The Follow Team, 11 men & women
from Holland, were here for 2 weeks. They accomplished so much on the clinic,
staff quarters, and dorm/sterilization room. What a blessing! I really enjoyed
getting to know them and had a lot of fun with them! Stephanie & I left
Maforga Saturday morning to take the Team to depart from Beira. We spent a
final Saturday afternoon & evening, and Sunday morning fellowshipping with
them, then dropped them off at the airport.
Henk, Yos, Sheri, Jappa, Garrit
Irma, Sheri, Kees, Thea
Leo, Sheri, Chritiaan
Wim, Sheri, Pauliena
Steph then dropped me off at a
Catholic Center to get some much needed rest. She returned to Maforga for the
clinic inspection scheduled for Tuesday morning & planned to pick me up
Wednesday morning. The Catholic Center wasn’t a Monastery like I was told, but
it was quiet (I was the only guest there) for my 2 days of “call to silence.”
No calls, no texts, no emails, no knocks on the door. What an awesome time with
the Lord! I spent the entire time studying scripture and praying in the Chapel
(open 24 hours).
Wed morning I turned my phone back on, only to discover the
inspectors never showed. Steph was spending Wed sorting out the confusion and
would pick me up Thursday. I was glad for the extra day at the Center. Steph
picked me up Thurs morning. The clinic inspection was re-scheduled for next
week, so we stayed at a quiet place north of Beira (again, no other guests) to
seek the Lord, pray, and discuss clinic logistics (she leaves on furlough in 3
weeks). My phone croaked as soon as we arrived – praise God it waited until
after Steph & I had arranged for her to pick me up a day later than
expected! They only had electricity from 6-11pm & had no internet, so it
was also a peaceful time seeking the Lord! We’re back in Beira tonight, and will
head to Maforga early tomorrow morning before the heat. It’s been in the
mid-high 90’s here. Praise God for electricity, fans & internet, now that we're back in Beira!
The Friday afternoon prior to our
Saturday departure, I packed up my “illegal” clinic. The clinic isn’t licensed
to be open yet, but I’ve been treating several patients per day, and was tired
of running to the clinic to obtain items I didn’t have in my kit at home, so I
set up the 1st clinic room (medical records room) as my treatment
room. It was basically a bookshelf with several tote-boxes of all the common
medicines, wound care supplies, and needed equipment & supplies to treat
patients. My “little clinic” is well known locally, so when I loaded up all the
tote-boxes in preparation for Tuesday’s inspection, a small crowd gathered with
astonished & concerned faces, until they knew it wasn’t permanent. I think
the little children were the most concerned, when they saw the box with the
lollipops being carted out!
Thank you for keeping us and the clinic in your prayers! Please continue to pray that the clinic will open soon. We will continue with the Lord's work despite the clinic doors being "closed," but it sure would be nice to have the clinic and staff fully functional and at full capacity again!
May the Lord bless and keep you all!
Sheri
