Merry Christmas from the Hofman Family

Merry Christmas from the Hofman‘s! For those of you that weren’t sure, we’re still here at Bongolo hospital in Gabon, Africa. We’ve been here since 2009. My how time flies! Wendy continues to care for patients at the eye clinic, performing eye surgeries and teaching others to do the same. Eric is helping with finances and administration. And Esther (10), Eli (9), and Hannah (6) are growing, learning, making us laugh, and making us long for time to pass more slowly.

The other day, Esther said to us “why don’t we celebrate Jesus‘s birthday like we celebrate other birthdays? For other birthdays, we celebrate a person’s life and who they are, but for Jesus, we mainly focus on when and how He was born.” This was a very interesting question which made us think. Maybe we should spend more time at Christmas talking with Jesus, thanking Him for what He’s meant to us and the part He’s played in our lives. We can reflect on times He has made us smile or been with us when we cried. And we can look forward to Him being part of our lives this next year.

Merry Christmas with love!

Eric, Wendy, Esther, Eli, and Hannah

Recent Clinic Patients

Mama Mélodie

Meet Mama Mélodie. She’s a 55-year-old woman from the capital city of Gabon. She was blind in both eyes from cataracts, and went to several different clinics there but was told cataract surgery would be $2,000. She was despairing, but then heard that at Bongolo the cost was less than a 10th of that amount. She had surgery and now can see. She testifies that God is here, that his presence is here and that truth is here. Immanuel - God with us - a perfect testimony for Christmas!

Suzanne

This is a recent eye clinic patient named Suzanne. She is a 63 year old widow. After she went blind, her husband died and her children abandoned her. She couldn’t get to church anymore because of blindness, and in depression she also fell away from God. She was living alone in her own personal darkness in a remote village, eating ants in her food because she couldn’t see them to tell they were there beforehand. Then she came to Bongolo, had cataract surgery, and now she can see well again! Plus she can work, eat without ants, and go to church. Praise God for changed lives! We are blessed to be able to help widows.