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from Carol Spears soon to be in Kenya—now in USA

March 2010

My schedule over the next 7 Wow! Can it be that my time in the USA is going so quickly? I am cherishing time with family and
weeks includes a lot of travel- friends and reconnecting with previous ministry partners as well as meeting new ones. I have just about
ing! I look forward to time at frozen to death (not really – but it sure seems like it) this winter – but slowly the signs of spring are dawn-
the CMDA National Conven- ing (picture above from a wonderful trip to Rhode Island in January). I spent most of the last five
tion where I am doing a work- months in Lexington and where we have had record amounts of snow! I look forward to the beauty that
shop for the Women in Medi- spring always brings and I pray that it will also be a time of new growth in my own life. My church in
cine and Dentistry. The title of Lexington (Immanuel Baptist Church) provided me with a wonderful home to live in (below left) and the
my talk is “Press On: Trusting picture in the middle below was of snow in Alabama (rare!) and a snowman in RI ( below right)!
God when the Journey is Difficult,
Lessons from the Life of Peter”.
This past year has been a time
of learning that truly God
gives us treasures of darkness
as well as seasons of joy. I am
learning (and I believe I am
making progress – smile!) to
celebrate the journey rather
than be so focused on a desti-
nation, outcome, or end prod-
uct. (San Deigo WIMD below)

I have had the blessing of being able to return to the University of Kentucky Medical Center as a surgeon.
It has been great to get to work with my mentors in surgery as well as the surgery residents at UK. Mis-
sionary surgeons often have a challenging time of finding a way to work in the US as well as doing the
work needed to report to all of you about the many good things happening in Kenya. Thank you for your
faithfulness and patience and grace as you have encouraged me and prayed for me to be able to balance all
of these needs. I will finish my surgery work in about a month and begin focusing fulltime on preparing
to return to Kenya in mid June. Thank you for your prayers during this furlough time.

 Please pray for me as I Please pray for Dr. Russ White

seek to know what God
wants me to do in the
coming term at Tenwek.
 Please continue to pray
for my family—health
concerns, job situations,
and being apart.
 Please pray that God
will provide the funding
needed for me to return
to Tenwek. I continue
to need ongoing support
as well as one time
gifts.
Please continue to pray for Dr. Russ White, my
friend and surgery colleague in Kenya. He has
had a series of illnesses that are still not adequate-
ly diagnosed or understood. We praise God that
a recent trip to the US for a complete medical
evaluation at Mayo eliminated some of the more
concerning diagnoses – but Russ continues to
have symptoms and to have less than fully re-
stored health. We trust that he will continue to
improve and are grateful for your prayers. The
White Family (right) will be leaving for furlough
in the USA shortly after I arrive at Tenwek. I
rejoice that Dr. Mike Chupp and his family will
return to Tenwek later in the summer. Please
pray for these transitions.
 You are a Blessing!
I wish I could tell each one of you what an ongoing blessing you are in my life. Your
support and prayers and encouragement are humbling and full of grace. In recent
months, I have been so encouraged and blessed to be a part of missions conferences
and missionary services in several churches that I count as home churches (and a few
more are coming up soon). At Shades Mountain Baptist Church in Birmingham,
Alabama my thoughts strayed toward heaven as I walked to the front of the church
with over 50 missionaries during the Global Impact Celebration while the entire
sanctuary cheered like it was a championship sports game! I think God must be so
pleased when we celebrate Him and His work around the world and in our own
hearts! Thank you for championing His work at Tenwek as part of my team!

Above: Global Impact Celebration opening

service in Birmingham, AL. Far left: I had the
privilege of telling the 3, 4, and 5 year olds
about my work in Kenya—we even dressed up
like doctors and warriors and mamas and
backed baby dolls! Middle: my ―host‖ Sunday
school class who were such a huge encourage-
ment and blessing to me. These are but a few
of the hundreds of faces that I am blessed by!

Meanwhile at Tenwek
All I hear from my missionary colleagues at Tenwek is that things are going well – they are seeing a growth in patient numbers and com-
plexity of pathology. Several families have come for two year terms bringing much needed doctors to help in the training programs at
Tenwek. Recently, a new intern class, family medicine residents, and general surgery residents all started their training at Tenwek. Train-
ing for service is one of the three prongs of Tenwek Hospital’s mission statement and I believe with all my heart that God is calling me to be
a part of that effort. Many of our visiting doctors report that the time they spend with our Kenyan interns and residents is the highlight
of their time at Tenwek. Please continue to pray for these young men and women and their teachers (smile!). Please also pray for the
patients that we see each day.

Housing at Tenwek….
The work is well underway for the intern housing building at Tenwek (drawing at right). We
are still in need of funds to begin the construction on two similar buildings for our surgery and
family medicine residents. If you are interested in giving a tax deductible contribution to this
project which will enable our training programs to continue, please email me or mail a check
to WGM address below with a note for it to be credited to project code 125-35006.

I am grateful for the ministry of Project

Send Donations to: My USA Address/Contact Info: MedSend which enables me to serve on the
World Gospel Mission 2203 Meadowood Dr field. This organization enables qualified
P O Box 948 Gadsden, AL 35907 healthcare professionals to serve around the
Marion, IN 46952 859-351-6226 cell world in the name of Christ by making their
765-664-7331 256-442-7193 Mom’s home monthly educational loan payments while
carol.spears@wgm.org
they serve. I am one of the fortunate recipi-
All donations are tax deductible. Please indicate my name or account ents of a MedSend grant. For more infor-
number on your check—Spears-08695. mation go to www.medsend.org.