Dear friends, Jesus is in the middle of his work in Galilee. Resistance arises. Then his family comes and tries to interrupt him. They are genuinely worried about his and their own safety. They want to hide him from the public eye; however, Jesus rejects their offer and rebukes them, saying: “Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, sister and mother!” (Mt. 12- 46 – 50), a harsh word in times when family ties seem to be the most important support in life. Jesus calls on people to sometimes break with their own culture and concentrate on the kingdom of God here and now.
When Eckehart speaks to the hospital staff at Shell these days, he notices a calm and peace in the team, an end to the internal disputes, even though everything is certainly not yet ideal. This peace bears astonishing fruits:
The number of patients is slowly but steadily increasing, even if one or the other external doctors keeps reducing office hours. Family Medicine is more than ever the backbone of the hospital. All this even though the competition never sleeps; in the nearby provincial capital of Puyo, more private day clinics and private hospitals are being built. – The surgeons from Quito and our full-time surgeon Dr. Pupo have agreed on a sensible division of labor in which everyone works as a team. This happened without any external pressure, a mutually beneficial decision without any hard feelings. – The sewage problem has been solved and we can now be happy that we meet all government requirements and are “clean”, an important milestone.
The renovation of our international guest house is progressing. All rooms have beds. Our team is now working on the kitchen, laundry room and meeting room. The material for this is ready but a few funds are still missing for this. We are already encouraging foreign groups to register and plan future mission trips. The opening is planned for February 2025.
The purchase of the former radio station on the hospital grounds is also making progress. We still need $15,000, then the foundation will really own ALL the facilities and our monthly payments will be history!!!!!!! – After half a year of fear, worry, and many hard discussions, we now have a united team. The journey was worth it, because now we can get started on the next steps.
But, as always, there is also some bad news: – Ecuador is experiencing an economic downturn. Some of the emergency laws enacted to counter the drug cartel are still in effect. The government is fighting, but elections are coming up soon – a huge uncertainty. People are promising simple and quick solutions, like everywhere else in the world.
Environmental changes have also reached the Andean region. Our electricity system relies on hydroelectric power plants. But there is a lack of rain. It is estimated that the 14-hour power cuts will remain in place DAILY until around March 2025. And these cuts change at different times. Our employees sometimes get up at night to cook for the family or to do the laundry, as the kitchen stays cold during the day. This means a huge extra stress. Businesses suffer also.
For the hospital, this means around $1300/month in diesel for the generator. – Major bridges were also damaged in the last downpours and many still require repair. Conclusion: Patients from outside often have difficulty reaching us.
Our next big goal is to renovate the operating rooms. The Ministry of Health has set a deadline of the end of February 2025 to do this. It will cost around $25,000, but will come with a 10-year company guarantee. That is very important to us.
I started by mentioning how Jesus rejected his family. His disciples were now his brothers, sisters and mother. They proved their commitment with their ACTION. Our team has achieved this. It means a lot in a culture where family is valued above all else. The employees have become a new family and we pray that they continue to stick together. Thank you all as well for being our spiritual family members from afar.
THANK YOU.
The Shell Team
(Eckehart & Klaudia Wolff)
Donations: Lightway Medical Foundation Checks can be mailed there, or you can donate through the websites.
LightwayMedical.org/donations. www.HospitalShell.org
FRAUD ALERT
PS: When we last sent out our newsletter, some of you wrote to us saying that our account had been hacked and “someone” was asking for money in our name. This was, indeed, a SCAM and we have built security back in. Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your vigilance.
PO Box 8066
Fort Wayne, IN 46898