As you read blogs, self-help books, and Facebook posts, they seem to have one common theme: How do you find your joy and happiness in life? You may look around and joy seems to be missing in so many areas of your life. There may seem to be less smiles and less laughter. Work is hard and tedious, relationships are difficult to maintain, and healthcare is expensive and time consuming. We go to church and surround ourselves with the gospel, but is the joy we feel truly displayed? In Romans 15:13, Paul wrote, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Are we overflowing with hope?

This past month, I traveled to Mwembezhi Lutheran Rural Health Centre in Zambia along with Gary Evans (Field Director) and Alisad Banda (Clinic Administrator). While all of us had been there many times in the past, we were not expecting to see the joy displayed as we drove past Martin Luther Church, which is adjacent to the clinic. Hundreds of people were camped out for a five-day Lutheran Church of Central Africa campout.

What a surprise! Kids were running and playing, adults were socializing and getting ready for the day and the singing. . . nothing can truly impact you like the sound of an African choir! The harmony, smiles, and joy that we saw and heard is my version of the singing I hope to hear when I arrive in my home in heaven. To hear a sample of the choir singing, visit our Facebook page. What a blessing to hear and see the fellowship as we ventured down the road to tour the clinic buildings and see the clinic at work.

The joy did not stop at the campout. You could see the smiling faces of the clinic staff, the moms as they weighed their babies, the village residents greeting us and thanking CAMM and clinic staff for being there. Some of you have experienced these sights first-hand, but for those that haven’t, I pray the videos and photos that CAMM shares help bring you joy and give you a sense of the joy that is displayed at the clinic.

Your support, whether through prayer, shipped donation boxes, monetary donations, or sharing the work CAMM does, brings me joy and helps us share your joy with the patients that visit the clinic in Zambia as well as the clinics in Malawi.

Whether it be from seeing the photos and videos CAMM posts, or the joy that surrounds you in your personal life, we pray that God continues to bless you and bring you joy. CAMM humbly thanks you for your continued support that helps to spread joy to so many within our organization.

Written by Angela Sievert, Central Africa Medical Mission (CAMM) chairwoman

The Lutheran Mission Rural Health Centre-Mwembezhi has a come a long way since it began in 1961, and I can indeed say this far that the Lord has brought us. The Clinic that started as a drug dispensary is today one of the Zambia mission’s success stories, not by human efforts but, by God alone. One of the many positive changes that has happened over the years has been the extent to which the government has recognized the Lutheran Church in Zambia through the clinic.

The recognition of the health centre is attributed to the members of staff who have put in their best effort in the delivery of the health care in the Shibuyunji District. The big motivation comes from serving Christ our Savior. The Central Africa Medical Mission, through its leadership (CAMM) and its supporters, provides the means that enable success such as salaries, medications, maintenance and everything that requires monetary help for the facility. In the past five years, the clinic has seen a face lift in many areas of the centre and uplifted the status of Lumano village. The clinic leadership appreciates the Field Director’s regular visits. The article cannot be complete without mentioning our supporters who have generously given the finances, material help and for some, even coming to visit the clinic. Every donation, in all forms is appreciated, even baby blankets, hats and clothes which are given to newborns and act as a motivation for expecting mothers to come and deliver at the facility.

As the clinic nears the end of the financial year, we can say yes, this far the Lord has brought us, but one thing is so loud to my ears and that is to stay faithful, as the clinic is founded on Christ-centered love and compassion. It is very important to remember that God has sustained the clinic. He has sent people to the centre for numerous reasons, for all it is to hear about the love of God, for many it is for healing and health maintenance, and for our staff who gain expertise and experience through the variety of patients they see.

Today, the clinic has twenty-six members of staff, sixteen are on the CAMM payroll and the rest from government and non-government organizations. A lot of them are young people and sometimes this age group comes with its own pressures. These are part of our Christian battles, but the call is to remain faithful to our God despite the situations that may come our way. This far, indeed the Lord has brought us. The clinic is a reliable source of healthcare and sometimes this can cause us (the members of staff including management) to forget that God has created the facility for His own purpose and that is to demonstrate God’s love to humanity. This love must first be seen in the members of staff before it can be demonstrated to others. Indeed it is particularly important to remember that the clinic is not only a source of medical expertise and medications, but is primarily a place where Christ is the centre of all our activities.

In conclusion, the Lutheran Mission Rural Health Centre in Mwembezhi is a family, and by the grace of God, we continue planning as a family for the future and pray for each other. It is important to pray for our leadership at CAMM, well-wishers, and members of staff at the clinic.

Written by Alisad Banda, CAMM Clinic Administrator

The Central Africa Medical Mission (CAMM) mobile clinic in Malawi depends on having reliable ambulances for our daily trips to our clinics. While the Toyota Land Cruisers we use are rugged and tough, after a few years they start to require more and more maintenance. So, if we are going to use them on a daily basis, we cannot have them sitting in the shop waiting for repairs. For that reason, we replace them every five years.

Unfortunately, if we want to buy a new ambulance in Malawi, we cannot go down to the local dealer, pick one off the lot, pay for it, sign the paperwork, and drive it home that day.

Instead, we use a company called Toyota Gibraltar. They are named after where they are located, on the rock of Gibraltar, the British Overseas Territory and city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula in Spain. Toyota Gibraltar specializes in providing vehicles to non-governmental organizations, such as ours, who operate in third world countries within South America, Africa, and Asia. The advantage of using them is we see significant cost savings over the local Malawian Toyota dealer. The bad news is that it takes a while for the vehicle to arrive, and we (CAMM) must deal with all the local customs and vehicle registration issues instead of the dealer. As clinic administrator, Lusungu Mwambeye handles these challenging details with help and guidance from me.

We ordered and paid for the vehicle in September of 2023. It arrived in Lilongwe on March 30, 2024. To get here, the vehicle traveled from Japan to Gibraltar. There, it was put in a container where it left Gibraltar by ship in late December enroute to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, via Oman and Jakarta. Once in Dar es Salaam the container was put on a truck for the 1,000-mile overland trip to Lilongwe. The ambulance is now at the clinic house/office in Lilongwe, but it will be a while before we can put it on the
road. Lusungu still needs to get final customs clearance before we can begin the registration process. As we use the vehicle as an ambulance, we can import it duty free. A savings of $35,000, but duty-free status requires a lot more paperwork.

For registration, the vehicle first needs to be checked by Interpol to make sure it is not stolen. Then it must be inspected by Malawi Road Traffic to check the engine and chassis numbers match the paperwork, then it can be registered. Visits to the road traffic office are not for the faint-hearted; your local DMV is a haven of efficiency and serenity by comparison. Once registered it will go to Toyota Malawi to complete the delivery inspection and installation of the roof rack and any other remaining parts. Finally, it needs a government safety inspection called a Certificate of Fitness, throw in some insurance and we are ready to go. I’m praying that it will be ready for the road by late April. Then we can worry about selling the old ambulance.

It is getting toward the end of the rainy season in Malawi and Zambia. Malawi had a period of three weeks with no rain in the middle of their growing season, but rains had returned to the central region by early March. Unfortunately, a little too late. People are not expecting a good harvest. In Zambia this year, rains have been very sparse. The government has already declared a state of emergency and began scheduling power cuts because of low water levels in the Zambezi River – the country depends heavily on hydroelectric generation for its power needs. Normally by this time of year the fields are lush with freshly grown maize. I am no farmer but much of the maize I saw when I visited Zambia in March looked brown, stunted, and poor. Very likely, this is not going to be a good harvest, and hunger could be a very real possibility.

Thank you to everyone who made our new ambulance a reality and please pray for our brothers and sisters in Malawi and Zambia. They are going to need a lot of prayer and support this year.

Written by Gary Evans, CAMM Field Director

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Almost three years ago, Pastor Mark Anariko Onunda from Lutheran Congregations in Missions for Christ—Kenya approached the One Africa Team (OAT) and the Central Africa Medical Mission (CAMM) with a proposal to hold a week-long medical camp at a Lutheran congregation near the town of Sagana, Kenya. These medical camps are common in Kenya, and the government approves of them to reach people in rural areas with free screenings and medical care.

The CAMM committee prayerfully considered and agreed to this, knowing that nothing should be done that would detract from the work we are doing at the Lutheran Mobile Clinic in Malawi or the Lutheran Mission Rural Health Center in Zambia. OAT was in favor, because Pastor Onunda’s main goal was to bring patients to the church by providing evangelists to lead devotions and share the gospel of Christ with people coming to the camp. With a generous grant from WELS Christian Aid and Relief, the cost was covered. After almost a year of preparations by our Field Director Gary Evans, Pastor Mwangi, John Michoro, and other leaders of the congregation at Karima Lutheran Church, together with the Kirinyaga County Health Department, the four-day camp became a reality from February 26-29.

Six volunteers from the CAMM committee arrived four days early to complete the work of sorting and organizing supplies and medications in the storage room and setting up the camp in a large field near the church, joining Gary and Pastor John Roebke. They met with key government staff to confirm what supplies were still needed and which services would be provided. Tents and toilets had already been installed. Volunteers from the congregation were available to help set up chairs, tables, handwashing stations, and rope lines. Everyone worshiped together under one of the tents on Sunday prior to the start of camp. There was a sense of unity of faith and joy in the mission ahead.

The government staff included clinical officers, nurses, nutritionists, laboratory technicians, a pharmacist, pharmacy techs, and record keepers. There was a truck in which women could be screened and even treated for cervical cancer. American volunteers assisted wherever they could, whether taking blood pressures, checking blood sugars, doing triage, weighing patients, finding equipment, running to the storeroom to bring medications to the pharmacy, placing garbage and sharps containers, and monitoring the overall workflow. The church volunteers registered and numbered patients, directed them where to go, answered questions, emptied garbage, cleaned, translated the Kikuyu language, spent time talking with patients, and led Bible studies, and hard-working women made traditional African food lunches for 70 people each day!

All patients were screened for hypertension and diabetes and received nutrition advice, health education, and medications as needed. Over the four days, 1,400 patients were seen. One 12-year-old girl with a very painful ulcerated rash on her ankles for two years was finally treated with the correct antifungal and antibiotic medication, and follow-up was arranged. A woman who had dangerously high blood sugar but had not been taking medication for diabetes was treated with IV fluids and insulin. She could go home with oral medication and was taught how to change her diet to help keep her glucose levels down and to follow up at a local clinic. “Asante sana” (thank you very much) was heard often. We were told the community had benefited greatly from the camp, and the church leaders knew that there would be many new visitors to church the next Sunday.

Although the volunteers were tired, dirty, and sensory overloaded at the end of each day, it was gratifying to know that it was mainly the Kenyan peoples’ initiative and efforts that made the camp happen. We were watching God’s plan unfold for people to hear about their Savior as well as have their health needs met. Will there be more Lutheran medical camps in Kenya? God willing, yes. Meanwhile, our clinics in Zambia and Malawi continue to thrive.

Thanks be to God!

Written by Beth Evans, CAMM Nurse Advisor

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