by Mission Partners For Christ | Jun 10, 2022 | What We Do
The beauty of serving on multiple missions trips is that we get to partner with new organizations every time!
On our trip to Burkina Faso, we had the privilege to partner with a local organization, The Burkina Faso Christian Medical and Dental Association. Working with local organizations allows us to help more people than we could on our own, and helps establish long-lasting relationships in the area.
When we first arrived, we landed in Ouagadougou, (pronounced wagadagu) the capital and largest city in Burkina Faso, and then took a flight to Bobo-Dioulasso, where we were joined by the newly formed Christian Medical and Dental Association. We had a great time getting acquainted with 4 of the doctors from the Association over dinner! They shared all about their training, where they are working, and the Association’s mission
For the next four days, our team along with theirs served together in many remote, unreached villages.
Our American doctors were able to encourage the Burkina Faso doctors and medical students. They were also a great encouragement to us as they showed us how they treat many tropical diseases in Burkina that we don’t see in the United States.
Together we were able to treat more patients than on any other trip= 1894!
There were three patients we were very concerned about that lived in the rural villages many miles from the city. Two have serious eye conditions and one has leukemia. With the assistance of the Burkina Faso Christian Medical Association, these patients were able to receive additional treatment they otherwise wouldn’t have, and I am so grateful we were able to establish a partnership with them!
The Burkina Faso Christian Medical and Dental Association witnessed how serving in these remote villages opened the hearts of people to the gospel.
They were very encouraged serving with our team and appreciated the partnership just as much as we did! At the end of our short trip we had some left over medication and supplies that we were able to donate to them.
We had the best time serving the people in remote villages around Burkina Faso and are so thankful that we were able to work together with the Burkina Faso Christian Medical and Dental Association. We couldn’t have helped as many people as we did without them!
Have more questions about serving on one of our mission trips? Want to stay up to date with what’s going on with our organization? If so, be sure to sign up for our
mailing list!
by Mission Partners For Christ | May 27, 2022 | How to Prepare, Make a difference, Medical Mission Trips, What We Do, Why We Go On Medical Missions Trips
“And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” –Philippians 4:19
When you are on the mission field, you will see a lot of people who have less than what you have when it comes to personal belongings. You may even see a lot of poverty depending on the location you are serving. It is easy to see these things and start to believe that the Lord isn’t providing for these people.
You may feel sadness or even guilt if you compare your “blessings” to theirs. But a perspective shift has to happen. First of all, blessings come in more forms than “stuff.” Secondly, You have to believe that if YOU care about the suffering, pain, or needs that you see around you, then God absolutely cares as well!
Take this story about Elijah for example:
“Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.’ Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: ‘Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there.’ So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.” –1 Kings 17:1-7
The Lord took care of His child Elijah. But He didn’t just hand Elijah food and drink in the way we think God would do it. He had him drink out of a brook and be fed by scraps from the birds. God cares for His children in peculiar ways to bring glory to Him through the process!
So how does that story relate to what you may see on missions trips? It shows that God cares about all of His children and provides for their needs in ways that bring Him glory. And sometimes the way He takes care of others is through you and me! It may be peculiar for God to care for those in one country through the work of those from another, but He makes a way! One example is that God sends teams of people like groups from Mission Partners for Christ and our local mission partners to care for the physical needs of those in Ethiopia, Liberia, or other locations. I bet people in those countries would have never imagined God caring for them in that peculiar way!
“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.” –Matthew 6:31-32
Though the Lord provides for our physical needs, the biggest need He promises to provide for is our need of grace. It’s a free gift we can receive and share with others at all times! Just like Elijah had to remind himself during times where he felt alone and hungry, “The ravens are coming!” we get to tell ourselves in times of hopelessness, “Jesus is coming!”
This is faith in action.
Believe the Lord provides!
by Mission Partners For Christ | Apr 9, 2022 | What We Do
Doctors in medical missions are not all cut from the same cloth; they come from
different countries, backgrounds, and cultures. However, they are all moved by a common purpose: serving Jesus through caring for the sick and the wounded. Let’s take a moment today to meet just a few of these people.
Dr. Priscilla Busyingye, Uganda
Dr. Busyingye is a unique woman. As an African nun, the women of Uganda are her mission field. Trained as an OB-GYN and a fistula repair surgeon by the Catholic Banyatereza Sisters of Uganda, Dr. Busyingye currently serves as the president of the Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Uganda, where her influence can impact many people. In 2020, Dr. Busyingye became the first African woman to win the Gerson L’Chaim Initiative award. This award came with a $500,000 prize that She will put towards expanding the Rwibaale Health Center, where she works to save lives every day as a medical missionary.
Source: African Mission + Healthcare
Dr. Tan Lai Yong, Singapore
Dr. Tan did not envision himself going into medicine when he was young. Due to his grades in school, he believed that medical school was not an option. After being encouraged by a platoon mate during his time as an infantry soldier in the Singapore Armed Forces, Dr. Tan decided to take a leap of faith and apply to medical school.
Through the course of his career, Dr. Tan has turned down multiple prestigious career opportunities to serve the poor, the imprisoned, and the marginalized populations of Singapore and China. Currently, Dr. Tan works at the College of Alice and Peter Tan, part of the University of Singapore. He teaches his students the importance of understanding marginalized communities within Singapore. Through his work with the school, he is preparing the next generation of medical students to carry on the work he started. The love of God continually motivates Dr. Tan to do his work. In an interview, he once shared, “when we embrace God’s covenant, God always directs us back to the community to receive help, to share, to exercise compassion, and to find hope.”
Source: National Healthcare Group and Salt and Light
Dr. Chiara Castellani, Democratic Republic of Congo
Dr. Castellani has dedicated her life to serving in medical missions. Before moving to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where she currently resides, this highly trained surgeon also put her life-saving skills to work in Nicaragua. She has managed a hospital in Kimbau, DRC for over 30 years as a medical missionary. Dr. Castellani has worked on countless cases with people who suffer from Ebola, leprosy, and illnesses related to poverty and lack of access to medical care. The greatest joy in her work is seeing how God uses her skills as a surgeon to bring healing into people’s lives. She will often speak of how God is in control of the outcome even in the most desperate and impossible cases.
As of 2019, Dr. Castellani was working with doctors from Trieste to build a Mother and Child Health Center in Buzala to continue her life-saving work.
Source: SouthWorld
Dr. Tongai Chitsamatanga, Zimbabwe
In a country of more than 15 million people, Dr. Chitsamatanga is one of two pediatric surgeons. Trained and practiced in hospitals in the United Kingdom and Africa, Dr. Chitsamatanga now works for a Zimbabwean hospital started by the medical mission nonprofit, CURE International. CURE Zimbabwe is in Bulawayo, the second-largest city in the nation; the hospital is also the only location where children with complicated orthopedic conditions can be treated. At only 41 years old, Dr. Chitsamatanga has dedicated his life to caring for children who otherwise would likely never receive medical treatments as a medical missionary, and he intends to keep going. Remarking on his work and the feedback he’s gotten from his patients, Dr. Chitsamatanga says, “‘This is exactly what the Lord wants at this moment in time. This is why I’m here.”
Source: Christianity Today
Dr. Jason Fader, Burundi
The inaugural winner of the Gerson L’Chaim Prize, Dr. Fader’s passion comes from being the hands of Christ to his patients in Burundi. As of 2017, Dr. Fader was just one of just 14 surgeons in all of Burundi. His work at Kibuye Hope Hospital, the teaching hospital for Hope Africa University Medical School, has been life-changing for each patient who has sought his medical expertise. Dr. Fader has been instrumental in expanding medical facilities and training new staff.
Source: Free Methodist World Missions
Did you meet some new people in this week’s article? Did any of these doctors inspire you to think about medical missions differently? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
by Mission Partners For Christ | Nov 1, 2021 | Make a difference, What We Do
Are you retired or semi-retired and thinking about being more active in the missions field?
If so, this may be the perfect season for you to join a short-term medical missions team and bring physical, spiritual, and emotional healing to people around the world. Wondering if a medical missions trip is a good way for you to get involved? Here are our top 3 reasons we believe retirees are well suited for a short-term medical missions trip:
You have more control over your schedule than ever before!
Being retired means that you get to set your schedule. It’s also highly unlikely that you have young people at home needing rides, help with homework, or constant supervision. This frees up your evenings and weekends to travel locally or globally and serve. Many of our volunteers are still raising families and it can be harder for them to take medical missions trips while their kids are in school. If you’re an empty nester, you have the freedom and flexibility to take one or more short-term medical missions trips a year with our team!
You have so much valuable experience to share!
Our younger volunteers have not had as much time to develop the professional and life experience that you bring to the table. If you have been in the medical field for the last few decades, just think of how many thousands of hours you’ve spent honing your craft. You have learned how to make people feel important and seen while efficiently serving their medical needs. No matter if you have worked as support personnel or provided hands-on medical care, your expertise is desperately needed by the people we serve.
You have resources that younger people may not have.
Just like you have more control over your time, you also have fewer demands on your income than those in the midst of raising a family. Once the kids move out, the utilities drop and the food bill gets cut in half. There is a little more money in the bank at the end of the month. In addition to financial resources, retirees are more likely to have time for social or philanthropic groups that share passions. The groups you belong to can support you with prayer and even help you raise funds for your medical missions trip. It’s also possible that all of you could take a short-term medical missions trip together!
If you are considering a short-term medical missions trip, there’s no better time than right now to ask God for His input.
Mission work always starts with prayer and discerning God’s will for each of us in our current season! I’d love to invite you to take a first step towards joining a short-term medical missions trip by clicking here to choose which of our upcoming destinations pique your interest.
Do you need some questions answered before you say yes? We’d love to answer your questions about joining our team. Click here to submit your question via our contact page we will get back with you as soon as possible!
by Mission Partners For Christ | Nov 6, 2020 | Make a difference, What We Do
Celebrating new wells in Burundi
Celebrating new wells in Burundi! Though COVID-19 may have changed our plans to go to Burundi this year, it could not stop this new beautiful reason to rejoice: clean water from new wells in a remote village in Burundi.
How we got started on this project
About 18 months ago, we started communicating with the national director of an established organization that is truly invested in the communities where they serve. We discovered they served in parts of Burundi that have limited access to medical care.
Originally we agreed to go with a medical team to serve there, but due to the global COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on travel this year, the trip has been rescheduled. However, we continued talking with the director there of that organization in Burundi, and found out that there was no clean water nearby for the people in the region we had planned to visit. This was concerning to us, as water is important for one’s health.
Four new wells
We agreed to partner with the organization in Burundi on a solar-powered well project. Four new wells were installed in four parts of Burundi. We are happy to announce the communities have been using them for a little over a week!
People who live in remote villages often must walk a long way to where they can obtain water. Then they carry it home. Placing a well in these four new locations provides a new water source for 780 families in Northern Burundi. Children who could not go to school due to concerns about COVID-19 can now go because they have access to clean water.
The people rejoice
You can see in the video from Mission Partners for Christ’s Facebook page that the people are happy. May this new water be a huge blessing in their lives, providing them with good water to drink, cook, clean, and be healthy. We rejoice with you and keep you in our prayers!
Would you like to learn more about Mission Partners for Christ? You can find out how to join us on our trip to Burundi on our website. We look forward to partnering with you!
by Mission Partners For Christ | Sep 28, 2020 | Make a difference, Medical Mission Trips, What We Do
Hope for all seasons is what we bring with us when we go on medical missions trips.
Mission Partners for Christ is grateful to be partnering with great people from all over the world who share a vision to bring medical care and hope to people who need it. Teamwork, communication, dedication, prayer, and more help things come together while we serve. It is so exciting that we are able to make a difference!
Hope for the hungry
This year, we were able to partner with Hope for Burkina Futures and with Rise Against Hunger. Rise Against Hunger provided meals to Hope for Burkina Futures. Mission Partners for Christ covered the shipping costs of the meals. We are glad to say that 1320 boxes went out in a shipping container and over 880 boxes of food were distributed to about 5200 people or 750 families. That’s a lot of food!
What is unique about the food distribution through Hope for Burkina Futures is that the families who were served had been displaced due to terrorism and violence in their nation. According to the U.S. Department of State website which you can go to read more about this, there has been a sharp increase in terrorism activities since 2019. Thousands of people lost their homes as a result. You could probably imagine that this would be disheartening for those impacted. The spread of disease, loss of access to public services, and other types of violence also increased. Christian activity is not encouraged in Burkina Faso, so it is an extra blessing that we were able to be part of bringing hope into a dark situation. This is just one example of the work that Mission Partners for Christ is doing in this season.
How can God use you to share hope in this season?
Each and every one of us can be used by God in this season to His love to people. We can pray. Another thing we can do is pray that people will come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. We can find hope and peace in Jesus and by studying the Bible, and share what we learn. We can learn more about the various organizations we can give to during this time. With hope, we will be able to travel on medical missions trips in 2021. We are currently thankful for the ways that are available to support our partners and people in places like Burkina Faso.
Would you like to learn more about Mission Partners for Christ? You are welcome to visit and follow our Facebook page, Mission Partners for Christ, and also to go to this link to learn how you can be part of what we are doing in this season.
