Merry Christmas!

We hope that this update finds you doing well and enjoying the Holidays with family and friends. You can enjoy lots of good food as well, but we don’t want to hear about it! Yesterday marks seven months since we got on the plane in New York and began the adventure of serving God here in Congo. In some ways, it feels impossible that we could have been here seven whole months. In others, it’s hard to believe it has only been seven months and not seven years. Enough time has passed to get very settled in, and we now feel like we have a pretty good grasp of how things work here. That doesn’t mean that we understand all of it; just that we have a good idea of what to expect.

In our previous updates, we haven’t said too much about the missionary team here, other than who is coming or going. The Lord has truly been behind the timing of all of the changes and talents represented in the team. Doctors Eckhart and Klaudia Wolff, along with another young doctor (Juan-Carlos Panchi), arrived here with us early in October for a 3-month stay. Eckhart is an orthopedic surgeon and Klaudia does anesthesia and patient counseling. Dr. Panchi is a general practitioner. Together, they have been a huge asset to the hospital and a powerful tool for God’s loving work here.

When the three of them arrived in Impfondo, Dr. Fuka was the only physician at the hospital. The Harvey family was still in the US for almost another month. Things were busy, and poor Dr. Fuka had been working hard carrying the load of all the patient cases. He was looking forward to a little break. Some people with serious debilitating hand and foot deformities had been scheduled ahead of time for surgeries during Dr. Wolff’s time here.  It looked as though it would be an easy time for the next 3 months. Then, out of nowhere, the conflict across the river started. Refugees began pouring into Impfondo and the surrounding area, and victims of the violence started coming to the hospital. We had machete wounds, bullet wounds, and serious infections that had plenty of time to take root on the slow journey to our hospital.

Most of the past couple of months have had an average of 2 or 3 surgeries each weekday, with emergency cases on top of that. We have treated at least a dozen victims, and now we are treating around that many wounded rebels that have been brought to us. That presents its own variety of difficulties, not the least of which is security.

Victims don’t really want to be bunked with the guys who killed their family members, but this is a hospital and not a hotel. We only have so much room and so many resources. There is also a possibility of escape once these guys begin to heal. The government is keeping an eye on them, but it’s not like they’re prisoners of war either. This is an international situation, and it’s really complicated.

Getting back to the three doctors, this was obviously the Lord at work in having them here. While Eckhart operated on the victims, Klaudia counseled them (they were all traumatized), and Dr. Panchi took care of most of the regular patients. Dr. Harvey was more than busy directing with all of the attention we were receiving from international organizations, governmental delegations, and the international press. In the midst of this time, the Wegner family arrived. Dr. Wegner is a pediatrician and emergency medicine specialist. His skills filled in the remaining gaps in the team as the hospital filled to capacity plus, and he has graciously given much of his personal time to helping out with any little thing that pops up (which happens a lot). In all, the Lord has abundantly blessed the work at Pioneer Christian Hospital in the last few months. It is a very busy but exciting time!

For the last five weeks, we had a surprise short-term missionary join us. Her name is Amy Riedy, and she’s from California. Her time was spent helping with all sorts of things, from helping Sarah change bandages on her leprosy patients to welding grates for drains to changing brake calipers on Joe’s truck and building crutches. She was a pleasure to work with, and we are hoping that God directs her back to us again at some point. We are also thankful that she was able to make it home to be with her family for Christmas.

So, I know you all want to know what the current status is on the fighting. Well, there’s not that much to say. We have heard gunfire a handful of times coming from somewhere on the other side of the river. We have heard reports (hearsay) that rebels are here or there and have attacked this place or that one. We hear that the military is chasing them and they’re running for their lives. The leader of the rebels has got some serious Satanic powers behind him, and no one seems to know where he is at the moment. We do know that the rebels are on the run, because the wounded ones have bullet wounds in their backs! We also know that the rebels are using machetes and the military use guns. If it wasn’t so hard to catch people in the jungle, I think it would already be over. Who knows? So, we aren’t very scared, but is a little unsettling to hear AK-47’s in the afternoon and shotgun blasts in the night.

After a deep probing of our financial condition, we made the decision to return to the States this coming June: June 20th, to be exact. Our tickets were purchased this week. We will be home for however long it takes to raise more support and get a bit more of the things that we now know we would like to have here with us. There is a possibility of a container being planned for next Summer, so we would be organizing that also, if it does happen. There are many things that we would like to put in the next container to ship here! It will be great to be back home for a bit, and we will begin setting up our calendar soon. Lord-willing, we will get the opportunity to visit many of you over the Summer months of 2010 and then return here for 3 or 4 years.

Please keep the hospital in your prayers. It is overflowing with patients right now, and it’s a great opportunity to share the good news of Jesus with so many people! We have seen changed hearts and second chances for lives, and it’s a beautiful thing to be a part of. Please pray for the fighting going on, that God will use this for His glory and bring us people that He wants to save. Pray for the victims of the fighting, families and villages that have been destroyed, for healing physically and spiritually. Pray for our time to be home in the US to be productive in raising support and continuing to support the work at PCH from overseas. Last of all, please pray for the medical team as our Ecuadorian doctors (Wolff’s and Panchi) return home to the HCJB hospital there (the Wolff’s are from Germany, serving there for over 20 years).

Thank you, as always, for all of your continued prayers on our behalf. Thank you for supporting our work here. Thank you for reading these long-winded newsletters and sharing the news with friends and family. May God bless you and all of yours this coming New Year!