A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.
Proverbs 16:9
As the last month has passed by, it has been full of prayer and seeking God's will for us. Last October, Brian and I attended the World Medical Mission Prescription for Renewal Conference. It was an amazing time where the Lord confirmed what had already been stirring in our hearts. We were to step forward and pursue medical mission work overseas, specifically in Africa. There were hundreds of medical mission volunteers there, many of whom had served for years, even decades. They were so excited to share stories of their experiences with us. We were encouraged by countless people to start out in Kenya, being told that a couple of the hospitals there were great starting points in the mission field and great places for families. We knew that we had Africa on our hearts for a reason, but we didn't have a clear direction on where to go specifically. We listened and enjoyed each story and became more excited with each word of encouragement. While we were there we settled on Tenwek Hospital in Kenya, because that was the place that was mentioned the most and of which we had heard the most stories. We were excited and began to make our plans for Kenya.
You can make many plans, but the Lord's purpose will prevail.
Proverbs 19:21
A few months ago, when Brian spoke with Dr. Dan Galat, he briefly mentioned a place called Soddo, Ethiopia. He said that we might want to pray about serving at
Soddo Christian Hospital as there is only one orthopaedic surgeon at that hospital.
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| Soddo Christian Hospital |
Tenwek is a popular place for medical missionaries, so they receive a lot of short term help to supplement their already growing national and international orthopaedic staff. We tucked that comment away and added it to our prayer list and proceed on with our plans to go to Kenya. As we continued to prepare for our trip, Soddo would make it's way into our conversations more and more. Brian was taken to a medical conference last month where the only orthopaedic surgeon in Soddo, Ethiopia happened to be. They had a few chances to talk and God really started showing us that He might have something more specific for us. On the Sunday that it was announced that our friend, Edith, would be holding fundraiser in support of our trip, we heard a great message from our pastor that further stirred our hearts and really began the process of God changing our plans. The message was over the feeding of the five thousand in Mark's gospel. Our pastor spoke that if we see a need, then there is an obvious reason that God has allowed us to see that need and it could very well that we may be the ones that God wants to use to meet it. Brian immediately leaned over to me and whispered, "Soddo". Through other instances and times of prayer, it became clear that God was giving us a clear and specific assignment to pursue plans for Ethiopia rather than our random choice of Kenya. With so much confirmation, we have obediently changed our plans to travel to Ethiopia.
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| Soddo farmland |
At this time though, we are also considering that Brian will go alone. Although it was very important for us to go as a family, as of now we feel that the kids and I are supposed to wait for other specific reasons that have been revealed to us. Over the last year I have become so attached to the idea of going to Kenya that I am sad to not be going there, but I am excited to have such clear direction from the Lord. We are willing to go wherever He leads us, so we are excited to just keep pursuing the calling of medical missions in whatever location He would have us.
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| Front gate of the hospital |
Please keep us in prayer as we try to walk this out as obediently as we can. We need prayer for all of the details associated with international travel, time apart as a family, medical requirements for Brian (licenses, insurance, etc.), and finances for this trip. Brian will spend three weeks in Soddo, where he will be working with the only orthopaedic surgeon in a region of more than 2.5 million people. There is a great need there and he is excited to be able to help meet that need. Please pray that this trip will allow Brian and I to know if this is indeed where we are to serve for two years after residency with World Medical Mission.
It is becoming clear to us that
Trust and Obey is the theme for this season of life for us. And we want to be as faithful as we can be. So, with our sights set on Ethiopia, we are allowing the Lord to direct our steps as we walk down His path for us.
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| Hills overlooking Soddo |
