SIM Nigeria

This past Friday, Emily and I had the opportunity to go on an outreach here in Jos with our neighbor Dr. Don Sampson (an American pediatrician), a Nigerian doctor, and five other people. Our patients were displaced residents of Jos who are in a refugee camp about 20 minutes from our house. On our way to the camp, we passed a burned out mosque and another intact mosque with armored cars and soldiers actively guarding it.

For three hours that morning patients streamed in, the first ones being very tired-looking soldiers with their automatic rifles still slung over their shoulder inside the clinic. Their complaints were insomnia, chest pain, malaria … no wonder after what they have gone through the last couple of weeks. The patients that followed were a mixture of men and women, Christian and Muslim all living together in the same camp.

In all, we saw almost 60 patients: everything from hypertension to malaria, dizziness and a possible broken hand on a toddler. Emily and I are now quite proficient at filling prescriptions in a very makeshift set up. Dr. Sampson and Dr. Dennis were able to keep us busy with a steady stream of patients needing medicines.

As a side note, Emily escaped yet another marriage proposal … and the clinic escaped yet another escalation of violence as one young man grew very frustrated with the other man’s interest towards Emily. Mama had to step in on all accounts and squelch advances as well as rising tempers. All in a day’s work in Jos, Nigeria ….

Dr. Michael Mitchell, SIM missionary at Evangel Hospital. See the Mitchells' Blog

• elementary (grade 3),
• middle school social studies
• high school math
• middle school/high school Bible
• middle school/high school home economics
• health, and
• school chaplain (1).

Nitni Wilson has fond memories of ECWA Camp Youth Alive. “I was 15 the first time I went to camp. It was the first time I’d ever left home. I was shy and nervous, but I soon made friends. I learned how to read and apply a Bible passage and find the promises, warnings, and sins. I loved meeting friends, singing and drama, and outreach. Many of the children at camp gave their lives to Christ.”

Bill Ardill, our surgeon at Evangel Hospital, reports

We now have four patients with a condition called enterocutaneous fistula. They all had surgery at other hospitals for various problems but developed a leak in their intestines so now they have stool leaking out their abdominal wounds or their vaginas. Most come to us very sick, dehydrated, severely malnourished and anemic and some near death.

A recent report from the North East Region and Taraba State revealed how much work still remains in reaching remote areas. Apart from Gombe which is pretty well covered, only 31 out of 81 local governments have any EMS staff in them. Pray especially for the Bandawa, Mumuye, and Jirim people groups. The present EMS staff in Taraba State want more missionaries so badly that they have offered to pay N500 each from their own monthly allowances toward the allowances of new missionaries. There is an HQ Chapel/EMS outreach this weekend in Pelu, Bauchi State. I will be taking part in that and be out of the office Friday afternoon.

EMS reports that allowances continue to be paid on time . New support figures begin January, 2008. N15,000 is the new support figure.