July 4, 2012
Update from Matt Macy:
The Saltshaker team is doing very well! Thanks for your continued prayer for all of us and our Burundian Friends as we serve in various ways, particularly focused on the hospital all this week. I have a very short time to say hi, so I will just say that there are so many stories from the various persons on our team to tell!
Thursday we arrived and went straight from Bujumbura to Kibimba’s Guest House.
Friday we received hospital orientation and toured the grounds. Then we traveled briefly and met with and prayed with the Gitega governor.
Saturday we began our work at the hospital.
Sunday we were split into 4 groups to go to 4 different churches, which included Kibimba, Kwisumo, Musama, and Ceru. We plan to do the same this upcoming Sunday to 4 different churches…and of course we visit various places in route as well.
Monday we participated in a very interesting big celebration at the Gitega Province Stadium to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Burundi’s Independence from Belgium.
Since then and continuing all week through at least Friday we are focused on serving at the hospital, with a few side projects along the way to serve the church, including helping them prepare materials for 30,000 kids to participate in VBS throughout all the churches. The hospital experience has been pretty amazing, with experiences from working around the grounds to checking on patients and praying for them to observing surgery and C-Sections, etc.
What a great time we are having! We have very comfortable and private accommodations in the new Kibimba Hospital Guest House. Our cook worked for Gary & Connie Young for several years, and his cooking is wonderful and delicious to eat.
The entire team is in good spirits, serving well, feeling healthy, loving life and the Kingdom and Burundi! We are meeting old friends and making new friends as we go. We are very inspired by the great work of the Kibimba Hospital, the Friends Church of Burundi (50,000 strong on Sunday morning throughout all the churches), and the way God has worked in the Hospital since it opened in the late 40’s but didn’t have a surgeon since 72 til this Dr. Elisee (son of Behinda the first pastor recorded by Burundi Friends) came in 2006. And the Friends of Kibimba in Mid America Friends have done some really amazing support work for the hospital that has made a huge Kingdom life difference! You would have to see it to believe it…the facilities have doubled in size since the doctor came and the services and quality of the services have much more than doubled.
We have yet to receive the 50 trunks we brought with many supplies and blessings for the hospital and church, but I think we might finally get them tomorrow with some duty tax payments.
Thanks again for your prayers! We have no internet access at or around Kibimba Hospital, so we may not be able to check in again til we are headed home.
Matt Macy (on behalf of the Saltshaker 2012 team)
Follow Us!