Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations… Ephesians 3:20-21
Request:
About the same time as the political unrest was occurring in Kenya, Dr. Steve made a request to his supporters regarding the need for training mannequins for the Kapsowar Nursing School. Specifically, his most immediate need was CPR mannequins. As I prayed, God continued to place a burden on my heart to help with this request. After all, it was the nursing school. After sharing this burden with P. Seth and others on the medical outreach team, we started to pray for open doors and direction.
Response:
I was filled with high hopes as Ann Arbor and its surrounding community was saturated with healthcare personnel and facilities. Unfortunately, speaking to one hospital educator and after another, these mannequins were considered “hot commodities” as they were expensive training items. In fact, majority of the healthcare organizations share the mannequins or use them till they are no longer usable. Thus, more prayer and began to “cast the net” to other non-hospital organizations providing CPR education.
Relationships:
Within about few days after the initial phone calls, Julie from American Red Cross responded, indicating they had four mannequins available for donation. Even more, she had connections to Eastern Michigan University in which they had 8 more mannequins. We were simply amazed in how rapidly God provided. However, God’s provision did not stop here. Along with donating the mannequins, American Red Cross wanted to write a story regarding the mannequin project for various newsletters and newspapers!
After the mannequins were acquired, shipping the mannequins was another issue. Through another contact from HMCC member, Joshan George, a contact was established with a Federal Express employee, Jason. With help from Dr. Clara and Peter, the mouthpieces for the mannequins were purchased and packaged for shipment. All the mannequins were shipped for FREE. Three of the mannequins were shipped off to New York, while one mannequin was shipped to Georgia to be personally carried in by a surgeon who would be volunteering at Kapsowar. Another provision from the Lord!
Reflection:
1. Partnerships: Importance of establishing relationships and sharing resources
What is truly exciting about this project is that not only does this involve our church, but we are able to partner with the local community to fulfill God’s greater purposes internationally.
2. Principle of asking and seeking
Ask and it shall be given, seek and you shall find, and knock and the door will be opened (Matt 7:7). God opens doors in more ways than we can ever explain or imagine many times. It has been another example of confirmation that God’s plans will always prevail, but we need to ask and seek Him in prayer above all.
3. Privilege to participate in world missions while still remaining in Ann Arbor
Many times we may “physically” not be able to go abroad, but we can still participate in the work of missions. What a wonderful privilege that God given us to serve Him and His people!
As an addendum to this story, we also had a request for nursing reference books for the nursing school. Through various nursing faculty/student connections at U of M, EMU, and even a donor from California who found out about the nursing book drive through a Christian Nursing listserve, over 200 nursing books were collected! With help from the members of the medical outreach team, the books were cataloged and organized. This was such a good picture of body of Christ working together. However, due to shipping costs, we are underway in shipping 50 of the most up to date nursing books to Kapsowar this summer (many are new and in excellent condition). Clearly, God continues to provide abundantly….praises!