Well, all our bags are packed and we’re ready to go. We are sitting in the airport waiting for our flight to Frankfurt and then on to Chicago and home to Muskegon. This will be a very brief update because we do not have much battery time left on the computer:).
We have mixed feelings about leaving Ethiopia at this time. Of course, we are anxious to see our children and our grandchildren. Our daughter Miriam and her husband Chris and two children Mark and Faith will be coming to Muskegon to spend the holidays. She really wants to see a white Christmas. And of course we are looking forward to meeting Jack David in Waco, TX. Our schedule is getting a bit harried even before we touch down in the U.S. We arrive Wed. evening in Muskegon only to fly out again the next morning to Memphis where we will head to Tupelo, Mississippi and attend the Global Outreach conference. From there we will drive to Lubbock, TX to see Anna-Maria and back to Waco to stay with David and Betsy. On the 15th we head back to Michigan. We will be speaking at the Muskegon Vineyard Church on Nov. 20. We will also be at Olivet E. Free Church and one Sunday and another Sunday at Kainay Church.
We have fallen in love with the people of Ethiopia so there is a tinge of sadness in leaving them even though it will be for a short time. The hospital work is growing exponentially with the patient volume of surgeries and number of deliveries increasing steadily. When we first came we might go an entire week with only one delivery. Last month, however, we had 50. The volume continues to rise. During the month of November one of our surgical residents will be covering the maternity ward and then in December the family doctors will be covering OB with the surgeons backing them up.
We will send a longer news letter with lots of interesting updates when we get back to the states. Please pray for our safe journey and for the patients and staff that we are leaving behind in Soddo.
In Christ,
Mark and Allison
sending...