Medical Outreach with Jewish Voice Ministries, August 2018

“You don’t always need a plan, sometimes you just need to breath, trust, let go and see what happens” – Mandy Hale

In 6 days we treated 10,000 people!? Unexpectedly, one morning I received an email from an acquaintance that I met at a messianic conference in Prague about a medical outreach in Africa. Little did I know what an adventure this will bring me to a year later. Without the funds I didn’t know how I could afford to go but I suddenly got a new job and God paved the way until my story began…

It’s 5 am as my alarm quietly beeps in the background. I feel the chill of the morning as I scramble out of my sleeping bag and quickly slip into my hoodie. Quietly unzipping the entrance to my half of the tent I take in the cool, fresh air of Mudanda, Zimbabwe. It’s still dark and only a handful of people are wandering the grounds of our camp. I brush my teeth outside, near a makeshift sink that we have -which is a bucket with a regulator at the bottom that allows the water to flow. Today will mark the first day that our clinic opens, it’s Sunday. We eat a delicious breakfast outside, oatmeal made with peanut butter, eggs and toast and its all a bit of a hectic blur until we are finally open. After the morning meeting we are all at our stations. With excitement buzzing through our bodies, we are ready to take on the day at the nursing station of the urgent care clinic! After setting the clinic up the day before today is the day. The line up of people outside the clinic spans long and far, some came by foot others by horse drawn carriages.

The clinic opens earlier than planned and we get our first flow of patients. After triage, the patients are directed either to the eye clinic, medical clinic, dental clinic, urgent care clinic or minor OR. Later they may choose to go to water education and prayer rooms. It’s a little past noon and the heat is palpable now. I can feel the sweat covering my forehead and it’s as if a massive heat blanket suddenly covered the grounds. “This is Africa” I am thinking. We pull down the fabric walls of our clinic to let the air pass through, it’s better.

Some patients are dehydrated and passed out, we work as a team to put an intravenous line, give fluids and they perk up. Our minor surgery team at the other end of our urgent care clinic is removing small and large lympomas. I am taken back when I see that a plastic bag is so often used as a shoe for a lot of people and yet they come smiling.

The day is over, the sun is setting and after getting the hot water in my bucket, its time to wash off the dust and fatigue. With small motor shower heads we get a little taste of home. What an adventure God has led me into. Living in tents, blessed with breakfast, lunch and dinner and above all with an amazing team, all serving the people of Zimbabwe. After dinner, I head to bed and the next morning we repeat until the outreach is over, and it’s time to say goodbye. My favourite part is that we got to worship together before we embarked on the day ahead. Ministry was a success.

We arrive at the hotel, tomorrow we will all head our separate ways, each on their own journey. As I snuggle under the forgotten comforts of a soft bed and crisp sheets, and before drifting off to sleep I catch myself thinking what a privilege and a blessing it is to sleep like this. Until next time and the next adventure that God has planned. A small taste of the outreach. This was Zimbabwe.