April 2019 Newsletter

LOVE. SERVE. UNITE. EQUIP

CMANA

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A BLESSED 2018 Blessed! As we reflected back on God’s work with us in the CMANA Missions Committee in 2018, we came to the realization of the sheer amount of blessings that God has showered upon us. The only image that could come to our minds is one of an open door, where God has allowed us to serve Him through many patients, clinics and hospitals. We have been blessed in 2018 to have conducted a total of 12 Missions, 8 Medical Missions and 4 CMANA HealthED missions. Our Medical Missions have spanned countries such as Ethiopia, Namibia, Egypt, Bolivia, and Haiti. The new addition for 2018 was Zambia. We had the blessings of more than 250 missionaries of various specialties including Medicine, Pediatrics, General Surgery, Anesthesia, Ophthalmology, Urology, E.N.T., Orthopedics, Obstetrics, Gastroenterology, Interventional Pain Management, Interventional Cardiology, Nephrology, Oncology and many more.

Additionally, we have developed more extensive services in Dentistry, Dental Surgery, Physical and Occupational Therapy. The involvement of our nurses has also been a notable addition to the spectrum of care for CMANA Medical Missions. Our Pharmacy team has secured medications and supplies for our trips and mission sites worth more than $1,000,000.

While numerous students have participated in the CMANA Medical Missions, it was their leadership and role in the HealthED trips that has made 2018 a milestone year for the organization. In the summer of 2018, 4 HealthED trips were conducted to Egypt (in partnership with Take Heart and Coptic Orphans), Namibia and Bolivia. Through the service of our students in Health Education, we have been bridging our care as an organization from treatment to prevention.

As we embark on the New Year, we are excited to announce a full schedule for Medical and HealthED trips for 2019. Our prayers and hope that all of you as members of CMANA would pledge ONE week of service during the year.

Even if this week would not fit in with the scheduled trips, please contact us and we will do our best to find you an opportunity to serve.

IN PAIN THERE IS HOPE

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BRAD SMITH

I recently had the opportunity to attend a retreat for wounded veterans. Many of those present had visible signs of their injuries—missing limbs, scars, and burns. Regardless of whether their injuries were apparent or not, it was clear that all of them carried some sort of trauma.

The speakers and participants were all veterans of combat. Many of them were guarded and cynical of healthcare professionals, clergy, laymen, and even family whom they felt could never fully understand their struggles. Many, who had spent years fighting external threats, didn’t know where to begin fighting their own inner demons.

One of the speakers compared his time at Bethesda Hospital to the paralytic at the pool of the same name. Like the paralytic, he was asked a simple question which infuriated him: do you want to be healed? He admits the question angered him because, at the time, the answer was no. He spoke of the trap that he and many others fall into when feeling their pain is so exceptional or insurmountable that they are beyond understood— much less healed—regardless of the source of their pain.

He told us, as a medic, that he often gave aid to those who were unable to have any part in their own healing. But, especially with spiritual, mental, and emotional injuries, he reminded the group that our agency is essential in being made well. He left us again with a final question to continually ask each other, and ourselves: do you want to be healed?

UNITED THROUGH CHRIST One of the things most compelling things to me about CMANA is its commitment to bringing together individuals of different strengths, abilities, backgrounds, and experiences to benefit the world around us. This time of year I am especially reminded of how God also brings us together, in spite of our differences.

I consider how Christ’s arrival brought together both rich and poor, educated and illiterate, local residents of Bethlehem and those who had to follow stars to bear witness to God becoming incarnate on earth. I am humbled that God looked to all of us, regardless of background or power, to be balms to the world. At the risk of stretching a metaphor, as Christ’s arrival signaled a shift in how man interacted with the divine—bringing what once seemed inaccessible down to earth—I think the growing movement that CMANA is a part of similarly brings what seems out of reach to a more accessible level.

Whether it be connecting healthcare professionals to mission trip opportunities that provide services to those that otherwise would not have them, providing mentorship to newcomers, or providing an accessible resource for those who may be intimidated by anything concerning the word "health", CMANA strives to align their mission with this spirit of accessibility. For me, remembering the Incarnation is not only cause for celebration and reverence, but a reminder that God gave us all the privilege to continue fostering the same spirit that brought together Jews and Gentiles, lepers and doctors, the ordinary to the extraordinary—the divine to earth.

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A REMINDER THAT GOD GAVE US ALL THE PRIVILEGE TO CONTINUE FOSTERING THE SAME SPIRIT THAT BROUGHT TOGETHER JEWS AND GENTILES, LEPERS AND DOCTORS, THE ORDINARY TO THE EXTRAORDINARY— THE DIVINE TO EARTH. BRAD SMITH

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CMANA GALA OVERVIEW On October 20, 2018, CMANA hosted our first annual gala to raise money for the many upcoming medical mission trips. The gala, attended by 155 guests, was hosted at the elegant Renaissance Newark Hotel in Newark, New Jersey. Our goal was to raise $50,000 towards these medical mission trips, and by the grace of God and the generosity of the many members and supporters of CMANA, we were able to raise almost double that amount $90,000.

The gala exceeded all expectations as it acted not only as a fundraising event, but also as a chance for the attendees to learn more about the CMANA mission, and get to know each other as well.

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During the gala, Dr. Hani Ashamalla, the president of CMANA gave an introductory speech to inform about the history and the mission of our organization. A financial report was presented by Dr. Ayman Iskander, our treasurer.

Dr. Michael Karass, a board member on behalf of the student chapter, gave a summary on its activities and growth. Dr. George Tadros spoke about past medical missions and their success.

Our guest, Mrs. Suzy Bruke-Myers, from Seattle, Washington, was honored for her great generosity in the past years in supporting and funding the cardiac center in St. Takla hospital in Alexandria, Egypt. All in attendance enjoyed a nice meal, and the entertainment of a Haitian dance group. Altogether, the CMANA gala was a great success and we are so grateful to God and the attendees for helping to support our mission to spread God’s love around the world.

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BREATH IN A BOTTLE Imagine you’re a doctor working in a clinic, seeing a patient for a routine checkup. In walks the nurse, visibly worried. “Doctor come quick,” she says, “we have a one year old struggling to breath.” You go to see him, and you notice it right away: fatigue, laboured and rapid breathing, nostrils flaring - the child is in acute respiratory distress! The medication is simple enough, a few puffs from an inhaler and the emergency should be curbed. The only problem is that this is a tiny clinic in Haiti, with limited resources and a significant language barrier. You have the inhaler, but without a device called a spacer, there is little use trying to give it to a crying 1 year old. With the limited time and resources, the child is in critical danger.

This is the story that happened a few months ago with one of our doctors. Through God’s grace, the doctor already had experience in this department from a previous mission. Within several minutes, and with only a few materials she had lying around, she and a colleague made a make-shift spacer, and the child was breathing normally again. Thanks to a brainstorming session on her previous mission in Bolivia, this doctor and a group of other professionals and students had come up with a prototype for a spacer to be used in resource-limited settings.

This prototype was simply made using a plastic bottle, balloon, box-cutter, and scissors! A few months later, on her trip to Haiti, she put the prototype to its first real-world test, saving the life of a 16 month old boy. The best part? It costs pennies to make, with materials people already have at home, regardless of where they live in the world! It’s amazing how God can work through us, the body of Christ, when we unite and work together, allowing the Holy Spirit to do extraordinary things, like save a life using a plastic bottle!

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2019 MISSION TRIPS ETHIOPIA

February 16th-23rd

NAMIBIA

February 23rd-March 2nd

II HAITI

ZAMBIA

May 19th-25th & October 19th-26th

June 22nd-29th

IV

BOLIVIA

July 13th-20th & August 24th-31st

V

EGYPT

VI

November 9th-16th

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Great News!

During the month of March 2019, CMANA will be launching a new CRM (Customer Relationship Management) to streamline and simplify the communication between CMANA and its valuable members. This new platform is expected to be simple, modern, and user-friendly. Members will have a login and password, and for the first time, will be able to search our database.

Membership renewal will be automated and payment and donation will be simplified. . There will an online forum to facilitate discussions.

A new calendar will showcase our events to facilitate registration and update our members of all events.

Alongside with the new CRM, we are planning to revamp and modernize our website to match the incredible growth of CMANA. We are confident you will find these new changes helpful and we would appreciate your patience as we transition to the new platform and would love to hear you constructive feedback. STAY TUNED

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