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Transcript of Hamilton Al Annette 2001 USA&World
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8/9/2019 Hamilton Al Annette 2001 USA&World
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Outneadk
JMeHnatianal
Sckr 72 iBethei, Mi^dowd 63434
^ ftjom
(660)284-6528 Sax: (660)284-6256
Reggie
Hundley, Dir.
Mission
Services, Inc.
Knox. n
Oct.
6,
2001
Dear Reggie:
Have appreciated your work and your words in Horizons, glad
to
see you
there.
May
the
Lord
be
praised
in all we
do
in His Name
as
co-workers
in
Him.-
Reggie, about 6 weeks ago, I had a friend come
to
me, who was seeking
out
my advice on service in a
project
in Africa. He is a ret. military
man, has
been teaching Bible at Dallas Christian College, and is a Harding University,
(Church
of
Christ) grad. He has
been
a
great
friend since my wife
and
I moved
down to Texas to help recruit for PBT. Anyway, I am sending you his
explanation
of our
meeting,
and
what transpired as a result. I
wanted
you
to
know our
plans,
you already know thei Scripture in Prov. 16:9 which states. A
man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. So in light of
that
fact, I
wanted you to be among
the
first
to
know that VOM (they will have a booth also
at the
NMC
booth no .
3 I
think) has invited me to work with the above
mentioned
friend. Dr. Mike Smith, on a project
of
Voice
of
the Martyrs in Sudan.
They
needed
a person to help develop
further
a Bible training school in
Southern Sudan, where they have taken on VOM a hospital project for
persecuted
(refugees) Christians. I
hope
to leave with Mike Smith
from
DFW
on Oct.
21,
Lord willing , jas. 4:15, coming up soon My responsibility will be
training chaplains for
the
hospital and training
preachers
for th e a rea
churches.
I think my office in Bethel,
here, daughter
Sonja, and my
son jonathan who
will
be taking
on
my other recruiting
responsibilities
will give you more info, as
time
goes
on
in
this
project. It is a
volunteer
basis, but
they
pay my way
over
to
the
field,
and
we
work as
a
team to provide needs
fo r
the
Christians
there
in
Sudan.
Hope I
can
get word
back
to Sonja and jonathan about other
developments, as God
provides.
Since we are
scheduled to
leave so soon, I
wanted
you to have some news
of this change for our
friends
and
churches who
have known us
thru the years,
and some of which support us in all of our mission ministry. We cannot
mention the area in south Sudan
where
this hospital is
located at
least not in
print) but it is near the Uganda, Kenya
border.
It is a big project, and a needy
one,
a great opportunity for us to serve in the
area
of
soul winning
and Bible
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training. 1will need some small amount of
support in the
field, but VOM
provides travel and accommodations for me.
My address will be
here
for
all correspondence
and
contact, through
Voice of The Martyrs P.O.Box
443 Bartlesville,
Okla. 74005 Ph. 918-337-8015.
c/o
Sudan
project.
Reggie, this is
something
Iwanted you to
share
in an issue of Horizons,
basically
the fact
of my work with a
team there, there
will be 2
doctors
an
MD
a
hospital
Admin, person and my self, these guys are all
very
well qualified
men,
all
ex-service or
ret.
service
men) with
great faith in the
Lord.,
their
wives
and mine will remain back here, in support
role,
and we
are
committed to one
year as
the Lord
leads with a break
of
2
weeks
every 3-4
months
to
return
to
wife
fam. etc) then go
back,
as work allows etc.
and
as Lord provides 1 Cor.
16:7 9 .
Please look
at the
material
I
am
sending
with
this
letter,
and
if
you
have
other questions call or contact Sonja at
the
convention at our booth) or VOM.
IJust
want
our churches to know the
following:
1. Funding
for my recruitment
services
to PBT
last
year,
were not available for
us
to continue, so
we
were my
wife
and I open to new avenue, of service.
2. The VOM project
directors
for
Sudan
were assured that God s work in my
ministry
qualified me for
the
need they had for
a
director of
a
Bible
Training school in their Sudan project.
3.
Since
VOM provides me and the other team members
2 Doctors,
and a
pilot)
with
transportation
exp.
and room
Board
in
the
field,
I
was
able
to
go Immediately to be
a
part of this ministry to persecuted Christians
in
Sudan.
, , ... .
4. Your prayers and that of the
brethren we know around
the
country
will
be
appreciated. More info can be
had
on VOM and this project, thru the
above
address
in Bartlesville, Ok.
Thanks, Reggie,
sorry
this
is
not
more detail, but
time
does
not allow me
to get with you, and be at the convention, Hope you will run some news as you
see
fit
so our friends
and possibly
support
helpers will be informed...
Yours
truly
Al
HamiltorCL^mew
address
for my wife and I- 905
Mc
Curry
Ave.
Bedford,
TX
76022 Ph. 817-355-9598. Fax. 817-355-0272.
e-mail: Jonathan.Hamlton
\nn^tban
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A Sudanese
Venture
with
God
and
Albert
by
Michael Jacoby
Smith Ph D
906 Tennison Drive, Euless, TX 76039 home/office phone817-354-1901
primary
email:
hesedhc@aoi com secondary phone 817-690-8891
ntroduc t ion
It was the hot Texas summer of two-thousand-one. By the end of July, seven months of
waiting
and wrangling
witli the National Center
for
Ethics. Veterans Health Administration
(VHA)
for a Healtii Scicntist/Bioethics
position
or service contract
came crashing to a
halt.
The flap
over an asthma research studv involving the VHA
and
Johns
Hopkins L nivcrsit\
s
Ba\ view iVIcdical Center gave the
VHA
cold
feet when
evervthing
went
sour as
a
medical
laboratory
technician, who
was a
non-asthmatic
24-year-old
healthy female volunteer subject,
suddenly
died
ofresearch
medication
complications. Investigators from
die
National Institutes ofHealth
(NIH). Bethesda,
MD,
discovered
man\
inappropriate protocols
and
safeguards
in
the
study,
and
this
influenced
the
VHA's
decision
notto fill this position andtouse NIH
health
scientists/bioethicists instead.
It was while in die quandaiy created by
this
vaporized work
opportunity
that Karen Haggard said. Daddv.
you
might want to consider Tlie
Voice
of
the
Martyrs (VOM) in Bartlesvillc. Oklahoma. They are looking for a
hospital administrator for
Southern Sudan,
which is
the
same place Bob
[her
husbandj visited
two vears
ago. It
was hard to tell whether she thought that this employanent opportunity and Iwould be agood
fit
or not. since Iwas
moping
around like a wounded
martyr,
orif
she
was trying to inform me
that life
could
be
worse orat least more
difficult,
which was a gende way
of
saying, Daddy, at least look on the bright side of life. Whatever
Karen's
reasons,
little
did
either
one
of
us
realize that
the
Holy
Spirit
was using
her to
communicate
God's
divine
desire for
the coming years in my life. Curiosity caused me
to
respond to VOM s internet ad that gave a
brief
paraaraph
about
this
non-salaried
volunteer
position
[emphasis added]. Thanks a bunch,
Karen,
a position
with no pay.
That
s
all
I
needed,
or
so
I thought.
My
guess was
that since the ad's first
line mentioned
that
a
medical doctor
with
healthcare
management
experience was being sought,
then obviously
VOM wouldn't want a non-physician
healthcare manager whose
clinical experience
at the
level
ofa
physician's
assistant (PA) is by now
inactive
for over
fifteen years Littledid I
know
Augus t 2 1
th e
First
onth
08-10-01Friday.
The neighborhood
was
quiet
at
0400 when
I
backed out
of
the driveway en route to Bartlesville,
Oklahoma, except for two cats three lawns down
the
hill that looked ready to pounce on each other. Was this a
day for cat-pouncmg?
I
wondered, but these
eats
were not worth
a
second thought. Interstate 35W north out
of
Fort Worth, Texas,
was light
in traffic
at this time of
the morning, and when the
sun rose at 0620. Norman,
Oklahoma,
was coming into
view.
It was good timing
that
made
driving
through Oklahoma City
and out
to the
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northeast turnpike
to Tulsa
a breeze before
rush-hour traffic and construetion
crews clogged
the
freewavs.
It
was
also
nice to
learn that the Midway Cafe in Bartlesville, which
I
had
eaten
at in years past, still serves
a
healthv
breakfast at
0930 Then
it
was
with a bit ofcurious reluctance that I
entered
the red
brick building
on the northeast
comer
of
Frank Phillips
Dewey
at 1050
A
meeting
scheduled for 1100 was
already
undcAvay
on
the
5th floor,
but thankililly
Jim
Dau kept a
chair vacant
at the
table and
near
die
door
which gave little
comfort to
mv buns or
disturbed spirit.
Tlie
meeting
focused
on
Dr
Bert
Oubrc s
assessment
report
of
the
hospital
in
Sudan
which
he
had
recently visited It
was
challenging
to
sit there and listen
in
silence while the closeness of the open
door kept
beckoning
me to excuse
myself politely,
get up leave
and
head back home Was I reallv
prepared
for
what I
was hearing
and contemplating ^ What in
the world has Karen
and God
gotten
me
into? Nevertheless
natural curiosity
caused
my
lingering longer
and die
more
that was heard
of
Dr Bert s soliloquy
and
Tom White s
responses the more
m\
mind circled around solutions to
problems
announced in his report The formal
meeting
ended and 1was escorted to
the
basement ofthe building
by
Nina and Corey. Had thev not been Christians. Iwould
have
thought.
Uli-oh
Now
what
are
they
going
to
do
with
me?
Was
this some
sort
of
shake
down
or
clandestine
interrogation.
My two-hour parking limit
was
over outside
on
the street, but when I announced this fact to diis
dubious duo, Corey said to give him my
keys and
he would ask
someone
to move
my van to
another spot so that
it
vvouldn
t be ticketed, and like an entrapped child 1handed over my keys, which I
never
do
even to the best of
friends. Again, my escape was
foiled
but somehow Nina made me feel
more
at ease
as
she began showing photos
of the Sudan,
hospital
complex
and
people. Corey was soon back in the basement office and we discussed
financial
stuff
for
awhile,
and then he took
me
back to the
fifth
floor for ameeting with Jim Dau.
It was
here
that
Jim and I were able to weigh each
other s
intentions, like the two cats seen in the wee hours of the morning, but
without hunched backs
and
hair standing
on end.
Surprisingly,
he
readily
accepted
the
Gideon-in-me as though
it
was anticipated and natural.
He
once again suggested that
a
brief visit to the hospital
site
in
a
few weeks
would be
worthwhile,
that my final decision could come afier that visit. This is where we cut off our corporate decision-
making,
and he took me
down
to
the main
floor
and
purchased a few
books on his
own account at the
VOM
bookstore
and asked me to
take
them home
especially for
the Haggard family The drive home was accompanied
by several
rain
showers that seemed to
clear
my mind by
moving
it
off the
day s
challenges and dialogue, but the
rains
seemed
to
sputter
out along
the
Red River, which often happens during this time ofthe year, while I puttered
on
home
to Euless,
Texas, arriving
by
2100 (notice
that
all
times
in this
journal
are
stated
in
universal
mean
or
military time .
08-11-01 Saturday.
Sleep came
and disappeared throughout the night due
to
VOM s
message
and
burden
of
the
persecuted
church in Southern Sudan, and
to the
long previous
day on the road,
and
I
was up
again at 0400.
Immediate
family
members were confi onted
with the weight ofmy
decision-to-be-made; God
at 0600,
mv
wife by
0800,
my
Dad
in
Carlsbad,
New
Mexico,
by
0930, and
my
mamed
daughters by
1100.
Help
was needed to bear
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this
burden;
but
nobody balked, and evcrxone agreed on the following
^vo
points: (I)
God
will provide asign of
his desire for my participation, and
(2)
a
final
decision should
probably
be postponed
until after
a
short
trip
to
see
the
hospital and
area
ofSouthern Sudan
for
myself. Acall was also placed to
Dr.
Bert Oubrc,
who was back home
in
Baton
Rouge,
Louisiana,
so that
more
could be
learned
of the
infectious disease challenges
faced in
the
heart of
Africa.
Bert shared with me that he had been asked to serve as Medical Director
for
VOM's interests
in
serving the
healthcare
needs
of
the
persecuted church.
He
also wanted
to
know
if
I
was
going
to take the
hospital administrator
position,
which ought
to
be called something else since
the
title Hospital Administrator
is
assigned to an
incumbent Sudanese
man
already
at the
hospital.
I told
Bert
that we
(me and
mv familv) were
in
a
wait-
and see and prayer
mode.
08-12-01Sunday. Attempts to clear my mind of
this
burden
failed
all morning, even
through
church
scr\ices.
Our
preacher
s
sermon
was
taken
from Luke
7:^6-50, and when he said,
We
dare not
look
Jesus in the face until we
have served at his
feet, my
mind went immediately to the dusty feet of persecuted and wounded
Christians
in
Southern Sudan. Whatever
else
he
said,
1
missed,
because
my
mind was elsewhere.
08-1j-01Monday. Arrangements were made for fast-track passport
processing
and
overseas
immunizations.
HMCM Douglas Wright, USN (SW), the master chief corpsman of
the
Naval Clinic at
Carswcll.
Joint
Reserve
Base,
in
Fort Worth,
Te.\as. was
able
to
make
immediate
arrangements
for
my immunizations
to begin the
next
dav
at
0900.
Acall was
also
made
to
Albert
W. Hamilton,
a seasoned
missionary who served
nine years
in
South
Afhca (1960-1969)
and
in
Uganda during
the decade
of
the
1980s.
I asked
ifI
could
stop bv his house around
noontime on
the
next day to discuss his experiences and ask for
his
insights,
and I told
him
the
reason whv
I
wanted
to do this. He said. Yes. absolutely, please
come over.'
I ve learned to
trust and
respect
and Annette
Hamilton
s
views
and
spiritual
maturity.
I
love them
and
they
are
not
hesitant
in
returning their
love.
AJ*s
infectious optimism
and Spirit-filled humor is something
that
aperson
like
me needs
in
a
steadv stream,
because
my
personality tends to take myself and
others too
seriously
in
ways
that
are weighted
in fiivor of
task-accomplishment
rather toward
people-orientation.
It s not
that
I
run over people, because
I
don't, but
the
results
ofa lifetime
in the
healthcare industry generate approaches
to work where people in need of
relief
from
pain and suffering
becomes
the tasks
needing
to be accomplished
with
lasting solutions
of the
highest Quality
of
healthcare
possible with
existing
resources
bytheendofeachday.
08-14-01Tuesday. The first round
of
overseas immuiuzations
were:
yellow
fever, meningococcal,
hepatitis
serogroup
A ( 1 given,
2 is needed in
six months), hepatitis
serogroup
B
( 1
given, 2
is
needed around
September
14th,
3 is
needed
five months
after 2), and a PPD tuberculosis
skin
test. Next Tuesday, the 21st,
the
following
immunizations
will be taken:
typhoid,
Td (tetanus-diphtheria), cholera,
and plague.
All of
these
I
have
had
in
years past
but
their efficacy is probably
no
longer floating around in
my
body. HM2 Barry Swafford,
USN,
who runs the
unmunization clinic, received great
pleasure in making
an
old hospital
corpsman's
arms into
pin
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cushions.
Malaria prophylaxis
will
begin closer to the
time
of
departure
for Africa.
Then
the fiflccn-mile drive
from
the
military base
over
to the Hamilton s allowed
a mental review of
the questions that
I
needed to ask
Al.
I
did not
want
to take up
too much
of
his
time, but he is the only one [
know in this area
of
Texas who
has African
missionary
experience
and
who
can offer lovingly blunt straight answers to difficult questions. He also has the
capacity to clear my mind through dialogue and prayer. Here is what happened:
AI
Hamilton
met
me
at
the
front
door.
Annette was
off
doing
errands. After
pouring
a
Dr.
Pepper
for
me.
he
said. Okay,
Mike
what
do you
want
to know?
His question opened the gates for my
questions, views and
emotions regarding
this challenge in
Sudan.
I admitted that I
was looking
for
excuses not
to go. but I
was determined
that the Lord s
will be
done
and
for the
Holy
Spirit to make
mv
will melt
into
God s
will.
Then Al said.
S low dow n a
minute
Mike. Since
you called, Annette and
I have
been praying
for
vour
decision
and in
the process we realized that
you
cannotgo alone. Ifyou and
VOM
will
have
me~I will go with
you. and the
Lord
will lead in whatever I
can
do to serve the hospital, the staff, the patients,
the- chaplains
and ministers in
the area.
It just
. teems
clear to us that God wants me with you [emphasis
added].
.Annette
like Susan, will remain here in North Texas
in
a
support
role
for this
important work.
Before
he
finished
speakingand
Imcertain that my expressions paled
in
great surprise and unbeliefI was cry ing.
It was
not
the
sobbing
of
a
child
nor the
hysteria
of
a
frightened woman but
the
soft
gentle crv
of
surprise
of
having
a
heavy burden suddenly
made
lighter
by
the Lord and
feeling
the
presence
of
Christ
then
and there. All
ofa
sudden I realized what was h ap pen in g. G od w as u sin g Al Hamilton to
give the
Gideon-in-me the
sign
ofhis divine
desires. Isaid. Al you
and G od
are in cahoots together
on this
thing
and you
are
both
determined that
should go
and
do
this
work.
Are you going to be my
Silas
like
the
apostle Paul had
his
Silas? This is
the
last
thing
Iexpected
when walking up to
your
front door just
awhile
ago. Al said
yes
that this is
the
right
thing
to do
and
we praved
together as
Albert W. Hamilton spoke
to
God ofthe
challenge
that the
Father
was
setting before
us.
Al
Hamilton
has
his ow n
financial
support
network.
He
knows
the
Uganda
area
quite
well
and
has
manv
ftiends there
who were led
to th e L ord through
his
work during the decade
of
the 1980s.
He
is leaving
it up
to me
for the best way to p re se nt
him
to decision-makers
at
VOM. Tlierefore,
I ve
decided to send information provided
to me
by Al
information all
about Albert
Watson
Hamilton for VOM s consideration.
I
hope that
V OM w ill
approve his
going after a
fiice-to-face interview
of
course, and
that
VO M would
provide
the
same
transportation,
room, and board that
will
be
provided to me .
God will
use
Al
in many
ways
in this work;
besides, I
need
him
with
me . He is
God s
answer to this Gideon
s
prayers...an answer beyond all expectations. [Note: These words
were
placed
in a letter
to
Jim
Dau, ChiefOperating Office, VOM, on August 15th].
After
leaving the Hamilton
s
house
I
headed over to the Haggard hom e in Keller. Bob, Karen, Jake, and
Garret were the first ones to hear the
good
news ofAl Hamilton s desire to
accompany
me in this work . T hey too
were
surprised.
We
talked and
cried and discussed many
things together,
including the
expected arrival
in
the
Dallas-Fort Worth area of
Sudanese national,
Samuel Juma, within a few days.
Samuel
is in the United States
going through college near
Washington,
D.C.,
and
he travels on behalfof
his
countrymen in pers^uted
areas. W e
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7/7
*
detennined that a
meeting with Samuel was
in
order sometime
during
his stav
in our
area.
Bob
said
that
he would
make the arrangements.
08-16-01Thursday.
A
call was placed
to
my
physician,
Elmer Smith M.D.
for an
annual
physical exam
on
August 29th
at
1045.
Around
1100 a phone call
was
placed
to Jim Dau. He informed
me
that
my
email
describing Albert W.
Hamilton s
credentials
made him a
good candidate
to
establish
a
Bible
school near the
hospital compound
in
Sudan,
which
is
one
of
VOM's
goals.
Yes
The leaders
at
VOM
want
AI
Hamilton
to go as
my Silas and
desire
to
meet
him,
Annette Hamilton,
and Susan
(my wife) sometime within the next
two
weeks.
Jim
informed
me that
Dr.
Bert Oubre accepted
the
position as Medical Director,
and
had alreadv arrived
earlier
this week in Bartlesville, Oklahoma,
to
find a home and to
enroll his
daughters
in
school.
Dr.
Oubre has
thirteen-years
experience
building
and
developing aChristian
mission hospital
in the
African
countrv ofCameroon,
not for VOM, but for another organization.
Sudan, hospital
is VOM's
first venture
in this healthcare
delivery
field.
He also
informed
me that
the
first short
trip
could
not
take place
until
24 October
2001, due
to
the
feet
that one ofVOM s Board ofDirectors wants
to
go along with those making the trip. A
call
was placed to Al
Hamilton with
this news, andhewas
pleased
and
elated.
ummgp
Note:
This
is
not the
end
ofthis true story,
but
only
the beginning.
This is
to
be my
continuing journal
of this
venture
with
God and Albert so
that
others may read it and give glory to
God.
Everyone, in
mv
estimation,
needs
frequent renewal
through God
s covenant-relationship
with
his people, especially with those
who suffer
because of
their feith. The core beginning ofany covenant-relationship is God's compassion, grace, and faithfulness, just as
he describes himself in
the
following ways:
I
AM
the Lord
(Exodus 6:2), the compassionate and gracious God.
slow to anger,
abounding in love and
feithfulness, maintaining
love to
thousands,
and forgiving wickedness
rebellion, and sin
(Exodus
34:6-7). And
when Jesus
Christ claimed
that
his
Father gave him glor\ and
the
Pharisees challenged his statement, Jesus said, I tell you
the
truth,
before
Abraham was bom, I AM (John 8:58),
and he
later
confessed that I AM
the way
and the truth and the life;
nobody
comes to the Father except through
me John 14:6). We trust that the I AM God iswith us in this venture.