Bolivia Update: Impacting for Eternity

Our ministry in Bolivia continues to grow! Read this week’s Bolivia update about how our volunteers have made a great impact in the community.

Last week and this week, our Hospitals of Hope volunteers have been doing checkups at a Compassion International Center here in Vinto. They have over 200 kids there. So far, they've been surprisingly healthy.

We also did checkups at "kidwashing" on Saturday. (Kidwashing happens once a week. Poor families bring their kids for a bath and clean clothes in the main square in Cochabamba. Other missionaries bring hot water, clothes, and tents to wash in.) Although we regularly participate in kidwashing, this was the first time we've done checkups there. We would like to keep doing the checkups on a regular basis, because these are some of the poorest of the poor, and they all have issues. We saw kids with parasites, skin infections, and more.

In addition to doing check ups for the children, we are going to the square where the glue sniffers congregate on a weekly basis to provide wound care (as they're always inflicting new injuries on each other), bring food, and try to start building relationships with them. One of them has started to go to church with Shelly and Rachel.

God has also worked in the life of a former intern here at the hospital, who has really been searching over the last several months. He told me the other day that he thinks he's a Christian now. He says he hasn't "signed the papers" yet and been baptized, but he's just about there.

Thank you to our volunteers who are using their talents and abilities to make an impact not only for the community, but for eternity!

Bolivia Update: "Arco iris" God's promise of hope

Read this story from Leta of how she was able to comfort a young girl while Hospitals of Hope Bolivia saved the girl's mother.

As we rode back to the hospital in the ambulance, returning from doing checkups in the community where our paramedics are stationed, I got a call on my cell phone. It was Jose, the paramedic we'd left back at the post, while Pablo drove us home. "We need the ambulance now," he told me. I told Pablo to stop the ambulance, and we all, with the exception of two EMTs who were with us, piled out. The ambulance turned around, sirens blaring, and we took a taxi back to the hospital.

We had barely arrived back at the hospital when we heard the siren announcing the ambulance's return. Soon it appeared, followed by a pickup, its bed full of people. They both pulled up in front of the hospital, and the paramedics and hospital staff started unloading patients. The most severe appeared to be a woman with her arm bandaged, blood covering her clothes.

As hospital staff and volunteers attended patients in the emergency room, I waited outside. A little girl, about six years old, was sitting alone, sobbing, blood stains soaked through her sweater. She only had a few minor scrapes, but her mother was the one with the injured arm.

I sat down next to her and put my arm around her as she sobbed. She pulled up her sleeve to show me her scrapes and told me, "My daddy will fix it. He has band aids!" She told me that their car had overturned, and that her puppy was really scared. She sobbed out her fear when she told me, "My mommy's arm is hurt, and I don't know how to cook!"

We have a children's illustrated Bible story book in the hospital, and I got that out and started to read to her. Listening to the story of the creation and the fall distracted her while we waited. As we read the story of Noah's ark, she pointed to the rainbow -- an "arco iris" in Spanish -- and told me, "My name is Iris -- I'm named for the arco
iris!"

We waited for what seemed like hours, while the doctors worked on stopping her mother's bleeding and re-bandaging her arm. "Don't worry," I told her. "The doctors are doing everything they can to help your mom."

"Will they give her a new ear?" she asked. I hadn't realized it, but her mother also had a head wound.

"We'll see," I said. "They're going to do the best they can."

Finally, the emergency room doors opened, and interns began rolling her mother's gurney toward the operating room. The doctor came out and spoke to the other family members who had arrived, telling them that she needed surgery, but that she would be fine. Iris's aunt came to get her, but before they left, Iris and I prayed together for her mother and for her family.

This morning, I saw the doctor who was on call last night and asked him how the woman was. He said that the surgery had gone well. I asked him about her head injury, and he said that, while the gash was near her ear, her ear itself was fine.

As I walked outside of the hospital doors, Iris greeted me, a big smile on her face, and ran over to give me a hug.

Bolivia Update: Felicidades!

Leta writes us from Bolivia with an update about last month's volunteers, the holidays, and life in Bolivia.

I traveled back to the States for a quick visit to family and friends in November. I came back [to Bolivia] three days before a group of PA students arrived. They wanted to get out of the city and do a bit more rural work, so we took them to the town of Entre Rios, in the Chapare (the jungle region of Cochabamba, where mosquitoes swarm and coca grows). Our driver forgot to tell me before leaving that his bus was in bad repair, so our 4-5 hour trip ended up taking 12 hours, but we got there. We treated around 50 patients in one morning but had to cancel our clinic for the second day, since we knew the return trip would probably take just as long. On the way back, at least, we got to stop at Parque Machia, a refuge for monkeys that had been taken from the forest and raised as pets.

We celebrated Christmas in half-Bolivian, half-American style. We went to my church on Christmas Eve (Noche Buena), where we got roped into taking part in the youth Christmas play. I got to play the part of a girl gathering firewood. Then we stayed up till midnight, like good Bolivians, and ate Christmas Eve dinner with the firemen who live on the hospital compound. We would have shot off fireworks, if it hadn’t been pouring. Christmas morning, we opened the alpaca stockings I bought at la Cancha and filled with various Bolivian foods (passion fruits and quinoa granola bars!), plus a couple of things I brought back from the States that you can’t get here (Hershey’s kisses and apple cider mix!). We all skyped home in the afternoon and relaxed. [Pictured is Leta when she came back for a visit in November and got to meet Isabella Wawrzewski]

In between celebrations, I’ve been filling in for Rudy, the hospital administrator, as he takes his first vacation in 3 years. He can’t ever really go on vacation, so he’s come in about 50% of the days, but at least he’s not at the hospital all the time. So far, I’ve mostly dealt with financial and personnel issues. I will be VERY glad when he’s back for good and I can turn over his key. (Update: Rudy is back from his vacation and Leta is happy to be back to her regular duties)

I got to go to Rudy’s twin daughters’ 2nd birthday party on Friday night, and, on Saturday, his mother-in-law, who also goes to my church, invited me over to learn to cook a Bolivian almuerzo (lunch). We made Sopa de Mani (peanut soup), which I actually already know how to make, but her version was different enough that it was basically a different dish. She has plans to teach me to make Picante de Pollo (spicy chicken), aji de fideo (noodles with chili pepper), and a number of other things. It was fun getting to go over and hang out with their family, which has kind of adopted me in the last few months.

We had a pretty laid-back New Year’s Eve. We had dinner with the paramedics and a former intern (Juan), and then we tried to keep our eyes open till midnight, when we shot off the fireworks that we didn’t get to set off at Christmas. A couple of the volunteers went with the paramedics, in case of accidents, since there are often a lot on New Year’s. They just went out on one call, but it was a bad one. A car went over a cliff in the mountains west of the city and fell about 90 feet. Surprisingly, only one of the passengers died. Two of the others had minor cuts and bruises, and the other had to be carefully lifted out of the car and then pulled up the cliff on a stretcher. She’s in our hospital now and will probably have surgery in the morning, but she should be okay. [Pictured is Leta, far right, with some volunteers from this month]

If you all were here right now, I would air-kiss all of your cheeks and tell you “Felicidades!” in honor of the new year, but, since you’re not, I will content myself with just sending “felicidades” (happiness) in your direction. Prospero año nuevo y muchas bendiciones a todos! (Prosperous new year and many blessings to all!)

2011 Yearly Review

2011 Yearly Review Our end of the year update reflecting on all the exciting events of 2011 is now available.

Click here to read a PDF the 2011 Yearly Review.

Once again, we at Hospitals of Hope have been amazed by the way God has used your generosity to accomplish his purposes.

Thanks to you and others like you, we were able to show Christ’s love by healing bodies and souls around the world. We count on the support of people like you to make it possible for us to save lives and share the hope of Jesus.

With your help, we were able to send out thousands of dollars of life-changing medical supplies and equipment in 2011. People in eight countries around the world felt the effects of your generosity and saw their lives changed for the better.

We are grateful for your support this year and are excited for a new year of opportunities. With your help, 2012 will be a great year of sharing the hope of Jesus, and providing lifesaving medicial care to the world’s most impoverished communities.

Thank you,

Your friends at Hospitals of Hope

The Next Level Christmas

Christmas is just days away! At Hospitals of Hope we’ve gotten into the Christmas spirit thanks to Bob decorating the our tree and others bringing in holiday snacks! Christmas is such an exciting time with all the decorations, the music, the holiday traditions, time with family and so much more. But we would be doing ourselves an injustice if we did not take time to reflect on more that just the surface level excitement of Christmas.

As Christians, we take Christmas to the next level by celebrating the birth of Jesus, the Son of God. The story of Christ’s birth is a testament to God’s power, love, and grace and gives us all a reminder of the hope we have in Christ.

But is that the ultimate end of celebrating Christmas – celebrating Jesus’ birth? I think there is yet another level with Christmas. While Jesus’ birth is reason to reflect and celebrate, his life and time of ministry give us an incredible example for the holiday season.

Jesus spent much of his time on earth healing the sick and caring for the poor and loving those that weren’t loved. When a widow’s son died, he brought him back to life. When ten lepers met Jesus while he was traveling, he healed them all even though only one came back to thank him. He talked to individuals like a tax collector and a prostitute that were considered the outcast of society.

Jesus himself stated why he had come in Luke 4:18 “…he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed.”

James, the brother of Jesus later wrote “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” (James 1:27)

Christmas time is fun with all the festivities, traditions, and presents. But what better way to take Christmas to the next level than by following the example he left of caring for those who need it. It is easy to get caught up in the endless gift lists and holiday parties. But we hope that you take time not just to celebrate Jesus's birth, but to be Jesus to those around you and those in need around the world this Christmas season.

We are very grateful for many of you following the example of Christ and helping us with the mission of caring for the sick and bringing hope of Jesus to so many. Thanks to your support and encouragement, Hospitals of Hope has been able to continue in another year of ministry of bringing healing to bodies and souls around the world. Without your financial gifts, prayers, and encouragement we would not be able to have the impact that we have had. We do wish you a Merry Christmas and we hope you are surrounded by the beauty and hope of this Christmas season.

Thank you for an amazing year and we are excited for another great year of bringing Christ’s love and healing around the world.

Medical supply container and Clinic In A Can head to Africa

The first week of December proved to be a busy and exciting week for Hospitals of Hope!
This week we sent a 40 foot shipping container full of medical supplies to Burundi, Africa. We partnered with an organization, Friends of Kibimba Hospital, to send the container.

The container held a wide variety of supplies from basic medical items like needles and bandages, to equipment like an autoclave and patient monitors which were all supplies Hospitals of Hope had collected and were able to redistribute to Burundi.

This was Hospitals of Hope’s third container of medical supplies sent with Friends of Kibimba to Burundi.

Volunteers with the organization spent many hours over the hot summer organizing and packing the container. The container is set to arrive in February and a team from the organization leaves February 15 to meet it in Burundi.

Hospitals of Hope is thrilled to have had another opportunity to partner with Friends of Kibimba by sending much needed medical supplies and help bring healing to bodies and souls in that community.

Also this week, we received word that the three-unit Clinic In A Can that we built in June is on the next leg of its journey to South Sudan. When we finished building the container clinic, we sent it to Omaha, Neb. where it was on display at the Methodist Women's Hospital. The Clinic In A Can could not be sent immediately to South Sudan because of the raining season there.

Hospitals of Hope’s Clinic In A Can ministry worked with Covenant Presbyterian Church and the Healing Kadi Foundation in Omaha, Neb. to send the container clinic to Kajo Keji, South Sudan.

This portable hospital is constructed in three forty-foot shipping containers and will be set up in a “U” shape. This small hospital contains exam rooms, a laboratory, a pharmacy, and surgical and radiology suites. It also holds a generator and water system, enabling it to be self-sufficient regardless of the surrounding infrastructure.

The Healing Kadi Foundation eventually plans to construct a larger hospital, but that will take several more years. In the meantime, the Clinic In A Can will provide much-needed medical care to the more than 450,000 refugees living in Kajo Keji.

This container clinic was our tenth clinic and we have since constructed three more. You can read more about this Clinic In A Can here.

November News

What's new in November?

In case you missed any of this month's news, get caught up with the monthly update. If you would like to receive the monthly email newsletter you can sign up on our website www.hospitalsofhope.org on the tab to the right that says "E-Mail Updates"

We trust everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoyed time with friends and family. The month of November was yet another eventful month as we are finishing projects for the end of the year and looking forward to the new year! We had our 30 Days of Thanks during the month of November. Each day we took time to express thankfulness for different people, ministries, opportunities, and much more that has had an impact on Hospitals of Hope.

This is a word picture of some of the different things we were thankful for during the month of November.

Baby Isabella arrives!

The most exciting news of the month is the newest addition to the Hospitals of Hope family. We are pleased to announce the birth of Isabella Maria Wawrzewski on Sunday, November 20 to founder Mike and his wife Elizabeth. Isabella weighed 7 lb. 7 oz. Mike reports that mom and baby are healthy and are doing well. We congratulate Mike and Elizabeth, and we are excited for this new member to the Hospitals of Hope family!

HOH travels to Missions Health Conference

Earlier this month, Hospitals of Hope’s Daniel White traveled to Louisville, Kentucky to attend the Global Missions Health Conference. The conference, in its 15th year, is one of the largest medical mission’s conferences in the world with over 2,500 attendees.

The conference is designed to bring medical professionals, those interested in medical missions and many others together to discuss and learn about a wide range of topics including disaster relief, holistic community development, sustainability and empowering indigenous people, clinical health and disease, and much more.

Daniel represented the Hospitals of Hope and Clinic In A Can booth and had opportunities to speak with individuals and organizations about our ministries.

Leaving an eternal impact

Every so often, stories from around the world get back to us of people coming closer to Jesus. It's those stories that remind us why we are a part of Hospitals of Hope and encourage us continue sharing Christ's love. A couple of stories recently came from Bolivia where Leta is teaching English classes at the hospital. She has had several opportunities to touch lives through this ministry. She shares:

I’ve been struck over the last couple of months by how easy it is to share my faith here. Although evangelism is not my gift, just the fact that I am here causes people to ask questions.

The interns who come to do rotations at the hospital are especially curious. We’re reading excerpts from The Purpose-Driven Life in English class, and, on Friday, one of the interns asked me, “What is the purpose of your life?”

Another of the interns, who just completed his 4-month rotation here, is hungry to learn. He has been coming to church with us the last couple of weeks, and, although he is off to work at another hospital now, he has promised to come back to visit. In a note he wrote me before leaving, he said, “I have spent a wonderful 4 months here. I have learned about medicine, and about God and his love.” He doesn’t call himself a Christian yet, but we are praying that God will continue to pursue him as he leaves here.

Thank you for your continued support and encouragement. Without your help, we would not be able to have such great opportunities to share Jesus Christ around the world. Thank you.