Compassionate Hands - Medical Supplies for Zimbabwe

Earlier this year, I had the privilege of getting acquainted with Bob Ablanap & Jack Oswald of One World Medical Transport in Chicago. They have been sending much needed medical supplies to Central & South America for over 20 years.  I shared with them my burden for the desperate situation in Zimbabwe that Muchengetwa Bgoni reported upon returning from his trip there in April of this year. When doctors can't heal but only help people die, something needs to be done.

Both Bob & Jack were moved by the plight of the Zimbabwean people and kindly agreed to share some of the medical supplies with us that they had been collecting. At that point, I decided to rent a truck with a 26' box and drive up to Chicago and pick up the supplies over the Labor Day holiday weekend. I'm still laughing at the look on my wife Elizabeth's face when she saw the size of the truck I would be driving! For some reason she thought it was going to be a small "around town" truck and when she saw how big it was, she had a panic attack. The good news was she prayed for me fervently all 10 hours on the road. Once I got used to the bumpy ride, I quite enjoyed the view from high up there in the cab. It's been a long time since I passed a big truck on the road and looked the driver in the eye.

After work that night, Elizabeth flew up to Chicago from Kansas City and my cousin Chris picked her up at the the airport. After a good night sleep we got up early on Saturday Sept. 5th and drove to Mt Prospect, IL to meet up with the One World Transport crew. They were amazing! We worked all day moving and packing boxes as well as medical equipment. It's amazing how much we were able to stuff into that truck. By the time we got back to where we were staying that night, we were both exhausted. I was glad that the next two days were more restful.

My family is from the Chicago area and my mother still lives there in an Assisted Living Center. We decided to take advantage of the weekend and spend a few days doting on mom. On Sunday evening my cousin Chris hosted a family event and I was able to catch up with my aunts and uncles, sharing with them the amazing journey we have been on the last few years. It was an uplifting time and I deeply appreciated their encouragement and prayers.

As I headed back to Kansas City, I found myself in the middle of a wonderful problem. I had more medical supplies than the space I had been given to store them. I felt much like the disciples of Jesus who had been fishing all night but caught nothing. (John 21:1-6)  After Jesus told them to cast their nets on the right side of the boat, suddenly they had more fish than their nets could hold! I had more medical supplies than I had room for and sent out an SOS email to try and find more storage space. As I drove home I started receiving calls from various people wanting to find out more information to see if they could help out. One of the calls was from the International Director of Mercy & Truth Medical Missions in Kansas City. They graciously gave us a space large enough to store, unpack, repack and stage for shipping a container to Zimbabwe later this year. Then to bless us even more, they committed to donating their medical supplies they have stored at the same facility for Zimbabwe!!!

I will soon be leaving for South Africa for nearly a month. It's a long time to be away from Elizabeth and home but we are both very aware of the strategic nature of the trip and would greatly appreciate your prayers. Most anything and everything that ends up in Zimbabwe comes through South Africa. The two nations have been tied together for hundreds of years by virtue of their history and culture.

With our mission of getting the message of "Saving Zimbabwe" into Zimbabwe, finding a South African publisher is a priority. I have meetings scheduled with a number of publishing houses that have shown a keen interest in the story. I would like to see the book released there no later than early 2010. In preparation I will also be doing some media interviews to begin to familiarize the South African audience with the amazing story of the people of the Community of Reconciliation. I strongly believe that their story holds the keys to transforming Zimbabwe. I was honored to recently have an article I wrote appear in JOY Magazine, a leading South African Christian publication.

Besides preparing the way for the book, I will be meeting with many key leaders in the country as I am interested in hearing their perspective on Zimbabwe and what opportunities they believe are available to make a significant impact. I will also begin laying the groundwork for shipping the medical supplies into Zimbabwe making sure they arrive safe and sound to their intended destination. I am particularly looking forward to reconnecting in person with Matthew Marias and Laura Russell who both survived the 1987 massacre. Matthew is getting married on Oct 3rd and I am honored to be able to attend his wedding.

I will try and do my best to keep everyone updated via either Facebook or my blog: blog.compassionatejustice.com 

We are pleased to announce that CLC Bookcenters in the US are now carrying Saving Zimbabwe. They have 3 locations in the Philadelphia area and 3 others in New Jersey; Northfield, Moorestown and Sharon Hill.  If you have family, friends or know people in the area, please  encourage them to drop in and pick up a copy. www.clcbookcenter.com