Isaiah 26:3

I am familiar with the "Do Not Worry" passages of the of the gospels, but I forgot about this encouraging verse from Isaiah.  "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."  Lately, I have been more intentional quieting my spirit-man and fixating my gaze on Him through all the craziness that has been residency...and now through a tumultuousness time that is this new adventure and transition to Cameroon. Despite all that has to happen yet, I know my God is completely in control even though I may not be...and I am becoming more and more comfortable with that idea.  There is ABSOLUTELY, HANDS DOWN no better place to be than resting in the will of my Father.

While our residency graduation celebration happened exactly 1 week ago today, I am under contract until June 30 and am working nights up until the very end of June.  Thus, while for all intents and purposes, I am 'finished', I technically have another week left.  I think everything will be much more real as I'm driving east with El Paso in my rear-view...a bittersweet time indeed.  I have been so blessed by my Rio (church family) and my awesome colleagues and faculty from the hospital...gonna also miss the 300+ days of sunshine and the beautiful Southwest in general, but by far, the magic in any place is the amazing people God places in our lives to challenge, befriend, sharpen, encourage, and love.

I am planning to start my massive road trip east on the morning of July 1.  I have friends in OK, AR, all across TN, KY, OH and SC that I am planning to visit along the way (you know who you are and I CANNOT WAIT for our reunion!!!) My orientation with Samaritan's Purse/World Medical Mission will be July 20-30 in Boone, NC, then will be back in PA sometime early August.  I will be living back in my childhood home with Mom and Dad through October as I am preparing for my pediatric board exam, which I take Oct 18.  I will depart probably a week after taking the examination.  Target date of departure is Oct 24.
While I am excited to reconnect with old friends and family as I make my way east coast, for those of you in El Paso who I leave behind, you have forever touched my life, a transformative force that God has used to shape me these past 3 years. I could never forget you and will always remember this time with a smile and a warm heart.  This will not be a final farewell, more like a 'see you next time.'

With that, I leave you with my residency batch, my friends for life, amazing pediatricians, and just all around awesome brothers and sisters.  It's been an incredible honor y'all!

El Paso Children's PGY-3 Residency Retreat, May 2016.  The Cabin in Ruidoso, NM

Have a God-filled week ahead
~Glenn

Just checking in...

I did some work revamping my blog.  I was unaware that there was no way for you all to subscribe to my blog via email like I had thought (and as I encouraged you to do in prior correspondence).  Now that problem is fixed, so please follow me and get email updates anytime I make a new post!

Hope you all are having a great weekend.

~Glenn

man no be god

I found a book on Amazon (4 bucks if you download to kindle) by Dieter Lemke entitled man no be god.  It's a relatively quick read and is about a Canadian doctor who worked with the North American Baptist Conference at Banso Baptist and Mbingo Baptist Hospital (my future place of service) during the 2nd half of the 20th century.  I'm sure a lot has changed since his retirement back to Alberta but his insights regarding what his practice looked like and the cultural barriers/taboos he had to grapple with is quite fascinating.  It is helping me with context for when I arrive this upcoming October, and I am sure it will help you all better understand what I'm stepping into as well.  Enjoy if you have the time and/or interest.

Warmest regards this blustery January morn

~Glenn

If two of you agree...so shall it be done.

James 5:16 KJV  "...the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."  I am never more enthralled by this promise as when I ponder it's enactment in God's dealing with Abraham concerning Sodom and Gomorrah and regarding Lot's plight (Genesis 18) And the Bible is filled with similar stories. The conversation between Abraham and the Lord is such an incredible interaction reiterating how we can impress God's heart with our prayers and petitions because of how He cares for us. Who are we that He is mindful of us!?! And can I really ask such questions knowing fully well that Jesus gave up everything to free us vile, destitute sinners.  Alas, Christ did just that, so how can I ever question His awesome love especially when approaching his throne room in prayer?

So, yes, above all, I want your faithful prayers to be covering me in Mbingo Baptist Hospital.  I want to be the most effective pediatrician and ambassador of Christ that I can be (as I press into the Great Physician), and I want my successes to be His glory.  I want to be filled to overflowing with His Spirit that rivers of living water will continually flow from my heart (John 7: 38) that I may be an absolute blessing to the people at Mbingo, both to my colleagues and staff as well as the patients.  We are called to be servants as Christ was a servant, and may I never forget this during my time in Cameroon (or my time as a doctor in general).  My prayer is that there would be awesome unity among the missional community and hospital staff, that outsiders would see we are Christians because of our Christ-like love for one another.  I want to never lose my expectations of the BIG God that I serve, expectations of His miraculous healing and provision, no matter how impossible the circumstances might seem.
And I am sure I can think of a thousand other requests, but this is at least a start...

I would be lying if I told you that I didn't have fears and reservations regarding this opportunity to Cameroon.  Firstly, did I learn all I needed to learn in these 3 short years of residency to make it as a pediatrician, to serve my patients well, above all else do no harm?  How will my US training translate into central west Africa where the diseases and patient population are far different from anything I've dealt with in El Paso TX?  How will I adjust to being one of the only pediatricians in a sizeable community without outside coverage and what will the life-work balance look like? (There is no 80hr/wk max average limit as is the custom in residency training.)  And then I am reminded of Luke 12 and the famous passage about laying down anxieties...

As I referenced in my previous post, World Medical Mission has sent me prayer magnets that I am preparing to drop in the mail so that you all can have a reminder to pray for me and all that God is doing at Mbingo Baptist Hospital.
Again, thank you for your support, and as always I will keep you posted on developments as I approach final departure.  

Thank you for visiting my blog!

One of my first trips to Africa:  Lwazi Orphanage, Mityana UG.

This is just a test post.  If you wandered here to view my updates from Cameroon, you are in the right place.  I covet your prayers and support as we pursue God's work together.

Just a quick reminder, if you are interested in getting a hold of your own copy of On Call, WMM's quarterly update from their doctors around the world, you can download the latest pdf version here: http://www.samaritanspurse.org/medical/on-call-newsletter/ or email them your inquiry here: http://www.samaritanspurse.org/medical/contact-wmm/

Also, more information about Mbingo Baptist Hospital can be found at:   http://www.samaritanspurse.org/view-all/medical/mission-hospitals/

Again, a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! And please don't be shy about reaching out to me if you have any questions, want to offer a word of encouragement, or just want to catch-up and reconnect!

Appreciate you all!

Warmest regards,
Glenn