Tip of the Week-- October 9, 2014

Though the heat and mud have required some readjustment, I've enjoyed getting back to running on my red-dirt roads here again.  Since this isn't without its own hazards, I offer you the following tip of the week:

The sweaty, white man running down the dirt road is for many motorcyclists what a light is for moths; they can’t help but pass closely, just to see if you are real.  You’ll want to make eye contact with every noise approaching from behind and be prepared to jump into a mud-puddle or nearby ditch to avoid being clipped by the handle bars.  This becomes significantly less annoying if you think of it as a tough mudder or envision yourself as being in the elimination round of some twisted reality-tv series. (This also helps pick up the pace.)

Prayer Requests:

1. Continue to pray for the nursing department as we make decisions on how to divide up the workload and ultimately come up with ideas that will strengthen the leadership of the department.

2. Pray for our team leader Jason as he manages all the details for our team and the role as director of pediatrics.  Pray that he'd have the energy, strength, and wisdom necessary, and that the rest of us would be able to step in and help in ways that relieve his load.

3. A few of us from the team had the joy of visiting with Pastor Luther yesterday.  There are some great things going on in his village.  After a large outreach in February, 18 people have come to know the Lord.  Several of these have involved the healing of sick people.  One such case is a young boy named Oumar that came to the hospital for surgical care of an advanced facial tumor.  Most people thought he'd never come back to the village alive.  Pray that his return will be a huge testimony of God's love and power.  Pray for the remaining reconstructive surgery that will be done this coming week by Dr. Dan Kim.  Pray that Pastor Luther would continue to advance the Kingdom in his village.

4. Pray for a friend of mine named Issa (not the one that many of you have heard about).  He's been taking classes to become a teacher of the dominant belief system in his village.  Recently, we talked late into the night about the Gospel.  Pray that the Lord would open his heart.

5. Pray for our hospital director, Josue (Joshua).  He is quite busy with all his normal work, plus preparing for administrative meetings at the end of the month and working to complete paperwork that the government is asking for.

6. Pray for colleagues Steve and Heather as they are trying to complete their adoption from a neighboring country.  This has been a complicated process, but the ebola crisis is making it all the much more complicated.