Soddo Christian Hospital, Ethiopia

Soddo Christian Hospital

I wanted to share where I will be traveling January 9 - March 13, 2014 in Ethiopia for my culminating international medical clerkship. I am so excited to work alongside physicians who have committed to practicing medicine for the sole purpose of bringing the totality of the healing Gospel message to the ends of the earth.

www.soddo.org

One of my classmates, Isaac Hatton, and his beautiful wife Camille, will be at the hospital for the duration of the 8-weeks with me. Originally from Northern Ireland, Isaac grew up in Papau New Guinea where his parents were missionaries, then attended college in Missouri where he met Camille (nurse) who also has parents that serve as missionaries in Mexico. Last year Isaac and Camille worked with Dave Hardin, a general surgeon, at a refugee camp in Southern Sudan (awesome). It is through their connection that I have the divine opportunity to join the team in Ethiopia. Dr. Hardin and his family will be our hosts while we're in Ethiopia and he'll oversee our education.

Isaac was actually the first person I met in Israel (we stayed in the same house for our 6-week orientation), and we instantly connected the fact that we both submit to the rulership of Jesus Christ as Lord. This was a tremendous comfort at the time for my anxiously beating & questioning heart ("what the heck have I gotten myself into / This place is a desolate wilderness and I can't even read the signs to find the bathroom..."). To find fellowship within the first hours of arriving into a totally foreign land in which I knew no one = Not a coincidence, and certainly as I reflect now, a beautiful circle for my final experience of medical school.

Below is one of the highlights of what I'll be doing while there from a recent blog post on their website:

Outside the Walls

Posted in: Missionary Medicine

The hospital serves a vital need in Soddo, the Wolaitta region, and our state known as “the Southern Nations.”  We provide high quality care to many who need it.  But one of our desires is to reach out from here – particularly with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Some of our staff, Dr. David Ayer and Sophie Ness, have been doing just that – traveling with Helimission into the South Omo river valley to share the good news and bring medicines to an area still untouched by civilization.

Helimission

The T’ara people only recently heard the Gospel, and have begun to form their first church.  They have received our teams with open arms, and Dave and Sophie have been able to provide some much needed medical care.  Praise God that these forgotten people are having their physical needs tended to, but more than that, they are hearing the lifesaving message of salvation in Christ. On every trip, there is an evangelist who speaks their language who shares the Gospel truth to all who come to the clinic. 

Dr. David Ayer (pediatrician from Lakewood, WA) seeing patients in T'ara village

Ethiopia is twice the size of Texas! Holy mole! Soddo is 300 miles south of Addis Ababa on the Omo River.