From October 12-26, 2012, the CURE Kenya hospital was all smiles. Although all CURE hospitals are usually happy places, the smiles were especially bright thanks to our friends at Smile Network International.
Smile Network is a Minnesota-based non-profit which funds surgical missions and provides necessary supplies and surgical teams to repair birth defects such as cleft lips and palates. Read the rest of this entry »
The introduction of social media has revolutionized the way the world communicates. In fact, it is thanks to technologies such as email, Skype, Facebook, and blogs, that CURE can continue to exist and be successful.
These days, social media not only empowers global organizations, its also being utilized to help employers find qualified employees and to help qualified candidates find the perfect job. Because research has proven that social media is the new way to recruit, and because the CURE communication department is kind enough to let us write on the blog, the GO office has decided to give recruiting through social media a try! Here goes our first attempt…. Read the rest of this entry »
From June 30th to July 18th, CURE hosted our 6th annual Uganda GO team. For those of you unfamiliar with our GO Teams, they are teams of general ministry volunteers from around the United States. Each year we send at least one GO team to our hospital in Uganda to support the spiritual ministry work of the hospital. Individuals interested in being a part of the team apply to go on the trip early in the year and are chosen and trained by the Global Outreach Office and the GO team leader.
This year’s team was made up of nine women from around the country. During their time in Uganda, the team ministered to patients in the hospital as well as mothers and babies on an outreach to Gulu. The hospital was truly blessed by the team’s visit, as they brought smiles to the faces of the mothers and children waiting for surgery. The team was also blessed by the trip, as each member experienced God’s love for them and the children at the hospital through the work of CURE.
Please enjoy these photos of some of the team members working with the hospital staff and patients. Also, feel free to check out team leader Shannon Jenning’s blog to see more photos and read more details of the team’s trip.
Think you might be a great candidate for next year’s GO team? Continue to check the CURE Global Outreach page for upcoming opportunities that will be posted in the next several months.
Earlier this month, CURE Malawi had the opportunity to host Operation of Hope. Operation of Hope is an organization that specializes in organizing plastic teams to provide surgeries to children with cleft lips and palates around the world. The team successfully completed 21 surgeries during their week and was a huge blessing to the hospital staff and the patients. Jennifer Trubenbach, Executive Director of Operation of Hope, was also very pleased with what her team was able to accomplish at the hospital. To show her appreciation, Jennifer sent the letter below to CURE. We hope you enjoy reading the thank-you message from Jennifer and taking a look at some of the pictures of the team!
Dear Friends:
I would like to thank each of you for the most amazing mission to BEIT CURE. Our team was grateful for all the support, warmth, and hospitality we received by the staff, administration, employees, and volunteers at BEIT CURE during our first visit to Malawi!
It was a true pleasure & a joy to partner with all of you in giving 21 deserving children new smiles!
We especially enjoyed working with the hard-working and dedicated theatre and ward staff, and a special thank you to Dr. Lubega and his team. And a special thank you to the ladies in the Cafe for your wonderful coffee, and to our drivers who brought us to and from the hospital every day!
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the opportunity to join you in helping these beautiful children; we look forward coming back… soon!
Blessings to all of you,
Jennifer & the team
Operation of Hope
We’ve told you a lot about our wonderful volunteers and how their time and talents are a blessing to each of the hospitals they visit, but have you ever wondered what it’s really like to volunteer at a CURE hospital?
If you think traveling to a foreign country, meeting lots of new people, and partnering in the work of changing the lives of children and their families sounds pretty fun and adventurous, your right! Our goal in the GO department is that our volunteers not only help kids, experience new cultures, and have a great time, but that these trips would make a permanent impact on their life journey.
For some volunteers, the impact of a short-term trip can manifest itself in a future career in medicine or missions; for others, the trip taught them something about themselves or about God that has changed them forever. Other volunteers will go home to share their story and spread the word about what CURE is doing, becoming a lifetime advocate for our work.
Every trip, like every volunteer is a unique journey that we hope will change our volunteers in a positive way for the rest of their lives, but don’t take my word for it. Learn from these volunteers as they share their own journeys with CURE through their blogs.
Each of these individuals has volunteered or continues to volunteer with CURE and has blessed us by sharing their journey. You will find that each story, like each volunteer, is wonderfully unique and insightful.
Enjoy your peek into the life of a CURE volunteer. Perhaps one of these blogs will inspire you to make a journey of your own!
Hello again from the Global Outreach Office! Did you know that April is a really exciting month with lots of things to celebrate? It’s true! April is straw hat month, frog month, amateur radio month, cranberries and gooseberries month, brussels sprouts and cabbage month, and couple appreciation month, but our favorite thing about April is that it is volunteer appreciation month! Read the rest of this entry »
Its January, the beginning of a New Year, and many people are working hard to keep their resolutions. In general, it seems like most resolutions are difficult to keep. Statistics say that 45% of people make New Year’s resolutions but only 8% of people are actually successful in keeping them. If you have made a resolution, I apologize for the bad news. But don’t worry; there is still hope, because CURE is here to help. Read the rest of this entry »
Lia, holding a "before" picture
Earlier this month I had the incredible opportunity to make my first visit to our hospital in the Dominican Republic. During my trip, I was able to spend some time in our hospital and witness the physical and spiritual healing that takes place there every day. I was also blessed to meet our amazing staff face to face and to spend some time learning about all the different needs for volunteers at the hospital.
One of the most memorable experiences from my trip was my visit to Lia’s house. Lia was born with bilateral radial club hands, a deformity that causes the arms to be short and bent. After a series of surgeries to fix her fingers and straighten her arms, beautiful little Lia, who is three years old, is now able to use both her arms to play and dance with her little sister. Lia’s mom was so thankful for the change in Lia that she wrote a nine page letter to the hospital thanking them for healing Lia. It was amazing to see a CURE success story like Lia in person.
At Lia's house
Since I have been back from the Dominican Republic, I have been thinking about Lia and the fact that, although she is on her way to being cured, there is still a lot of work to be done in the Dominican Republic. There are thousands of children like Lia who still need help. There is also a need for help at the hospital. As Christmas quickly approaches and I have turned my attention to gift giving, I have become even more convicted about the real needs around the world. In America, very few of us truly understand what it is like to need something.
The gifts we give are often to fulfill our wants, and while there is nothing wrong with this, I am convinced that the greatest gifts we can give have nothing to do with wrapping paper and bows. Sometimes the greatest gift we can give is the gift of our time, our talents, and our lives to others. In fact, the reason we celebrate Christmas is because of God’s greatest gift to us, His Son, Jesus. God calls us to give of ourselves as well. I am humbled by our hospital staff as they give of their time and talents to bring the gift of healing to children.
a patient at CURE DR
As the New Year approaches, I have been challenged by their example to find ways to give more of my time, talents, and resources to furthering God’s kingdom. I hope that as we consider the gift of God’s Son this Christmas and look ahead to a new year, we all can consider giving more of ourselves to God’s work. Perhaps God is calling you this year to take part in fulfilling a need in a child’s life. If so, I hope you consider fulfilling that need in partnership with CURE. There are a number of ways to get involved such, as donating toward a child’s surgery through the CUREkids program. Or, take a more “hands on approach” and consider going on a short-term missions trip this year; there are opportunities for all kinds of volunteers.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Let’s all work together to make the world a little better in 2012.
Biruk Tesfaya, before surgery
As an accredited member of the SOE (Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission), our goal in the GO office is to mobilize volunteers with excellence.
In order to execute excellent missions, three things are essential: an enthusiastic goer, an efficacious sender, and an eager receiver.
When all three come together it’s extremely exciting!
Biruk Tesfaye, after surgery
Last month, Dr. Joseph Clawson made his second trip with CURE to our exotic hospital in Ethiopia. During his trip, Dr. Clawson was exceptionally energetic; correcting 18 cleft lips (see the photos in this post for evidence!). Dr. Clawson’s trip was a successful excursion indeed. Upon his return he expressed some encouraging words, about our embracing, efficient and, effective, employees.
Here’s an excerpt:
The staff in the hospital was outstanding. They were well organized and carried out their responsibilities very well. They almost spoiled me as they made sure I had everything I needed to carry out this mission, and I didn’t have to be concerned at any time that something was not being done. Essentially, I could not have had a finer team, not only in the operating room but in recovery and on the floor as well.
In addition their administration was also excellent in arranging all my other needs such as transportation and communication.
Complementing their staff, they had a pediatrician, Judy, and an anesthesiologist, Mary Bernard, who were excellent to have on board. You couldn’t have a better administrator than Eric along with his great administrative staff.
After receiving such a kind exchange of words, we are euphoric and offer praise to God for everyone who helps to make these expeditions easy! Thanks for your engagement in the work of CURE; you always exceed our expectations!
Mesganaw Aregeta, before surgery
Mesganaw Aregeta, after surgery
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For many people the changing leaves and cooler weather of fall are reminders that the holidays are fast approaching. For the GO office, the fall weather means it’s time to attend the Global Missions Health Conference (GMHC)!
GMHC began in 1996 as a way to bring individuals and organizations interested in medical missions together. Since that time, GMHC has grown to be the largest conference of its kind, drawing over 2,000 attendees per year. The conference consists of four plenary sessions, hundreds of breakout sessions, and lots of exhibitors. During the plenary sessions, all attendees gather to worship and pray as well as learn from some of the top leaders in medical missions. Breakout sessions provide a more intimate setting for learning where participants can discuss current issues in medical missions with leaders in the field. During the exhibitor hours, students and medical professionals can connect with various mission agencies to learn about opportunities to use their skills glorifying God in the U.S. and abroad.
November 10th-12th, CURE will be at the conference in Louisville, Kentucky, as an exhibitor! We are excited to share with attendees the many ways they can partner with CURE through volunteering, full-time work, prayer, or community sponsorship. Each year we are encouraged and blessed to meet and worship with so many amazing people with a heart for serving God through medicine.
Are YOU going to GMHC? If so, stop by our booth, we would love to meet you!
Not sure? Visit http://www.medicalmissions.com/GMHC/Home.html for more information on the conference.
We hope to see you there!
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