Love Heals, Hope Builds




Medical Assistance Missional Outreach (MAMO) began as a dream, a dream and a call to help provide basic medical support to a handful of small, independent Christian schools in Central Uganda. Last month, a team of six Americans and four Ugandans linked arms, by God’s grace, to make that dream come true.
So, what did it look like, this dream coming true? It looked a little different than “real” medical missions traditionally look; we didn’t travel with a doctor, we didn’t treat villagers, and we didn’t do “clinics.” Instead, our Ugandan nurse trained representatives from each school to use the medical kits, which included basics like pain reliever, fever reducer, antacid, malaria treatment, and dressing supplies. The Ugandan nurse, Aidah, used the “teach, show, do” model, instructing the teachers in the basics, modeling for them, then supervising as these new “first aiders” treated children from each school.
One highlight was seeing Afuwah, the girl whose suffering inspired what has become MAMO. She is doing well, and remembered the “mzungu” (white person) who prayed for her last year. It was a sweet reunion. Although the fact that Afuwah walked for about an hour, barefoot, to get to the school was not lost on any of the team members. What a delight to give her a pair of shoes; by God’s grace, we had just the right size with us in the van that day.
Another highlight was presenting Bibles to pastors at the schools. It was very precious to see them treasuring the Word of God.
Probably one of the best stories from this trip, though, is the story of Hope. Like Afuwah last year, Hope started throwing up.
But this time we were prepared. Hope was diagnosed with pneumonia, asthma, and dyspnea. What her long-term prognosis is, we don’t know, but at least for that one day, her suffering was relieved, even a little.
Although this trip was not intended to be evangelistic, everyone on the team was ready to share. And God gave us two amazing opportunities. Both times, Ugandan team members shared, and both times, people opened their hearts to Jesus. What a joy!
Our goals with this trip were to:
 Deliver basic medical kits to eighteen different schools in the Pennies for Posho feeding program
 Train teachers to use the supplies they received
 Be prepared to provide urgent support to critically ill children as necessary
 Educate pastors and teachers on sustainable agriculture
 Bless pastors with Bibles engraved with their names
 Deliver donated Bibles and “mama” kits as God gave opportunity
We saw God make all that happen, and more. Almost 900 children heard the testimony of the National Director for Fellowship of Christian Athletes. The agriculturalist who traveled with us was able to teach more than 100 people in sustainable and high-yield ways for growing mangos, and being invited to multiple schools to continue and expand his agricultural training. And we handed out hundreds of doses of de-worming pills, an immediate impact that will last for three months.
Next steps include working on a scholarship program to educate Ugandan nurses (it will cost about $5000?!), gearing up for the next team to go over in October, and praying for God to help us figure out how to help four pastors with a vision to start medical clinics at their schools. Ultimately, MAMO isn’t just about delivering medical supplies or teaching people how to use them. It isn’t about providing scholarships for future nurses, or helping pastors start medical clinics. Ultimately, MAMO is about bringing hope… eternal hope that only comes through a relationship with Jesus.
According to Ephesians 2:12, people without God have no hope. And being without hope makes changing situations difficult. Our motivation and inspiration can be traced back to the Golden Rule, treating others the way we want to be treated. We want to love others as we’d want to be loved. Just like in the New Testament, love heals; we saw it in Uganda...the love of the Body of Christ helped bring healing to more than one child. And we believe that hope builds. We’re trusting God to bring hope to the Ugandan believers as they work to build a future for their country and her people.
If you want to follow this incredible journey, visit us at www.mamouganda.org or on Facebook under MAMOUganda. You’ll find more photos from the trip, information about upcoming opportunities, and details about how you can help.