7/30/2019 Letter March 2012

1/4

Dear CERT family,

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief taxcollector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of thecrowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at

your house today. So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began tomutter, He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor,and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount. Jesus said to him, Today

salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek andto save what was lost. Luke 19:1-9

Jesus changedZacchaeus world, fulfilling His purpose ... one life at a time. And in his resurrection power, Hecommands each of His followers to do the same. Matthew 28:18-20

This is why CERT exists, in His resurrection power our purpose is to ... GO and CHANGETHE WORLD. With

your prayers and support, CERT changes lives around the world as an instrument of Jesus Christ.

We recently had a medical team return from Nyeri, Kenya. In this letter, I want to share some details and stories of

this mission. As you read, please ponder between the lines the abundance of love along the way and

consider how every life was changed/touched ... by His purpose.

It took the team approximately 57 hours to travel the 8800 miles to the town of Nyeri, Kenya. Nyeri is home toroughly 100,000 residents, located 100 miles north of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. The team partnered with a local

church serving in a remote health care clinic, a local childrens home and surrounding community churches.

The 14 member team provided free medical, dental and eye care to 100s of Kenyans with multiple needs. All of the

services, medical supplies, dental care and eyeglasses were provided free by CERT through your support.

JESUS ... CHANGINGOUR WORLD

The crowds were very large in Nyeri, averaging 400-500 per day. As hard as the team worked we could only serve about 30day and many were asked to return the next day. One of the most difficult aspects of clinic ministry is having to say no mor shutting the door. I AM so grateful God does not shut the door on us. God is faithful, after referring patients to the next

day, most every day ... on the last clinic day every patient was treated! Thank you Lord

March 25, 2012

7/30/2019 Letter March 2012

2/4

GODS TEAM CONDUCTED SEVEN DAYS OF CLINICS IN FIVE

DIFFERENT LOCATIONS. FOLLOWING ARE CLINIC TOTALS:

1346 people received free medical care

1916 total patients seen

284 people received free dental care

255 teeth were extracted

82 teeth were restored64 dental patients received cleanings

262 received reading glasses

4512prescriptions were filled at no charge

60.5 hours of clinic time

1000 toothbrushes were given outNumerous candies, stickers, toys, coloring

books and crayons were handed out

100s heard gospel presentations

7 new believers asked Jesus to be their Lord and Savior

CERT dentists, Dr. Darryl Smith and Dr. Bru

Lau tag team a critical need in a young patien

For almost forty years CERT has been organizing and leading medical missions unto all the world, in the resurrection poweof Jesus Christ. As we go ... Jesus reveals His love and compassion to those we serve. There are many Spirit filled momenton our trips, like the following one:

On the fourth day of clinics in the village of Githima, the Lord led me to Virginia, an eight year old girl with hurting eyeWhen I first saw her, it was her red, saturated eyes that consumed my attention. I did not know that the Spirit in me was

seeing the deeper hurt inside. While waiting with Virginia to see the doctor, her grandmother told us she had just

lost her mother and Virginia was now an orphan like so many African children.

After receiving treatment from our pediatric doctor, I walked Virginia around and introduced her to all the team. She heldmy hand tightly and would only turn loose to hug team members. God used Virginia to show us how deeply He loves

His little children, each of us broken for this precious little girl.

Pediatrician, Dr. Shirley Lau has been on multiple medical missions caring for children in many different countries. This dashe told me that the Kenyan children were sicker than in other place she had served. In that moment ... I realized the absenof children running around the clinics laughing and playing was because they were all sick and hurting. This is why God

brought us here!

This is Virginia, her mom passed away a few days

before this picture was taken. Now she is an

orphan like so many African children.

Pediatrician Dr. Shirley Lau, said the children of Kenya we

sicker than those of any other country where she has serve

7/30/2019 Letter March 2012

3/4

Though there are many Christ followers in Kenya, the povertyand needs of the people are great as they continue to recover

from AIDS, political wars and unrest. It is often the childrenthat get left behind. We partnered with a local church to pro-vide professional health care to needy children living at two

different childrens homes, Tumaini Childrens home andHuruma, a special-needs orphanage spawned from Tumaini.

Both of these projects were founded by the local church andare home to roughly 200 children. It all started as a feeding

program and in a short time the homes have expanded to in-clude computer and sewing classes, a health care clinic and

they are currently constructing a vocational building.

This new mission was put into motion with some longstandingCERT family and supporters. With spiritual hindsight weknow that God wanted CERT in Nyeri and we are making

plans to return next January. Meeting the needs of His childrenbeing one of the main reasons. Especially the children from the

homes, whose lives and actions reflected Jesus.

One of our team members shared a special story about her

interaction with an older boy at Tumaini, his name is Samuel.Samuel arrived late to the clinic as his farming responsibilities

demanded his morning time. Samuel really wanted a pair ofglasses, but there were none left. After hearing this, Samuelswords revealed the heart of the Tumaini children, Even if

you have no glasses for me, it does not matter, on behalf

of all Kenya we thank you for all you have done.

No wonder Samuel was placed in a leadership position, teach-ing and training younger boys responsibility, showing them

how to care for the farm animals. The Tumaini children reflectthe love of Christ because they receive it daily and are being

trained in His Word. One of our doctors even commented thatthe Tumaini children behaved better than most of the adults.

One of the saddest aspects of this ministry is that there is roomin the two homes for 200 additional children, but no finances to

cover the additional costs. We spent a few hours in the town ofNyeri and personally witnessed many children begging in

the streets, needing a home like Tumaini.

Please pray with us for wisdom and discernment. With your

financial giving we meet many desperate needs monthly, wereceive additional requests weekly and yet we know that

taking care of children, especially orphans is one of ourhighest priorities. James 1:27

Tumaini Childrens Home Children of Tumaini

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in

their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27

7/30/2019 Letter March 2012

4/4

Our partnership with the local church was brought about by an alliance with The Sugarbaker Memorial Clinic (SMC).

The clinic was founded on a younger Sugarbaker who died of cancer while studying pediatric medicine. His uncle

and dad, both doctors ... carried on the young Sugarbakers dream, both now deceased ... His vision lives on.

After hearing the legacy of SMC, we better understand the Power experienced working and sleeping on holy ground.We often say, people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. The locals experienceJesus love due to the loving actions of the Sugarbakers. God changes the world through the lives of his children!

Not only do CERT team members pay thousands of dollars to go, please allow me to share some physical sacrifices paidby this team . After three days of travel, crossing eight time zones just to get there, the team immediately burrowed intomeetings with the locals, organized the pharmacy and at 10:00 pm had all in place for the start of the next days clinic.

For the next six days, breakfast and morning devotions began at 7:00 am, clinics ran from 85, some days longer. The

crowds were so large the team worked with few breaks, usually just one brief lunch. Its always difficult shutting thedoors, turning people away ... asking them to return tomorrow to another location. Knowing this, the team labored re-

lentlessly ... treating all humanly possible, averaging close to 300 patients a day.

Having hosted other missionary groups the locals had witnessed foreign care before, but in their words not like this.Nationals often describe CERT teams as different. After working six straight days of clinics, Shelmith, the SMC

manager expressed this difference to me, I have never worked so hard as I have this week, but I have seen thefruit, its been very successful. We shared a laugh in this humbling moment.

Ms. Eve Tolley, a Sugarbaker daughter who is seeing the vision through, visited Nyeri shortly after our team departed.We spoke on the phone after she returned home. She reigned with joy about the impact our team had made. They havehosted several medical teams in the past but none had touched hearts like ours.

After conversing with many of the locals, Ms. Eve said, everyone was made to feel like they mattered, because they

were treated with love and respect. Stating that no matter how small their problems were, they felt that they

received genuine care, elevating their self respect. Something they rarely receive from their own. Eve was mostgrateful that SMC staff was able to serve along-side our CERT team and witness authentic Christian care.

JESUS MAKES US DIFFERENT! JESUS IS THE WORLD CHANGER! Soon, we will celebrate the day of Hisresurrection. Please ponder what more you can do to help your ministry, through CERT ... CHANGE THE WORLD.

January through March are always three difficult financial months at CERT. But just as Jesus was laid in a tomb ... on

the THIRD DAY HE AROSE TO CHANGE THE WORLD .... FOREVER.

PRAYERFULLY SEND YOUR BEST THIRD DAYGIFT ... TODAY

CHANGING OUR WORLD ... ONE LIFE AT A TIME ...

Thank you,

Bruce Rainwater

CERT Staff

Dear friends of CERT, we need your prayers and financial support. Pleas for help have come from Af-ghanistan due to their most severe winter on record, hundreds of poor adults and children have died fromexposure. The same cries come from Romania, where many there have also frozen to death. We just had ateam return from Perus Amazon, where 25 family dwellings were destroyed by floods in the village of BocaManu, where we have a strong church plant. Your gift in whatever amount is greatly appreciated.

SUGARBAKER MEMORIAL CLINIC

P.O. Box 763Crossville, TN 38557Ph. 931-707-9328Fax 931-707-9406 E-Mail cert@certinternational.orgWeb Site: www.certinternational.or

mailto:cert@certinternational.orghttp://www.certinternational.org/http://www.certinternational.org/mailto:cert@certinternational.org