Hospitals are complex. The image of patients on gurneys, swiftly pushed through corridors by doctors in scrubs and pulled by nurses, do not tell the full story. There is a backstage. Behind the drama of life-saving teams at work are critical resources hidden from the public eye. These are built and managed by workers [...]
Every New Year brings the hope of new beginnings, and it is when we renew our focus and energy for on-going pursuits. We set goals and plan. We pencil timelines into our calendars and fill them with colour-coded intentions. However, we arrived in 2022 during a prolonged pandemic with travel advisories we ignore at [...]
We are two years into the COVID-19 pandemic (official WHO declaration was March 11, 2020). This disease continues to pose challenges to our health systems. Its pathogen is disrupting our way of life by frequent and unpredictable mutations that threaten to scuttle our plans for a return to normality. How we practice our faith, [...]
“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul – and sings the tunes without the words – and never stops at all.” - Emily Dickinson Our year-end edition of the EMASSARY is out, but before you download this 4 page newsletter full of hope, take a moment to watch this short [...]
Trust is indispensable to good relationships for individuals and organizations. Commerce depends on it and so many other things in life too. We look for reliability in so much of our day-to-day lives at work, at school, and at home. EMAS Canada has relied on trust to deliver healthcare, medical aid, and education by [...]
The foundation on which we build our future as an organization must withstand the next pandemic and whatever upheavals are yet to come. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many lives and caused organizations to rethink how they function. There is much talk about reengineering, rejigging, agility, resilience, and pivoting. How do we emerge from [...]
Vision is what we see through the eyes of faith as God’s big picture call to service for our lives. Mission is what we do about our vision. Mission produces results, and for that we must have a strategy that is operationally effective enough to propel our vision beyond our visible horizon. The apostle Paul [...]
EMAS Canada teams are preparing to resume overseas missions travel. The Staff and Team Leaders are carefully monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic trends and regulations in Canada and host countries before moving ahead with programs that involve Canadians traveling overseas. All volunteers interested in overseas opportunities are advised to carefully read their medical insurance coverage [...]
When the movement led by Jesus’ first followers met with headwinds, some of its mobile teams were unable to journey across borders, so the pioneering leaders adapted quickly.1 Leaders met in faraway locations to draft letters addressing theological inquires from developing communities of faith.2 At least one letter was addressed to more than one [...]
Dr. Stephen and Dr. Stephanie Milone provide an update on the India North project (July 2021) Herbertpur Hospital is located in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains in India. While several hospitals in the region closed, Herbertpur Christian Hospital made the decision to remain open and created a separate COVID isolation ward. Other than [...]
“I was born at that hospital; I am from Gutu that is why I’m interested.” With these words, Prof. Feresu on last week’s video conference call linking Ontario, Gutu, and Harare, let me know she had a personal stake in Gutu Mission Hospital. She is now on the Gutu Mission Hospital Infrastructure team. She [...]
Once a man was walking on the beach. He saw thousands of starfish scattered on the beach. They needed to get back to the ocean just to survive. Further down the beach he saw a man who was throwing the starfish back into the ocean, one star fish at a time. He said, “Man, [...]
“Are you going to leave us after you finish building the clinic? Are you with us for the long run?” A village elder asked one of our team members at the early stages of our involvement in the community of Gambade. They had heard about NGOs that establish projects and programs then abandon them [...]
We waited patiently, there is no law against forbearance. However, there is a law against travel during the pandemic. But when we could no longer bear it, teams began to take steps to serve from a distance. We have been separated from our overseas friends and partners for far too long, but only in [...]
It is our pleasure to welcome Dr. Robert Forsey to the EMAS Canada Board. Dr. Robert Forsey has been a family physician and teacher in Goose Bay, Labrador since 1988. He does full scope generalist rural medicine at the Labrador Health Center and along the coast of Labrador in remote Northern communities and reserves. A conversation with Dr. Bob Stephens [...]
Our May 2021 EMASSARY has begun landing in mailboxes across Canada. In this edition, Executive Director, Dr. Peter Agwa, shares about the hope we have for the future, you will also find a report on how you've helped the medical students in DR Congo, and the latest updates of our other teams as we [...]
30 years ago, Tom Peters’ wrote the book “Thriving on Chaos”. It was even popular in Kenya where I read it in 1990. It was about flexibility as an essential for corporate survival in a world where customer preferences were so unpredictable that constant market volatility was the order of the day. The main [...]
There is an audacity that comes from certitude. This kind of conviction that drives action is deeply rooted and nothing can divert it. I am persuaded beyond all doubt that an ancient Jewish prophecy about God showing up and being available to everyone was fulfilled through Jesus Christ, I live and work with people [...]
By Peter Agwa Many women work hard away from the spotlight of team reports. That means there are many women that no list could do justice in honoring them. Furthermore, some have chosen anonymity out of self-effacement: allowing the light to shine on their work and not on themselves. In governance, we have Sally [...]
In difficult times as has been with the pandemic-related restrictions, curfews, disease, deaths, income instability, and all the uncertainty we are still going through it is easy to become discouraged. God not only speaks tenderly to (re)assure us of His promises, but also plans prophylactically for our despondency by giving us work to do. Words [...]