Dear family, friends, teammates, & interns,
You can imagine our surprise when the girls and I received a phone call from Suzie in Afghanistan this evening at about 8:30pm on my cell phone! [If this is the first you've heard, Suzie was asked by Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, KY, to join a group of medical folks offering humanitarian assistance in and around Kabul, Afghanistan. Suzie left Kenya July 20th and will return on August 5th. This is Southeast's third or fourth trip to Kabul, Suzie's first.]
She called to let us know that she arrived safely in Kabul after meeting up with her other colleagues in Dubai. In fact, they had already made their first house call. Suzie was one of three docs who responded to a request from the Pakistani Ambassador to see him as a patient. Suzie went well-prepared with her 'black box' and administered an injection of some sort. Tomorrow, an Afghan cabinet minister (who is staying at the same place they are) has requested an appointment as well.
Suzie said her luggage made it fine (including 65 lbs of medicines) although Tina Bruner, the trip organizer, has not seen her luggage yet! They are expecting to do clinic and see hundreds of patients in the coming days. Suzie sounded quite happy to be there with such a fine group. They hope to further establish a good working relationship already begun by previous Southeast teams with Afghan medical professionals.
Thanks for your ongoing prayers for Suzie and the rest of the medical team ministering in Afghanistan. May they be a light that radiates the love of our Lord.
Love in Christ,
Dave for the Snyders
Suzie taught at Maywand and was it was a great lecture and she had all the doctors engaged in discussion. Some of us also met with the deputy minister of health (the minister is in the US right now). It was such a good meeting - God's hand is already directing our days here.
Last night we had a birthday party for Deena's son - Ben. She missed his birthday and Wakil said she looked sad - so we had a birthday cake and sang... the whole thing (except presents, sorry Ben!)
Blessings to all...
Tina Bruner
Yesterday Suzie taught at Maywand, today she finished up and Ian taught on tuberculosis... he did some research yesterday at the internet place and thanks to the copier we brought - he had some great overheads. Uh oh, Ian just came in and said they ran long and he will teach on Thursday instead. We are learning to be flexible - it is painful at times! :-)
Nazifa (our Afghan doctor and friend) has been interviewed by a journalist writing an article for Glamour Magazine. This woman has been with us several times this week and we are all enjoying the jokes that we can make about being the "glamour gals" of Afghanistan. It is an interesting story on how God brought this contact and us together.... we'll tell about it in one of our longer updates.
We have had some extended times of prayer - especially around the need for the right long-term workers here. After the first of these specific times of prayer - Florence was led to a passage in Ruth that tells about how a sandal was offered as show agreement on a deal... (my paraphrase!) and we feel that was God's sign to us that He has heard our prayer for this and will answer.
Today we are sending part of our team to a German tuberculosis hospital (David, this is Dan Fountain's friend) and one group to World Health Organization; we have met some key people here and are excited about the networking opportunities ahead.
Thanks for your prayers... everyone is doing well, praying for their families and friends and thankful that we can see daily the answers to your prayers!
Blessings,
Tina - for our team.
August 6, 2002
Hi everyone!
Just want you to know we are safe and sound in Dubai, UAE until Sunday night when we start for home. I will write a long E:Mail on Sunday morning - but this computer at the hotel is TOO slow right now.
We are getting some news now of events in Kabul last week and thankful for the many ways that God was watching out for us. We were unaware of most of these things - and ask that you continue to pray for our dear friends who live there. Please pray that God will provide peace and overcome the evil that is ever present.
Thanks for your prayers for us - I have some great things to share tomorrow from the last few days! SO... more tomorrow!
Blessings ...
Tina Bruner for our team
Well, we are all back in our respective cities – trying to really still assimilate our experiences and feeling incredibly blessed. I hope you will not tire of hearing our stories and encouragement for you to be involved in on-going efforts to serve the Afghan people. I wanted to share some things from our last few days there.
Carree, Charlie, Florence and I went with Dan and Wakil to meet with the Deputy Minister of Public Health – Dr. Mehraban (the minister of health is in the states right now). We were ushered in to a large office with big pictures of places around Afghanistan, President Karzai, a calendar with quotes from the Koran in the designs…and a large conference table. Our primary objective was to thank them for the assistance to this point, outline briefly the areas we are working in and ask if they were open to some new ways to approach providing health care for the Afghan people. The deputy minister thanked us for our efforts so far, agreed that they were willing and open to new ideas and approaches. We were able to tell him how thankful we were for the opportunity to partner with them; that we know this is a long-term commitment and as we learn more – we are aware of the tremendous task they face with limited resources. I committed that our team and others would pray for God to grant them wisdom and make available the things they need to care for the people there. Dr. Mehraban invited us to stay for lunch, gave us an open invitation to visit him at his home and when we left shook our hands so warmly – that I felt we had just made a friend and advocate for our work with the clinics and hospital.
There are very few ambulances in all of Kabul. When people need immediate help, it is up to their families to somehow get them to the hospital; when someone dies in the hospital – the family must find a way to transport them home for burial; when a patient needs to be transported between hospitals – they have to call a cab (if one is even available). Such a basic need. In a city of over 2 million people the most basic things to facilitate care are unavailable. The director of the hospital as well as Dr. Mehraban asked us to provide an ambulance to the Maywand Hospital. They mainly need a vehicle to transport patients – not a vehicle equipped to treat patients in route – with equipment, etc. So, we emailed back to our office and got the $5,000 needed to purchase this vehicle approved and were able to work the details out with the MoPH and the hospital before we left on how it would be used, etc. They were so grateful when we told them they would have the vehicle before the end of the month.
Wakil treated us on Tuesday night to a great meal at the Golden Lotus. We enjoyed pizza, French fries, traditional Afghan food and even custard! Our team and the staff from IF Hope had a great night. We even took one of the neighbor kids we had met in March (tom – it was Jamal!) This restaurant would also be the site for our dinner with the MoPH and the doctors we worked with at Maywand.
We had representatives for the MoPH & doctors from Maywand join us for dinner on Thursday night. The team divided up at different tables – Florence and Charlie with the gov’t guys; Nazifa sat with the older docs from Maywand; Carree & Ian with the younger docs from Maywand; I sat with the director of the hospital – Dr. Shefaq and an ENT lecturer for the medical college (who also happens to be the president of the Tourism Agency! There is no where but UP to go for him in that job!) Jody and Suzie went home early because Suzie didn’t feel well – Deena and Lynn sat with IF Hope staff. Deena had a great opportunity to really talk to one of the young women who works for IF Hope. She is in her late 20’s and her husband left her. She told Deena her whole story – the shame she brought on her father because of her husband leaving her, the loneliness she feels; her struggle to learn to take care of herself… This was such a surprise that she would share so much with Deena – and I feel
it will be an important friendship for Maryam – she picked a real encourager in Deena to share with.
At the beginning of the dinner – Charlie, Nazifa and Ian greeted the guests and thanked them for coming. Wakil begged Ian to do his little song… Hello, My name is Joe… it is a kid’s motion song for those who aren’t familiar with Joe, who works at a button factory… Finally, Ian gave in and in the middle of the room sang “Joe”. Half way through the song, Dr. Shefaq came in. The look on Ian’s face when he was dancing around and noticed him was hilarious! Dr. Shefaq really didn’t know what was going on and for a minute imitated the motions Ian was doing! After it was over, Ian came up to our table and tried to explain the contrast of him as tuberculosis lecturer and Joe!
The whole night was great. Each of us shared later the individual conversations we had and how we felt that relationships were solidified in this social time together.
The first Friday in August of last year was the day Heather Mercer and Dayna Curry were taken by the Taliban. This year on the first Friday of August we were seated among 60+ other Christians in Kabul for the weekly worship service. Lynn, a Shelter Now worker (the organization that the 8 workers captured last year were with) gave an incredible message from Ezekiel 37. We sang together (when we sang, members of the congregation would gently close all the windows – to keep in the sound) and prayed together. It was an encouraging time of fellowship.
Florence, Charlie, Suzie and Carree went to meet with the village leaders in Istalif. They had a really positive meeting there. Florence shared a few proverbs to start the meeting and then she and Suzie presented the information re: the results of the 3-day clinic. They saw over 1700 people in those few days! They also began to suggest ideas for the future and got a very positive response from the village leaders. Florence & Suzie, who have the most experience in this kind of meeting both said that it really couldn’t have gone better! At the end – the men were telling about the devastation of the past; how the Taliban burned all their fields – destroyed their homes and have left the people of their community emotionally and physically in pain. Charlie asked at the end of the meeting if he could pray for our relationship and future plans. The leaders agreed and Mr. Kahn translated it. In Charlie’s prayer he mentioned that the old has passed away and the new has come – he asked for healing for the people. At the end of a very sweet, heartfelt prayer – Florence noticed that two of the village leaders had cried during the prayer. It is too great a thing for us to ever really understand the life they have lived – the pain they have seen and the burden they have for a better life for their people.
The shoeshine boys were outside our gate everyday. Lynn told one of them that when he got home that afternoon they could shine his shoes – uh oh, they were white tennis shoes. The boy informed Lynn that he doesn’t do white shoes. Seems there are specialists even in Afghanistan! There were a few boys we saw everyday. Near the end of the week one asked me for money to buy a soccer ball. They had a team that met at the park a few times a week – but none of them had a ball. They would hang around the park and wait and see if someone would let their team play with their ball. I worked out a deal with them and then gave them the money. There were two other shoeshine boys I met downtown. They were leaning inside my window asking for money. We started talking. I asked where they learned English (they knew a few phrases) and asked if they learned in school. They don’t go to school – they have to shine shoes so that their mothers and younger siblings can buy their evening meals. Can you imagine being responsible for your family eating when you are only 10 years old? Pray for the children of Afghanistan who carry such tremendous responsibilities and yet still yearn for time to play soccer and be with their friends. Pray that God will open opportunities for jobs for their parents, a chance for them to go to school – for a future for them that they can only dream of now.
Friday after church we had lunch and then headed for “Chicken Street” the local souvenir street. There are shops that line the street selling jewelry, carpets, antique weapons; Russian belts; Ghingis Kahn looking coats; marble tea sets; chess sets; old postcards, burqa’s, charders (the head scarf’s the ladies wear)… a store with food from home…you name it and it is there. Our team split up with some of our Afghan friends and began the bargaining! Jody and I had had a chance to run out one afternoon with Wakil (our reward for spending the morning cleaning the guesthouse) and so we didn’t have too much shopping to do – just went to watch the spectacle! There were ISAF soldiers also doing their shopping – the patch on their arm identified what country they were from, the French were ever present this day. Kids and older men sat outside the stores beckoning the foreigners to come and look. The electricity was out, so the stores with the windows blocked with fabric, coats
& blankets were especially dark inside. You could see our team, most in pairs, dodging in and out from store to store. An almost permanent site that afternoon was Charlie in front of one carpet store. They had brought out two rugs onto the sidewalk so he could get a better look. A group of men had encircled he and the shop owner – watching the bargaining. Charlie walked away a dozen times and then would end up right back on that spot. When we arrived, Wakil went over and advised Charlie to forget it, they were asking too much. Wakil suggested half of what they were asking for one… for BOTH! The shop owner was really mad and said that Wakil was ruining his business. It worked out that the man brought both carpets to the guesthouse later that night and Nazifa’s father inspected the quality of the rugs and suggested a fair price and Charlie is now the proud owner of 2 very nice afghan carpets!
Each pair would meet on the sidewalk – tell what great thing they just found; compare deals and sometimes the pairs would change and off they’d go again. The street is pretty narrow and barely wide enough for 2 cars – although there were often cars, bicycles, children and women begging, etc all in the road at once!
Wakil went off to bargain for something and to try to find something special for our team members. So, Jody and I wandered in and out of some of the stores as well. I had given Wakil my money (a convenient way to not have to figure out the real cost for things – with the exchange rate 39,000 to 1 – I was remembering why I skipped math class!) so I was bumming money from our team to buy things I didn’t really need – but liked! Jody and I slowly realized that we were seeing less and less of our team when we would come out of each shop. Jody then saw the empty parking space where our vehicle had been. Not to worry. We are two experienced travelers, keen on the ways of shopping in foreign cultures. As time passed, however, we wondered when someone would realize we were NOT at the guesthouse. Luckily, we are not the quiet two and they did finally come back and get us! Just in time for Wakil to negotiate a great deal for me!
Our evening on Friday was unbelievable. The yard was transformed to an outdoor picnic area. Chairs surrounded the perimeter. Lights hung around the edge of the yard. A table full of food was stationed next to the swing set, a man grilling kebabs was tucked away in the corner of the yard to keep the smoke away from us AND the Afghan musicians were set up on the porch. The IF Hope staff were all with us and our team was really having a great time…especially watching the men dance! I don’t think there is any real way to explain the circling, arm waving dancing that our team was doing … only to say that they were all great sports and we do have it on film and video!!!!!!
The women could dance – but were reluctant – except for …guess who? Carree? YEP! After a very nice Arabian nights type dance the women were cheering loudly for her and even considering having Maryam dance with us as well. But, along came a knock at the front gate.
Our music had attracted the attention of some of our neighbors and the local Afghan army. They wanted to join the fun. Most of the guys were Tajik – probably former Northern Alliance soldiers. Wakil made them empty their weapons and then lock them in their vehicles before he would let them in. By the end of the night – we have about 50 guests from the military! They all danced and were a little curious about us. Once they arrived, it was completely out of the question for the women to dance… which was welcome news for some of us! The soldiers sat on one side of the yard, clearly having a great time. The music was great – loud – but great and we really enjoyed watching the dancing and seeing the Afghan’s really have fun.
When more and more soldiers started showing up – Wakil politely thanked them for coming and excused them all. That was a little tricky, but when you are an urban legend, nothing is really all that difficult! I can’t say exactly what sparked the next events – it just seemed to me that all of the sudden something sprang a leak – and all the men were running around wet. Further inspection showed that they were in the midst of a huge water fight! They were running around the yard, chasing one another with cups, liter bottles, and buckets of water. Ian didn’t see the spicket that the Afghan guys knew was strategically located on the outskirts of the yard – until Naeem got him with a fully loaded bucket! Of course, Ian was prancing around in front the ladies on our team, thinking that he would be safe, the Afghan’s wouldn’t get us wet! Or would they? We were not quick enough and I think all of us marched in the house in search of dry clothes before it was over. Wakil was the last one to really get drenched – he was very nimble as he jumped back and forth over the 3’ iron fence that enclosed the grassy part of the yard – but finally the others one out and soaked him as well. It was so fun to see these grown men, American and Afghan, so lighthearted – like little boys – enjoying themselves. We have some great video from this!
Our team had a time of prayer with our Afghan friends on Saturday morning – standing in a circle in the living room of the guesthouse – we prayed with thankful hearts for the new friends we had made, the great care they and the Lord provided for us and with great anticipation at when God would allow us to return. I felt such a strong sense that God has a specific plan for each of us in His work there in the future. When we were leaving the house, shaking hands and hugging the staff good-bye – I asked if Nazifa were going with us to the airport…and she said she better not – it was too hard to say good-bye. I could not hold back tears as I hugged her goodbye and was glad to see that it was difficult for her as well. It is a difficult place to be – to see so much need, with limited resources and little encouragement…and I felt that for her as well. These workers are burdened by the needs of their own people, all around them there are signs of destruction, and hopelessness, hunger, poor health,
poor shelter and they are trying to make a difference in the lives of those they can.
Pray for them. Ask God to pour out His resources to the staff there so they can be His channel of blessing for the beautiful people there. Also pray that He will move us to action. It is nice to be able to have a glimpse into life in Afghanistan – but what does God want you to do to make a difference? What resources do you have that you could share to make the lives of the people there better?
We will be developing a list of people and resources for Afghanistan. Our first priority will be a prayer team. You don’t have to be located in Louisville to be part of a prayer team. There are lots of ways to get involved – I am going to see if we can get a kite company to donate kites for kids there…do you have an idea in mind? If you would like to talk about an idea, brainstorm, join our prayer team, whatever… JUST CALL!
You can reach me at 502-253-8003
Tina Bruner
Wednesday, August 7, 2002
Dear Family, Friends & Prayer Partners,
Suzie returned safely from her Afghanistan trip this past Monday morning. During the two-week trip, she joined a team assembled by Southeast Christian Church to address the serious health needs of the Afghan people living in and around Kabul. Southeast has made a long-term commitment to showing the compassion of Christ to the Afghan people through health care.
In summary, Suzie treated many patients at rural clinics, lectured at an Afghan hospital with national doctors and students in attendance, participated in community meetings with village elders, treated an Afghan cabinet minister & the Pakistani Ambassador, and joined her teammates in making a plan to restore health services in their target area.
Here are some highlights:
1. The team saw God at work in Afghanistan! They saw obvious evidence of his healing power at work when two patients received healing beyond what the team's medical knowledge could explain:
One was a boy who was carried into the clinic at the end of their first day. He was nearly comatose with high fever and breathing difficulties from severe pneumonia. We gave him two shots - an antibiotic for pneumonia and a medicine to cover for possible cerebral malaria. We begged the grandmother to bring the boy back for further treatment the next day. Sure enough, at 10 am the following day, she quietly sat down on the bench in front of me as the next patient in line. The boy was squirming in her lap, playful and all smiles! She said she brought him back because we had asked her to, "but really, he is all better now." I nearly fell off my chair! I could not believe the improvement after only one dose of medicines.
The second was a lady who was brought to the clinic in a car, a sign of being from a family of influence. She had been to hospitals in Kabul and was told they couldn't help. She was suffering from end-stage heart failure. It is likely a damaged heart valve from rheumatic fever had caused her massive heart enlargement. She had an irregular heartbeat and had suffered a stroke with paralysis on one side of her body. She was wasted and weak, with fluid in her lungs and belly. Carefully weighing the risks versus benefits of any drugs we might give her, we gave antibiotics, fluid pills, a medicine to regulate the heart rate, and aspirin to help prevent further strokes. Feeling the situation was quite hopeless and the help we could offer was inadequate, we asked if we could pray for her and she readily agreed.
The following week as we attended a meeting with village elders to discuss the clinic results (in an effort to identify and prevent some diseases), a man walked up with a medicine bag containing four pills and asked if he could have more "for the lady we saw last week." Since we had seen over 400 women, we were a bit baffled at first, but then I took a guess, "Do you mean the lady in the car?" He smiled and said, "Yes! She is feeling so much better now. She is strong now. Can she have more of this medicine?" With a whispered, "Praise God!", I opened my black box and gave him every tablet I had of those four medicines along with prescriptions to get more medicines in town later on.
Medical science as we know it cannot fully explain these two cases. I can only give God the credit for the healing they experienced.
Here are some further 'snapshots' related by Suzie when she returned to Nairobi:
2. She specialized in the care of kids during rural clinic visits. As soon as they set up "clinic" (in a bombed-out building), Suzie said, "I feel right at home!" (Rural countryside doctoring in a developing country with an unfamiliar language and culture are right up her alley now!)
3. When she asked the Moms who brought their kids if she could pray for them after her exam and medical evaluation, the mothers just beamed and seemed so grateful. Contrary to expectations, people were very open to having a Christian pray for God's blessing on them. They view Christians as "People of the Book", that is, religious people who follow the Bible and it's teachings. Of course, they feel that their holy book, the Koran, is a superior revelation from God. (Similar to the way Christians view the Hebrew Scriptures which we call the Old Testament.) The point is that the Afghans Suzie and her team encountered respected them even more when they learned they were Christians rather than people who do not believe in God or profess faith. Being a Christian was viewed as a point of similarity since Afghans see Christians as sharing their concern for living moral lives with respect to God's plan for how people live.
4. There are MANY points of similarity between rural Maasai and rural Afghans.
GRATITUDE: The people were very grateful for the medical assistance brought by their team.
HOSPITALITY: Village elders hosted lunch each day, and they put out their finest foods for the American visitors to feast. They even extended hospitality to the point of inviting the group members to spend a night in their homes during future visits.
ATTITUDES TOWARD WOMEN: Women have lived in fear for a long time under the Taliban. Some still shake in fear if they are in the presence of a man... even a very friendly American doctor or dentist.
MODESTY: Suzie said that their group also gained respect and acceptance by adopting appropriate modesty in the way they dressed wearing long baggy pants with a long-sleeved baggy shirt that extended beyond their knees. The Afghan women were so grateful to have a woman doctor. Their health care has been sorely lacking in recent years.
5. Christians from different countries and many branches of the Body of Christ are combining efforts to meet the incredible human needs in Afghanistan. Southeast Christian Church has a long-term commitment to assist Afghans in re-establishing their health care system in and around Kabul. They have asked Suzie and Dave to get involved in laying a solid groundwork for their involvement (along with many other experienced Christian medical workers).
6. Sometime in September or early October, they have asked Suzie and Dave to return and attend a USAID conference with Russ & Jane Summay. We will present this opportunity to our team later this month and seek CMF's approval to participate in this manner. We ask for your prayers for wisdom and guidance as we apply lessons learned in Maasai medical ministry where appropriate. We certainly do not consider ourselves "experts," but we do have to acknowledge that God has taught us a lot in the past 10 years.
7. We do not want to minimize the relative "instability" of this region but we do notice that the media tends to exploit each act of violence throughout the world in order to present "gripping" stories. The realities are often quite different for those who live and work overseas. If I based my sole opinion of Chicago (my hometown) based on the Tribune, I would have an incomplete picture overlooking the many God-fearing people who live out their faith in their families and communities.
8. Christians of all backgrounds gather on Fridays to worship... quietly on the Muslim holy day. The only sign on the international church building is a "fish" symbol. When they sing, someone shuts all the windows so that neighbors are not offended or make an official complaint to the authorities. Kids even attend a "Friday School" class! (sounds strange to our ears) Afghan believers are few and far between. They have to keep their faith in Christ very quiet, but they are there... like a mustard seed putting down roots... preparing to grow and prosper. Thank you for your prayers for Suzie and her team as they served our Lord in Afghanistan. This is a country in desperate need of the healing power of Christ in a physical, spiritual, and national sense. Pray that the Lord will continue to raise up workers who are willing to take the risk and serve Him in this land. Thank you also to those who have sent gifts to cover the cost of the duffle bag of medicines Suzie brou! ght with her on this trip.
|
Thank you for your faithful support of our family and ministry,
|
New Address:
|
