To our faithful Friends and Family,

This is a daunting “newsletter” to write because it is no newsletter. It is a step into unknown territory with an uncertain o

utcome.In the past couple of years, God has led us on a journey and we have been privileged to see His faithfulness over and over. There

have been many periods of unknowns but God’s familiar hand has not failed us. So, I’m learning to see these uncertainties wit

h asense of anticipation. It is unknown and dark to me but not to Him.It seems that Soddo Christian Hospital and its PAACS surgical training program are at the brink of something. It may go well or itmay go bad. But it will be a ride, either way! The work you are enabling here is getting interesting. A few months ago, the PAACSprogram received an amazing and, frankly, unexpected gift from God. We were accredited as a surgical training site in Ethiopia.Thank you so much for your prayers in this! They were heard. I continue to rejoice in our God for this milestone.Allow me to share a little about the implications of this. Right now, Ethiopia is in desperate need of surgeons. There are about 140surgeons for 88 million people; and most of those 140 live in the capital, Addis Ababa. According to the Secretary General of theEthiopian Surgical Society, Ethiopia graduated 10 surgeons in 2008. In the same year, 8 other surgeons left the country. PAACS istraining surgeons to stay in Ethiopia. The PAACS program in Soddo has graduated two residents so far. One is finishing his trainingin pediatric surgery in Kenya and will return to Ethiopia in a year or two. The other is practicing surgery in an Ethiopian hospital.The greatest obstacle we have faced in getting Ethiopian candidates for training has beenaccreditation. God has now granted that. In fact, that accreditation has now been fully validated.One of our graduated surgeons, Solomon Endrias, has now received a license as a fully-recognized surgical specialist from the government. This is incredible news and we rejoicegreatly in it. Furthermore, I was amazed at one of the requests given during the accreditationprocess. They want us to train many more surgeons than we are! We were invited by the

government to expand our training significantly. I can only marvel at God’s kindness and

provision. Should we be granted the ability to expand our training and should we continue toproduce surgeons for Ethiopia, we could soon become one of the principle sources of surgeonsin the country. And these would be men and women who love Jesus and desire to serve Himand Ethiopia with their lives.God has provided further encouragement with the promise of additional help. Two youngAmerican general surgeons have committed to working with PAACS at Soddo ChristianHospital. Lord willing, they may both be here in two years or sooner. Across the missionary

the Door is Before Us

landscape, it is increasingly evident that there are fewer and fewer doctors willing to give a career to serving Christ in a developingcountry. It seems to be a dying breed. I proudly stand with these men who are coming.

The Beachhead

In many ways, I think a helpful analogy of where we stand right now is from warfare. Before I begin, I want to be very clear about a

possible misinterpretation. Our “battle” is not against the governing authorities. Far from it, we want to be their partner a

nd work alongside them in achieving what is, in many ways, a common goal. Our prayer is that the authorities would see our institutions,

both SCH and PAACS, as allies in the ultimate goal of meeting a strong surgical need in Ethiopia. Therefore, our “battle” is

with thevery real and necessary challenges to accomplish this goal.

In this battle, God has granted us a victory in establishing a beachhead. We’ve landed in the target area and we have a toeho

ld. But, just like the beachheads established in warfare, our situation is vulnerable and fragile. We are not yet established and can bedefeated, pushed back into the sea.Something truly substantial has happened but it is not yet secure. It is in jeopardy. And, like the beachheads of warfare, our need issimilar. We must receive an inflow of material and support to establish this beachhead and make it secure so that we can thenmove further into the target area.So what do we need? Why is the road uncertain and daunting? Our hospital needs development to do this. We have inadequatehousing. Our medical facilities need to be expanded. The accreditation is dependent on certain improvements to be maintained. Allof these needs are so far above me I feel dwarfed. But God has proven Himself faithful thus far and I am confident He can handlethese needs. Take a look at the needs below. Join me in pursuing them. Join me in prayer and lend me your advice and help.

Housing

We do not currently haveadequate housing for theseincoming missionaries. Nor dowe have adequate housing forthe residents we need to train.Last year, we were visited by ateam from EngineeringMinistries International andreceived a master plan fordevelopment. Part of thisincludes plans for a three-storyapartment building that willmeet most of our housingneeds. The estimated cost of building it is $663,000 USD.Half of one floor is seen here.Once completed, the threefloors would provide 20 units.

Pathology

One of the stipulations given for maintaining our accreditation to train surgeons is to develop on-site pathology. We are probably along way from having a full-time pathologist but we can develop a telepathology unit. This would allow us to prepare pathologic

specimens at the hospital, prepare slides and photograph pictures of the slides. We would then email the pictures to a pathologistin the US for interpretation. We already have a pathologist willing to partner with us. In addition to the accreditation issue, it

would also allow us to train our residents in preparing and interpreting pathological specimens. We’ve been in contact with W

orldWide Labs, an organization that partners with mission hospitals. We can get the materials to set this up for about $20,000 USD.

Intensive Care Unit Development

Another of the stipulations for maintaining our accreditation is the development of an ICU with ventilation capabilities. This meansbeing able to treat patients with breathing machines. Already God has provided the money for the purchase of seven newanesthesia machines for the hospital. These machines have built in ventilators and we plan to use some of them in building theupgraded ICU. This purchase is already underway. However, we have a desperate need for sufficiently trained nurses to staff thisICU. They are not available in this country. No such training exists here. We need western ICU nurses who are willing to committhemselves to work with our nurses and train them, on-the-job, so to speak. Realistically speaking, we need people willing to comefor at least six months, though we would be thrilled to have them longer. Only God can provide this need.

Emergency Room and Outpatient Care

Though surgeons may be loathe to

admit it, surgery doesn’t happen in a

vacuum. A good surgical training siterequires adequate primary caresupport. Our current OutpatientDepartment is woefully inadequateand is overcrowded. Our emergencyroom is also inadequate. Ourpediatric care needs expansion andneeds room to do so. One of themany blessings God has provided isanother young doctor willing to givehis career to missions, a pediatrician.He and his family will also be with us in the next two years. Our current six-bed pediatric ward will be nowhere near enough.Engineering Ministries International is also working with us for plans for a new Outpatient Department that will provide and freeup adequate facilities for these crucial hospital needs. A floor plan is seen below. It will cost $600,000 USD.

The Beachhead Needs to Be Stabilized!

We are requesting about 1.3 million dollars and people (including ICU nurses and people knowledgeable in construction to overseeour building projects). These needs are God-sized needs. I want to make them known to you and ask for your help in an effort to

seek God’s provision of them. First, pray. The Bible says God actually answers prayer. It amazes me that an all

-powerful,sovereign God has chosen to use the prayers of mankind to accomplish His will in the world. But He has done it nonetheless.Oh, that we would recognize this truth, for it would compel us to pray more than ever.Second, obey whatever God may be leading you to do. If He wants you to give something of what He has entrusted to you, please do so in full confidence of His direction and desire.Finally, help me. We will be returning to the USA this October. I will approach

whomever God wants me to approach. But I don’t know who to go to. This is very

foreign territory for me. If God brings to your mind any individuals or companies ororganizations I should visit, please contact me and let me know. I firmly believe God can dothis and am willing to be used by Him in the process.

My graceis

sufficient

for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.2Corinthians 12:9