Recently, one of our partners visited FAME to pick up a truckload of supplies to deliver to the Democratic Republic of Congo. During his visit, he presented me with a piece of art that was made in one of the villages where his mission does medical work. When he presented me with this art, he told me why it is significant:

The art name is: MUNINGA. In the villages of Kwilu Province, this art is a symbol of power and only the chief of the village possesses, who holds it on his right hand moving it when his is walking or sometimes giving it to his servant to keep it for him when traveling.

This art was given to me as a church leader by a chief of Lwende Village. He said to me that for all you are doing for my people and especially by opening a medical clinic in my village which will save the lives of children and others who are dying because of lack of the good care. You have the power to transform lives, that is why I give this symbol to you. Thank you.

As we are partnering with FAME in this medical evangelism, and also the medical supplies we used to open this medical clinic in this village were donated to us by FAME, I thought that I will give this to FAME  because through their medical supplies and equipment which they are giving to us missionaries to bring to the needy, they really have the power of God in transforming lives in The Democratic Republic of Congo. FAME deserve this. Thank you, FAME.

This is another story that recalls the truth of Ephesians 3:20-21. “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work with in us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” As this chief saw power in the medical clinic in his village, and the missionary saw the power flowing through FAME, we see the power flowing through you, as we are all called by the same God, Who is doing immeasurably more through all of us with His great power He has put within us.

On behalf of FAME and our many mission partners, thank you for partnering with us to expose the world to the power of God, and we pray that those exposed to His power, might be transformed by His power as well.

 CLICK HERE to watch a video about this project

Changing Lives Together’s goal is that through serving people, and ministering to their material and physical needs, the Lord’s Love will be demonstrated to these people in a tangible way opening the door for the gospel.

In September the Changing Lives Together Ghana team was introduced to a family who had a 1-year old son Jibrilu, who was experiencing a medical crisis. His parents, who are very poor street vendors, didn’t have the financial means to fund transportation to the distant Hospital, cover room and board costs, and the cost of the surgery. He was diagnosed with a large Patent Ductus Ateriosus (PDA), a heart defect caused by problems during the development states of the heart, and this had occurred since birth.

The only available solution was for CLT to work with another mission’s organization to help fully fund the $3,000 corrective heart surgery as well as cover other costs such as transportation for Jibrilu and his mother. The surgery was very successful and Jibrilu’s recovery has been excellent! Jibrilu’s parents were Muslims and through this initiative, Jibrilu’s parents especially his mother; Miss Jamila are opening their hearts to the good news about Jesus which was shared with them.

Over the past two years, CLT has been working on a Cardiovascular Heart Disease (CHD) Clinic project. As part of this project, CLT has partnered with the Wenchi Hospital (WMH) in Wenchi, Ghana, to set up the first phase of the CHD Clinic. CLT has renovated three (3) rooms, on the WMH campus, to set up the CHD clinic. The WMH is located in the northern half of Ghana. This first phase of the project will be an Out-Patient CHD Diagnostic and Treatment Clinic that will specialize in providing health care to people with CHD related diseases. Currently a full service CHD facility does not exist in the northern half of the country, so that will be the second phase.

This CHD clinic, will be a facility that many in these communities who have heart disease will come to for treatment. For cases that will be treated here, this will give us an opportunity to establish long term relationships with these patients, as they will be returning for their routinely scheduled medical treatments/ evaluation. CLT team members will meet with patients, pray with them, share the gospel with them and encourage those who open their hearts to Jesus, to get plugged in to a local church. The chaplain will be connected to a network of local pastors and depending on where the patient lives, will recommend to them, a church that is closer to their location of residence. We feel there is a great opportunity for us given that patients will be returning for their recurring evaluation (for those that need that), provides opportunities for follow up and the path to continue sharing the message of Christ with them.

Phase one of this project will be to remodel 3 rooms in partnership Partnership with the Wenchi Hospital, to be a Cardiac Care Unit. The funds will finish the remodel, and then supply the equipment and supplies so that Changing Lives Together can treat an un-served population of children and Adults, opening the door for the gospel.

Funding Goal $40,000

Click here to Donate to this Project

 

 

FAME’s mission statement reads:  FAME is sending help and hope in the name of Christ to the world’s most vulnerable through medical evangelism.

If you go on a short-term medical mission trip with FAME, one of the first publications you will receive is a Trip Packet full of introductory information about your upcoming trip.  One of the pages toward the front of this packet includes FAME’s mission statement and core values which clearly defines our reason for going to the mission field to serve.

In October, FAME took our first team to the Philippines to serve with the Charles W. Selby Memorial hospital staff, led by Ofelia (Pia) Tabilisima.  It was such a wonderful trip as the hospital staff and the FAME team joined together to minister to over 771 patients who attended a total of 6 medical outreaches.  Several of our patients came from indigenous Filipino tribes.  Finding meaningful work in order to support their needs and the needs of their families is a stress they wake up to every morning.  In many communities, men turn to alcohol when met with these types of life’s challenges.

As a FAME medical team, we serve many purposes.  One of those purposes is to open doors for our in-country hosts to meet more than just the physical needs of the patients who come seeking help.  Although treating the physical needs is important, we know there is a greater need for each person who shows up that day and that is the need to know Jesus.

Our medical teams usually attract a lot of attention which means a lot of patients to care for.  This was true for our Philippines team.  Patients came with many physical problems such as pain, stomach issues, skin rashes, respiratory problems, and infections.  Some patients however needed help that did not come from a pharmacy prescription.  I know of two occasions where Deb Trego, RN, talked openly with two gentlemen about their problem with alcohol abuse.  When Deb asked each one if they drank alcohol excessively, they openly and honestly confessed that they did.

In addition, we had a 19-year-old young lady who came to our last medical outreach.  She and her boyfriend had just broken up and she thought she might be pregnant. We were blessed to give her the news that she was not pregnant as well as spend time with her in prayer.  She also brought her 68-year-old neighbor with her that morning who was not feeling well.  As Deb talked with this young lady about her neighbor, we found out that Erlinda, lived in deplorable conditions with no family members to help care for her.  This young lady and her family had been giving Erlinda food each day and provided the care that she needed.  She also shared that she and her family were moving, so of course, no one would be there to continue providing the attention she needed.

FAME teams are limited to how much time they can invest in individual patient’s lives because of the short time they spend on the mission field.  For this reason, we depend on our in-country host to provide an avenue for help that can be extended to our patients who are openly seeking it and need it.  We were grateful that traveling along with our Philippine’s team were 2 hospital chaplains as well as local pastors.

We are so grateful for our FAME donors and supporters who understand the importance of investing in FAME as we strive to send help and hope in the name of Christ to the world’s most vulnerable through medical evangelism. 

May God receive all the glory as we seek to connect people all around the globe to the avenue leading to Him.  It is for this reason that “We Go”.

If you would like to join us on our next trip to the Philippines, please contact me and let’s talk!

Dates are April 18^th – May 2^nd, 2020.

Lonnie Burley
FAME Director of Short-term Trips
(317)358-2480
LBurley@fameworld.org

It all started about two years ago when FAME Executive Director, Bill Warren came to visit my church, Kempsville Christian Church in Virginia. Bill gave an account of what FAME was about and where it was. My ears perked up when I heard “Indiana”, as that is where my father’s family is from and the state in which I was born. This was also the first medical mission my church had been involved with. As a Registered Nurse (RN) I had always dreamed of doing medical mission work, so I was very interested.

Later, after doing some research on medical mission trips and FAME, I realized at this time in my life I may not have the resources to pull off a mission trip out of the U.S., but I could get my feet wet by driving to Indiana to work in the medical warehouse. Fortunately, I was able to combine the trip with an upcoming family reunion in northern Indiana.

I loved the fact that we started each day there with a short devotional and prayer. I really felt like I belonged from the start and went right to work. My specialty as a nurse was in the O.R., so Barry Reed, FAME’s Director of Mission Resources, who oversees all the incoming and outgoing medical supplies and equipment, presented me with donated surgical instruments and had me identify and store them. I was impressed by the way other nurses had already organized the instruments, making my job a snap. Overall, the warehouse is very well organized, and it is amazing to me the amount and variety of supplies they have to support so many missions all over the world.

I was there for four days and each day was different and interesting. Wednesday I met a group from a local Indiana church who came and made short work of sorting, labeling and checking expiration dates on pallets of 100 cubic feet of supplies. It’s amazing what the Lord’s people can do when they work together!

Part of each day I was there was devoted to orthopedic supplies that had been donated. I sorted and cataloged splints and braces for about every part of the body. I sorted through enough wrist and finger splints for hundreds of broken bones. I was happy to have the job finished by Friday and now Barry will have a record of it all in the inventory system, making it easy to send what is needed to Africa, Mexico, Nepal, Honduras, Liberia, or Ukraine. These are just examples of the many countries my work with FAME might touch.

I almost hated to leave because I had not felt so appreciated for my talents and knowledge base as a nurse in a long time. Frequently, the day in – day out work in medicine can leave a nurse feeling under-appreciated and burned out. I would venture to say that a visit to FAME could do a lot to reverse that feeling in any other nurse or healthcare provider. I highly recommend it and I’m very glad I stepped out of my comfort zone to come here. I might even make that mission trip again in the next few years. Thank you, FAME Staff for having me.

Sincerely,

Debbie Gibson RN LT NCUSNR-R

 

“Everybody is somebody in Christ’s body,” is a motto I learned as a new Christian in 1999. It was drilled into my brain by my campus minister which simply reminded me that God has given me skills, abilities, and possessions which matter to kingdom service. Making a difference in this world for Christ does not just exist from a pulpit. Then, several years later I found myself at that same campus ministry in the role of a campus minister, chanting this motto again and again. This motto helped focus our ministry to take annual service trips with FAME. The experience helped our college students see how FAME leverages medical skills, education, and resources to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Hi, I’m Barry Reed, FAME’s newest staff member as Director of Mission Resources. After twelve years serving the kingdom as a Campus Minister at Western Illinois University, my family and I have relocated to Indiana to join the global impact of medical evangelism. Though Indiana has been a regular place of travel for our family, we have always lived in Illinois. I grew up just outside of Peoria, IL in the rural community of Farmington. Later, I attended WIU and completed a Bachelor of Accountancy. It was in those college years that God transformed my life and my career goals made a sudden change. Being a member of Campus Students for Christ (Christian Campus House of WIU), I was exposed to a variety of mission work, including church-planting. Following graduation, I was blessed with the opportunity to join a church-planting staff, specifically as Worship Minister. I began attending Lincoln Christian Seminary at this time, and later completed a Master of Leadership after transitioning to campus ministry.

My wife, Christi (Pim), and I have been married 15 years. We have three boys; Gavin, Cooper & Tucker. We have made Shelbyville, IN our new home where Christi serves in the elementary public school as a Behavioral and Life Skills Case Worker. We are huge St. Louis Cardinals fans. We spend a lot of time on the baseball field and basketball court. My favorite hobby is coaching my boys and their friends. However, as a family, we have also learned the beauty in sharing our home, and holidays with international students. God has brought some of our most special friends to us from across the ocean. From Russia to Brazil; China to Nigeria; there are homes we would find welcome to us because God has brought so many to us.

I will be happy to meet many who belong to the family of FAME, as volunteers in the warehouse, senders of medical supplies, or participants in a packing party, preparing medical supplies for a specific mission field. However you are connected to FAME, I’m honored to be joining you in this specific way as we all join together as somebodies in Christ’s body.