21 Oct October 2024
Autumn is the time for many churches and women’s groups in the US to hold mission
festivals, LWMS rallies and women’s group gatherings. As members of the CAMM
committee, we are often asked to speak about CAMM at these gatherings. It is always a
privilege and a joy to meet with people who are excited about the Central Africa Medical
Mission. CAMM committee members are happy to travel locally and sometimes across
the country when asked to speak about the work of CAMM.
Recently Joni Vaughn, CAMM Nurse Coordinator, and I were invited to a CAMM
themed baby shower at Salem Lutheran Church in Stillwater, MN. What a wonderful
idea! The ladies provided an opportunity for members to donate baby items that will be
shipped over to the clinic in Zambia and raised funds to support the work of CAMM.
They even ordered a cake.
Our newsletter this month comes from our CAMM Director, Gary Evans, who also
recently shared news about the work of CAMM with a group in Arizona.
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as
faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10
I recently traveled to Malawi and Zambia and was looking forward to sharing some
updated information and news about the field. My wife Beth and I recently gave a
presentation about CAMM for the Grand Canyon Circuit of LWMS (Lutheran Women’s
Missionary Society) at a retreat at a camp outside of Prescott, Arizona. There were
about 80 women attending, and three Arizona pastors who helped with devotions and
worship. We were glad to see our former Malawi Mission Liaison, John Holtz, and a
former pastor in Zambia, John Hartman and his wife Sharon.
At the retreat we had the opportunity to learn about the mission work to the Apaches,
including the school in Peridot. We also heard about the Mission to the Children in
Mexico and its Spanish ministry to Mexicans in Tucson.
We shared our slides about the Lutheran Mobile Clinic in Malawi, the Lutheran Rural
Health Center in Zambia, and the medical camp which was run in Kenya last February.
We enjoyed answering questions and feeling so much support for the ongoing work of
CAMM. We knew these women would be praying for our African staff and supporting
the mission with their prayers and offerings. It was apparent that many of them also had
ministries in their churches and with other mission organizations. We give thanks for these brothers and sisters in Christ, who love Jesus and want to help spread the gospel around the world!
In other news, in Malawi we have recently completed the construction of two private
consultation rooms at our clinic at Thunga Village. We have seen that outpatient
numbers have been growing at this clinic, which has caused crowding and even less
privacy. We decided that it was it about time that these patients were provided the
same degree of privacy as the patients at our other clinics, hence the new consultation
rooms were built. Now all outpatient consultations at all four of our clinics are conducted
in private.
Also, in Malawi, after a few months of wondering why we have not received many
parcels, we have just received 40 parcels of pill bottles and other supplies. Supplies
were getting low and we were beginning to worry. But the Lord provided. We suspected
that something was amiss either at the post office or customs, but only recently
discovered that parcels were being held by the Malawi Revenue Agency (MRA) for
possible customs duty. Lusungu Mwambeye – our administrator in Malawi – was able to
work with the MRA and get the parcels released to us without duty. She also obtained a
letter from MRA giving us customs clearance for 3 months. While our stocks are looking
good today, it can take up to 3 months for a parcel to arrive, so please keep the parcels
coming so that we always have a ready supply of pill bottles, blankets, hats, onesies
etc. for our patients.
Gods blessings,
Gary Evans, CAMM Field Director
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