Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Water Research Project
An Amazing Trip!
Dear Friends, Family, and Blog readers,
This was our fourth mission to Tanzania and it seems to get better each year. What an amazing mission trip we had this summer! No one got any major sicknesses (accept for Molly's fungus on chin from kissing and holding too many babies with head fungus :) and no deaths to report at hospital. Forty babies born in month of July! Some emergency, but successful surgeries. Mark was able to give daily workshops on infant resuscitation and emergency medicine. Fr. Dr. Beda (the doctor in charge) and Fr. Josaphat (a medical student) worked with Mark in clinic and with Swahili translations. Medically, much was accomplished and many patients were cared for. We were also able to do some house calls to elderly patients who could not travel by foot.
One highlight was visiting Fr. Beda's family in Kilomeni Town in the mountains. Six of his eleven siblings were there to greet us along with his beautiful, strong mama, with a big feast, laughter, prayer, and some tears of joy.
We also had many wonderful meals and exchanging of cultural recipes with the Catholic community and hospital staff. Fr. Beda and the boys sacrificed a goat for our final farewell meal, which was a great learning experience for all. Every single part of the animal was used from something, including a hand-braided intestine for roasting, the hooves for soup, and the fur for selling. We were pleasantly surprised by the sumptuous meal Mary created with sauce, rice, chapati, pilau, and cabbages. The food is so good!
The children planted over 700 trees near the hospital as a reforestation project. They spent a few weeks also refinishing wood and painting the Doctor's House which has been completely refurbished for future volunteers, thanks to a generous donor from Trinity School. Its really beautiful!
Molly restocked the pharmacy and created a cleaning schedule for the staff on maintenance duty. She was very pleased with the outcome and hopes it will last :).
The most exciting part of the trip was the painting of a new icon at the Church by Minnesota iconographer, Nicholas Markell. He not only created a lasting gift, "The Risen Christ of Bwambo", but he was able to teach Julian and Cecilia the arduous, but prayerful task of writing an icon. What a gift! Thank you Nick! You may never know how many people and prayers you've inspired through this beautiful work.
We are so very grateful for Fr. Dr. Beda for the many ways he made our work (and some relaxation :) possible. He is a generous and wonderful host, especially to the children who love and admire him. Fr. Michael, the Pastor, and Fr. Josaphat, were also so kind and great with the little ones. Daily Mass with the three priests, beautiful music, and close friends was really the highlight. Molly and some of the children were able to attend daily adoration to pray for the mission, the patients, and personal intentions from home. This trip has been prayerful, life-giving, and truly inspiring.
Many thanks go to Bishop Rogath Kimaryo and the Vicar General for hosting us in Same for our first conference on life issues. Fr. Beda, Mark, and Molly gave a day-long conference for priests and religious at the Same (pronounced 'sommay') Diocese on the "Culture of Life in East Africa." Over eighty people attended and all went very well. We hope to continue this work with the assistance of Human Life International in the future.
Many, many thanks to you all for your love, prayers, and support. Friends, family, and Mission Doctors Association have made this all possible and we are truly grateful.
The Druffners
This was our fourth mission to Tanzania and it seems to get better each year. What an amazing mission trip we had this summer! No one got any major sicknesses (accept for Molly's fungus on chin from kissing and holding too many babies with head fungus :) and no deaths to report at hospital. Forty babies born in month of July! Some emergency, but successful surgeries. Mark was able to give daily workshops on infant resuscitation and emergency medicine. Fr. Dr. Beda (the doctor in charge) and Fr. Josaphat (a medical student) worked with Mark in clinic and with Swahili translations. Medically, much was accomplished and many patients were cared for. We were also able to do some house calls to elderly patients who could not travel by foot.
One highlight was visiting Fr. Beda's family in Kilomeni Town in the mountains. Six of his eleven siblings were there to greet us along with his beautiful, strong mama, with a big feast, laughter, prayer, and some tears of joy.
We also had many wonderful meals and exchanging of cultural recipes with the Catholic community and hospital staff. Fr. Beda and the boys sacrificed a goat for our final farewell meal, which was a great learning experience for all. Every single part of the animal was used from something, including a hand-braided intestine for roasting, the hooves for soup, and the fur for selling. We were pleasantly surprised by the sumptuous meal Mary created with sauce, rice, chapati, pilau, and cabbages. The food is so good!
The children planted over 700 trees near the hospital as a reforestation project. They spent a few weeks also refinishing wood and painting the Doctor's House which has been completely refurbished for future volunteers, thanks to a generous donor from Trinity School. Its really beautiful!
Molly restocked the pharmacy and created a cleaning schedule for the staff on maintenance duty. She was very pleased with the outcome and hopes it will last :).
The most exciting part of the trip was the painting of a new icon at the Church by Minnesota iconographer, Nicholas Markell. He not only created a lasting gift, "The Risen Christ of Bwambo", but he was able to teach Julian and Cecilia the arduous, but prayerful task of writing an icon. What a gift! Thank you Nick! You may never know how many people and prayers you've inspired through this beautiful work.
We are so very grateful for Fr. Dr. Beda for the many ways he made our work (and some relaxation :) possible. He is a generous and wonderful host, especially to the children who love and admire him. Fr. Michael, the Pastor, and Fr. Josaphat, were also so kind and great with the little ones. Daily Mass with the three priests, beautiful music, and close friends was really the highlight. Molly and some of the children were able to attend daily adoration to pray for the mission, the patients, and personal intentions from home. This trip has been prayerful, life-giving, and truly inspiring.
Many thanks go to Bishop Rogath Kimaryo and the Vicar General for hosting us in Same for our first conference on life issues. Fr. Beda, Mark, and Molly gave a day-long conference for priests and religious at the Same (pronounced 'sommay') Diocese on the "Culture of Life in East Africa." Over eighty people attended and all went very well. We hope to continue this work with the assistance of Human Life International in the future.
Many, many thanks to you all for your love, prayers, and support. Friends, family, and Mission Doctors Association have made this all possible and we are truly grateful.
The Druffners
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