Letters from the Missions
Doctors and their families who are serving, and those who have served long and short-term, have written some truly inspirational letters.
We share these with you here and invite you to pass them along to others. Keep those serving in your prayers, and join them if you are able!
God is Good…All the Time
Jim and Terry Hake were nearly complete with their three-year mission and shared this miraculous story of recovery. One that no one saw coming.
Blurry Lines
William Stavinoha and Susan Stavinoha, both Mission Doctors, have been serving yearly at Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos in Honduras. They have become part of the community within this unique environment of children and caregivers. The Stavinohas share a beautiful reflection on their connection to one another and feeling the presence of the divine in “everything and everyone.”
Examples of Faith
Mission Doctor Robyn Jennings shares an update from Honduras, where she served short-term with her husband and their three children (pregnant at the time with their son). She reflects on individuals who have inspired her with their faith.
Why overseas work?
Long-time Mission Doctor, Lou Coda, shares a poignant reflection on his call to service and why he keeps returning to rural Uganda year after year.
Tracy
Jim and Terry Hake served long-term in Cameroon and shared many patient stories and the incredible staff they worked with every day. Here, Jim shared little Tracy’s story and the challenges parents face that are familiar to parents here in the US.
Bauer Family in Tanzania
The words Terese and I prayed over as we headed to Africa on mission was from Isaiah 55:1-12 which begins, “All you who are thirsty, come to the water…What is necessary is that we respond to Jesus imperative to Give Drink to the Thirsty…
Tim Cavanagh Cameroon
The hardest adjustment medically has been to appreciate the scope of the burden of malaria here. It is hard to imagine the impact that malaria has on the lives of people in tropical countries, especially with it’s severity in children and the frequency with which it is contracted by some…
Stoughton’s in Zimbabwe
Dr. and Mrs. Stoughton share some of their recent experiences at St. Theresa’s Hospital
Sheila Cavanagh reflects on one year in Zimbabwe
You had asked us to write and reflect on the first year here. I won’t say it has been easy, it is probably the hardest thing we have ever done.
Sheila Cavanagh on her ending time in Zimbabwe
The culture is very different than we thought it would be, the people do not have much, sometimes nothing at all, but they still praise God for everything. We now have a different way to look at life. What we would take as ordinary can be very special.
Reflections of a Dermatologist After A Medical Mission to Cameroon
Dr. Joseph Langlois shares his experience serving in Cameroon. “I was inspired by the dedicated Nuns and Staff at the Hospital who worked so hard and made the best of the resources available to them. They created a warm welcoming environment for newcomers like me…Looking back on the experience at times it seems almost like a dream but it was real.”
Path to a Career Altering Experience
What transpired over my five-week stint at the hospital altered my outlook on medicine and changed the entire direction of my career.
Nyakibale Hospital
After a six hour road trip from Entebbe Airport, the gates of Nyakibale Hospital opened and welcomed me. I was immediately led to the ED (Emergency Department) where I was greeted by Dr Mark and his clinical officers.
New Hope at St. Theresa’s Hospital
Dr. and Mrs. Timothy Cavanagh believe that “the world will look back on this time and place in a hundred years as a part of the turning of the tide in the struggle to control HIV.”
My visit to Kpando: One Physician’s Experience
Peter Meade, an LA surgeon, reports on his first short-term missions with MDA
Miracle in Ghana
Dr. Kate Bolton writes about the power of faith and lessons learned while serving in Ghana.
Lou and Marty Coda served long-term in Papua New Guinea
Lou and Marty Coda served long-term in Papua New Guinea with their family from 1990 – 1993. They have also done an extended short-term service in Cameroon, and are currently working at Mutolere Hospital in the Diocese of Kabale, Uganda. Lou reflects on the burden of illness and the reality that this suffering brings to the people he has come to serve.
Last Night on Call
Dr. Stephen & Mrs. Kathryn Schmid, along with their daughter Emily, spent one month in Uganda last fall — here he recounts the last case he saw, not something he might have seen in Idaho.
Joanna and Daughter
This summer, my daughter Joanna, and I traveled to Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala, to work in Hospitalito. We road from Guatemala City to the beautiful city of Antigua. Then on to Panajachel on the spectacular Lake Atitlan.
Impressions of a young missionary
Anna Kummers first reflections upon the family’s arrival in Guatemala
Greetings to all of the Mission Doctors Association Family!
Life goes on here at St. Theresa’s Hospital in Zimbabwe. It is turning into a long winter with many of the patients who suffer from HIV needing hospitalization with respiratory infections.
First MDA Dentist to Uganda
Mission Doctor, Dr. Greg Jaso, DDS recently returned from one month at Karoli Luwanga Hospital in Uganda. He reflects on this month, and is already looking forward to the next time he can serve with MDA.
Finding Hope and Progress in Nyakibale
Dr. Marcia Smith-Bourain and family spent a month in Uganda. This year, they are traveling to Guatemala to once again share their skills, but before heading off, she recounts their time in Uganda.
Emergency Care Grows in Uganda
Mark Bisanzo, an Emergency Physician who first worked with MDA in 2005, and his wife Sheila, spent 9 months at Nyakibale leading the training program in Emergency Care. Read about their experience and learn about the wonderful training program designed for local medical professionals working in the Emergency Department.
Drs. Paul and Terese Bauer
Drs. Paul and Terese Bauer share the blessings and challenges of serving short term at Karoli Lwanga Hospital in Nyakibale, Uganda. “Our experience has been richly blessed by the Lord through work, in faith, and as family…”
Dr. Jim Hake wrote of their experience
“What an amazing experience it was to leave the comforts of home and settle into the daily routines of a third world country a few days later. Terry spent her days assisting at the orphanage and working at Project Hope, a local HIV/AIDS awareness program.”
Dr. Jaime Perea on his service in Guatemala
Dr. Perea and his wife Fina bring medicine and provide treatment to some of the poorest and most remote Guatemalan villages.
Dr. Jaime Perea
Dr. Jaime Perea, an OB/GYN and veteran mission doctor, writes about his time at St. Padre Pio Hospital in Douala, Cameroon. Reflecting on his service, his letter letter begins “I just want to tell you how thankful I am for my short-serving in Cameroon. The people of this African country are very humble, poor and grateful; and especially people of faith…”
Dr. Ellen Iannoli
Dr. Ellen Iannoli an anesthesiologist from New York, shares her call to Cameroon and her service at St. Martin De Porres Catholic Hospital in Njinikom.
Coda Family Complete Time in Cameroon
Lou and Marty Coda served in Papua New Guinea for three years in the 1990s. They have just completed a six-month assignment in Cameroon and Lou reflected on the experience in their final days there. His words are both revealing and inspirational as he shares both his frustrations and his faith:
Cameroon, A Mission Journey to St. Martin de Porres Catholic Hospital
Medicine and Rehabilitation physician from Visalia, California reflects on his service with his wife Heather in Njinikom, Cameroon
Belize Welcomes Dr. Nunez and Her Children
Dr. Margareta Nunez traveled to Belize to offer her professional skills. Along with her two children, she found great needs and opportunities to expand their view of how we can serve our brothers and sisters.
An infant named Miracle
Dr. Lou Coda shares the story of a young patient, aptly named Miracle.
Dr. Regina Hur’s Spirit is Lifted in Cameroon
Dr. Hur reflects on her time at St. Elizabeth Hospital where although she is surrounded by illness and lacks hi-tech medical equipment, she finds her “heart is warmed by the people of Shisong.”
A Boy Named Courage
Dr. Brent Burket and Dr. Jennifer Thoene write about a young patient appropriately named “Courage”
A Better Person, A Better Doctor
Dr. Lawrence Klee spent one month at St. Martin de Porres Hospital in the highlands of Cameroon. He recounts this trip and is already looking forward to the next.