Hello from Rwanda! Amazing things are happening here every day—to God be the glory! Earlier this year, another medical team descended on Hope Haven Rwanda like angels sent from Heaven. The medical aid they provided was profound. Due to medical privacy concerns, I can’t share the details of some of the intense cases they faced, but their interventions met acute needs that will have life-changing consequences for years to come.
Our team loves to witness God’s sovereignty on display when various teams join us in Rwanda. He sends the right people, at just the right time—every time! Even though this team was heartbroken by some of the issues they encountered, they left with a deep sense of fulfillment. Their direct impact was undeniable!
Gerry, the team lead, has spent much of his life in Emergency Departments at top-tier hospitals in the US Northeast. His quick thinking and vast experience enabled him to facilitate the physical examinations of more than 600 students and community members. Teammates Althea and Sean both brought expertise from emergency medicine and surgery. They were also joined by nursing students from Cedarville University as they delivered outstanding medical care to our school.
Powerful interventions like this rarely happen without hiccups, and this medical team faced a few of their own. Many of their supplies did not arrive, including their scrubs. But in a display of Rwandan improvisation, they were soon sporting scrubs made from local kitenge fabric. I had to chuckle to myself when I considered the interesting questions they would be asked back home if they wore kitenge scrubs to work!
In similar fashion to the famous story of the “Good Samaritan,” they took whatever they had and generously helped those facing medical trauma. As Luke, a physician himself, reports in Luke 10:34 “But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.”
There are many nuances to this parable, but the heart of it is that the Good Samaritan noticed someone who many others passed by. He saw the pain of this poor man lying on the side of the road and he intervened.
God is glorified when we do good works in His name. You may not be a doctor, but are you willing to sacrificially meet the needs of someone who is suffering alongside your path this week?