December 28, 2007

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year  (Selamat Hari Natal dan Tahun Baru)!

 

Warm tropical greetings to all from Christmas-y (sort of) Indonesia!  We’ve gotten quite a few emails from our family and friends asking what our plans are for the next six months, which means we haven’t been keeping in touch well enough!  Our plans have been unfolding before us over the past month or two, as so often happens in Papua, so we haven’t been too sure how to keep you updated.

 

First, ministry at “Calvary Hospital” (R.S. Kalvari) has been developing quickly.  So many things are going on at the same time that it’s a full-time job just keeping track of it all!  As many of you already know, we’ve welcomed “new” team-mates, Ben and Jennifer Bogle and their four children, who arrived in October.  They previously lived and worked for three years in Mulia, a village about a 45 min. flight west of Wamena.  Now they’ve returned to us to begin development of a health education and community outreach program, and we’re excited about that.  Also, our HIV/AIDS work has been progressing, with new patients arriving every day.  Although it is difficult to confront such a huge problem, we’re finding it to be a very important way for us to serve.  Our staff feels so committed to helping these patients who are suffering, both physically and spiritually.  We’ve begun treatment with ARVs (HIV meds) for one of our patients, and we hope the government will soon begin to provide these meds for many other patients we’ve been hoping to treat.  Requesting these HIV medications has been an ongoing challenge for us, and there is no other legal way for us to obtain these medications for our patients.

 

The clinic has received well over 2000 patient visits over the past 8 months or so, and the reputation of the facility has become very positive in the community.  We praise God for this opportunity to serve in so many ways.  We are also looking to Him for guidance about whether to expand our work here, and if so, how?!  We continue to pray for additional staff who may feel called to join our work here.  In order to expand our ministry to patients, we will need more doctors and nurses to join us.  Please contact us if you know anyone who may feel called to medical ministry!

 

As far as our family plans go, there have been some rapid changes, and these have affected some of you.  After much consideration and prayer, we decided this would be a good time to take our home ministry assignment for six months (i.e. “furlough”).  There have been many factors contributing to this decision.  Over the past months there have been many administrative tasks needing to be done.  We and the staff have been trying to do these things, but we’ve realized we truly need the partnership of GIDI, the church denomination we work through/under.  We have met with the leadership, and they agree we need key staff to take care of these tasks, such as registering our facility with the provincial government, pushing to obtain the HIV medications, continuing the land search for a location to expand our work, etc, etc.  These tasks were becoming such a stress on us and our staff that we found little time to focus on our primary purpose: to care for and teach Papuans!  So, we hope that taking this time away from the clinic will allow these tasks to be completed as the pace of work at the clinic slows down in our absence.

 

Also, the crazy pace at which this project has grown over the past two years has taken its toll on our family life, and we can see that we need a break away from the ministry in order to regroup.  It’s hard to believe that our plans have moved from some general ideas about how we could serve in central Papua, to become a thriving ministry with a busy clinic, a full TB, leprosy, and HIV/AIDS testing and treatment center, and the beginning of a medical education and community health program, all in such a short time.  So, after discussion with friends and counselors, all seemed to agree this was the best time to take a break back in the US.  Our schedule there is still not entirely clear, but will start with debriefing as a family with a counselor in California and private speech therapy for Claire.  Claire will be home-schooled for the first time, which will be an adventure for all concerned!  During the first month in CA we’ll plan for the rest of our time in the US.  We hope this will include visiting many of you, our friends and family!

 

Thankful for:

-          Our dedicated Papuan staff who continue to follow God’s call to serve, both in the easy times and the difficult times.

-          Our Italian friends, Mario and Cinzia in Bali, who have just completed printing of a new recipe book of recipes from restaurants in Bali.  Proceeds will be given to Calvary Hospital!

-          Help from our C&MA friends at “Tangan Peduli” (Hands that Care, a group in Wamena doing HIV education/translation).  They are providing funds to pay salaries for five of our staff during this time that we’re away and clinic income will be reduced.

-          Exciting progress in so many areas of ministry at Calvary Hospital.  We are thankful that our way forward has been made clear.

-          Arrival of our friends and team-mates, the Bogle family, and the help they’ve already begun to provide to this project.

-          Time for rest together as a family right now as we return for our furlough.

 

Need prayers for:

-          Nuslin, the first patient we’ve started on HIV treatment with ARVs.  She’s very sick and is beginning rx quite late in her infection.

-          One of our staff, “N” who is pregnant and has been beaten several times by her husband, causing premature contractions.

-          Our head nurse, Febe, who will feel great responsibility in our absence.  She is the nurse whose husband died just 8 months ago (after only 4 months of marriage).

-          The Bogle family, as they get settled in Wamena, meet new friends, and find their place in ministry.  They will need to guard their time together as a family and for rest!

-          Dugger family’s plans as they unfold in the coming months.  Also details like transportation, housing, speech therapist for Claire, etc.

 

Thanks for your many kind and supportive letters and emails.  This ministry in Papua could not exist without the prayers and financial support of our friends and family!

 

Kim, (for Grace, and Claire)