LEE'S SUMMIT FAMILY MOVING TO ZIMBABWE AS MEDICAL MISSIONARIES
MAY 26, 2004
Angie Byler had one simple request when she prayed to become a Christian in junior high: “God, please don't send me to Africa.”
Needless to say, she was surprised when she and her husband, Mark, were working at Sanyati Hospital in Zimbabwe in 1995, right after their first wedding anniversary.
Mark, a family physician at Truman Medical Center-Lakewood, and Angie, a nurse, have returned to Sanyati twice to relieve medical missionaries. Along with their son, Luke, 7, they plan to return this summer for a two-year stint.
“I had never been overseas until I married Mark,” Angie says. “After spending five months in Zimbabwe, my eyes were opened to the fact that my world was so small and centered around me. With each subsequent trip, the Lord was allowing me to see how big He really is. His love has no boundaries. And he was expanding the boundaries in my own heart. As I reflect back on my fear of Africa as a new believer, I smile because God knew even then where I would be 30 years later.”
Mark has had a passion for the African people since his medical school days.
“I was at two different hospitals in Kenya as a medical student and resident,” he says. “After residency, I felt called to go to mission hospitals to replace the full-time staff when they were on leave.”
A doctor who had attended Mark's church in the late '80s served at Sanyati Hospital. He invited Mark to serve there in 1989.
“The rest is history,” Mark says. “I have lived a total of one-and-a-half years at Sanyati in the last 13 years.”
The Bylers will help alleviate some of the overwhelming medical needs in the region.
“At Sanyati, midwives do 2,000 deliveries a year but call us for problems, so I do a lot of C-sections,” Mark says. “I see a lot of tuberculosis. About 50 percent of the patients with AIDS die of tuberculosis in Africa. A lot of these patients are very sick and have unusual types of tuberculosis.”
AIDS has reached epidemic proportions.
“One out of four adults in Zimbabwe is HIV positive,” Mark says. “In 1989, the life span was 67 years; it is now 36 years. You see a lot of young adults who will not live another six months. During the rainy season, which lasts six months, we see a lot of malaria, with about 10 to 12 deaths a month from malaria.”
Despite these troubling statistics, Mark sees the hand of God at work.
“It is a blessing to be in such a situation,” he says. “If you cannot see or find God in the hallways and rooms of Sanyati Hospital, will you find Him anywhere? We also are able to see how most of the world lives, which makes you realize what is important in life.”
Angie plans to work at least part time as a nurse in the hospital, as well as teach and lead Bible studies for Zimbabwe nationals.
The Bylers have been active members of Lee's Summit Community Church since 1996.
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