The Great Physician, the great physicians who serve here, and our encounter with malaria!

Oh the life-giving work of missionary doctors! This past week, my heart was full of thankfulness for our friends who work so hard as doctors here in Angola ... as we came face-to-face with one of the realities of life in Africa--malaria!

Last weekend, we noticed Ethan catching a cold, followed by a fever, vomitting, lethargy, shallow breathing and a rapid heart rate. Fearing the worst, we took him to CEML, a missions hospital here in Lubango, to get checked out by one of the incredible doctors that we are blessed to call friends. Sure enough, the malaria test came back positive--and we were admitted to the hospital.

Malaria is not difficult to cure if it found early and treatment given. Ethan made a quick recovery, and after only two nights, we were home, where I could give him the ongoing treatment. We were so thankful for CEML and particularly, our awesome doctor friend, OB-GYN Sarah Hudgins, from Canada.

Needless to say, this experience opened my eyes for the first time to the realities of life in Angola. Even though it was just a glimpse, as any parent can attest, seeing your child helpless and sick will never cease to break your heart. I KNOW this is the same for North Americans as it is for Angolans. So I can only imagine how much heartbreak the average Angolan goes through in their life--as sickness and death are so prevalent here. Does one ever get used to it? I don't think so.

We were blessed to have the finances and the ability to access quality healthcare. Not all Angolans do. Those way out in the "mata" (rural areas) may never see a doctor or any reliable source of medications. (Although MAF flies some doctors who do incredible work in these areas.) Even those in the city frequently lack the money or transportation to get to a good hospital or buy the needed medicine.

Hospitals like CEML are a huge ministry--delivering quality healthcare in the name of Jesus Christ. The doctors, who come from Canada, US, Europe, and Angola, as well as the nurses, other staff, and administrators, work so hard. They are fighting in a battle that frequently lacks victories. This rainy season has been particularly rough--malaria abounds, as well as cholera, yellow fever, and other illnesses. The economic crisis has limited the ability of people to pay for healthcare. This, on top of the regular everyday occurrences which bring patients to the hospital--motor cycle collisions, for example, or children swallowing coins, or the ever present problem of cataracts and blindness.

Thankfully, in this battle against all the terrible woes of life in Africa, we serve the Great Physician, Doctor of Doctors. Prayer is our powerful weapon. God sent His only son to experience the joys and pains of life on earth, and He is sympathetic to his people. He is capable of healing us physically, whether through miracles or modern healthcare, but more importantly, He is capable of healing us spiritually. Regardless of our present health, our bodies will perish, and the state of our spiritual well-being with God is what matters most.

So this week, I am thankful for doctors, and nurses, and healthcare professionals who serve in Jesus' name everywhere--in Canada, but even more so, in areas of great need. They are the wonderful hands and feet of Jesus. Please lift up the doctors here in Angola in your prayers, as they fight through a terrible rainy season, working as hard as they can with whatever resources they have available.

If you want to learn more, may I suggest a few awesome websites? The first is the incredibly interesting and insightful blog of Dr. Tim, one of the missionary doctors MAF flies around to rural clinics. His blogs are amazing! Here's the link to his most recent blog: http://kubackisinangola.com/2016/03/20/miracle-blame-two-men-purposes/ He is an incredible witness for Christ in some of the MOST isolated places in Angola. If you feel led, please donate towards medications--as the places he visits are in DIRE need of basic medications: donate here through SIM Project "Rural Health Care--Angola." This goes directly towards his flying doctor ministry.

Second, here is the link for CEML hospital here in Lubango. Get a sense of what our awesome colleagues and friends are doing and what life is like in Angola. Check out what they are doing--and if you really like it, donate or COME HERE TO VISIT! We can personally attest to the great ministry of this hospital.

Arrived at the hospital and got Ethan hooked up to some oxygen. 

Family bed and breakfast time. Ethan got really used to his carrier in the hospital,
as it was the only way to get him to sleep. 

Lovely nurses took care of us. Here, measuring his vitals.

Community building!

Hello! As I sneak in some blog "catch-up" while Ethan is sleeping, I am filled with thankfulness for the past few weeks. I am working on writing two very different blogs--this one, about our school/Mitcha picnic, and another about our recent run-in with malaria. I will post up both blogs today or tomorrow.

Last weekend, we enjoyed a wonderful picnic and friendly soccer match at the Mitcha compound. All the missionary families from the compound were invited, as well as the families from the international school, which is located on the compound. The goal was to foster community between those who live and work at Mitcha, and the families whose children attend the school. Myself and a few others collaborated to run the event. I must personally give credit to Graham Buchanan, our dear Community Connections pastor back in London, for always inspiring me to try and build community wherever we live. God has given him a great gift for community building--and I thought, "What would Graham do here in Lubango to build community?"

The picnic was a lot of fun--both kids and adults played, and the younger kids had the own giant soccer ball to play with. We had a great turn out--at least half of the school families, and most of the missionary families! We also enjoyed a dip in the pool! The school kids LOVE the pool, and even though it was raining, it was a party!

Here's a few pics from the event, thanks to our friend Isaline. Pray for the ministry of the school, as well as the ministries of the missionaries on the compound!

Guys this is AWESOME!

So, two weeks ago, MAF folks went crazy posting this video ... and for a good reason! I confess, I just watched it now (I, being Kelly) ... and I wish I watched it sooner. What a great way to explain the importance of MAF's work--and how anyone can use their "super powers" (aka. money, time, energy, abilities, gifts, opportunities, etc.) for good. MAF pilots and mechanics are awesome, and they really truly do some incredible flying and fixing--but so are the people that fly with MAF. In my opinion, they are the REAL superheroes. One of the greatest pleasures of working for MAF has been meeting some of our friends here who daily use their "superpowers" for good. Over the next few blogs, I'd like to profile some of them, as well as some of our MAF Angola staff, so you can get to know our friends here.

In the meantime, enjoy this video. It does a GREAT job explaining the legacy of MAF, why our flights matter, and if this doesn't inspire some of you to want to become pilots (or mechanics, wink, wink), I don't know what will!