Volume 1, Issue 45
Kingdomwork Ministries International
January/February 2024*
It is very good to be back in the saddle again! I know that it has been a bit since my last newsletter, but I’m not much on making up news: I like for it to be real. Usually, I try my hand at being witty (I’m usually half right) or starting the KMI newsletters with some sort of levity. I hope you don’t mind, but this time our communication is going to be more on the serious side.
It appears that we are over the setback of Covid. Clearly it is still out there in its various forms, but it no longer controls us. For the first time since Covid began we were able to take a medical team back to Uganda to hold what in Uganda is termed a “Medical Camp.” Dr. Steve Knapp, Larry & Ann Andrews, Casey & Claudia Callan, and Pam & I left on January 16th and
returned on January 28th after running a week-long medical camp at K & K. We combined with a team of five Ugandans from the Hope and Healing Center about 3 hours from K & K, and together we spent five days treating literally the poorest of the poor. In addition to the medical team mentioned above, we combined forces with over 20 Ugandan volunteers. It was a very massive undertaking. ONLY, and I do mean ONLY with the guidance of the Holy Spirit were we able to make it happen. Each day we watched in awe as the Lord our God gave us the medical knowledge, the organizational wellness, and the financial means to treat over 600 men, women, and children (607 to be exact).
The “simpler” maladies included much malaria, many bacterial infections, H-Pylori, many parasites, skin rashes and infections, ringworm, typhoid, ear infections, eye infections, vision testing and reader glasses provision, burns, and wound care. These were all diagnosed either via physician exams, lab tests, or a combination of both. We also tested for HIV, oxygen levels, blood pressure problems, and hemoglobin. In addition to those problems, we also had 40 +/- hospital referrals. Neural issues, heart murmurs, adult cataracts, dental problems, club feet, orthopedic needs, throat issues for an ENT Dr., and many other physical maladies were diagnosed and / or referred. In addition to all the above, we set up a “minor surgery” area, and Dr. Isaac Mubezi, one of our Uganda physicians who is also a surgeon, performed half a dozen “removals” of extra fingers, benign tumors, and skin growths.
May I ask you a few questions? Please, allow me to ask you a few questions. What if you had a broken leg, needed transport to a hospital for X-rays, and had zero funds to make that happen? Suppose you are a 5-year-old girl with the very rare malady of childhood cataracts? Not only can you not see, but you also have no hope of ever being able to. Please pretend for a minute that you are a young mother of four children whose husband has left you. All of your children are very ill. You barely have enough food for one meal per day and cannot afford any sort of medical care. What would you do? Bear with me one more time and consider: how would you feel if your six- year-old daughter or granddaughter had a life-threatening heart defect? Would you get involved?
Get the picture? The above-mentioned stories plus 603 other ones were what we
ministered to last week. No bologna. No exaggerations. No guesses. Nothing but the truth. I don’t tell you this to make you feel guilty or to ruin your day. I certainly hope getting this information doesn’t “turn you off “to seeing the needs of others. And I most certainly don’t spell out the details to show what great and mighty missionaries we are: God forbid. Our team was called by the Lord our God to serve Him by serving others. We were blessed to be able to go and do the work. YOU sent us and we thank you for that. Your encouragement, prayers, and financial gifts paved the way for us to be the hands and feet of God at the K & K medical camp: Thank You!
Do you want more of the truth? It will never be over! It will never end! Depending which version of the Bible you read the Scripture tells us: “The poor you will always have with you” (NIV), “For you always have the poor with you “(ESV), “For you always have the poor with you “(NAS). No matter which version we read these words of Jesus make it clear that the poor will always be among us. So what? Jesus also teaches about love, compassion, serving Him by helping others, and loving our neighbor as ourselves. It is our joy to be able to serve the poor.
Often people say to me things like this: (1) If the poor would just get out there and work, they would have enough money to care for themselves. (2) Why do you travel halfway around the world to serve the poor when we have poor people here that need help? (3) I don’t see anyone stepping up to help me when things get tough? And the last one, (4) So what does mission work make you anyway? Let me take them in reverse order. Mission work makes us one thing and one
thing only: obedient. All of us go through tough times. If you are going through one now, how can I help you? We have been called by God to go to K & K. No one else in the world goes there to help. Tell me how you are serving locally and maybe I will be able to join you. It is true that there are lazy people in the world, and they are poor due to their laziness. But there are many who just plain old need help. It is not my place to judge them: it is my place to wisely serve them.
Enough of that. If you ever want to discuss that “stuff” give me a call and I will gladly visit with you over a coke, coffee, or a snack. There is one other question that people often ask me, and it goes something like this: What can I do to help? Or is there anything I can do to help? I love that question and the answer is always a resounding YES!
Like I mentioned earlier, we made many hospital referrals. Each referral involves transport for the patient and a caregiver, meals for both, and the cost of the hospital evaluation. Then, if there is a surgery involved, that cost must be met. Don’t panic. Medical care in Uganda is much less than here. If you are interested to know more about this aspect of the medical camp mission, give me a call at 541-350-7813 and I will gladly answer any questions you might have.
Now let me get a bit introspective. What is MY takeaway from the past two weeks?
1. The Lord our God owns everything, and I am deeply thankful for everything He has entrusted Pam and me with to serve Him by serving His people.
2. It is extremely humbling to be trusted with thousands of dollars to go overseas and provide medical care for those who have no hope of medical care otherwise.
3. None of us is in this alone. We are blessed to be sent WITH U.S. brothers and sisters, by our U.S. Christian family, and we are tremendously thankful for their love, prayers, and financial support.
4. We sincerely thank the Ugandan missionaries who joined us. NONE of the medical work could have been done without their oversight, expertise, and camaraderie.
5. We are blessed to look forward to upcoming events that will help our beloved friends at K & K. The referrals & surgeries are now before us.
6. Missionary work is ongoing. It will continue until Christ returns for His people.
7. Thank YOU for your hearts for the poor at K & K. May the Lord our God bless each of you for your support in caring for His children.
Serving Him,
D.C