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"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up"
- Galatians 6:9
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,
Do not fool yourself. It is real battle field out there! So many of our faithful partners are pushing back territory that Satan has tried to claim as his own. But, the ground is not given up without a fight, and it is only through the steadfast pursuit of God's Kingdom that real change occurs. Some days it feels like only inches are gained while other days hundreds of people are being impacted. Keep on reading below to hear their tales and know how you can support them and pray for them.
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This year our Board stepped out in faith and awarded $42,573 to 14 grant sites in 5 different nations throughout the world. While many are still in their early phases, it is incredible to see what has happened already.
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God is moving in powerful ways through our partners in Rwanda and Congo. There are so many stories that could be shared, but these are a few highlights. Also, it seemed appropriate to combine these two even though they are separate nations because of the close connection between eastern Congo and Rwanda.
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Jacques Nsengiyumva and his team in Kausa, Congo are turning their community upside down reaching them, treating Jiggers and sharing Christ's love to the people. In these pictures you will find
Bahati (5) and Mupenzi (9), two neighbors who were severely affected by Jiggers and Ascarisis [intestinal worms]. Jiggers attacked both feet and fingers. Due to the stigma
they could never go to school or play outside with other kids. After being treated, Jacques hopes that they will fully recover in about 1 month time and
be able to walk again and go to school. These are two particular cases but there are hundreds that are being reached...Praise God for the people who are being released from this bondage
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"Local solutions to local problems by local leaders."
Jean Paul, Pascal, Esperance, Amanda and the rest of their team
put on an amazing conference
in Rwanda for the villages of Rugerero, Nombe, Gahame, Terimbere, Kanyamatembe. and Ruhango.
150 adults and 319 children attended
. They learned about how to prevent and treat NTDs like intestinal worms, Jiggers, Schistosomiasis, and Lympthatic Filariasis (using local names for these). In addition, the children and many adults received deworming medication. Yet, one of the highlights was the demonstration on how to make and sustain a simple hand washing station known as as
"Tippy Tap"
(pictured above)
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"What do we do with all the people being saved?"
You may recall that we had asked this question during our last e-newsletter, and God directed us to partner with two communities to address this issue we are facing due to the overwhelming success of this ministry and our partners that make it happen. Two Life Centers were created to be a place for worship, medical outreach, and education. One was in Gitoki, Rwanda (left image) and the other in Kausa, Congo (right). While a small grant was given to each site to help pay for the roof and roof structure, the rest of the material and labor was provided by the local community members to build a place that was truly their own.
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Ricky, Milley, and the rest of the team in Maracha, Uganda have been doing incredible work. They are not waiting for the people to come to them, but they are going to into the community to reach many of the more vulnerable woman and children suffering from intestinal worms as well as addressing other pressing medical issues, such as Malaria, plaguing the area. Their strategic partnerships with the local health centers and churches have allowed for greater impact even with this more personal care and attention to each patient.
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Pastor Biswa clearly and quickly identified God's providence provided through the National Deworming Day in India. He leveraged the limited resources provided by the government in order to provide both treatment for those currently with intestinal worms but also education on the identification and treatment of these worms to the school age children in order to encourage healthy practices for themselves as well as share this knowledge with their families.
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God has called amazing local leaders to transform their communities. They just need the training and resources to carry out the plans that God has laid on their hearts to bring health and the hope of Jesus.
Invest Today in These Leaders and Their Communities
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Kharkiv, Ukraine May 6-7
We are so excited to hold our Advanced Conference for 50 medical students in Ukraine from over 15 different countries. They are the future leaders of their communities. Despite their lack of income, all of these students are paying a small fee to attend.
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Kolkata, India June 2-4
What a privilege to hold our first conference in the most populous nation in the world. We will have medical leaders and pastors from all across India as well as 6 leaders from Nepal. We will also be holding a planning and implementation meeting in Delhi on June 8.
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Gisenyi, Rwanda July 22-23
These leaders from Rwanda and Congo (DRC) have set a high standard for this Advanced Conference. So many have taken what they learned and transformed their communities already. I am certain we will learn far more than we will teach from this incredible group.
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It almost seems wrong to say that Selin Waltz is new to the Sustainable Med family. While Selin officially joined the Sustainable Med Board in January of this year, she has been one of the most engaged and outspoken supporters and volunteers for this ministry. Not only has she been a great champion for this work, but she has contributed countless hours to development of curriculum and strategies in addition to presenting at our conferences In Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya in 2015. Selin, an engineer with Proctor & Gamble, has incorporated some of the best strategies on innovation for these countries in her material. We feel so blessed to have Selin's guidance and leadership in this crucial role as Board member, and we are thankful for the incredible support from her husband, Brian, as well.
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We could not do this work without the support of countless volunteers all across the world in India, Nepal, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Ukraine, and the USA. Thank you all SO MUCH. Here are three volunteers that have helped lead three new projects for 2016.
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Nathan Heidt
Nathan has had a passion for innovation around power systems for many years, including designing wind turbine plans for Malawi. Recently, he has graciously agreed to team up with Paul Sudhakar and Clint Ouma to develop power solutions that can be easily created from scrap material commonly found in Eastern African countries. They plan on testing their designs and then sharing them with the many Sustainable Med partners in these nations.
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Tara Browne
Tara has been a volunteer for Sustainable Med for the past several months and helped create a Leadership training module for our conferences. Recently, she has teamed up with our African Director, Emmanuel, to lead some advanced leadership courses. Emmanuel praised her material as being both exceptionally helpful and professional as well as "very relevant to our culture with great stories." Well done!
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Nate Bell
What happens when you write a great email and no one is able to read it? What happens if you have an amazing story but no way to share it.? Nate Bell, an IT and computer genius, has offered up his services and seemingly endless knowledge in the digital world to help craft some very simple ways to share information in places with limited or slow internet connections. These are literally cutting edge concepts, but he is sharing it with us and our partners.
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This story begins with
you. There is nothing we have done or will do without the support, love and prayers of those who want to invest in the global community of God's Kingdom. You have made and will continue to make
a permanent mark on history.
(2016 Budget - $299,000)
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What else can I do to get involved?
Whether you have limited abilities to give financially or if you have given and are looking for other ways to connect deeper with this ministry, God can use you in powerful ways!
- Pray - prayer always changes things. Join our prayer team.
- Volunteer - social media, administrative, curriculum development, and more for as little as a couple of hours.
- Network - Emmanuel needs an entire ecosystem of resources as he begins his role. Key areas include: water/sanitation, power, construction, agriculture, grant writing, and medicine
- Mentor - dozens of medical students in Ukraine as well as currently practicing medical professionals in Africa and Nepal are looking for mentors to guide them in their development. Size of the group and time is based around your preferences. Sign up
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