Church Blog

Ethiopia Medical Missions Trip: Final Report

From Greg S. on behalf of the medical team that served in Ethiopia from March 19 to 28:

Let me admit at the outset: There is no way I can compress into one short report all that our gracious God did in and through us during our 9-day trip to Ethiopia. Our hearts and minds are full of the sights, sounds, smells, and spiritual highlights we experienced throughout our stay. But out of gratitude for those who contributed financially and upheld us with prayer—and in hopes that this brief report may stir up fresh love and zeal for God’s glory among the nations—let me attempt to capture some of the highlights of our trip using key passages from Paul’s letter to the Philippians, the focus of our team devotions while we were away.

Partnership in the Gospel
Paul thanked God for his gospel partnership with the Philippians (1:3-5), and we feel the same gratitude for the fruitful three-way partnership that made this trip possible. The pastoral team and members of Covenant Life Church gave generously to fund our travel and purchase all needed medical supplies. You Go City Church, a thriving church in Addis Ababa which our church helped to plant 8 years ago, hosted three of our day-long clinics. And a team of dedicated staff members of Mission To The World, the missions sending agency of the Presbyterian Church of America, coordinated all aspects of our trip. They provided us with a guesthouse, a cook who catered to our western appetites, a bus driver with nerves of steel, nurse-translators who ensured that our caregivers could communicate effectively with patients, and program directors whose humble attention to our needs and love for the poor were a constant inspiration.

Team Unity
I am so proud of this team – they epitomized the zeal and unity which Paul describes in Philippians 1:27: “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel….” A diverse group of singles and marrieds ranging from age 19 to 53, they served together with one mind and heart, gladly embracing whatever assignments came their way. Chris Mays, our lead doctor, worked tirelessly before and during the trip to ensure that everyone was positioned for effective service. Seeing this cross-section of the Body of Christ minister together with such joy and camaraderie was clearly one of the highlights of the trip for all of us.

Humble Servanthood
Paul tells us that Jesus “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant” (Philippians 2:6-7). All week long I was surrounded by men and women eager to do the same. Scott Hendricks noticed the watchman who guarded the guesthouse gate and took him a plate of food. Dr. Kevin DeWeber prepared songs in advance and skillfully led us in daily worship. Without hesitation, nurse Natalie Beall set up an IV for an HIV+ patient despite the inherent risks. Katie Barnett and Corey Simmons shared their testimonies on Sunday with a group of teens from the You Go church. Vascular surgeon and medical school professor Kakra Hughes humbly deferred to a younger doctor still in residency. Everywhere I looked, I saw team members taking the form of a servant—taking the form of Christ.

Rubbish and Riches
On Wednesday we had the emotionally overwhelming experience of visiting dozens of the people that Mission To The World serves through its AIDS Care and Treatment program. These are the neediest of the needy, trying to scratch out a living while battling the ravages of disease. Their tiny 6’ x 8’ homes were made of tarps and cardboard, mud and sticks. Families typically shared one twin bed. Kids played amidst the litter of garbage and human waste. Everywhere you looked were reminders of crushing poverty. And yet here we were, bearing the good news of a Savior who descended into human misery in order to redeem us from the pit. To the most desperate of these dear people we could offer the pearl of great price, the promise of a Savior: “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ…” (Philippians 3:7-8).

The Joy of the Lord
Repeatedly Paul told the Philippians to rejoice. We felt him telling us the same, reminding us that the joy of the Lord is our strength. During intensely competitive games of “Taboo” and good-natured teasing among friends, while posing for group pictures or being pushed by Rebecca Orban to take one more lap around the neighborhood jogging trail, we were strengthened again and again with the gift of laughter.

Pressing On Toward The Goal
In light of the great sacrifices that team members made to come on this trip, they could have returned home feeling they had satisfied their spiritual obligations. But not this team! They didn’t go to Ethiopia to assuage their conscience or fulfill a duty. They went to stoke the fires of faith, to gain a greater appetite for God’s work in the world. Each one returns to the States with a heightened sense of vision to share the gospel and serve the poor, proclaiming with Paul: “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).

A Fragrant Offering
At the end of his letter, Paul thanked the Philippians for the gifts they had sent to him, “a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God” (Philippians 4:18). On behalf of the entire pastoral team, let me say the same to each member of the 2011 Ethiopia Medical Missions team and to all those who supported them. Your investment in this trip was a fragrant offering. Almost 400 people received excellent medical care they never could have gotten otherwise. Scores of them heard the good news of the gospel. A group of 14 orphans received their own copies of the Bible. At least two patients—including one Muslim man—professed faith in Christ. And every single man, woman, and child you touched experienced the tender love and comfort of the Father.

God is so pleased! I will never forget this week with the team, striving side by side for the faith of the gospel. “To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Philippians 4:20)

—Greg S.