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Randy

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1 reviews

Review for CURE International, Inc., Grand Rapids, MI, USA

Rating: 5 stars  

It has been my privilege over the past 5 years to lead 3 teams that included high functioning special needs adults to serve with CURE at its hospital in Kijabe Kenya, as well as a 4th trip with my daughter who studies for a semester at a college in Kenya. She was much influenced by her experience as a member of our missions teams. The beauty of each trip was observing, guiding, and working along side our disabled team members as they interacted with the hospital staff and patients, relating to them personally, sharing their own stories and encouraging each other. Our teams have formed eternal bonds with many patients and the tremendous staff there, especially the Spiritual Leader Christine Kithome and her associate Pastor Joseph, who we sometimes call my "twin" as we see so many issues identically. when I've been speaking and Joseph translates, often he can finish my sentences in english and then put them into Kiswahili! The team members continue to pray for our Kenyan sisters and brothers, support one of the staff. Even though I have moved on to another place of service, I remain in touch with my Kenya friends and hope to reunite again in the not-so-distant future. They are part of our lives and indeed our Spiritual family. They have blessed us with spiritual refreshment. Kenya staff told us that many of their fellow citizens have the impression that Americans are free from problems, disabilities, and illness or that our national wealth and resources have overcome such things. We show them that this is not the case, that we are indeed facing many of these issues for which there are no easy solutions, that we're in this together before the Lord.

I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...

Seeing how God used these trips in the lives of my daughter and also our disabled team-mates, even those from our former group who did not travel to Kenya but took part by prayer, support, material donations, and getting to meet Christine on her US visits.

If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...

Encourage as many Spiritual ministry teams to visit and participate as medical - as they carry back experiences like ours to churches, form long sustaining relationships with national staff and patients, develop prayer bonds and support, and minister to the patients.

Role:  Volunteer & Spoke in the hospital wards and at a local church; helped my disabled team mates articulate their stories to the patients; organized the trips and shepherded them.