Brackenhurst

For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother,
because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.
Philemon 7

Every two years, Brackenhurst hosts a large medical education conference for missionary doctors from all over Africa. It's a wonderful event, with professors from America and Europe sharing the latest information with doctors who often work in very remote areas. They may never get to use what they learn, but they love learning it just the same.

It's also a place to interact with colleagues from many countries of Africa. I had the privilege of attending the Brackenhurst conference when we were at Tenwek in 1996. This time, I stayed back at Kijabe so others could attend. But I got away for one day, and Kathy and I were able to catch up with some very good friends.

I've known Tim Teusink since the start of medical school. He's a wonderful guy, and he and Muriel have served in Rwanda and Haiti in the past. Now he works in Ethiopia, helping Eastern Orthodox churches and priests address the AIDS crisis in their country. They are learning to communicate a message of healthy human sexuality as one of God's gifts, to be enjoyed safely within the bounds of marriage. Organizations and AIDS experts in the US have been offering support as Tim helps to spread this message to the people of Ethiopia.

Jill Seaman is a most remarkable woman. She and I were in medical school together, and we worked together with the Eskimo people in western Alaska in the early 1980's. Since then, Jill has been working in southern Sudan, among some of the poorest and sickest people in the world. For a number of years, she treated thousands of patients with kala azar, saving thousands of lives and becoming one of the world experts on this disease.

Now Jill treats many other diseases as well, and is starting a small hospital in her remote area of Sudan. She brought two children and their mothers with her from Sudan to Kijabe for surgical treatment. Jill was named one of Time magazine's "Heroes of Medicine" a few years back. Truly she is!

Using innovative new methods, Katy Hurd is working to eradicate malaria from a region in northeastern Uganda. Katy worked in our office in Snohomish for one year after she finished her residency. She came and spent a night with us at Kijabe. It was fun to see her and hear about her life in Uganda.

And many more - Todd Stephens, Philip Renfroe, Bruce Dahlman, Dawn Flandermeyer and others whom we have known during our trips to Africa. These are amazing people who have impacted our lives, demonstrating self-sacrificing service to the people of Africa, and becoming our friends as well.

We're so thankful to see them again.

- Doug & Kathy