It was bittersweet to see Dr. Roger graduating from his ophthalmology residency here at Bongolo last week.  It is a great joy to see a new ophthalmologist who will be serving full-time here in Africa.  But we will sorely miss him and his family.  Dr. Roger and his family will be visiting family in Congo for the next few months, and then they will be moving to a hospital in Liberia (just a month ago, their sending organization changed their destination from Chad to Liberia). Dr. Bintou, Wendy’s new resident, has started her training, and she has been a joy to have around.

Wendy has transitioned back to life here in Gabon, and we are very thankful to be back in our normal routines together as a family.  This morning, she was appointed as the assistant medical director of the hospital, so that will likely be adding some additional responsibilities to her role as director of ophthalmology.  Eric is continuing in his role as assistant team leader in addition to his work with the hospital finances.

Next week, we will be having a team retreat here at Bongolo where we will be seeking God’s direction as we look at how this ministry began, where we are now, and where God is leading us.  This will be a good lead in for our team’s strategic review and Bongolo’s oversight committee meetings in early November.    

Here are our requests for the next couple of weeks:

• That God would prepare our hearts (and the hearts of our teammates) for what He would like to teach us during the retreat this next week
• Wisdom and strength as we seek to manage our many roles
• An ability to place this ministry in God’s hands (and not try to carry the burden ourselves)
• That our kids would know the unchanging love and presence of God in an ever-changing world

We continue to have urgent staffing needs at the hospital, especially in nursing and primary care.  Here is a link to a video explaining the need.  If you or someone you know might be interested in serving mid to long-term at Bongolo, please let us Hofmans know, and we will help you get connected with the right people – https://vimeo.com/718263386/00fa39ac9c.

By the way, our kids (and us adults, too) have really been enjoying all the books that were purchased in last year’s book drive.  Here is a video that our teacher put together to thank so many of you for providing books for our library: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OUrZrGmYWsHD4IrNVgNN-iT5A831wtf0/view?usp=sharing

Thanks for your prayers – have a great week!

Love,

Eric and Wendy