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Dear Family and Friends:
We are always amazed at the ways that we see God at work at Mbingo. The most recent way we have experienced this is in the opportunity to add a radiation therapy program to the current cancer treatment options we now have. We have been in contact with three radiation oncologists who are excited about being involved in the ministry at Mbingo and are working with us to design a new cancer center that will house all of our cancer treatment programs including a linear accelerator. We have been surprised at the speed with which this program has developed. These Christian physicians are willing to operate the radiation therapy center for five years and help us train Cameroonian physicians who will then be the permanent staff. They are also planning to help with the fund raising for the new building. They have even gotten a used linear accelerator donated for the program. Our goal is to have the center functioning in 2-3 years.
New CIMS Residents with Faculty
The Internal Medicine residency continues to grow and develop. We are now taking four new residents per year and currently have 13 residents in the program. Our teaching staff is increasing with more volunteers being involved for longer periods of time and with the retention of graduates of the program. We now have three of the residency graduates working with us at Mbingo with plans to add more over the next two years. We expect that in another few years, they will be able to take over the leadership of the residency and we will be in a support role.
We are working hard to develop a Spiritual Development curriculum for the residents. Although we’ve had weekly Bible studies from the beginning, we want to develop a two-year cycle that takes the residents through modules on personal spiritual development, evangelism, a theology of illness and healing, and Christian medical ethics. A number of us are involved in writing the curriculum and we are all enjoying the experience. This year in addition to a weekly Bible study/teaching session, we have added small groups that the residents participate in weekly. Through this training we expect that the residents will be provided the opportunity to grow in their personal walk with Jesus and be better prepared to minister to the spiritual needs of their patients.