Love
. . .
Thursday
Ask,
and it will be given to you; search, and you will find;
knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone
who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and
for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there
anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will
give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give
a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good
gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in
heaven give good things to those who ask him! --Matthew
7: 7-11
by
Peter Cherutich
In
1997 a group of five Kenyan medical students at
the University of Nairobi, who had learned French in high
school and feared losing grip of their newly acquired language
skills in a wave of hectic training in medicine, got together
to practice French.
Within months, the group had been formalized and named the
Association of French Speaking Medical Students (L’AFREME)
with a long-term vision of bridging the gaps among the African
Medical Fraternity.
Our first opening came through a serendipitous meeting with
the French Counselor for Culture and Cooperation who became
enthusiastic in our activities and was soon sponsoring registered
members for French classes.
The
breakthrough in community service came one year later, when
as part of French Week, the French Embassy and L’AFREME
got together to offer free medical services in Kangemi,
one of the four big slums in Nairobi. Pharmaceutical companies
chipped in with donations of medicines. God opened many
doors and soon we had expanded our activities to cover rural
areas and established a permanent medical clinic in Kangemi.
We
then faced the challenge of making sure
that the spirit of service was sustained beyond medical
school. The original founders came together to form an association
called Medecins Aux Secours (MASK), Doctors on
Rescue Mission, to keep the fire burning.
Through
this initiative, we continue to organize free medical camps
to the poor both in urban and rural areas with an average
of two outreach camps annually. From an elitist club of
French speakers to passionate community service providers,
we thank God for opening the way to such a noble work.
Jesus,
our great physician, we marvel at how you opened the doors
for a group of French-speaking Kenyan medical students
to establish free medical camps for the poor in Nairobi.
Continue to use them in powerful ways as your agents of
healing and grace. We pray that we, too, will be bold
to ask, seek and knock on doors to discover how you might
use us for your glory. With gratitude for the eternal
healing you offer, we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
An
Advent Journey