"Act, and God will act."
St. Joan of Arc
At first glance, it’s easy to underestimate Mbingo.
It’s surrounded by beautiful mountains, green hills, and distant waterfalls.
And somehow, there’s a 300-bed hospital wedged into it all. The mission compound is huge. There are homes for all the members of the nursing and hospital staff. There are primary and secondary schools for their children. There’s even an old unused grass-covered airstrip at the perimeter.
It is a referral center and a training center. There are residency training programs in Internal
Medicine and General Surgery. There are specialist surgeons in Orthopedics, ENT and Pediatrics.
There are training programs in Physical Therapy and Laboratory Technology.
In 2017, they installed a CT scanner. Presently, they are constructing a linear accelerator for radiation therapy to treat cancer. It’s quite a place. Hiking in the local hills at 4500- 5000 feet is the favorite extra-curricular activity.
Inspirational returning physicians
People like coming to Mbingo. Many physicians keep coming back each year, each selflessly adding their expertise. There’s the Chief of ENT at Mt. Sinai in New York City; a Head and Neck Surgeon from Johns Hopkins in Baltimore; and a Chief of General Surgery at St. Luke’s in Philadelphia. All of them will bring along their wives and young residents in training. From Canada, comes an Emergency Medicine physician who has been coming for the last 10 years. An Ontario Gynecology-Oncologist comes twice a year. The list goes on, with physicians from Oregon and Minneapolis too. And I must mention the ‘long-term’ medical volunteers, who really help keep the place running. They come from the USA, Canada and Australia. It is quite inspiring to see and to be a part of. Go to the missions and meet the world!
The residency training programs
Mbingo produces good physicians. More and more of them are taking charge of the hospital care and administration. It’s exactly what should be happening. It is wonderful to see the camaraderie and spirit among them. They are much like the residents that I’ve trained in the USA. They are the light of Africa’s future. That’s why it’s so important to help them.
The amenities
Even though it looks like one is far from everything, the accommodations are good. I’ve even had my own washing machine and refrigerator. The Cameroon Baptist Convention (CBC) is well organized. Mbingo Baptist has come a long way from its beginnings 70 years ago as a Leprosy Hospital.
I love them. The sounds of Mbingo are the songs and trilling of the beautiful yellow breasted weaver birds, who seem to live in most of the trees around campus. They are everywhere and quite tame. Walking around, I try to give them space as they hop around the small market area within the hospital grounds, looking for food.
The Goats do NOT rule
Agriculture is the main economic activity here. Farming is always going on somewhere, even on campus. The maverick out-of-control goats who go into the fields and eat the crops of the local farmers are not appreciated. Evidence of that is seen in this message went out on the mission community bulletin board:
“Greetings dear colleagues,
We are calling on all of us who have goats or know someone with stray goats to constrain them or the goats shall be caught and auctioned.
By Tuesday March 21, 2023, if your goat is found straying,
we will catch it and slaughter it for you.
Let the information be spread to the people not in this forum.”
The community bulletin board of WhatsApp
WhatsApp is used for communication in the form of a community bulletin board among the Mbingo missionary volunteers both near and far. People share and keep up with their daily struggles and worries. We hear about the health of the missionaries themselves and of their elderly parents back home. Sometimes, missionaries return home. I felt their closeness and felt part of this wonderful community of good people.
Singing at Worship Services
Song is very much a part of all African Christian worship. They say that if you sing, you pray twice.
I’m not very good at it, but the Africans sure are. Their harmonizing and their side-to-side dance movements during services are something that we all could sure use back home. I guess I should stop being so self-conscious and just go for it like the Africans do.
The Cameroonian Civil War and the “Mbingo Bubble”
What spoils all of this is a chronic smoldering civil conflict in the background. Its origins can be traced back to the end of World War I when Cameroon was a German colony. When Germany was defeated, France and England split Cameroon between themselves, creating a French-speaking section and an English-speaking section. That flawed setup has led to today’s fighting. The English-speaking section wants independence. They want to call their new country “Ambazonia”. Thus, their small, scattered guerilla forces are called the “Amba” or “the boys”. They are loosely controlled. They do what they can to disrupt the province, occasionally closing roads, and extorting ‘ransom’ money from road travelers. Most local people seem tired of the whole business.
Still, the hospital, its volunteers, and staff are safe. It is a protected space because it serves everyone (the Mbingo bubble). Visiting physicians are safe because they generally rarely leave the hospital compound while on mission. Life goes on and the common people still make their way to the hospital for help, though in fewer numbers than 10 years ago.
I’m learning to be less envious and jealous of others.
Instead, I’m learning to marvel at other’s successes. I’m learning to appreciate how God’s power is working through them. But I shouldn’t worry or be bothered about what God’s plans are for others.
It’s none of my business. It’s all between them and God.
God has His plan for me. And that’s enough. It’s up to me to focus on that. I need to take a deep breath and just trust Him. And then run as hard as I can in the direction that He’s laid out.
Then I will be doing what I was made for. And it will be good. God knows what He’s doing.
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