This past Saturday StoneHouse Ministries International was
honored to host several doctors and nurses from St. Mary’s Hospital and seven other visiting American nurses in providing a free medical clinic in the impoverished areas of
Ponda Mali and Rhonda. The clinic was held in the facilities of StoneHouse Academy. The fifty three pictures (chosen out of five hundred) tell the story…
so I will keep the dialogue short.
The St. Mary’s Bus arrived at StoneHouse Academy shortly after the tent went up
early that beautiful Saturday morning.
As soon as the staff disembarked they were met
by our neighborhood’s curious and ever present children.
Michelle, the wonderful lady in charge of this labor of love,
ran everything like a well oiled machine. Her administrative skills are only
surpassed by her friendly and pleasant demeanor.
There were many of our StoneHouse family members who came to volunteer their help that day, and as soon as we instructed them what to do they
happily complied. That’s when the community began to arrive and line up for the
free services.
There were all sorts of people. From the very old …
To the very young.
After being registered and screened for the type of help they
needed, the patients were ushered into one of the seven school rooms for their examination.
There were plenty of mothers with infants… Expectant ones…
Troubled ones…
Concerned ones…
And those that were just happy their children were going to get quality professional care!
Even some of the babies seemed excited!
There were children…
Children with children…
And, sadly, children we could not examine without
parents or guardians being present.
When lunch time rolled around we got to mingle with the nurses and make some new friends. Everyone wanted to know what we were doing in
the Ponda Mali slums.
Some of our missionary friends, Jess and his wife Janet showed
the Jesus Film throughout the day with other missionary friends Al, Missy and their
daughters Victoria and Sophia helping with the children.
After lunch, activity in the streets increased, bringing more and more people in for examinations.
Throughout the day these wonderful doctors, nurses and their assistants, gave compassionate and professional care to those who otherwise could never have afforded
it. These professionals encountered everything from ulcers to serious infectious diseases. Some patients with more serious conditions were instructed to make an appointment for a free hospital visit.
At the end of the day, as the last patient went in to the
‘duka la dawa’ (drug store) to obtain their medicine, it began to rain.
Everyone was very
tired but very happy about what they had accomplished that day.
There were emails exchanged, pictures taken…
... and then a mad dash to the bus.
This left only one very tired lady that came home with me.
Our special thanks to the staff of St. Mary’s Hospital, the
seven wonderful nurses from America, the StoneHouse Family volunteers, our
missionary friends and everyone who covered this project with prayer.
Please consider helping us at SMI continue to show the love
of Christ and help the impoverished people of the Ponda Mali and Ronda slums
with your tax-deductable gift.
Much love …. The StoneHouse Family.
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