Whether she’s diagnosing a case of malaria, performing surgery on a gunshot victim or playing her violin in a hospital chapel service, Susan Smith is determined to be an active witness for Christ.
As a missionary physician in Kigoma, Tanzania, Smith is the mission team leader for missionaries serving at the 35-bed Kigoma Baptist Hospital. A native of Russellville, Ky., and a former military surgeon, she has been working in Tanzania since 1995.
“When I was in third grade, I started thinking in this direction. I felt like the Lord wanted me to come to the mission field,” she recalled.
Fulfilling that call as an adult, Smith noted, “What I love most in the world is to help people get well and be able to tell them it’s because Jesus loves them and they can have eternal life.”
The staff at Kigoma never knows what a “typical” day might bring.
The hospital’s reputation as a quality medical facility gives staff members the opportunity “to get people to listen to us about medical care and nutrition and how to follow Jesus,” said staff members. The hospital admits 100 to 120 patients a month and provides outpatient care for up to 1,400 people a month through the hospital clinic.
Sharing faith
Among the hospital’s ongoing ministry efforts are chapel services held each day in the clinic waiting area as dozens of Muslims wait to receive medical care. The hospital chaplain also shows Swahili versions of the “Jesus” video and other Christian programs throughout the day.
The hospital averages about one or two Christian conversions a week as staff members share with patients one-on-one. “When the assistant chaplain comes to me on the ward and says, ‘I’ve just talked with a Muslim woman who accepted Jesus Christ as her savior,’ that makes me feel like, yes, we’re accomplishing something,” said surgeon Susan Smith, missionary team leader at the 35-bed hospital.
She and other Baptist worker remain committed to the task despite the hardships. “The hospital is a great tool in a Muslim area,” she affirmed.
Sadok Mlishi, the hospital’s chief medical assistant, said the staff’s Christian witness is a vital ministry tool in a region filled with spiritual needs.
“A significant thing about this hospital is that they are working under the name of Jesus,” Mlishi said. Citing the hospital’s widespread ministry impact, he added, “We are not only serving the people of Kigoma and Tanzania, but Congo, Burundi and Rawanda.
“We give patients drugs and they can be healed, but the big treatments we depend on is God. The Muslims appreciate the way we are treating them.
“Muslims who get service from the Baptist hospital are believing Jesus is the One who healed them,” he added. “When we teach about Jesus and the Bible, they stay there and listen.” (BP)
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