"I Want to Be a Dentist"

Physicians don't know anything about teeth. By which, I mean to say you could not possibly underestimate our dental knowledge. The other day, in preparation for this dental education I'm receiving, I asked Rachel, "How many teeth do we have?" Just to put this into perspective.

And yet, we plan on going to a place to practice where there likely are no dentists. And (to state the obvious) this does not at all mean that dental pathology will likewise disappear, in fact it's likely to be all the more severe.

So I'm spending these two weeks working with a fine group of dentists through the UofM dental school. In my first day, I learned a number of helpful tidbits at the hands of some very capable and enthusiastic faculty dentists, and also learned the basics of numbing up pretty much any part of the mouth. One of the residents even let me practice on him. Wow. My hope is that I can learn to do some basic dental assessments, learn regional anesthesia, and even learn how to take teeth out. Anything else is certainly welcome. And I do now know how many teeth we have.

Disabilities and Africa

I have this deep emotional response to people with disabilities. I would guess that this comes from my mom's work as an ASL interpreter and perhaps from medical training. Maybe it's just some innate part of me. It certainly is not pity, rather something more complex.

I got to watch something beautiful yesterday. I was riding the bus home from the hospital, and at a particular stop, about a dozen people with various physical and mental disabilities got on the bus, with some assistants. One of the gentleman already on the bus, whom I had not noticed before, apparently also had some mild disability. As soon as his friends got on the bus, he lit up and greeted each of them with an enthusiastic hug, asking them if they would sit with him, and promising them that he was going to teach them how to dance. And for some reason, I just sat there watching, overwhelmed with joy.

I'm no expert opinion on the matter, but my limited experience and observations makes me think that to live with a disability is to live a high stakes life. The joyful moments seem hearbreakingly joyful and the sorrows are heartbreakingly sorrowful. Either way, the heart is always breaking. Such depth seems to make a beautiful life, and reminds me of the emotional responses of children, and that reminds me of Jesus' words about children inheriting the kingdom of God.

What does this have to do with medicine and Africa? I have often thought that working in Africa is also high stakes. For instance, we have looked into working in South Sudan, possibly moving there permanently after some extra training in 2011. Around that same time, South Sudan is set to hold a referendum as to whether they want to secede from the North. So, either we could be in on the ground level of the world's newest sovreign nation, or maybe it could devolve into the 3rd Sudanese Civil war. High Stakes. Great joy or great sorrow. Either way the heart is breaking.

My friend Luke traveled to the Ukraine and worked briefly with the disabled there, finding that only minimal physical care was given, and more or less no thought was given to try to improve their quality of life and instill the dignity due to each man and woman. I can only begin to imagine what I might encounter in this arena in Africa, but I imagine the stakes might be even higher.

Learning from Jesus the Healer

Our church is doing this awesome miniseries of classes on “Faith in Medicine”. Seeing as though this website is to be a forum for all things Faith, Medicine, and Africa (and the intersections of these themes), this may not be the last posting from the aforementioned miniseries. It’s part of a broader goal the church has of trying to help people discover how to serve God in the work they do.

The first week was Dr. Steve Telian (of dubious Lyntelnoster fame) speaking on what we can learn from the healings of Jesus as well as the worldview from which he seems to have been healing. Here are a couple of my favorite take home points:

1. Healing through medicine is a good gift of God against the destructive effects of sin in this world, regardless of the motivation of the practitioner. It is not only those with a wrong motivation who often presume on God’s grace to accomplish healing through medicine.

2. Health is a gift of God, since He is keeping and preserving (in addition to healing) everything in nature. Thus, it is fitting that we praise God for our health, since the hand of God is not less active here than in health restored after sickness.

3. Sometimes glorious redeeming work comes through suffering. This is a mystery and a difficult thing to find appropriate application for in medicine, but it is certainly in line with Jesus’ teaching. It is plausible because of the fact that we are never at a position to know the whole story and all the ramifications of a given suffering.

Maybe these paraphrases won’t communicate the same as stand-alone ideas, but food for thought…

Jailed for Espionage

Paul Salopek. Man wins Pullitzer Prize for journalism. Man goes to Sudan to write article. Man is jailed for espionage for 34 days. After release, which took a visit to Sudan by his home governor Bill Richardson, he apparently returned to the country in order to finish his article. Man writes cover story for National Geographic last month.

Given our interest in Sudan as a possible long-term goal, I found this article fascinating, especially as it focuses on all the Sahel (the southern border of the Sahara across Africa). Partly, it scared me a whole whole lot. For the record, we are more interested in South Sudan, further away from the heart of conflict currently in Darfur where Salopek was jailed. But overall I thought his article was thoughtful and had a large amount of insight into the culture there. And his willingness to go through a jailing and return to Sudan demonstrates an admirable committment to journalism, if not to Africa and their struggle.

Masai Creed

A little while ago, I heard Jaroslav Pelikan on NPR talking about various creeds of the world. The whole podcast can be found here. He used the Masai Creed as an example of a people who had initially taken on the creed of the missionaries sent to them, and later were able to make the creed their own, but at the same time keep the central truths they were given. An interesting discussion point. Enjoy.

We believe in the one High God, who out of love created the beautiful world and everything good in it. He created Man and wanted Man to be happy in the world. God loves the world and every nation and tribe on the Earth. We have known this High God in darkness, and now we know Him in the light.

God promised in the book of His word, the Bible, that He would save the world and all the nations and tribes. We believe that God made good His promise by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, a man in the flesh, a Jew by tribe, born poor in a little village, who left His home and was always on safari doing good, curing people by the power of God, teaching about God and man, showing the meaning of religion is love.

He was rejected by his people, tortured and nailed hands and feet to a cross, and died. He lay buried in the grave, but the hyenas did not touch him, and on the third day, He rose from the grave. He ascended to the skies.

He is the Lord. We believe that all our sins are forgiven through Him. All who have faith in Him must be sorry for their sins, be baptized in the Holy Spirit of God, live the rules of love and share the bread together in love, to announce the Good News to others until Jesus comes again. We are waiting for Him. He is alive. He lives. This we believe. Amen.

The Sunds

Greg became acquainted with the team during a short mission trip to Kenya in 2010.  The family joined the McCropders in the fall of 2014 to serve in Burundi during a 9 month internship. During this time it became evident that God was placing a call on the Sund's hearts to join the team long term. 

The Sund's American home is in Bellingham, WA.

Greg is an anesthesiologist and amateur bluegrass musician.  When in Bellingham he plays mandolin in an all-physician bluegrass band named Runaway Truck Ramp.

Stephanie grew up outside Boston and worked for several years as an RN prior to starting a family. Stephanie loves outdoors and of course is a huge fan of the band Runaway Truck Ramp. 

Ella enjoys playing piano, reading and geocaching.

Mekdes enjoys cooking, playing soccer, playing the piano and reading. 

Biniyam enjoys being a ninja and hopes to one day make a living as a stand-up comedian.

Donation information for the Sunds can be found by clicking here.

The McLaughlins

Eric and Rachel met in 2003 at the world famous Global Missions Health Conference in Louisville, KY (held every November--we HIGHLY recommend it!). They were married in 2005 just in time for the tax deduction. Since then, they have tramped all over this good earth, meeting many wonderful people along the way.  Their personal blog is found here.  Some fun facts below:

Eric

Born: Anchorage, Alaska - 1981

Grew up: mostly Tennessee

Favorite Bible passage: Hebrews 2:8-9 - "Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus..."

What he does all day: Family Medicine physician, teacher, songwriter, worship leader
Favorite authors: CS Lewis, Frederick Buechner, NT Wright, Thomas Hardy, Tim Keller

Rachel

Born: Cleveland, Ohio - 1979

Grew up: Minnesota, etc

Favorite Bible passage: Rev 21-22 (I am making everything new)

What she does all day: OBGYN, teacher, supermom, travel agent, list maker
Favorite authors: JK Rowling, Tracy Kidder, Stephen Lawhead, CS Lewis, Andrew Peterson

Maggie

Born: Ann Arbor, MI - 2009

Growing up: Bomet, Kenya, Albertville, France, and Kibuye, Burundi

Favorite Bible passage: Esther

What she does all day: Go to school, play with friends, practice piano, read books
Favorite authors: Mary Pope Osborne, Roald Dahl, Daisy Meadows, and Louis Sachar

Ben

Born: Tenwek Hospital, Kenya - 2011

Growing up: Albertville, France and Kibuye, Burundi

Favorite Bible passage:  1 John 4:18 "There is no fear in love"

What he does all day: Go to school, Climb trees, play with friends, play Legos/games
Favorite authors: Goscinny (Asterix comics)

Toby
Born: Albertville, France - 2013
Growing up: Kibuye, Burundi
Favorite Bible passage: David and Goliath
What he does all day: preschool, ride his bike, and be involved in anything his brother and sister are doing
Favorite authors: Stan & Jan Berenstain, Arnold Lobel, Where's Waldo?

The Wendlers

Carlan and Michelle mark the first time the McCropder Team has grown via marriage. Carlan met John when he was 16 years old visiting his sister at college. John later recruited him to the University of Michigan for medical school and Knox Presbyterian Church for worship. He quickly bought in to the team vision and, as soon as he completed residency in 2012, joined everyone else in French language study in Albertville, France. Michelle entered the picture in 2014 when the two met at a missionary conference hosted by their home church in Los Angeles, Grace Community. She was on stage playing the piano and by God's grace sat behind him during a Friday night service. They began talking after the sermon and in July 2015 they were married at that same church. They were approved by Serge for service as a family five months later and went through language school in France before getting to Burundi together in 2017. Gabrielle joined their family and our team in June 2019 and Isaiah in March 2021.

Alyssa Pfister

Fun facts about Alyssa:

-She lived on the Mexican border during high school

-She was paralyzed for some long period of time when she was young due to transverse myelitis (but she got better and climbs mountains now).

-Wheaton, then East Tennessee State, then U of Alabama Birmingham

-No fancy foods, please, she'll take the mac n' cheese

-Double board certified in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics

-She became interested in missions during travels in South America

-She was the only one of us to visit Tenwek (in med school) before moving here

-Her place has the coolest kid toys and all the McCropder kids know it

Her own blog can be found here.

The Johns

It's been over a decade since God first called Ted into the field of medicine for the purpose of bringing medical help to those who would otherwise have no access. Somewhere along the way, God brought Eunice into the picture through a shared love of children's ministry, particularly children's worship...and Del Taco. They are also both from Southern California and are INFJ's. Together, they have committed their lives to taking the hope of the Gospel to the ends of the earth. 

The John family is currently in language school in Albertville, France. They will be joining the Serge-Kibuye team in mid-2018 through World Medical Mission's Post-Residency Program. The Johns look forward to doing life together with the team! 

Theodore (Ted): 

Ted is a general surgeon by training. He spent nearly a decade in Ann Arbor, MI where he attended The University of Michigan for medical school and then completed his residency at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital. He enjoys running, basketball, hiking, and being outdoors. He also likes eating Mexican cuisine, exploring new cities and cultures, cheering for UM college football (Go Blue!), taking naps, and watching superhero and action movies.

Eunice: 

Eunice is a former middle school math teacher. She taught for 6 wonderful years before becoming a stay-at-home-mom. She loves teaching, children's worship/ministry, heart to hearts, Costco samples, meal planning, trying out new recipes, cleaning (or rather, a clean home!), and watching her kids grow. She has an intense phobia of snakes and is relieved to hear that snake-sightings are far and few between in Kibuye.  

Tobias (Toby): 

Toby was born in 2014 in Ann Arbor, MI. He is full of energy and spirit. He loves garbage trucks (and vehicles/machinery of all types), food, people, "organizing/cleaning", helping, playing outside, dancing, singing -- to sum it up: Toby loves life! He doesn't care for onions and any article of clothing that extends past his knees or elbows. 

Amos: 

Amos was born in 2016 in Pasadena, CA. He is full of smiles and is a sweet baby. He loves hanging out with people and exploring the world around him. He doesn't care for naps but will comply with whatever his mom asks him to wear. He only has two teeth so far, but he has an appetite as big as his brother's!