His is Risen!

In Swahili we will greet each other today with the words "Amefufuka" and reply, "Amefufuka kweli"  ("He has risen" "He has risen truly").  This week is THE week in our Faith Walk of following Jesus.  With out the resurrection, we are without hope.  Truly without hope, without meaning to our lives.

I reflected on that even more yesterday when I received a call from the father of a heart patient of mine. We discovered last month that he has a congenital defect in his heart that needs repair.  We were blessed to have ultrasound to get more information and then sent on to experts/friends at Mayo Clinic.  I contacted a surgeon at a large hospital 12 hours north of here and they agreed to do the surgery free.  Ufunuo, the name of the 2-9/12 yr old boy means "Revelation".  Things were set for mid April.  Then I got the call from his dad.  I expected to just catch up on how things were in the village and if they were ready to go.  He relayed the news to me that Ufunuo had died on Tuesday…I was so not expecting that.  

We had all been so excited thinking that once repaired he would likely live a normal life.  I can still see his face as we did repeated ultrasounds to confirm what his defect was.  His face as he was scared.  I remember he and his dad going home from the hospital with hope.  And then Tuesday…I can only imagine the pain that his dad and mom and family are dealing with.  But then I remembered that his dad clearly knew and had experienced the life changing experience of faith in the resurrected Jesus Christ. I had talked to him about that in the course of daily rounds.  He knew his son was very sick, but he had hope.  

As they often say here "katakana na mapenzi ya Mungu" (according to the will of God").  Sounds a bit fatalistic but it's not.  It is faith that God is indeed God, and that he is Sovereign over all.  I don't like at all the fact that Ufunuo has died.  But I do have faith that God knows what he is doing.  I do know that Ufunuo's father has peace amidst that sorrow that he will see his son again.  And I know, with out a doubt, that some day I will be standing before the throne of God worshipping Jesus Christ along with Ufunuo, his dad, my dad, and so many more!  

I close with this Swahili phrase we often say after morning chapel.  "Yesu Kristo, Tumaini yeti" (Jesus Christ, our Hope")

Praying all of you have a blessed Easter Sunday and that your hearts are full of the hope that comes from knowing Jesus Christ.

Larry and Sally 

Update after a long time

Yep, been a long time since I have written anything.  We're currently in the USA preparing for our youngest daughter's wedding!  Kelly and Todd will get married 31st August at Waldenwoods Resort, Michigan and I will get to officiate.  Our whole family is so happy for them.  For the past two years they have worked together for Habitat for Humanity in Minneapolis, MN and during that time got to know each other.  Realised that God had brought them together and so we get to celebrate a wedding.  

Amidst the wedding preparations we are totally enjoying seeing our extended family, our grand daughter Dani & Megan, and Adam & Brianne.  Just love our family so much…

We are now a two family team here.  The Essers are an awesome family.  Jon and Kim are home schooling their kids and running our program to provide safe drinking water in homes.  They are identifying kids that were admitted to our hospital for water borne illnesses or malnutrition and then follow up with home visits to place a ceramic water filter.  Of course with that comes health and hygiene teaching as well as discovering other social and spiritual issues in the homes.  We are so thankful to donors through BGR for providing 600 ceramic water filters for our team!  

About the hospital… We have seen NO Ebola patients.  We are over 4,000 miles from the epidemic although we do recognise people travel a lot.  We are always vigilant for unusual tropical diseases and use appropriate precautions.  On a great note, we have been blessed to open the Maternity Ward last October.  It has been busy busy with 140 deliveries in June!  Kigoma moms love our ward as it is clean and equipped and staffed.  We've added some more staff for the hospital through the contract with the Gov't of Tanzania.  We've had some great volunteer teams come and serve with us and have plans for more in the coming months.  It is a blessing to serve along side others who see the need for the combination of proclamation and demonstration of the love of Jesus.  It is our privilege to serve Him.

God willing we will be back in Kigoma on 8 September.  Will be accompanied by a young nurse that will volunteer with us for a couple of months.  Yeah!  We have been blessed to have an oxygen concentrator donated so we will be carrying that back.  A huge thanks to Brainerd Baptist Church for arranging to pay the extra baggage fee!  October we'll have two PA students from Michigan rotating with us and November another PA and her husband.  Another small team in November from Dawson Memorial, AL as well.  

Thankful for the privilege we have to serve Jesus and to work under such a great organisation.  Thank you to all that give through the Cooperative Program and Lottie Moon Offering of our SBC churches as well as giving to BGR (Baptist Global Response).  Keep on praying for us to remain strong and focused on what God has called us to do.

Grace and Peace,

Larry and Sally

Village Ministry in Kaseke and Mwakizega - "Preaching and Healing"

Preaching and Healing Ministry.  Sally and I were blessed to have a great team with us – Brad and Angie, Pastor Jackson, Juma, and Michelle.  We began each morning with a worship time of singing, praying and sharing a testimony.  Then we treated medical problems, did blood pressure screening, and distributed reading glasses.  Afternoons were for showing the "Adamu na Hawa" (Adam and Eve) movie followed by discussion.  Each day over a hundred people clearly heard the gospel.   I think the pictures are self-explanatory.

"Preach and Heal"

I am always amazed by the teachings and life of Jesus.  The Scriptures say that if you want to see God, know God, look at Jesus.  He had compassion on the sick, the poor, the disenfranchised, the 'sinners'.  At a particularly crucial point in his ministry, he gave the Twelve power and authority and he sent them out with the command to "proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal".  They did just that by His power and what happened was like a bright light illuminating the darkness.

Jesus continues to send us out to preach and to heal.  We do that through his power, his strength, and with wisdom that he gives.  We do it because he said so, and because there are people that have not yet seen the beauty of Jesus nor have they experienced the joy of having their sins forgiven and new life.

I love the promise that Jesus gave to us.  First that he has all authority, and that he is with us. Always.

This week we have the privilege of Preaching and Healing with an awesome team.  Brad and Angie from San Diego have arrived safely.  They brought with them 600 pair of reading glasses!  We will be serving together here in Kigoma/Ujiji, and out in two villages (Kaseke and Mwakizega).  Our team is Sally and I, Brad and Angie, Michelle (a missionary nurse here), Pastors Jackson and Onesimus, and one of the elders, Juma.

Sunday: Ministry at Azimio Baptist Church, Ujiji.  Ujiji is approximately 100,000 people with 99% of another faith.  Brad will preach.  After we will offer to the community a free clinic of giving reading glasses, treating kids for worms and giving vitamins, and blood pressure screening.  During that time we will be talking of why we are Followers of Jesus.

Monday through Thursday: Village of Kaseke.  Kaseke village is where Pastor Onesimo began a church last year.  We will do a similar thing in the mornings with the free clinic.  In the afternoons we will be showing a couple of films as a means to initiate conversations about faith.  The film on Monday is "Adam and Eve", the first in a series of films of faith from the Bible  (www.godstories.com).  Tuesday through Thursday we will use the film "The Hope" (produced by Mars Hill Texas).  After the film and discussion, we will do home visits to people that haven't yet decided to become followers.  One of the mornings we will be teaching about safe water and hand washing.  It is such a basic, but as many don't have safe water, they suffer diseases because of it.  We will be distributing some tablets that help to purify water.  They are readily available here in Tanzania and we want to encourage people to use them.  (Wednesday morning we'll do a reading glasses clinic at the hospital.)

Friday and Saturday: will be going to a new village down the road – Mwakizega.  God has impressed it on Pastor Onesimo's heart that he is to go there and preach.  We offered to come along and as a team, preach and heal.

Sunday: back to Kaseke Baptist Church for worship.

Will post an update as the week progresses.  Please remember us.  Pray that people's ears will be opened to the truth, the person of Truth, Jesus Christ.  Pray that their eyes of their hearts will be opened to see the beauty of Jesus.  We know that God draws people to himself.  We pray that we will see His Kingdom come in Ujiji, Kaseke, and Mwakizega this week.

Daily by His grace,

Larry and Sally and the team

"What's your typical day like in Africa?"

It was a common question asked while we were in the USA.  Thought I'd share today – as if there are any typical days…

0515 Alarm goes off.  Quick shower.  To the kitchen to brew a cup of home roasted Panamanian coffee.  Read my Bible as I have set as a goal to read through the entire Bible this year.  Pray for Sally, our kids, family, ministry.  Seek God's will and ask for wisdom for the day.

0615-0630 iChat with my sister as it's still evening for her.  Catch up on how Mom and Dad are doing.  Learn that dad fell and ripped open his hand and mom has a UTI which worsens the memory problems.  Pray for them all.

0630-0655 Eat my usual granola with fresh fruit and home made yoghurt.  Read Our Daily Bread and Piper devotional while eating.  Get more spiritual food along with physical food.

0655 Tell Sally I love her and leave to pick up Hospital Chaplain Jackson.  Catch up with his news as we drive to the hospital.  Learn that his 5 year old grandson died while I was in Kenya.  So sad.  He died of complications of malaria.

0720 Arrive at hospital.  Drop off things in my office and head to OPD where we have morning chapel (M-F).  Sing songs and then Pastor Jackson shares devotional from Isaiah.  

0800-0830 Morning Staff meeting.  Only 14 staff show up for the meeting so it was short.  Morning report of 42 inpatients (25 kids; 7 Men; 10 women).  Remember that I forgot the new handheld digital thermometer at home so I drive back home to get it.  Stop on the way to buy pork as Sally wants to make pulled pork and we have no meat in the freezer.  About 20-25 pigs are butchered a day in this area.  Buy 2 kilos from the rump and 3 kilos from the loin area.  The guy uses a machete to chop it off and then I have to wait as he has to go borrow someone else's scales.  Pay $3.25/kilo.  Bring Sally a 'gift' of a pork and get the thermometer.  Return to hospital.

0915-1400 Hospital Rounds on the 42 patients.  Begin with sharing with the mothers about how God knows each of their kids and loves them.  That although we will be making diagnosis and offering treatment, it is ultimately God who heals, not us.  Almost all of the kids are two to a bed.  Many are malaria, others pneumonia along with UTI.  Thankful we now have the rapid diagnostic test that tests for malaria.  Better for the lab and really helpful to know do they have it or not.  Has its limitations but better than having to do a standard blood smear on every case.  Have two nursing students along with a missionary nurse (works M-W) to help do rounds.  Some patients came during the late afternoon and evening so no lab was done.  Samples taken while we continue to do rounds.  10 kids discharged home on treatment, 5 of the women and one man.  Makes room for the new admissions being attended in the OPD.

1400-1500 Make survey around hospital with the head nurse and a fundi (jack of all trades) friend Juma who will be doing several much needed repairs.  14 fluorescent lights not working; some plumbing repairs needed; couple of doors with no handles; three rooms that need ceiling fans installed; one door hinge broken; a few sockets needing replacement; most walls and floor need repainting; 8 ceiling boards missing; two float valves dysfunctional in drinking water tanks (comes from the well); no city water for about a month.  Talk with Juma about making a list of supplies and a plan for the repairs.  Discover good news that while I was gone that some replacement lights have been ordered but have not arrived yet.

While doing the survey in OPD find a young boy who I had asked mom to bring him back today for review.  Leg still not healed.  Change treatment, talk with mom to assure that she understands, and ask to return after ten days.

1500-1530 Do ultrasound of lady with massive ascites (water on the abdomen). 

1530-1630 Consult on elderly man admitted with fever and urinary retention.  Review lab results from the morning and write further treatment as needed and discharge two more kids.

1630 Call Sally and ask her to meet me at the gate with our market bag so we can go to town and get money and buy food in the market.

1645-1800 Pick up Sally at the house and head to town.  Stop at the ATM to get money as tomorrow is pay day for our security guards (at our house) as well as for our yard man.  Stop at a duka (small shop) to get 5kg flour, 5 Kigoma sugar, honey (to make granola); 4 small packs of coconut milk; a cold local cola.  Carry to the truck and then head into the open market.  Buy 2 kilo onions; 3 garlic; 2 pieces of fresh ginger; 1 kilo dry beans; 2 kilo potatoes (fresh from Rwanda).  Next to the fruit section.  Bananas, pineapple and passion fruit from one lady.  Carrots from another.  2 avocado and a cabbage from the other.  Speak a blessing over the ladies that sell there.  Return to truck.  Stop at another duka to pick up a battery for my kitchen digital scale.  Head home.  Unload the truck.  Stuff needs to be cleaned but will have to wait.

1800-1900 Pray together before eating.  Eat supper of pulled pork sandwiches with a cucumber/tomato/onion salad with a nice big cold glass of sweet tea…Talk with Sally about the day.

1900-2100 Attend Missionary Fellowship over at the Joy in the Harvest Community Center (every Wednesday evening we get together for worship, bible study and fellowship).

2100-now Finish cutting up the pork into boneless chops, stew meat, and dog scraps.  Roast a batch of coffee.  Make a copy of a new movie "Adam na Hawa" (Adam and Eve) that was filmed in the Middle East as a part of a series of movies from the Bible  (www.godsstories.com) Friend wants to use the movie in a village next month when they sail up the lake to a new area of ministry.   

Decide to write this blogpost while waiting for the DVD to copy.  (we have permission to duplicate)

Praise God for his grace for each day.  Thankful that he has given us this opportunity to serve here.  Thankful for the support we have from our mission and from friends.  We are truly blessed.  

Really missing my kids…pray for them again…realize it's 11:30PM and I need to get to bed.

Daily by His grace.

Community Development or Kingdom Development?

Community Development = Kingdom Advancement. I am so thankful for the training that we are getting this week from BGR (Baptist Global Response). We are all aware of the vast and varied needs in sub-Saharan Africa. Many times we are 'paralyzed' regarding what to do. Sure, if there is a disaster, we are good at responding and have done so in many places. Many lives have been spared, people blessed, and in many cases peopled introduced to the loving grace and mercy of Jesus. Where in general disaster relief is short term (weeks to a few months), Community Development may be months to years.

But the hard work comes in Community Development, or I like to call it Community Transformation. Some might ask "Why bother?" Consider this:

- The Love of Christ compels us.
- The Needs of the people move us.
- The Word of God commands us.
- The desire to make Jesus known in WORD and DEED inspires us.

I am excited as I think about how Sally and I and our minstry partners (some new) will be able to impact the Kingdom of God in Community Transformation as we do that through our work at Kigoma Baptist Hospital. It will take time, time to hear what Tanzanians see as important, time to determine what resources are available, time to implement, and then a time to celebrate.

Well, back to the classroom to learn more...

(photo of a skit teaching some of the principles of CD)

http://peppersintanzania.blogspot.com
tel. +255 753 862 314

Back in Tanzania

I'm sitting in my chair listening to the sound of the waves on our
beach as I write this update. It is so hard to imagine that we
completed 8 months of time in the USA and are now back in Tanzania. I
have to say, the 'good byes' don't get any easier even though we have
done this several times now.

Being in the USA to celebrate two graduations, a wedding, birthdays,
moving kids to new jobs/homes and other family events like
Thanksgiving has been priceless. Helping with aging parents has been
much of our focus. We are thankful for the many churches we have
spoken at having traveled several thousand miles from the Upper
Peninsula of Michigan to Indiana, east to Virginia, DC, and South to
Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi. Lots of miles, lots of friendly
faces, and several people that have expressed a willingness to join us
in Kingdom work in Kigoma. We had numerous opportunities to share our
Health Care Ministries Strategy and many are ready to help. We are
excited as we anticipate what God will do in the coming months and
even years.

God continues to provide in amazing ways! We have been blessed
through one of our SBC churches to bring back some much needed medical
equipment for the hospital (vital signs monitor, pulse oximeter, temp
probes, fetal doplars, and a portable screen for CME inservices). In
addition, there is a very good opportunity for us to receive further
grant money to better equip the hospital lab and patient wards. Top
on my list of 'to do' is to sit with our staff and determine the most
appropriate equipment and set up a plan for cross training,
maintenance, and supply chains. It is an area that sorely needs
attention. And don't forget the amazing ultrasound machine that we
were given through Baptist Global Response (see previous post).

Sally and I are looking at a very busy coming year. Sally is part way
through her certification as a TEFL Instructor (Teaching English as
Foreign Language). Plans are to offer this training at the hospital
grounds focusing on women students. A great opportunity for Sally to
develop relationships with women in the community.

I will continue at the hospital serving as Head, Department of
Medicine and coordinating medical volunteers. Needless to say,
developent for the hospital is a real concern of mine as it will
result in better quality compassionate care for the thousands that we
treat. There are a number of exciting possibilities that we will be
exploring.

Lastly, language...remember us as we search deep in our brains for all
those Swahili words we learned. Just need to get those synapses fired
up again.

All for His glory!

Larry and Sally

--
Larry and Sally Pepper
Tanzania

Blessed by a godly Father

In this day and age, it is no small thing to say "I am so thankful for the blessing of a godly father." My dad (Leo L. Pepper, Jr.) is the very best. And I am truly blessed!

I have learned so much from him over the years, through watching his life, from listening (wished I'd listened more as a teen), from hearing stories from and about him.

Of the many things he has taught me, the first is the importance of loving Jesus.  Dad became a follower of Jesus not long after he married mom (1950) and hasn't stopped following Jesus since. Through his life as a follower, I learned much about authentic Christianity.  Not just about 'religion,' but about knowing Jesus.

He taught me the importance of taking time daily to read the bible and pray.  But even more than that, to ask myself what/how that teaching should apply to my life.  I can still hear his and mom's voices early in the morning (before 5AM) as they read the "Our Daily Bread" together and prayed before he left for work.  I have many mental pictures of dad at his desk reading his bible and making notes.  When he discovered something good, he would share it with us.

He showed us (my brother and sisters) how to love through his loving mom.  This year August they will reach 62 years of marriage!

He taught me the importance of work, of giving your very best at it, of living your faith at work, not just on Sunday mornings. To try to do things, even when you weren't exactly sure how to do it.

He taught me to fix things, to take care of things, and always to return a borrowed item in a condition better than it was when you got it (by cleaning it, etc.).  And not to be wasteful.

He taught me to laugh, and to just plain have fun.  Growing up we had many great family vacations together.  He has loved Sally and our kids and has demonstrated that love by regularly praying for us, through making special things for the kids, and being a fun grandpa.

He taught me to not only love family, but to live in a way that our family name would always be respected.  I'm proud to be a Pepper.

The past 4 years have not been easy for my dad.  He has gone from a very healthy man that walked around Clarksville every morning praying as he went, to now walking short distances with a walker.  He has suffered a lot, he's been through some dark times, yet he has persevered.  I am so thankful for these coming months as Sally and I are living in the same apartment complex as mom and dad and almost daily having the opportunity to spend time with them.  I still have a lot to learn and I am ready for more life lessons from my dad...

I love my dad!

Ultrasonic Blessings

Dr. Justin at KBH

Diagnostic ultrasound is such an essential tool for us at Kigoma Baptist Hospital.  Our primary diagnostic tool is the standard physical exam and history(using our hands and our head), but there are times when we need more.  We have a standard X-ray machine which is great for chest  X-rays and broken bones.  For a number of reasons which I won' t go into, we have very limited laboratory capability.  So, having a working ultrasound machine and ability to scan and understand what you see becomes very very helpful.  It helps us look inside the heart, visualize other organs like the liver, gall bladder, kidneys, pancreas, bladder, uterus, and do OB scans. I and a couple of my colleagues have been scanning using a large, hardly portable, very old machine.  It was working, but as my friend Dr. Justin said, it is like driving a Pinto when you could be driving a Mercedes. There is so much that ultrasound is now being used for.  In the weeks before we left Kigoma Baptist Hospital i was scanning every day evaluating heart failure, fluid on the lungs, liver disease, kidney problems, etc., as well as doing 1-2 OB scans/day. 

But that's not the good news.  The good news is that through our partner organization, Baptist Global Response (http://www.baptistglobalresponse.com/), we received funding to buy a new portable Ultrasound machine!  

Then to top that off, Sonosite Corporation (US makers of ultrasound equipment), provided us with an incredible discount through their global health compassionate care program.  Kigoma Baptist Hospital now has an amazing MicroMaxx portable ultrasound machine with cardiac, abdominal, and intracavitary probes, extra battery, and carrying case.  This machine was designed to take quite a beating and work in all sorts of environments.  Needless to say myself and our other clinicians are excited.

So you want to hear more good news?  Last week I had the opportunity to travel to Mayo Clinic Rochester and attend a four day intensive course on echocardiography (heart ultrasound).  It was  excellent training by some of the world's experts.  (I am so thankful for our mission organization's program to assure we maintain the needed skills and training in our areas of work.)  While at the Mayo training I had a very short hallway meeting with one of the doctors running the program.  I briefly shared with him a few of our challenges a Kigoma Baptist Hospital in regards to echocardiography.  He thanked me for sharing and said 'write to me to tell me more please...'

So I wrote to him after returning to Michigan.  And today I received by FedEx a box with 32 echocardiography training DVDs and a signed copy of his echo book!  All of it  'Complimentary of Mayo Clinic Cardiology Education'. Amazingly huge blessing.  These materials will help me with further training and be used by my colleagues as I teach them what I have learned at Mayo Clinic.

Our prayer is that in the end we will be making better diagnoses, and God willing, with this echo information, better treatment for our patients.  And not only echo, but all types of ultrasound diagnoses with our new machine.

So, while in the USA, in addition to sharing in churches what God is doing in Kigoma Tanzania, I will be reviewing echo DVDs, reading the book, and doing as many echos/ultrasounds as I can.  

As is so often said in East Africa, 'God is good, all the time!'

A brief note: Just so I haven't totally confused some, Sally and I are now in Michigan on our Stateside Assignment until after Christmas.  Hope to see you while we're in the USA.

Daily by His grace,

Larry and Sally

Back in time for graduation!

Sally and I are now back in the USA for our stateside assignment.  As you can see by the pictures, the first event was to celebrate with Kelly her graduation from Taylor University.  We are so proud of her.  We thank God for how she has grown in her spiritual, academic, and social life while at Taylor.  It truly has been a 'perfect' match for her.  Transitioning from academics to working is not easy, especially in the current economic environment.  Kelly is searching for jobs, but for now will be living with us.

So where are we?  We are living in Charlotte, Michigan.  Our apartment is above where my parents live so it makes it easy to check on mom and dad and help them.  They, along with Sally's mom, are getting older and need our help.

So what will we be doing?   Our assignment is to share what God is doing in the amazing work of  transforming lives of the people of Kigoma, Tanzania where we serve.  We will be sharing those stories in churches, camps, missions conferences, medical missions meetings and any place that we are invited.  

Also, this is a time to be with family.  In addition to seeing Kelly graduate, in August we get to see our son Adam graduate from Physician's Assistant/MPH graduate program.  Then in September Adam and Brianne will get married in Midland, Michigan.  So it will be a great summer.

In addition, I will be doing some training in Ultrasound and getting needed continuing medical education credits.  Sally will be getting certified in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) as that will be part of her ministry when we return.

When will we return to Tanzania?  God willing, our plans are to return to Kigoma after Christmas.  This is a longer stateside assignment than our usual, but this is our time to help family, celebrate what God is doing, and share His message of hope.  

How can you get in contact with us?  Right now, email is probably the best as we are still sorting out cell phones.  We would love to hear from you and maybe we will be traveling to your area.

What happen with the water?  Lastly, I am so excited to share that Kigoma Baptist Hospital now has two working water wells.  Thanks to Mr. Don Reed and his team at Open Doors Enterprises, we not only have clean drinking water but new tanks and the water is piped to each of our buildings!  It is a HUGE blessing.  God is good.

Daily by His grace…

Larry and Sally

Faith Dialogues

Ever want to start a dialogue with a friend but weren't sure how to start? Or maybe you wanted to start a conversation but were concerned it would just deteriorate into a angry debate?

This Saturday we will host around 200 interested Followers of Jesus Christ from the Kigoma/Ujiji area and surrounding villages in a training session on how to begin Faith Dialogues. Where ever you live there are lots of "religious people" around. For us, We live in an area among people that share some similar Holy Writings. These shared Holy Writings form a basis for beginning Faith Dialogues.

On Saturday, Sally and I ask that you take time to pray for this group as we learn from someone who has been doing this for some time and seeing God work through it to open eyes and hearts to see the beauty of God in the face of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4-6). Our plan is not only to learn something new, but to go out and share it immediately that afternoon. Pray too that the logistics don't distract from the purpose.

We are really excited about what God might do through 200 faithful followers...

Daily by His grace,
Larry and Sally

Sent from my iPad

What are you drinking?

How many times a day do you go to the sink, turn on the cold water, and drink, not thinking if it is safe water or not.  Safe drinking water is not something that is readily available in many parts of the world.  

Everyday at the hospital I see kids and adults that are sick because of bacteria and virus contaminated water.  Only a few in this part of Tanzania have safe clean water.  Others rely on buying water that they have been told is clean.  Others just use what they can get.  Even though most know to boil water, they don't because of the cost of firewood or charcoal.  So we continue to treat all sorts of water borne diseases.

But good news!  Don Reed, a missionary with Open Door Enterprises (http://www.everypeople.org/Every_People_%5Bopen_door_enterprises%5D/Water.html)  and his team of well drillers will begin drilling a well for us at the hospital on Monday (12th March).  When they walk away, we will have clean water piped in to the surgical area and for the maternity ward.  We will have one or two large storage tanks and a pump that fills the tanks at 25 gallons a minute.  

Asking that you pray with us for safety as they drill, that the new compressor system will give them even more power to drill, and that they will find great water.  Don told me yesterday that he thinks they will need to drill to about 170 feet.

We are so thankful for Don and Sarah and their commitment to see Tanzanians have safe clean water.  Provided our internet works, I'll post pictures on Monday as the work commences.  

Just remember us the next time you take a deep swig of cool refreshing water…

Daily by His grace.

Larry and Sally

Lots of opinions

Ever talked with a group of doctors and got more opinions than the number of docs? This week I feel so blessed to be part of a group of over 235 medical missionaries from all over the continent of Africa and 105 visiting teaching doctors and staff from the USA/Canada. I have gotten lots of opinions on various "problem cases" that i have been facing at our hospital.

The meeting is the 32nd CMDA gathering. It provides me with a source of CME (continuing medical education) credits which I need to maintain my Tanzanian and American medical licenses. But even more than the great teaching is the opportunity to fellowship with other medical missionaries and talk about various challenges that we face. We are blessed too to have a visiting pastor speaker for our morning chapel service. It is so awesome to sing praises to God together with 340+ health care professionals. It is humbling.

Sally and I are here together as CMDA has a spouse program as well. She has been blessed to be together with 40 other spouses.

We are so thankful for the support we have from our organization to attend this meeting every two years. Well, another lecture is beginning so I better go.

Daily by his grace...

Ultrasound Training in Kigoma

So, what are the odds of an American specialist radiologist giving up 10 days of practice and family to come to the 'far West' of Tanzania to teach ultrasound?  Not likely...but hey, you don't know how God works.  In August, I put a request in through Baptist Medical Dental Fellowship (www.bmdf.org) for help in teaching us how to use our 1997 ultrasound machine.  That month, it just so happened that Dr. Justin was attending a medical missions meeting in Texas (he's from Mississippi) and heard of our request.  He notified BMDF of his desire to talk with us.  We began emailing and he and his family decided that his coming to Kigoma Tanzania was part of their ministry. 

January 23rd he arrived in Kigoma (5 flights from home) and began teaching.  For 5 days he did as many kinds of ultrasound studies as possible on a variety of patients (kids, teens, middle aged, elderly, pregnant, etc.)  In the months leading up to his arrival we had prepared a list of patients needing an ultrasound scan done by him, and also as a way to check my scanning abilities and interpretation.  We have a very busy Out Patient Department (OPD) and so had plenty of other patients to ultrasound.  It was days of hard work as the machine at the government referral hospital is broken and patients were coming for scans.


 Our machine is old but still works.  Justin showed us how to use it to the best of it's capabilities, and our various abilities.  I had been self-teaching for several months and had learned some, but having Justin with us was amazing!  He's a great teacher, very patient, and loves to serve God through his skills and compassionate care for the sick.

We had 5 days together starting with morning coffee, a quick check on the ward before heading to chapel, staff meeting and then a FULL day of ultrasound.  The first three days Justin spent teaching our other staff.  The last two days I did 'immersion' training. Justin had me doing scans with various probes, checking my techniques, correcting bad habits, and helping me to properly interpret what I was seeing.  I have to say it was challenging but fun!  Having this capability really helps us as we have very limited laboratory capabilities right now to help in diagnosis.  Of course, 75-80% of a diagnosis comes from the history, and then more from the physical examination of the patient, and then finally lab and X-ray and other tests help to confirm the diagnosis. 


Besides teaching ultrasound, Justin also shared a bit of his personal life story as to why he had come to Kigoma, his love for God and his desire to follow the example of Jesus Christ in preaching and healing.  I had the opportunity to be his Swahili translator when he spoke in chapel, a first for me.  The staff appreciated his teaching, and especially his story of why he came and how he loves God.


I'm excited to continue to learn more of ultrasound.  I will be doing a one day ultrasound training course this next week as part of the Christian Medical Dental Assocation meeting here in Kenya. I am searching out options to do more training when we are back in the USA later this year. One deficiency of our machine is that we don't have a probe to do cardiac ultrasound.  I am trying to find one through sources in the USA so we can have the capability to do cardiac ultrasound as there is a lot of heart disease in our Area.  Hopefully one day we'll have a newer ultrasound machine but for now, we use what we have. 


Sally and I are so thankful that Dr. Justin could come and help.  We are excited about future collaboration.  Thank you Dr. Justin!


Daily by His grace...

Hit the ground running...

Got back from our whirlwind trip to Michigan, very happy to have seen our family and help out with the care of our parents, and already are going full speed.  Apparently in the month of December, many people in the community have decided that our hospital provides better care than the regional referral hospital and our numbers have sky rocketed. 

From Jan 1st through the 9th we provided care for over 800 outpatients and numerous inpatients.  Mondays have gone from 80-90 patients in OPD to 130-150.  Not to brag but I've treated 420 patients in OPD over the past 9 days.  Part of the increase in patients is because it is malaria season here.  Every day we admit children with high temperatures (often over 103F) because of serious malaria infections.  Almost all families have insecticide treated mosquito bed nets but still kids get bit in the evening before sleeping and so problems of malaria continue.

I thank God that our good reputation continues to grow in the community. We hope sometime this year to reopen the maternity ward to provide even more services to the community.

Sally and I are excited that next week Dr. Justin will arrive from Mississippi.  He will be teaching many of us ultrasound skills and doing as many scans as I can convince him to do with us.  We are so grateful for his willingness to come and help us as it is a big cost in many ways to him and his family.  We have numerous patients booked for scans.  In addition to myself there are 4 other doctors who will be trained and at least one nurse.  Five days of intense teaching will give us a taste of U/S scanning and hopefully will improve greatly my self-taught skills.  We are using an old machine but it is working for now.  We hope someday to get a newer one that will allow us to do cardiac scans as well.  If you happen to know someone with a spare U/S machine to donate to the hospital let me know.

The other thing I am excited about it to have gotten a really cool teaching set of MP3 files from cardiologist, Dr. Michael Barrett.  He graciously gave us permission through the American College of Cardiology to have these training files that teach about heart sounds.  The files called HeartSongs 3 are his brainchild (www.cardiosource.org).  He has a passion for teaching and has helped countless students, interns, and residents to gain the skillls necessary to recognize various normal and abnormal heart sounds.  When I was back in the USA I picked up two MP3 players and now our doctors are listening to the files to improve their skills.  Thank you again Dr. Barrett! 

Finally, I want to share with you about one young boy that I admitted today.  At 4-1/2 he began to have problems breathing in December.  He hasn't been able to play with other kids his age because of fatigue and breathlessness.  He got treated for malaria because of a fever but still hadn't gotten better.  His mom brought him to the hospital today.  He was breating at a rate of 70/min.  His heart was racing at 100.  Yet he was smiling.  One of the other doctors had examined him and asked me to see him too.  We discovered he had a very loud heart murmer and early signs of pulmonary edema (water on the lungs).  We checked his oxygen saturation and it was only 33% (normal >95%).  We admitted him and got him on oxygen that is provided by a machine called an oxygen concentrator.  It takes room air oxygen and concentrates to a higher percentage.  After some medications and the oxygen his saturation had risen to 65%.  By the time I left the ward his breathing rate had slowed down a bit, and his saturation was now 80%.  The challenge now is to get him stablized and then find a way for he and his mom to travel to another hospital for echocardiography (heart ultrasound) and most likely surgery.  Just to share with you what the social challenges are here, the mom has one other child.  The dad is studying in a city about two days away and they don't have the money to take the child to the other hospital.  We will begin tomorrow to encourage them to hold a family meeting so they can determine the way to get the funds to take him to the referral hospital.  The extended family will be asked to contribute. It is the way that things are done here.  I would ask you to pray for this little boy (Kambugwe) and his family. 

Will write more and post some pictures once Dr. Justin arrives and the fun begins.  Meanwhile, I would ask you to pray for all of us at the hospital as we continue to provide compassionate quality care for very needy and sick people. 

Daily by the grace of God...

Back to Michigan for a White Christmas

Sunday Sally and I begin our flights (5) to reach Detroit.  It was not on our 'radar' of plans to do this but because of changes in the health of our parents, and our responsibility to honor our parents, we felt it was wise and prudent to make this trip.  

This past week Sally's mom (Gloria) was hospitalized after experiencing a stroke.  She is currently in rehab and doing well.  We thank God it was not a massive debilitating one, but a stroke is a stroke.  In fact, in the medical field, we call them 'brain attacks' as it is like a heart attack in that there is tissue damage and it is serious.  We are so thankful for the excellent care she has gotten and that she is doing better.

Last month my dad (Leo) had hip replacement surgery.  After some complications post-operative, he is doing remarkably well in rehab and hopefully will be coming home soon.  Home now for mom and dad is their apartment in Charlotte, Michigan.  They moved there this year as they were closer to my sister and brother-n-law who are their main support system as well as closer to their doctors.  Dad has been in and out of rehab the past couple of years.  Mom is doing well, but hey, she isn't a young puppy anymore (Sorry mom).  Both of them have regular doctors appointments and need help with things.

So this is our time to physically be there and help them.  We know it will also provide some 'relief' to family members that are the primary helpers of our parents.  We are so thankful for them!  When we stepped out in faith 16 years ago to serve in medical missions in Africa we knew that it would mean leaving many things and persons behind.  Being 8,000+ miles away from our family has been one of the continuing 'challenges' of our journey in following Jesus Christ.  We aren't there to help out when there are small problems or big ones.  It is not easy, but we still believe that God has a plan for us to continue to serve in His kingdom work here in Kigoma, Tanzania.  (I treated 182 patients in out patient department this week, not counting daily hospital rounds)

Obviously, in addition to helping with our parents we will get to see family again, especially our kids!!!  Yeah for Adam, Megan, and Kelly!  Sally hasn't seen Adam since May 2010 (I got to see him in July 2010.)  Haven't seen Megan since summer of 2010.  Kelly since August of this year.  Needless to say we are excited and our kids are too.  It will be a crazy schedule but we know that this is the right time to do this.

We would ask that you remember us in your prayers.  International travel is long; jet lag is no fun at all (we are 8 hours earlier than EDT); not excited for cold weather; will need wisdom on how to divide our time; and good health.  Mostly we want to be there to serve our parents with love and compassion as they have cared for us as all these years.  They are amazing people and we love Mom Jessup and Mom and Dad Pepper so much!

Finally in closing, in this Christmas season, we are so thankful for the support system we have as 'Watumwe' (Kiswahili for 'sent ones' or 'slaves.'  We love being 'slaves' for Jesus!).  Our sending agency (IMB Connect) has a wonderful way of supporting us. Southern Baptist Churches all over the USA voluntarily send funds to support all of us 'Watumwe.'  This month will mark the annual Lottie Moon Christmas Offering where we see the majority of our support come from Southern Baptist churches all over America.  Next years IMB budget is $324 million.  It is huge.  The majority of it will come from this special offering. We continue to be amazed by the sacrificial giving.  May you be blessed.

Merry Christmas!

Larry and Sally

Update

The past couple of weeks have flown by.  Seems that work at the hospital keeps on growing, with more and more outpatients coming.  Last Monday, myself and another doctor saw over 100 patients.  We are thankful that people are regaining confidence in the quality of the hospital services.  As what seems to be the usual, there are encouraging days and 'challenging' ones.

Thankful my Kiswahili continues to improve.  I still get a problem at times with complicated histories of patients.  Sometimes you ask 'what is the problem today' and they begin with their history of 5 years ago... I have to read just about every evening on some aspect of medicine that either I learned a long time ago, or have never treated.  Am thankful for special gift money that helps me to keep a medical program called UpToDate on my computer.  Has the most up to date information on a wide variety of things in medicine. It's equivalent to having probably 10-15 text books.  (by the way, inspite of how we doctors act at times, we really don't know it all!).

Anyway, this past week was one of treating and counseling.  I try hard to give education to patients on the ward whenever we do rounds.  Together with the nurses we teach about general hygeine, especially about safe drinking water, and malaria avoidance.  More about water later.  But this week was a bit different as I was doing counseling with a married couple about infertility, then with a young man who had a bad case of shingles on his face and had just been tested and discovered he has the HIV virus.  Another young married man about 'family issues' and counseling a young wife about why it was that I couldn't lie and fill out a form incorrectly for her as she was pregnant with another persons child.  Yeah, all that in Kiswahili.  I pray that what I heard and what I said was correct. 

Unfortunately, once again it was a week with death.  A one year old boy died on the ward, after 4 days of treatment.  I can still see his sweet little face as he looked at me while I was examining him.  Some of the children cry as they are used to getting immunizations and so think I am going to give them one.  Others cry because I am white (and I suppose some cuz I'm ugly).  But this little boy looked right into my eyes as if he could see right through to my soul and was saying 'help me!'  We did all that we could but yet early the next morning he died.  And then two days later I had to tell a 20 year old married lady that her 6 month old baby had died inside her.  Don't know the cause of either deaths.  Was able to pray with them.

I hope that it isn't depressing to read this, but I just want to share with you what the reality is.  Life is hard here for Tanzanians.  Disease is everywhere, and because of poverty and other causes, many are late to reach the hospital for service, others go to traditional healers first, then when all seems hopeless, they come to us.  That is the reality.  But we do treat a lot of patients that get better and go home, Praise God!

Oh yeah, water.  The hospital was blessed to receive 4 of the 8 water filters from
Baptist Global Response (http://www.baptistglobalresponse.com/blog/?cat=120).  These filters are made in Kenya and work great to provide safe drinking water.  We put two on the ward, one in Maternal Child Health Clinic, and one in Pharmacy.  So thankful for clean, safe, drinking water.


OK, so today (Sunday) we went to Kibirizi Baptist Church.  Took us 45 minutes to find the place (it's 10 min from our house).  There are NO signs anywhere, and people gladly helped us to find three other types of churches, before someone finally said, "go back to the market, turn left and climb the hill. Ask there, they will explain."  Finally we came across a lady who told a youth (yes, she told him to 'get in their truck and show us') who showed us the way there.  We had a great time of worship with the believers at Kibirizi Baptist Church.  After the service we had a 'family' meal all together.  This church and Kalalangabo Baptist get together the first Sunday of the month, then after the service have a meal.  We had ugali (cooked white corn meal), beans, and dagaa (like smelt).  They are a major source of protein in the diet here.  Caught at night out on lake Tanganyika and then sun dried.  Before eating they are soaked in water and then fried in oil with some tomatoes, onions and salt. I really liked them.  This weekend we'll get some when the boats come in in the morning and then fry them like smelt...my mouth is already watering.

Daily by His grace...

A week about death

Seems that some weeks are better than others.  You've been there I'm certain.  This past week has been emotionally challenging.  Seems to be a lot about death. Thinking about it, seeing it, seeing the effects of it, not liking it.

Sunday we drove to Kigali, Rwanda in order to take Kelly to the airport.  We thank God she is back safely in Michigan.  As we drove into and around Rwanda, I was continually reminded of the horrible genocide that occurred there in 1994.  800,000 to 1,000,000 people murdered in about 8 months.  As I saw youth walking the streets of Kigali, I thought about how they have grown up under the shadow of a horrific time in Rwanda.  I saw old people and wondered how all the deaths that they saw affected them.  I thought about the fact that most likely there were people still mourning while those who committed untold atrocities walked the streets.  We drove past a memorial for some of those brutally murdered.  All that, along with saying goodbyes to Kelly was draining.

Tuesday, Sally and I returned to Kigoma safely.  Praise God!  It is always a blessing to have traveled in E. Africa for 22 hours on the roads without an 'event.'  As I passed the road that goes to our hospital I thought about the 45 year old mom/grandmother that I had admitted to the ward right before we left for Rwanda.  She came complaining of headache and arm weakness with a blood pressure of 300/180 mmHg.  I am not kidding.  On Wednesday I saw her on the ward.  She was recovering from a stroke, but doing well.  The plan was for discharge.  I went to OPD to see patients.  After a while I got summoned to the ward to help.  I was informed that just after seeing her grandchild from across the ward and waving to her, she suddenly collapsed and stopped breathing.  CPR was attempted but from the signs it was clear she had most likely  suffered a sudden bleed into her brain.  The family went from planning her return home to planning her burial.  We were all shocked and saddened.  I had seen and and been touched by death once again.

Thursday morning upon reaching the hospital for our morning worship time, I learned that one of our Baptist pastors, Pastor Timothy Mbiha, had died.  He was about 50 years old.  I had yet to meet him.  At his funeral, I heard some of his life story.  He heard the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ in 1980 and decided then and there to receive by faith, the free gift of salvation.  He began serving as an evangelist while getting bible training.  I'm sorry that I do not know his complete history, but I can say that I heard testimony after testimony about his life of serving Christ, preaching the truth of the gospel, of befriending many people and sharing Christ with them.  Many shared about his life of serving his people as pastor of Mwasenga Baptist Church.  He has left behind 8 children and his wife.  We continue to pray for them.

I estimate that over 400 people attended the funeral and burial.  People representing several denominations of churches as well as several Muslims attended.  The gospel was clearly proclaimed at his funeral.  At the end of the funeral service, after all had passed by to pay their last respects, something happened that I didn't expect.   Apparently, as is the custom, the men stood in two columns stretching from the door of the church to the grave.  His coffin was passed out through the door of the church and then was handled/passed by each of about 100 of us men until it reached the grave side. Once again I had seen and 'handled' death.  His body/coffin was then carefully placed on the ground and again the gospel was preached.  It was a humbling experience.  

But what was clearly different from Rwanda and the death of that dear mother/grandmother, was that in the death of Pastor Timothy was the hope of the resurrection.  The promise of Jesus Christ that by faith we receive forgiveness of the penalty of our sins, that we are born again, a new creation, empowered to live a Christ-like life through the indwelling Holy Spirit.  And then, when 'God calls us' as was preached, we leave this temporary life on earth and continue to live eternally in the presence of Jesus Christ.  That is the hope we have.  That is the truth of the Holy Scriptures.  We have a sure hope, and that is the person of Jesus Christ.

I have to say that this week of 'death' has not been what I expected or hoped for or prayed about.  But I know that God has allowed us to pass through the events of this week for a reason that He knows.  In this week of thinking about, seeing death, seeing the effect of death on families, I am thankful that I have a living Lord and Savior that conquered sin and death through his sinless life, sacrificial substitutionary death on the cross, and amazing resurrection!  

Let me close with the words of the chorus from the song "Because He lives."

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow, Because He lives, all fear is gone.

Because I know he holds the future,   And life is worth the living, just because He lives!

Continuing to serve, daily by His grace…

Road Trip Again - Please Pray!

I knew that this day would come, but I have been dreading it, in some ways avoiding thinking about it.  You see, it is the day we head to Kigali, Rwanda to take Kelly to the airport.  

We have had a fantastic time with her over the past weeks.  It began with her arrival in Dar es Salaam after her missions trip in Rwanda and Uganda.  Then a short vacation to the island of Zanzibar.  After 4 days of total relaxation, we did the long drive across Tanzania to our new home here in Kigoma.  Kelly has helped us (once again) unpack and set up our house – to become a home.  She is a hard worker, has an eye for things, and is an encourager.  She's learned some Swahili over the weeks as well.  It has been blessed days to have her here for the summer. Every single day has been wonderful – I really mean that.  We savor our days with our kids.  Sally told Kelly the other day, 'why can't you remain small?'

This is one of the hardest things that missionary families face – saying good byes.  It is hard on all of us.  It will be a long series of flights for Kelly to get back to Detroit.  At least Sally and I will have each other as we drive back.  These drives are usually kind of quiet.  Tears are shed, and memories flood our minds.  I'm not trying to be dramatic, just sharing the truth.

When we say goodbye at the Kigali Airport, we won't see Kelly again till her graduation, May 2012.  The last time we saw our daughter Megan was August of last year.  I was blessed to see Adam in July of last year when I went to the USA for a medical meeting.  Sally hasn't seen him since May 2010.  This is really hard…

Our lives continue on by the grace of God.  Ours lives on one continent, and our kids lives on another.  We miss out on events in their lives, and they miss our presence.  We are so grateful for email, and for Skype.  We are thankful that we now can do video skype, but nothing can compare to a hug, sitting together drinking coffee, listening to what has been happening in their lives, seeing the excitement of new discoveries, offering advice, sharing what God has been doing in each of our lives.  We miss that one-on-one contact.  This is really hard.  I'm struggling holding back the tears as I write this, sitting in my chair in the living room, while Kelly does her toes and Sally is packing her things.  I know this is our last night together with Kelly in our home.

We knew about this when we began our life of missions service back in 1995.  Thought it would get easier as the years have gone by, but it has only gotten harder.  Sally and I are so thankful for our families back in Michigan and Ohio, how they have made sure our kids have a 'home' in the USA as well.  They have been a huge blessing to our kids, and to us.

So I ask, if you would, pray for us.

• Pray for safety as we drive to Rwanda and back.  About 220 miles of the road tomorrow is dirt, really bad, dusty, and dangerous.  The remainder  of the road that we will travel on in Tanzania and Rwanda is paved.  We never take it for granted that we will have a safe journey.  Pray for safety in my driving, in the other drivers, for our truck to not break down.
• Pray for Kelly as will make her long journey of connecting flights to get her to Detroit.  Pray that she will have kind seat mates, safety in flight, peace and comfort in her heart as she leaves us, and opportunities to share her love of Jesus with others that she meets along the way. Thanks Sherri for picking her up!
• Pray for Sally and I as we make the long and lonely drive back to Kigoma.  Pray we will experience the grace of God and the comfort of the Holy Spirit as we grieve sending Kelly back to the USA.  God has always been faithful and we know in our minds that he will be faithful again.  
• We thank God for the amazing support system we have that provides us with a great vehicle to make this journey (Toyota 4WD).  Thank you SBC churches for your giving each and every week that makes it possible for us to be here, serving Tanzanians in the name of Jesus Christ.  Providing compassionate Christ-centered care and hope.  All for His glory.
• Pray that Kelly has a sweet time of re-uniting with her aunts and uncles and grandparents and cousins and friends.
• This is hard…

Daily by His grace,

Larry and Sally

The Sting of Death; The Comfort of God's Promises

I knew it would happen eventually.  Practicing medicine in a developing country inevitably involves death.  The overall condition of people's lives is much poorer than in the USA for example.  There are many more diseases that are still present, like rheumatic heart disease, typhoid, and TB.  You may recall from my last post about a boy I was treating for complications of rheumatic heart disease and something more.  We decided that he likely had extra-pulmonary TB (TB outside of the lungs) and started him on treatment.  It was touch and go Friday and Saturday.  He died early this morning, 1AM our time Sunday.

I learned of his death when Sally and Kelly and I went to the ward after the church service.  We were met by his mom.  She told me he had died.  I was shocked.  I was sure he was going to get better, but he was really sick.  He is the first of my patients here at Kigoma Baptist Hospital to die.  I know he will not be the last.  I remember vividly to this day the first patient who died when I first began treating hospital patients in Mbarara.  In one week in Mbarara, I had more patients die than I had in 8 years of practice before.  Of course I had been practicing Preventive Medicine Aerospace, but even so, it was shocking.  By the way, it wasn't that I wasn't a good doctor, it was that the diseases back in 1996 were so severe and the patient's conditions were so bad to begin with.  I recall coming back to the ward the day after losing 2 patients and stopping at the door way.  I prayed "Lord God, please I ask you to help me not to become accustomed to death, not to become hardened to the pain and suffering, but also, Lord, I need help!"  God has been faithful to help me over the years to remain with compassion for the sick and their families.

After learning that her son had died, we prayed for her and then we returned home.  I called up Pastor Jackson and asked him what we as a part of Azamio Baptist Church could do.  He asked that I pick him up and we would go to the hospital.  The challenge was this mother had come from the village, 35 kilometers (21 miles) with just her sick son, and had forgotten her cell phone.  Her husband was on a journey to a town several hours away.  We decided that with the help of some of the church members and another pastor we would take her and her son's body back to the village.  After he died, his body was washed and wrapped in a sheet.  Then he was wrapped in another piece of cloth.  Four men sat in the middle seat with his body across their laps.  4 women sat in the back of the truck on the bench seats.  Pastor Jackson sat up front with me.  We stopped just outside of town at a market so a special white sheet could be bought to be used to wrap his body prior to being buried.  The church members contributed to pay for it.  We made the 1hr 15 min drive to the village of Kaseke.  20 km on paved, then 11 km on reasonable dirt road, and the last 4 km on a single track path to the village.

We went as far as we could with the truck and then the men carried his body to the family home, about 200 yards further.  Fortunately someone had been able to reach some family members and there were about 30 people waiting (not sure who all were but some were family and others were people from the village).  His body was placed in the house where it will lay until tomorrow morning when he will be buried.  His father will be back tomorrow morning.  The rest of today and tonight, people will offer their 'poleni' (like condolences) to the family and some will remain and sing throughout the night.  The pastor from Darajani Baptist Church in Ujiji stayed and will help to conduct the service tomorrow and then his body will be buried.  Gadson's mom, father, and 7 remaining brothers and sisters will be comforted by family and friends from the village.

Before we left the family and the village of Kaseke, Pastor Jackson shared some words of encouragement.  You see, just over a week ago, when he went to visit Gadson and his mom at his bedside on the ward, they both made a decision to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  The grace and mercy of God are so amazing.  I didn't know until today, on the drive to the hospital, that last Sunday, Gadson and his mom had gone to Azamio Baptist Church to give testimony of their decision before the church.  (We had gone to a different Baptist church last week).  Pastor Jackson told me how that both Gadson and his mom shared that they were happy to know that had received salvation through believing in Jesus Christ.  As a part of that church service, the members took up a special offering to help them as they had come from so far.  Twenty one miles to us Americans is nothing at all.  We might go that far just to go out to eat.  But for this family, it was incredibly costly to get to the hospital.  The generosity of the church family at Azamio was wonderful.

It is always hard to know what to say, and what not to say in the face of death.  Both Pastor Jackson and I shared a few words of encouragement to Gadson's mother.  Pastor Jackson voiced a prayer, and then we came back to Ujiji/Kigoma.

It's been a long day.  I grieve over the death of this young boy, only 12, but looked about 8.  I grieve for his parents and his brothers and sisters.  But I also rejoice in the promises of God that when as a believer in Jesus Christ, our time on this earth is over, we will instantly be in the presence of Jesus Christ.  God promises that as I write this, Gadson is enjoying the wonderful presence of his Savior.  And his family is being comforted by the Holy Spirit, by the Word of God, and by friends.

Please pray for Gadson's family.  For safety for his dad as he cuts short his trip and returns home to bury his son.  For his brothers and sisters as they grieve his death.  For his mom who comforted him day and night at his bedside in the hospital.   For those attending the grieving time tonight and the burial service tomorrow to clearly hear the gospel message.

I ask that you continue to pray for me as I endeavor to provide compassionate Christ-centered care to the people of Kigoma/Ujiji.  My one desire is that Jesus Christ be glorified in all that I do and say.  That people clearly see the love of Jesus demonstrated in our actions, and hear of the hope of Jesus when they come to Kigoma Baptist Hospital.

All for His glory…