Hi there, family and friends,

We completed what we went to do; Pat survived substituting for three surgeons for two weeks, and I completed enough of what I went to do; facilitated the repair of two voltage regulators and reviewed the electrical system for any problems and deficiencies.

We are now in Portugal, having joined a small team from BCA (our home church) to check out a possible opportunity to come alongside, in a more meaningful way, one of the missionaries that BCA partly supports. We return home on May 17.

Pat was busy for those middle two weeks when standing in the gap. They were harder to deal with than the very long days (and sometimes half of the night) when they were caring for very sick patients, especially when they were children.

One of the more fun things I got to do was help the missionary pilot (Rob Peterson) troubleshoot a couple of electrical problems on the Cessna that brought us the final 300 miles to Bongolo. These mission planes are almost always secondhand and so can be quite old. There are non-profit organizations in the US that will completely refurbish these mission planes before they embark on a “second career" in some remote corner of the world.

But they are still old planes; the one Rob has is nearly 40 years old. He wanted help with adding a new ground wire for an instrument that monitored engine temperatures and needed the wire to go all the way to the engine block, not just the plane's aluminum frame. That required peeling off all kinds of panels and going through bulkheads. Once deep into the innards, you see how old the plane is. That’s a lot of responsibility on Rob (who is also a qualified aircraft mechanic) to keep the old girl in good shape and avoid having to land on the treetops.

I had a birthday on May 5, and we had them over to our apartment for cake. Rob used to serve in nearby Cameroon, where he met his wife (Bintou), a doctor who is now halfway through her 3-year residency (at Bongolo) in Ophthalmology.

I finished my time at Bongolo by summarizing all that I found in the way of deficiencies that need correcting. These included too few fire extinguishers, a number of issues that were significant electrocution hazards, recommendations on buying a new backup generator for when the utility goes dark, and issues with the electrical grounding. These may seem mundane to many, but that’s perhaps one is so used to medical establishments that have it all together. When not done correctly, these seemingly mundane issues can be life-threatening.

Last time, I promised a surgery picture that was a “little more gory,” so here it is. I was passing by the OR that Pat was working in (there is a window in the door), and I was a little surprised to see grape-fruit-sized “things” that had obviously been pulled out of the patient and were no longer needed. Later, I learned they were benign growths. Impressive all the same, at least to me!

The public (non-Christian) high school I went to in New Zealand has the motto “Lumen Accipe et Imperti,” Latin for “Receive the Light and Pass it on.” Obviously, they meant the light of education, and that definitely works.

But I think it works better as a motto for Bongolo:

- Blind people come here and walk out with sight.

- Every year, 100’s of people that come to Bongolo, (some as patients, some as family), experience the love of God and find the light of Christ.

- The PAACS surgery training program graduates go all over Africa and start or contribute to another “lighthouse” in a dark world. (PAACS = Pan African Academy of Christian Surgeons).

On that brighter note, we’ll sign off,

Blessing to all,

Fenton and Pat