This week we traveled north to Louisville, Kentucky, to attend the Global Health Missions Conference. We decided to use this opportunity to see a bit more of Alabama and enjoy the change of leaves which we have to miss in the south! On Wednesday we visited the Natural Bridge and hiked in the Sipsey Wilderness.
In the evening we visited with a family friend and the next morning we traveled further north on the Natchez Trace, where the trees were beautiful and Heleen was stopped by a state trooper who thought she was having trouble driving (the truth was that she was slowing down to let the vehicle staying so close behind her - which happened to be the trooper - pass). Thankfully he was very nice and told us he was soon going to be married into an (unrelated) Yoder-clan!
Thursday around 4 pm we checked in at the conference and immediately started a busy schedule in which we each attended seven workshops and four plenary meetings. Jon was able to attend a number of clinical sessions which were helpful for our future assignments, for example on the treatment of malaria, HIV, postpartum hemorrhage in the tropics, etc. He also attended a meeting on practicing medicine in a Muslim context. Heleen attended a range of classes, varying from Child Development to "Fostering a Culture of Peace" and Empowering Women. In the plenary sessions we heard about medical work among refugees and very much appreciated a Christian perspective on sexuality by Dr. Juli Slattery. Before we left on Saturday morning we were challenged by a sermon on the rich young ruler. He was given the opportunity of a lifetime. Jesus invited him to come and change the world, to live a life that mattered. When he said no, this young man gave us an unforgettable formula on how to waste our lives. Stan Key, the preacher, encouraged us to think about areas in our lives wherein we hold back and don't give Jesus 100%.
The Conference was held in a gigantic church, with an auditorium for about 9,000 people and several other worship halls, and an endless number of classrooms on five floors connected with escalators. In the downstairs hall was a big cafeteria and book store. It felt as if we were in a huge shopping mall.
The conference was visited by about 5,000 people, mostly students and professionals in the medical field, with either interest or experience in missions. We were happily surprised to meet Dr. Ron Baker and Dr. Richard Toupin with his wife Kathy, who all at some time worked at the hospital in Mattru! We loved hearing their stories which gave us a better picture of the place & people, and brought the hospital closer to our heart. Dr. Baker showed us the map he uses to show people the need for doctors in Africa. This map shows the size of the country/continent by the numbers of doctors per 100,000 people:
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| source: www.worldmapper.org |
Quite convincing, isn't it? We are excited to continue the journey!
Jon & Heleen
