The Crosby Family

2011 has been an excellent year for our family and we have learned a tremendous amount from countless friends and colleagues across the African continent and domestically in the US as well. Though I had hoped to be writing from the DRC this month, political instability and some election related violence led to postponing my travels. After a good deal of consultation with our Congolese partners we determined the political climate this month would not be conducive of accomplishing a great deal of work, so we are targeting the next possible window for me to join them in person. Once together we intend to discuss at great length strengthening our partnerships toward the implementation of a public health initiative which will hopefully bring excellent care to regions that otherwise have limited or no health services, as well as build capacity within a nation starved for more trained health care professionals.

There have been countless partners and organizations we have learned a great deal from in 2011, so for those interested I will include some links to organizations which we owe a great deal of gratitude to either directly or indirectly this year:

Partners In Health

http://www.pih.org/pages/who-we-are/

PIH has continued to make much of their message and material available to the general public and continues to inspire our work in the lakes region of Africa, as we strive toward very similar goals.

Afara Global

http://afaraglobal.co/

The co-founders of Afara have become dear friends and committed coworkers, always challenging us to better practices on the continent.

Giant Global

http://www.giantglobal.org/

We are quickly becoming part of the Giant family, which is always growing, and Dr. Oladele and others have provided immense support, guidance, and leadership as we step into the realm of public health in Africa. As the partnership continues to develop we are excited to see how Giant can have a deeper reach into the lakes region in Africa.

Jake Lyell

http://jakelyell.com/

Jake is an old friend from Virginia who continues to inspire us with his brilliant images captured in many of the same places we work. We look forward to collaborating with Jake in the future, but in the meantime felt that his work captures the brilliance of the continent in ways that no words can.

Congo Siasa

http://congosiasa.blogspot.com/

Jason Stearns’ blog, and his book on the conflict in the lakes region of Africa has continued to provide insight into the complex history of the many people groups in the region. We are impressed with his research, and have learned a great deal from his work. For those interested in our developing public health work in the lakes region, Jason’s book is a highly recommended read to understand the incredible complexities of the region.

The faith family in ATL
To the many local friends who continue to meet with us weekly to pray and live the teaching of Christ, you continually challenge and support our work, and you know who you are…thank you!

Most importantly, it has been our African brothers and sisters both on in the continent and those of the diaspora to whom we feel most indebted. After our initial five years of working on the continent we realized it will be Africans who truly shape the promising future of their nations, and we simply feel honored to be a part of the process. We hope to continue to play the role of servants in the grand scheme of things on the continent, working with existing and future partnerships in which indigenous leadership will be the hallmark of true development on the continent.

A special thanks to all who have continued to partner with us to live meaningful lives.As we look toward 2012 Claud continues to prepare for medical school and Mary continues to develop her artistic endeavors, all the while continually pushing for farther reaching health care in the lakes region of Africa, looking to Christ as the source of all that we do and the compassionate motivation which compels us.

Much love,
Claud

On public health…
Since first setting foot on the African continent in 2001 I have continually been overwhelmed by the health needs in every community I have served. As U.S. senators and congressmen haggle over the fine print of our health care system and how it is rolled out here, dear friends friends in Africa continue to lose their friends and family members to preventable diseases on a daily basis, and it again reiterates that the gap between our opportunities here in the western world and our brothers and sisters in Africa is still so vast. This gap has led me to want to take advantage of the training and skills which are here at my fingertips, and exploit them to the fullest so that I might share those skills in countless villages and communities we have served over the years. I know without a doubt that there are so many men and women in Africa who might never have the chance for formal public health or medical training, but who have the capabilities to positively impact the health of their communities on a drastic level. So it is to that end that we are laboring.

The tipping point…
Maybe it was on this last trip to eastern Uganda in May, when our dear friend had to bury a ten year old boy in his village who succumbed to treatable meningitis. Or maybe it was the deplorable conditions in the government hospital in which I found my two daughters in Swaziland. Or maybe it was my best friend’s father dying of tuberculosis after a misdiagnosis. Or maybe it was sitting with the health minister from the Democratic Republic of Congo a few months ago as he shared that his nation loses 360,000 children a year under five years old to preventable diseases. Or maybe it was any one of the countless other tragedies I have experienced personally over the last six years of work in Africa, I am not sure. At any rate, I have resolved that partnering with local people to improve the overall health in each community will forever be intertwined with our work from this point forward. In fact in many ways this is what has motivated our return to the United States, in order to pursue training in public health and medicine, in order to return to Africa more equipped to tackle some of these challenges hand in hand with the local people.

My beliefs are continually being shaped, but from the day I set foot in Africa until now I have increasingly believed that the African community has the capacity to tackle all of the challenges of the continent, and that the glories of the African community are seldom being employed when a solution to any one particular challenge is attempted. So it is in true partnership that the solutions to drastic health disparities will be encountered. It will be when true partnerships are forged instead of the all too common paternalistic, top down relationships that answers will reach the far corners of the continent, and it is to that end I hope to work. So we are in the early stages of exploring these concepts with our friends in a number of African communities, curious if a network of community health care workers could bring great positive shifts in various communities’ overall health. As the “brain drain” continues in which most well trained health care workers flee the continent in search of better salaries, it might very well be the villagers themselves who improve the lives of their communities and nations. Similarly to God’s use of the rural farmers in China to spread the gospel across the vast nation, it would not surprise me if God uses the villagers or common men and women, to bring a real health revolution to the continent. So it is those fabulous community members, the brilliantly talented and selfless men and women already serving their villages, that I am in search of so that we might learn together how to improve the lives of our communities.

I am sure I will continue to share about these endeavors as they unfold, but in the interim pray with me for the great continent of Africa.

It is shameful to think I have gone this long without writing, but I tend to prefer to reserve my entries for times when I have something significant to share.

So today I write asking for your prayers as my father in law, a coworker from church, and I take a journey to East Africa this coming May. There is much to be done while we are there, but of the utmost importance is revisiting four key partners who are living the gospel in their own nations better than we ever could. We will be searching for solutions as to how we can better partner to facilitate the creation of profit generating projects with these men to sustain their families and ministries.

Sustainability is at the core of our intentions, as these men are laboring day in and day out for the gospel, but may or may not have a regular dependable income to feed and provide for their families. Dependency on western donors seems to be a very short sighted and temporary solution, with no lasting effect. So we are in search of better long term solutions, and over the next few weeks prior to our trip I will be sharing different related topics to pray with us about regarding the trip.

So, if you are interested in being involved in this project whether through prayer, or otherwise please get in touch with me, as this will be a very collaborative effort. I am looking to involve a number of business men we know who want to be involved in Africa, as this will be a unique opportunity for them to use their gifts to serve to continent.

Keep our journey and our African partners in prayer,
Themba (Claud)

Before the year comes to a close I want to share some thoughts and updates from 2010…

Work in Atlanta continues to be exciting and engaging. I am learning a great deal about Tuberculosis in the midst of intense research, and it seems all the more relevant as more and more precious friends succumb to the deadly disease in Africa. Just two days ago I visited with my best friend from Uganda, whose father passed away unnecessarily a few months ago from TB. (this dear friend also lost his son in delivery unnecessarily this year, and these two immense losses my friend has endured continue to drive my pursuit of a medical education) It is a stark reminder that the TB research we are doing day in and day out can make a tremendous impact on lives around the world. I also recently got certified as a Nurses Assistant which will get me into the ER and help me to gain some vital clinical exposure as this medical education process unfolds. I will be continuing my premedical classes this Spring around work, so a busy semester awaits.

As I have begun praying into the new year and what all it will hold there is one thought the outweighs all others: obedience. Often as a new year approaches God will speak a “theme” so to speak for the coming year; However, this year it has been me who is pleading with the Lord for the coming year regarding the theme of obedience. The thoughts stems from a testimony I heard from a Iranian man who gave his life to Jesus years ago, and follows hims boldly, often at a great price. During his testimony he said that he had NEVER disobeyed the Lord since he knew him, and I was taken aback because I knew as the man spoke he was sincere with the statement. It has caused me to do some deep soul searching and reevaluation of myself and my walk with Christ. My conclusion is that while I have loved Jesus with all of my heart for over a decade now, I too often have disobeyed the voice of the Holy Spirit, and most often because of a fear of men instead of fear of the Lord. Therefore I have been in deep prayer that 2011 will be the beginning of a totally new walk with Christ for me, and that I will be known by our Lord as one who is faithful to every single request he brings to me. This is no small endeavor and will require of me a death that I think few ever choose. There remain eight days in 2010 to solidify this commitment in my heart and Spirit to the Lord, and then it will be the remainder of this life to live it. Lord help me.

The family is doing great. Busisiwe turns thirteen on Christmas day, and Nondumiso is a whopping five and half. They have taken to Atlanta well and are making friends. Mary continues to search for a photographer to apprentice in the area so if anyone has a good contact pass it on. It has been an interesting transition for us as a family, seeking to live a Kingdom lifestyle in the midst of a society that is so engulfed by materialism and individualism. I, no doubt, suffer the most from culture shock when we return to the US from Africa, but all of us to a degree are finding the adjustment to be a slow one. Maybe it was the fact that my mom showed me an Oprah episode yesterday where every audience member was given diamond earrings and cars, or maybe something else, but it still remains difficult to reconcile the disparities between North America and Africa. Somehow we still trust God put us here for a reason now and that some sort of bridge can be built between the two worlds, mutually benefiting both communities on either side of the ocean. All this month I find myself praising God with gratitude for all that we have and take for granted, and yet I still do not know why we have so much and others suffer in dire lack.

So what can you and I expect in 2011? I hope to see disciples made and new communities of fellowship started across Atlanta, for while I study medicine, I am still an apostle at heart who longs to see the gospel preached and men choosing to follow Jesus where ever we are. We have knit into a sweet church family locally and are praying that many will be reached across the city as a result of our lives lived well. My prayer is that the supernatural power of God accompany us in the streets and neighborhoods of Atlanta just as it has in the villages and slums of Africa, attesting that our message is true. My prayer is that while I have many tasks each day I not miss the precious voice of the Holy Spirit and that I obey and follow with a pure heart. We hope to join our dear friends in Africa at least once and maybe twice this year between school semesters, to encourage them and see how the work is developing, and to see how we can support their efforts there. So all that suffice to say we anticipate great things for 2011.

Have a blessed Christmas and an incredible new year,
Themba (Claud)

It has been a little over a month since I have updated folks on our whereabouts. The above picture is a lovely photo of Mary with some of our dearest Somali friends in South Africa, and it has been our greatest honor to get to know these precious women and their families. Since our return from South Africa at the end of July, God has provided a lovely apartment just east of downtown Atlanta. I have met some incredible Jesus followers here in the medical profession and they have graciously connected me with employment within the medical field. Specifically I will be doing TB research, which is highly relevant to our work in Africa, while studying medicine. The girls are settling well into local public schools, and Mary will begin looking for employment soon.

Lord willing, we will base here for a number of years while studying medicine and networking more with folks interested in joining us in the developing world one day. If my heart’s desires are fulfilled after we get the appropriate skills we are seeking, and grow our network of folks we work with, we will be able to return to the developing world full time with a stronger base to work from.

In the interim we intend to continue to make a trip or two per annum to the developing world to minister and continue to develop the relationships we work with, while also sharpening our focus on a specific area in order to have maximum impact. Of course this will involve staying connected with and visiting our African partners we have linked with thus far.

So in terms of our TwentyFourSeven support account, it will remain open and we will continue to generate funds for our work overseas, but on a day to day level while living in the U.S. we will live solely off of funds generated from my employment. Subsequently, if you are a current friend/supporter of the ministry and want to discontinue your monthly contributions in light of these changes please get in touch with me directly and we will help you make that happen. Alternatively, if you feel strongly about staying involved in our work overseas, and would elect to continue with your support that is wonderful as well. As I said, all funds received into the account beyond October 1st will be solely dedicated to our overseas projects and ministry, and our subsequent work there a few times a year.

Please stay in touch and let us know what is new. I have updated my contacts on the “contact page” and can be reached via phone or email. Or if you are in the Atlanta area for one reason or another please stop through and stay with us.

Much love,
Claud & family