I am a little over 2 weeks away from leaving Togo and moving back to the US. My time in Togo, West Africa has been one filled with so so many joys. So often being able to witness the hand of the Lord work something out, bring healing, or do something only He could do. It has been a time that has stretched me and grown me and I can truly say that I am not the same, but better and stronger than when I arrived some 5-6 years ago.
But, it has not all been highs that is for sure. There has been lots of lows and hard during my time here. Things I will never fully understand, loss of friends and co-workers that still cause pain when I think of them. Loss of patients that sometimes felt like my heart was being pulled out of me. Because, after we fought so hard for them and prayed so hard for them we lost them anyway and I had to reconcile myself to that fact. That ultimately God decides, not me. How arrogant of me to ever think it was up to me in the first place. But sadly and honestly there were times that I did. I have been comforted by so many things over the years but pouring over the scriptures where the writers pointed out the Lord’s sovereignty has given me the most comfort.
The Lord’s men facing battle, “Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s” 2 Chronicles 20: 15
“But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me” Psalm 49:15
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” Psalm 73:26
“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” Matthew 19:26
“But God chose the foolish in the world to shame the wise. God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are” 1 Corinthians 1:27
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ” Ephesians 2:4-5
But God, in his unending mercy allowed me to see him work in ways that I could never have imagined:
I had a massive hole torn in my heart by the death of a child a few years ago, But God used that to transform an entire family and draw them to Himself as believers and build a church in that village.
Patients and work and deaths have piled on so often, so high that I felt like drowning, but God brought encounters with families or others that showed me Himself even when He seemed nowhere to be found.
But God, has grown this hospital to be a sought-after referral center for northern Togo and southern Burkina Faso because we tell the truth and provide the very best care possible.
I have experienced so many But God moments here and I will treasure them, even the hard ones.
So why leave? Because as certain as I was that I was supposed to be in Togo in 2015 and then stay despite such hard circumstances in 2016, I feel the Lord leading me away from Togo to something new.
Change is easy, transition is hard. I heard this statement a few months ago knowing that I was going to face those very things: change and transition. It stuck with me and has rung true in so many ways.
Change has been in on the horizon for months and it is culminating in a couple of weeks. I am moving back to the US and the US will be my home base. I am not getting out of the missions game though. The Lord has given me a vision for what is to come. My best friend, Kelly Faber, and I will be engaging in quality improvement and best practice development projects in mission hospitals all over the world. I have seen the challenges of practicing medicine in low resource settings and have seen that great quality can be achieved. But I am also aware that there is NEVER enough time and energy to tackle some things even though it is needed. This is where our vision comes in. We believe that a high standard is achievable in low resource settings and we want to help mission hospitals reach that. We have coined what we call the Silver Standard. Western medicine strives for the gold standard in all areas. However, in low resource areas, the gold standard is often just not possible. However, we believe a standard is needed, hence the Silver Standard, the very best, possible care that can be delivered given the all of the nuances of the setting. This will be my new mission.
I have joined Christian Health Service Corps (CHSC) and Kelly and I will head up this project for them. We have called it Iron 2 Silver to emphasize the importance of taking something that already has value and elevating it to a higher level. This is based off of Isaiah 60:17 when the Lord is speaking of restoring Israel. “Instead of bronze, I will bring gold. Instead of iron I will bring silver”
This will require lots of traveling to initiate and coordinate projects once they are in place. This will be a huge life and direction transition, and I am very excited to get started on this new journey. There have been so many things that have confirmed this decision as well over the past months. It is exciting to be moving in the direction that has been cleared by the Lord. However, I do not discount the process of transition that will take place over the next few weeks to months. I have heard it said that with every new change there is a grieving process as well as an excitement. Such it is with this. Despite the excitement that I have for this new journey, I grieve for my Togolese and ex-pat colleagues as well as my Togolese friends that I now have to say goodbye to. And as it is with grief, it tends to come in waves the closer I get to my leave date. I welcome your prayers through this transition process.
I also would love to share more about Iron 2 Silver and this new journey that is starting to any and everyone. Feel free to reach out to me by email: mssndoc@gmail.com, scates@heatlhservicecorps.org, what's app or signal 423.297.6794 or text
Frankly, to move this forward, we need funding. Please consider helping us as we start this new initiative to aid mission hospitals and elevate care around the world.
To give: You can text i2s to 41444 and you will be prompted from there OR you can simply
click on http://igfn.us/f/1rsymf
