the country.

The Unit became reality with the momentum of Hospitals of Hope of Anocaraire (Vinto), the best-equipped medical service of the department [like a state] and located strategically in the lower valley. The Police Command consolidated the creation of the Rescue Unit, designating a team of 11 police officers, so that the station will be alert 24 hours a day and will be able to respond rapidly to accidents. The first Highway Rescue Unit is composed of the police, the fire department, and Hospitals of Hope of Anocaraire. The Unit is prepared to offer different services, like an anti-fire brigade, an emergency medical system for pre-hospital care, and a rescue brigade for accident victims in ravines and on the high mountain.

Website back up

Our website, hospitalsofhope.org, is back online. It's still got a few problems, due to changes with our web host, but, for the most part, it's functional.

For those of you who read Spanish, you might want to check out the article about Hospitals of Hope's new emergency base in Bolivia in Cochabamba's main newspaper.

Website Down

Our website is currently down due to server issues that our web host is having. Hopefully it will be up and running again in the next few days. Sorry for the inconvenience.

In the meantime, check out our Flickr page (www.flickr.com/groups/hospitalsofhope) and our Twitter page (www.twitter.com/hospitalsofhope).

Have a great Fourth of July!

Street Kids

Here's another post from Thomas' blog (http://boliviablog.wordpress.com/):

Today we had the privilege to teach street kids about sexual education and basic hygiene. We worked last night on our presentation and tried to make sure we included all of the facts about STDS and proper teeth brushing rituals. Our ride to Cochabamba was one filled with nervousness and final preparations. When we arrived in near downtown Cochabamba in a small park with many trees, we met up with Ami Johnson, a independent 29 year old missionary who focuses solely on street kids. She gave us some insight on what to expect and warned us to make sure we don’t leave things sitting around that could be stolen. After the short meeting she left to meet the kids on a street corner a few blocks away.

The kids work on various street corners either juggling fruit in front of cars in busy intersections or washing car windows. This particular group lives under a bridge in a small tunnel. Ami told us that most of the kids are between 9-18, all are sexually active, most to all have STDS, they have lice, are malnutricitioned, and 100% of the kids are addicted to sniffing shoe glue. These were very disturbing facts which were difficult to fathom.

About 15 minutes after she left, 2 taxis with about 20 kids crammed like sardines in the small subcompact arrived at the park. They started walking towards us, some with their window squeegees in hand all with dirty clothes. We brought a soccer ball so many of them started to play around with the ball in an open area of the park, others came and introduced themselves to us, whereas many just sat down on a ledge next to a flower garden and talked to each other. After a couple of minutes I went up to the ledge and started talking to them. As I was making small talk with a boy probably 15 with a large stained faded blue coat, I noticed he had a small plastic bottle hidden in the sleeve of his coat while he surreptitiously placed it under his nose and breathed in slowly. I in mid-sentence lost my train of thought and mumbled in my words for a few seconds until Ami came up and sternly told him to put it away until they leave the park. Needless to say, he was sniffing a shoe glue locally called Clefa which is very potent and very dangerous. After about 5 minutes I started noticing that everybody had one of those little plastic bottles and would constantly breathe in the fumes.

I’ve known for quite a while that street children in South America sniffed glue, I’ve read articles about it and have been told by many different people at home and here. However, when I saw the faces of young teenagers stumbling and slurring their speech, it occurred to me that knowing the facts doesn’t mean a thing until you see it right in front of you.

We were told that we had about 30 minutes before the kids would get bored and stop paying attention. When we started, we lost their attention in about 4 minutes. It took games, skits, interaction, prizes, and pictures of infected penises for them to stay engaged about half of the time. Some would just walk around, some would climb in the trees and all of them would sniff their glue. After our presentation was over, we passed out some toothbrushes and toothpaste, gave them some food and got to interact with some of the kids.

One boy, Mosais, was timid and friendly, he asked us about a couple of American movies and let us take pictures with him. He stood out to me from the crowd because he really appeared as if he hated the lifestyle he was living. He looked as if he had hope of getting out of the streets. Many of the kids have accepted and enjoy their life of sex and drugs and having nobody telling them what to do, most to all street kids do not live past their 30s. Mosais is the only one in the group I felt had a chance of truly overcoming this dangerous lifestyle.

As we said our goodbyes we starting walking towards the main road, Ami flagged a taxi and many of the kids crammed inside. 2 kids, Alexandra and Jose walked next to Ami and held her hand. They would touch her long blonde hair, sniff it, and smile. After a couple of blocks the rest of the kids disappeared from our sight. We walked down the long busy road, boarded a small bus, and left traveled home.

Spring / Summer Newsletter available online

We've just gotten our most recent newsletter back from the printer, and paper copies will be mailed out in the next few days. If you'd like to check it out online first, you can access a PDF of at http://hospitalsofhope.org/pdf/Spring-Newsletter-web.pdf. This newsletter has stories about new and continuing projects in Bolivia, current and future work in Liberia, as well as about other aspects of HOH's work.

If you're not on the Hospitals of Hope mailing list but would like to be, send me an email at leta@hospitalsofhope.org with your contact information, and I'll put you on the list.

Blog from Bolivia

One of the volunteers currently serving in Bolivia has started a blog about his and his wife's trip. Here's one of the first posts:

Day one of this adventure started yesterday at 2:00 and is still continuing on through this night. Our travels have been mostly uneventful with the exceptions of Ashley having her maiden name on the passport which caused some problems on our way there, getting some altitude sickness during our quick layover in La Paz, and further the trouble with customs here in Bolivia as we tried to bring down some medical computer equipment. For much of our flight I was either praying, sleeping, or cramming various spanish vocabulary as if studying for a final.

Our 45 minute drive to the hospital guest house was more than exciting; the sights, sounds, smells, and atmosphere of a new world brought into question my bodily senses. Today I smelt new aromas, tasted new delicacies, and witnessed beautiful and profound vistas. The emersion into a new culture leaves me nothing less than overwhelmed and excited.

After arriving at the house and receiving our orientation from the clear and hospitable host Iris in spanish of course, we ate a homemade authentic Bolivian lunch on the grass with the other volunteers and basked in the warm winter sun.

After lunch, we took a trip in to Cochabamba and visited El Cristo de Concordia which is a giant statue of Jesus rightfully placed at the head of the city on a large hill overseeing the people. Then we stopped for some ice cream at a shop in the downtown.

Although I saw many sites and various things to mourn over, one scene tonight stuck out to me: One of the countless street children in the downtown area stood in front of our car juggling limes until we gave him some money. Children were begging for money various ways throughout the whole city, however, when I looked into his eyes, I didn’t see a child seeking approval or trying to entertain strangers. I saw an empty person who has been numbed by this desperation to survive the next day.

Today has been a blessing.

Thomas

Check out future posts from Thomas' blog at http://boliviablog.wordpress.com/.

New volunteer story on the Hospitals of Hope website

I've just posted a new story from one of our volunteers on the Hospitals of Hope website. Minna Chen describes her experience working with Bolivian children:

Victor, Mario, David, Jhoanna, Jheison, Oscar, Beto, Denis, Josue, Cristian, Junior, Fernando, Mailene, Annelise, Fabiola. These fifteen children live in a three-bedroom orphanage surrounded by oxen-plowed lettuce and flower fields in the rural mountain village of Combuyo, Bolivia. I met them as a volunteer with Hospitals of Hope and had the privilege of visiting them to help provide free checkups, tutoring, and most importantly, entertainment.

Go to http://hospitalsofhope.org/testimonies.htm to read the rest of this story and other stories from our volunteers.

Liberia container shipped

On Wednesday, we saw the culmination of several months' work, as we shipped out our container full of supplies for the Emergency Department at John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Monrovia, Liberia. This container contained hospital beds, surgical lights, patient monitors, and many other pieces of valuable equipment that will greatly improve patient care at JFK.

In August, Mike and Daniel will be returning to Liberia with a team of medical volunteers to supervise the installation of equipment and relieve the overworked staff at JFK. For more information about HOH's work in Liberia, check out the Liberia page of our website, at http://hospitalsofhope.org/liberia.htm. For more information about the Liberia trip this summer, contact Daniel at daniel@hospitalsofhope.org.

Santusa's surgery

We've received great response from our post yesterday, and we've already received sufficient funds to cover the costs of Santusa's surgery. We will let you know if there are any further needs. Thank you so much for your overwhelming support; this surgery has the potential to make a huge difference in the life of this family!

Urgent Request

We received an email today from our hospital administrator in Bolivia. On May 8, a young woman named Santusa was admitted to our hospital with acute pancreatitis. Although Santusa's husband works as a chauffeur, they are very poor. They and their three year old daughter sleep on the floor every night.

Santusa's condition is serious, and her husband is at the point of taking her home to die. Our hospital staff would like to try surgery, but the cost is approximately $1,150 US dollars, and the hospital does not currently have the funds to cover it.

The situation is urgent, as her husband will take her home tomorrow if we cannot cover the costs of her surgery. Please prayerfully consider giving to help cover the cost of Santusa's surgery. You can give online, at http://hospitalsofhope.org/donate.htm; please give us a call at (316) 262-0964 or send me an email at leta@hospitalsofhope.org to let us know that you would like your donation to be directed toward Santusa's surgery.

Website survey

We're considering making some changes to our website, www.hospitalsofhope.org, so we've put together a short survey to gather feedback about ways we could improve it. Please take a few minutes to fill out the online survey at http://tinyurl.com/q2x5lq. Thanks!

Missionary training and container release in Bolivia

Hospitals of Hope in Bolivia has been given the opportunity to participate in the Bolivian church's missionary endeavors, helping enable Bolivian missionaries to carry the gospel to other parts of the world. The above picture shows Hospitals of Hope volunteers giving basic medical training to Bolivians training to go as missionaries to places such as the Middle East, enabling them to care physically as well as spiritually for those they serve.

In other news, we are pleased to announce that the container we shipped to Bolivia at the end of March has already arrived, been released from customs, and been unloaded. The last container that we shipped to Bolivia was stuck in customs for a year and a half, so we're thrilled that this shipment went so smoothly. USAID worked with us on this shipment, allowing us to clear customs quickly and easily, which means that the supplies and equipment we sent can be put to immediate use. Thank you all for your prayers for the quick release of our container.

A word of appreciation

I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of the wonderful volunteers who have given their time to serve with Hospitals of Hope.

The guest house in Bolivia has been busy for the last several weeks, as volunteers from Wichita, other parts of the U.S., and even Canada have been serving at the hospital. They have taken care of patients, participated in "street kid washings," and done manual labor on the hospital grounds. If you haven't seen the new volunteer pictures on our Flickr group yet, check them out at http://www.flickr.com/groups/hospitalsofhope/.

The international volunteers aren't the only ones we owe thanks, though. We have great local and "virtual" volunteers, as well. Our local volunteers come in and help us here at the office and warehouse, doing everything from office work to mowing the lawn. Our virtual volunteers complete tasks at home on their own schedules and email their results back to us, greatly reducing our workload. One virtual volunteer has worked for us for over 80 hours in the last month!

Our volunteers are vital to the work we do here, enabling us to do far more to serve the poor around the world than our 3-person staff could handle on our own. We couldn't do it without all of you!

home again...

Hello everyone!

Thank you so much for the prayers and support, Daniel and I (Brianna) have arrived home safely!

The trip was incredibly fruitful for me personally, as far as the acquisition of information and experiencing life in Bolivia. The atmosphere and energy of Quillacollo/Cochabamba are very encouraging. Along with all this, I was able to learn a great deal about exciting things like non-profit qualifications, articles of incorporation, and endless lists of legal paperwork. Yay!

We have made a little headway with the location of possible properties for Xelda Ministries, but much work is yet to be done. It seems that for each decision made, there are 12 more waiting for us! But the Lord is faithful, and He will guide us to the place that He has in mind, we are sure of it.

Along with the encouraging advances for Xelda Ministries, I am pleased to report that Angel Eyes is up and running. We only need a few minor adjustments to video quality and things of that nature. The Bolivian doctors are already using Angel Eyes, but a network needs to be set up here in the States in order to begin collaboration. We are currently building this network, so if you are interested in being involved by taking a shift on the network, or by other means, please contact Daniel at daniel@hospitalsofhope.org.

Thanks again for your prayers and encouragement.

Blessings!

-Brianna

Update from Bolivia

Back in February, I wrote about Xelda Ministries, a friendship ministry that we're starting in Cochabamba, Bolivia. We've been truly blessed to have Brianna Brown join us on this project, and she's down in Bolivia with Mike and Daniel right now, working to get that project off the ground. Here is an update from Brianna:

After a little trepidation, an extra night in Miami, and a few scary airplane incidents, we have made it safely to the hospital here in Bolivia. Mike, Daniel, and I arrived a little more than a week ago, and since then have been working furiously on our various projects.

Daniel’s project, Angel Eyes, is is nearing completion daily, with the space lab data already transmitting clearly, and the video feed on the way shortly. This is a great and distinguishing opportunity for the hospital, as most hospitals in the United States don’t even have access to this technology. Angel Eyes enables the diagnosis of patients here in Bolivia, by doctors in the States, who can see their physical condition through the video feed, and monitor their vital stats in real time. This is a truly wonderful gift that God has given us to use. Pray that it is as helpful as it has the potential to be.

Mike has been doing as Mike usually does, fixing everything possible and teaching at every opportunity. Also, the two of us (Mike and Brianna) have been doing quite a bit of work with the newest project, an evangelistic adventure called Xelda Ministries. Due to a gift given by Mike’s late grandmother, a new ministry opportunity bearing her name and passion for evangelistic outreach is already beginning to take shape. The primary idea is to open a coffee shop in the plaza area of Quillacollo, aimed toward youth and young adults. This café will be used to minister to the people of Cochabamba, and it will create ministry opportunities for the growth and development of the Bolivian Christians in our community. In the future, we hope to expand this ministry to the other parts of the world where HOH has a presence.

There have been so many opportunities to sow into the lives of the people around us. Two volunteers from Virginia were here with us the first week, and we have two more from another place arriving on Thursday of this week. God is doing amazing things in the lives of those around us that we serve, and in our own lives as well. Please pray that the blessings continue and that the heart of Christ is glorified in our work. Thanks so much!

-Brianna

Container to Bolivia

Yesterday, Daniel and I loaded up a shipping container to send down to our hospital in Bolivia. The container holds important equipment for our hospital, such as an x-ray machine, a c-arm (also known as an x-ray image intensifier), a ct scanner (for parts to fix our current one), and a 400 kilowatt back-up generator, in case of power outages. It also contains equipment for local emergency responders, such as fire hoses and spine boards. We couldn't have gotten the container loaded without the generosity of the Berry Company, which donated time and equipment to help load the generator, which weighs close to 10,000 pounds.

Since the last container we shipped to Bolivia was stuck in customs for over a year, we will be working with USAID on this shipment to ensure quicker delivery of the items. Please pray for safe and quick transport and delivery of this container.

Hospitals of Hope founder wins national humanitarian award

Wesley Medical Center announced on Tuesday that Michael Wawrzewski, a Physician Assistant at Wesley and the founder and CEO of Hospitals of Hope, has been awarded the 2009 Frist Humanitarian Award. The Frist Humanitarian Award is the highest honor bestowed by HCA, Wesley Medical Center’s parent company, on its employees and volunteers.

The award is named for Dr. Thomas Frist, Sr., one of the founders of HCA, and recognizes outstanding dedication to humanitarian work and service to the community. Every year, winners are chosen in three categories-- physicians, other employees, and volunteers. A local awards ceremony was held Tuesday at Wesley’s Cessna Conference Center; the national awards ceremony will be held in Nashville on Monday, April 20 at 2 p.m. CST.

You can read more about Mike's award at examiner.com or in the Wichita Eagle. Please join us in congratulating Mike for this outstanding honor; he has truly earned it.

Volunteer day Thursday, March 19

We will be having another volunteer day this coming Thursday, March 19, since this next week is spring break. We'll plan on working in the warehouse from 9 am to 5 pm, so we'd welcome you all to join us. On our last volunteer day, in January, we accomplished far more than we thought we would be able to do, which has been really helpful in preparing the containers we're sending out to Africa, South America, and the Middle East.

If you think you'll be coming, email me at leta@hospitalsofhope.org or call us at (316) 262-0964, so that we can plan projects for you all to work on.

Thanks for coming to the Banquet of Hope

Thanks to all of you who came out to support Hospitals of Hope at the Banquet of Hope this past Friday. Alexis Bilindabagabo, bishop of the diocese of Gahini in Rwanda, spoke about God's faithfulness in the midst of overwhelming circumstances and our need to act on faith, drawing on his experiences as a survivor of the Rwandan genocide and as founder of the largest NGO in Rwanda.

Hospitals of Hope can testify with Bishop Bilindabagabo about God's faithfulness, as he continues to bless our work. We had over 225 people in attendance at the banquet, and giving increased from last year's banquet, despite the recession. We have been facing increased requests for aid in the past year, and we appreciate your willingness to step out in faith to support our work.

We also want to thank all of those who helped to make the banquet happen. We had many volunteers who came into the office in the weeks leading up to the banquet, giving generously of their time to ensure good press coverage of the banquet, to assemble centerpieces, and to request donations for our first-ever silent auction. Many area businesses donated items to sell at the silent auction-- items such as books, tickets to concerts and sporting events, and dinner at local restaurants.

Central Christian Church hosted the event again this year, and Doug Barker, the Singles and Involvement Pastor at Central, served as emcee. The Wichita Eagle and Way-FM both did stories about the banquet.

The banquet was a big success, and we truly appreciate all of you who made that happen. Our ministry depends on the support of people like you, and you've helped us get our year off to a great start.

Equipment for Bolivia needed

We will be shipping out a container for Bolivia in the next couple of weeks, and we're still in need of a few items for the hospital. Specifically, we need a sewing machine in good, working condition for the staff in Bolivia to use to make and repair sheets. We have been swamped with patients in the last couple of months, and a sewing machine would really help our staff to be able to keep up.

Secondly, we need either an industrial-sized washing machine or 3 large capacity washing machines. These will also help our staff to keep up with the large number of patients.

If you have a sewing machine or washing machines that you would be willing to donate for the hospital in Bolivia, email Leta at leta@hospitalsofhope.org or call 316.262.0964.

One container released, one on the road...

As many of you know, we shipped a container of medical supplies to our hospital in Bolivia over a year and a half ago, only to have it sit in customs collecting dust for months on end. After talking with officials in Bolivia, corresponding with the Bolivian ambassador and the US ambassador to Bolivia (before their respective expulsions), and praying continually, we are pleased to report that the container has finally been released. Its contents, including ventilators, spine boards, and many other items that are vital to our hospital, have been unloaded and are being put to good use.

Today we shipped out another container, this one headed to Karanda Mission Hospital in Zimbabwe. Between 10:15 and 12:15, we packed a 40' semi trailer full of crates of medical equipment. We filled in the cracks with a few other items that the hospital had requested, such as folding chairs, and items for local children, such as soccer balls. The container will eventually be transferred from the semi onto a boat, which will carry it to Zimbabwe.

Banquet of Hope and Xelda Ministries

If you haven't yet RSVPd for the Hospitals of Hope banquet, there is still time. The banquet will take place at 6:45 pm on March 6 at Central Christian Church and will feature Alexis Bilindabagabo, an Anglican bishop and survivor of the Rwandan genocide. If you would like to come, please RSVP by February 25 to 316.262.0964 or http://hospitalsofhope2009.eventbrite.com/. We hope to see you there!

Hospitals of Hope has also begun work on a new project in Bolivia. When Xelda Ditmer, the grandmother of Hospitals of Hope's founder and a longtime supporter of our work, passed away this past fall, Xelda ministries was born. Using money donated in her name, Hospitals of Hope plans to open a coffee shop to reach out to youth in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Cochabamba currently does not have many places for young people to simply come and hang out, and the coffee shop will be a place for fellowship and for sharing the gospel-- another way that we can show Christ's love in Bolivia.

Progress in Liberia and a Generator for Bolivia

Life at the office has been busy for the last couple of weeks, as we’re preparing for our banquet and for shipping containers to several countries in the next couple of months.

Earlier this week, we got word that our Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with JFK Memorial Medical Center in Liberia had been finalized. The MOU is a document specifying our role at JFK, and its completion means that we can go ahead and send the container we’ve been working on. Mike and Daniel will be headed to Liberia again this summer with a team of volunteers to start work at JFK, where we’ll be building a trauma center.

We have just received a generator to ship to our hospital in Bolivia, since the hospital currently has no alternative source of power in the case of an outage. The generator weighs about 8,000 pounds, so it had to be loaded off the truck by a crane. Fortunately, the crane service around the corner from our office donated their time to help.

In two weeks, we will be shipping out a container of medical supplies and equipment to Karanda hospital in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is in the midst of a cholera outbreak, a health crisis adding to the distress caused by spiraling inflation. The other day, NPR reported that the salaries of many health workers in Zimbabwe are currently not worth enough to pay the bus fare to the bank to cash their checks. Please keep the people of Zimbabwe, and especially the staff at Karanda hospital, in your prayers.

Banquet of Hope Flier

This is the flier for the eleventh annual Banquet of Hope. A PDF of the flier (which is higher quality) is available at http://hospitalsofhope.org/pdf/banquetflier.pdf. If you would like a printed copy to hang in your workplace, school, etc., email leta@hospitalsofhope.org.

Come to the Banquet of Hope!

Alexis Bilindabagabo, an Anglican bishop and survivor of the Rwandan genocide, will speak at the eleventh annual Hospitals of Hope banquet at Central Christian Church in Wichita at 6:45 pm on March 6. A three-time refugee, Bishop Bilindabagabo has written a book about his experiences, titled Rescued by Angels. He is the founder of the Barakabaho (‘Let them live’) Foundation, the largest NGO in Rwanda, which cares for children orphaned by the genocide. Bishop Bilindabagabo will be working with Hospitals of Hope to send a 40 foot container of medical supplies to Rwanda later this year.

A silent auction will also be held at the event.

Dinner will be provided; semi-formal dress is requested. Please RSVP by February 25th. Guests are welcome to invite others who may be interested in learning about Hospitals of Hope's work.

To RSVP for the banquet, visit http://hospitalsofhope2009.eventbrite.com/ or contact Hospitals of Hope at 316.262.0964.

Thanks to all of our wonderful volunteers!

Our volunteer day on Monday was a huge success, far exceeding our expectations. We opened our doors at 9 am, and a steady stream of volunteers kept the warehouse full from then till nearly 9 pm.

One of the major services Hospitals of Hope offers is shipping medical supplies to clinics and hospitals around the globe. To do that, we first have to pack the supplies into 4' x 4' x 7.5' crates, which we then pack into a 40' shipping container. This is what our volunteers did on Monday, building crates, packing them, and inventorying the supplies they packed. Our goal was to pack 10 crates on Monday, and, thanks to our outstanding help, we managed to pack 12!

Hospitals of Hope has several containers slated to ship out to Africa and the Middle East in the next couple of months, so getting 12 crates ready to go was a great help. We'll continue to build and pack crates over the coming months, so we'd love to have you or your group come in and help us out. To find out more, email me at leta@hospitalsofhope.org.

Banquet of Hope 2009

Hospitals of Hope will be holding the annual Banquet of Hope on March 6, 2009 at Central Christian Church.

This year's banquet will feature Alexis Bilindabagabo, an Anglican bishop and a survivor of the Rwandan genocide. Bishop Bilindabagabo has written a book about his experiences, titled Rescued by Angels, and is the founder of the Barakabaho (‘Let them live’) Foundation, which cares for children orphaned by the genocide. Hospitals of Hope will be working with Bishop Bilindabagabo to send a container of medical supplies to Rwanda later this year. Read more about Bishop Bilindabagabo and his experiences.

Check back soon for more details about this year's banquet.

Hospitals of Hope Photos on Flickr

Check out Hospitals of Hope’s new Flickr group at http://www.flickr.com/groups/hospitalsofhope/. You can see pictures of our recent trip to Bolivia, as well as some older pictures, in the group pool. If you’ve previously volunteered with Hospitals of Hope and have pictures you'd like to share, you can join the group and post your own pictures. We’d love to see photographic documentation of your trip!

Local Volunteer Day - January 19

Hospitals of Hope will be sending crates of medical supplies and equipment to several different countries over the coming months, but we need your help to get those supplies ready to ship. We need volunteers to help build and pack crates and inventory supplies that we will be sending out.

We're planning an all-day workday on Monday, January 19 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day), from 9 am to 9 pm, and we'd love to have you come help us for as long (or as short) as you are able. Be sure to wear warm clothes, as it can get a bit chilly in the warehouse. Please let us know if you are coming via email or phone so that we can plan accordingly. If you can't come that day but would still like to volunteer, email Leta at leta@hospitalsofhope.org, or call 316.262.0964.