CENTRAL AFRICA MEDICAL MISSION

“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need.” Romans 12:11-12

Greetings from all of us at the Lutheran Mobile Clinic in Malawi! I can also pass on the greetings given from Jackson Kalekwa, Clinical Officer in Charge of the Mwembezhi Lutheran Rural Health Center in Zambia, where Gary and I visited in May. We accompanied Angela Sievert and Joni Vaughn, CAMM committee members, on their visit. We spent time with Administrator Alisad Banda, and met with all the staff the day we went out to Mwembezhi. It was good to finally see in person the renovations that have happened to both buildings over the past 2 years. No wonder our staff is proud of their clinic! After a devotion, there was under-fives clinic and outpatients were seen. I saw a mom arrive on a bicycle with her baby on her back, who we had passed many kilometers back as we drove in. A group of nurses were heading out to the nearby villages in a government vehicle to offer Covid vaccines to those who needed them. We were told that Covid case numbers were rapidly rising in the surrounding district.

Here in Lilongwe, Covid numbers remain low and Malaria numbers are dropping, as it’s the cooler, dry winter season. Other respiratory illnesses are very common. It felt like fall as I headed out to the pharmacy to load the ambulance this morning. Yesterday at Msambo we were joined by Paster Msiska who led the devotion and also met with the mothers of 6 disabled children for Bible study. I will miss visiting with these moms every week, making sure their children are doing well and getting a report on how the physical therapy is going. One of the newest in the group, with a two-year-old boy named Newa who at first couldn’t even sit up alone, was smiling as she told me he is able to do so much more now.

Gary and I look back on the many changes that have taken place in both fields since God allowed us to be a part of CAMM four years ago, and we have always seen the Lord’s guidance and provision. There have also been frustrations and setbacks, such as the months we had to shut down clinic at the beginning of the pandemic. God is faithful, answered prayer, and always used difficulties for our good. We learned along with our staff how to run our mobile clinics safely even before the Covid vaccines started here. We learned that steps could be taken towards nationalization so that the Lutheran Mobile Clinic could function without an American nurse in charge and clinic administrator. We found that prayer was a powerful tool in our personal lives too, when we were far from our family, and our 25-year-old daughter was diagnosed with MS. We have been blessed by the Lutheran Mission families here who cared for us along the way, as well as all of our Malawian staff who have been amazing to work with. Lusungu Mwambeye, Clinic Administrator and Violet Chikwatu, Nurse in Charge have completed their orientations and will be ready to take over for us when we head back to the US later this month.

As I write, Gary is in Kenya with Pastor Roebke, meeting with Kenyan pastors to learn about the Lutheran churches and possible health promoting outreach in the congregations there. He was asked to check on some borehole projects, using his civil engineering expertise. He will remain as field director remotely and continue to oversee the CAMM work in Malawi and Zambia with field visits. Please pray for our staff and the CAMM committee. Your faithful prayers and donations will allow us to continue to serve people in Africa with medical care and the love of Jesus. We thank God for you!

Your sister in Christ,

Beth Evans