Blessed are the Poor in Spirit...

I´ve just returned from Guatemala and a visit with Drs. Jennifer Thoene and Brent Burket along with their four children, Christopher, Elizabeth, Julianne, and Nicholas. (pictured here with Bishop Gonzalo de Villa y Vásquez and Lay Mission-Helper Mitch Tolbert) Just prior to that visit we had Commissioning Mass for Dr. James and Mrs. Terry Hake, leaving this summer to begin a three year assignment in Cameroon.

I had some time to think about this blog, waiting in airports (and in Guatemala City for an airport to re-open) and how I can share with you the joy, dedication, and generosity of spirit all these special individuals share. One a young family, taking their children, away from aunts and uncles and grandparents - the other couple leaving behind adult children and grandchildren.

It isn´t that they are unaware of the sacrifice, or that they don´t miss the opportunity for big family get togethers that this separation means, but that despite this separation they step out, they take the risks necessary to share their skills with individuals in need in Africa and Latin America.

This is a profound example for all of us who comfortably put our heads on our pillow tonight, who can see our families when we chose. Their example of service, so far from home, is one that we may not be able to follow today, but through our own sacrifices we can make their service possible.

Those who support the work of MDA are the essential partners in a healthy delivery in Guatemala, a child treated for malaria in Cameroon, a trauma cared for in Uganda, a village visit in Tanzania. We put our faith and trust in God that we too may be blessed.

A Seed Sown to Grow in Africa...

"I have come to realize that we all sow seeds everyday. By our actions we sow both good and bad seeds, we then live in the landscape we have created" Dr. Jim Hake shared this reflection on Sunday, at St. John the Evangelist Church in Los Angeles.

Dr. Jim and Mrs. Terry Hake were commissioned, blessed and sent forth this weekend for a three year assignment to Cameroon in West Africa. I wanted to take this blog post and share with you their words of wisdom.

Terry spoke of a faith journey that brought them to this day. She noted that God had sent her three messages that helped her realize that she too was being called to serve as a lay missionary, to teach in the Diocese of Bemenda. Jim shared that he had wanted to be a medical missionary since he first heard a priest from Africa on Mission Sunday 35 years ago while still in medical school.

The seed planted, had been kept buried until 2003 when he and Terry attended the annual Retreat / Seminar offered for doctors who are considering serving short-term. Subsequently, Jim and Terry did serve short-term assignments in both Cameroon and Zimbabwe. Retiring from his Family Practice in Moses Lake, WA, last year, Jim was ready to take the next step, and he and Terry came to Los Angeles in January 2010 and joined the formation program.

Jim completed his reflection by saying, “As we head out we ask for your prayers.”

I would like to ask that you remember Jim, Terry and all of our Mission Doctors serving in Africa and Latin America in your prayers tonight, sowing a seed of mission in your own heart.

Mother's Day Around the World

Mother's Day in the US is this Sunday, May 9, an opportunity for children of all ages to appreciate their own mothers and celebrate the role of mothers around the world. And while my own Mother's Day will be filled with a few of my favorite things; family, good food and just a little time to relax, my thoughts will inevitably travel not only to my own mother but to all mothers. 



The State of the World's Mother's report recently came out reporting the best and worse places in the world to be a mother. The report ranks 160 countries based on health, nutrition, education and political data. Our own country, the US, ranked 14 in the developed world, while 8 of the lowest ranking are Countries in Sub Saharan Africa.

• A women giving birth in Cameroon has a 1 in 100 chance of dying in childbirth, a number 100 times greater than the US.

• The life expectancy of a women in Zimbabwe is now 44 years, up from a previous record shattering 35 years just a few years ago.

• A mother in Uganda faces an infant mortality rate 10 times greater than a child born in the US, and a risk that her child will die before their 5th birthday is 131 in 1000, vs. 8 in 1000 in our country. *

Mission Doctor, Brent Burket, M.D., now working in Guatemala wrote recently in his blog about the lives of the mothers he has observed there. The pace of their day from the moment that they awake to the time they go to bed, their tasks to collecting water, moving to the water’s edge to wash clothes, collecting wood for a cooking fire, preparing meals – every moment of every day part of their efforts to provide for their families and this is where he notes there exists the similarity between his own mother, sisters and wife, their care for the family.

Mothers everywhere are striving to provide for their children. Most mothers around the world however are not as fortunate as I am, having four healthy married adult children. As I reflect on this time with my children and their spouses this Sunday, my heart is overflowing with gratitude for what I have, and I feel the need to raise a prayer for mothers everywhere.

Those who struggle today to bring life into an uncertain world, those who sit at the bedside of a sick child, and those who are facing - what in our hearts we know to be the most unnatural order - laying a child to rest. May we find ways to support women around the world through our prayers and actions to make the world a safer and healthier place for all mothers and their children.

A word of prayer for World Malaria Day...

Sunday, April 25: World Malaria Day. One day set to help raise awareness about the widespread devastating impact of Malaria.

Malaria is a deadly mosquito-born disease, that effected Europe and North America as recently as the 1950s. However, simple public health measures helped end the spread and eliminate the disease in these parts of the world.

Sadly, Malaria still afflicts approximately 500,000,000 (500 Million) people in Africa, Asia and Latin America and kills one child every 30 seconds, the time it has taken to read this post.

These staggering numbers can cause paralysis. What can I do?

The image that often comes to mind for me when I consider these numbers is that of one little girl and her father, in Uganda, at the bedside Kate Walsh, R.N., helping the father apply cool compresses to reduce the girl’s fever. Or the mother at the rural clinics in Cameroon with her small son lethargically laying across her lap as the exam was preformed, and medications given.

There are huge global efforts to reduce the impact of malaria, seeking ways to create an immunization, distributing treated bed nets, and the ultimate impact of these efforts hopefully will one day change the face of this disease.

In the mean time, Mission Doctors and their families who can, try to offer care that is both immediate and compassionate to one patient at a time. It may not even be a drop in the bucket, but as a parent myself, I do understand that the entire world can seem to exist in arms of a parent holding one sick child.

For all those suffering today, for their families, for researchers and for everyone who is working to turn the tide on malaria today we pray.

Never doubt...

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." This quote from Margaret Mead has always been one of my favorites and for years has spurred me on during late nights and long flights with Mission Doctors.

We are still working on wrapping up all of the details following our annual weekend Retreat/Seminar a couple weeks ago. This gave us the opportunity to bring together a group of dedicated mission doctors and their spouses and with those interested in learning about ways they can serve. As I looked over the room I knew this was indeed a group like the "small group of thoughtful, committed citizens" Margaret Mead described.

I again want to take a moment on this blog to thank all of those generous and committed missionaries and thoughtful participants for spending the weekend working to be the change in the world.

Thank you.

P.S. - Interested in attending this event in 2011? We are already accepting reservations - Loyola Marymount University - April 8 - 10, 2011!

What a weekend!

As many of you know, this past weekend was the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress in Anaheim and what a weekend! We shared a booth with Lay Mission-Helpers and had the opportunity to share the story of this great work that has gone on for more than 50 years – there were more than 21,000 registered attendees!

We premiered OMPP...the One Million Patients Project and talked to anyone that would listen about the work of Mission Doctors. Visit www.OneMillionPatients.org

Thousands of faces, hundreds of bookmarks, old friends and new, handshakes & hugs ...phew! It was a great weekend, but needless to say - a quiet Sunday evening was very much appreciated.

But no time to rest….We are so excited about this upcoming weekend, our 2010 Mission Doctors Retreat/Seminar. Doctors and their spouses from around the country are traveling to Los Angeles to learn about Mission Doctors and the opportunities to serve short term in Africa or Latin America. Please keep us in your prayers this weekend, as doctors discern their call to serve. On Sunday our local friend will join us for Mass at LMU. A busy time, but an exciting time as we are all working together to bring health care to those most in need.

What is OMPP?

Have you heard of OMPP?

In this case its not the Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning or the Ontario Motorist Protection Plan.

It is something new for Mission Doctors, a way for everyone to get involved and make a difference. We will be premiering OMPP next weekend at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress in Anaheim, we will be at booth #469 and online at twitter.com/missiondoctors