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To our faithful Friends and Family,

This is a daunting newsletter to write because it is no newsletter. It is a step into unknown territory with an uncertain o utcome.

In the past couple of years, God has led us on a journey and we have been privileged to see His faithfulness over and over. There

have been many periods of unknowns but Gods familiar hand has not failed us. So, Im learning to see these uncertainties wit h a

sense of anticipation. It is unknown and dark to me but not to Him.

It seems that Soddo Christian Hospital and its PAACS surgical training program are at the brink of something. It may go well or it

may go bad. But it will be a ride, either way! The work you are enabling here is getting interesting. A few months ago, the PAACS

program received an amazing and, frankly, unexpected gift from God. We were accredited as a surgical training site in Ethiopia.

Thank you so much for your prayers in this! They were heard. I continue to rejoice in our God for this milestone.

Allow me to share a little about the implications of this. Right now, Ethiopia is in desperate need of surgeons. There are about 140

surgeons for 88 million people; and most of those 140 live in the capital, Addis Ababa. According to the Secretary General of theEthiopian Surgical Society, Ethiopia graduated 10 surgeons in 2008. In the same year, 8 other surgeons left the country. PAACS is

training surgeons to stay in Ethiopia. The PAACS program in Soddo has graduated two residents so far. One is finishing his training

in pediatric surgery in Kenya and will return to Ethiopia in a year or two. The other is practicing surgery in an Ethiopian hospital.

The greatest obstacle we have faced in getting Ethiopian candidates for training has been

accreditation. God has now granted that. In fact, that accreditation has now been fully validated.

One of our graduated surgeons, Solomon Endrias, has now received a license as a fully-

recognized surgical specialist from the government. This is incredible news and we rejoice

greatly in it. Furthermore, I was amazed at one of the requests given during the accreditation

process. They want us to train many more surgeons than we are! We were invited by the

government to expand our training significantly. I can only marvel at Gods kindness andprovision. Should we be granted the ability to expand our training and should we continue to

produce surgeons for Ethiopia, we could soon become one of the principle sources of surgeons

in the country. And these would be men and women who love Jesus and desire to serve Him

and Ethiopia with their lives.

God has provided further encouragement with the promise of additional help. Two young

American general surgeons have committed to working with PAACS at Soddo Christian

Hospital. Lord willing, they may both be here in two years or sooner. Across the missionary

the Door is Before Us

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landscape, it is increasingly evident that there are fewer and fewer doctors willing to give a career to serving Christ in a developing

country. It seems to be a dying breed. I proudly stand with these men who are coming.

The BeachheadIn many ways, I think a helpful analogy of where we stand right now is from warfare. Before I begin, I want to be very clear about a

possible misinterpretation. Our battle is not against the governing authorities. Far from it, we want to be their partner a nd work

alongside them in achieving what is, in many ways, a common goal. Our prayer is that the authorities would see our institutions,

both SCH and PAACS, as allies in the ultimate goal of meeting a strong surgical need in Ethiopia. Therefore, our battle is with thevery real and necessary challenges to accomplish this goal.

In this battle, God has granted us a victory in establishing a beachhead. Weve landed in the target area and we have a toeho ld. But,

just like the beachheads established in warfare, our situation is vulnerable and fragile. We are not yet established and can be

defeated, pushed back into the sea.

Something truly substantial has happened but it is not yet secure. It is in jeopardy. And, like the beachheads of warfare, our need is

similar. We must receive an inflow of material and support to establish this beachhead and make it secure so that we can then

move further into the target area.

So what do we need? Why is the road uncertain and daunting? Our hospital needs development to do this. We have inadequate

housing. Our medical facilities need to be expanded. The accreditation is dependent on certain improvements to be maintained. Allof these needs are so far above me I feel dwarfed. But God has proven Himself faithful thus far and I am confident He can handle

these needs. Take a look at the needs below. Join me in pursuing them. Join me in prayer and lend me your advice and help.

Housing

We do not currently have

adequate housing for these

incoming missionaries. Nor do

we have adequate housing for

the residents we need to train.Last year, we were visited by a

team from Engineering

Ministries International and

received a master plan for

development. Part of this

includes plans for a three-story

apartment building that will

meet most of our housing

needs. The estimated cost of

building it is $663,000 USD.

Half of one floor is seen here.

Once completed, the three

floors would provide 20 units.

Pathology

One of the stipulations given for maintaining our accreditation to train surgeons is to develop on-site pathology. We are probably a

long way from having a full-time pathologist but we can develop a telepathology unit. This would allow us to prepare pathologic

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specimens at the hospital, prepare slides and photograph pictures of the slides. We would then email the pictures to a pathologist

in the US for interpretation. We already have a pathologist willing to partner with us. In addition to the accreditation issue, it

would also allow us to train our residents in preparing and interpreting pathological specimens. Weve been in contact with W orld

Wide Labs, an organization that partners with mission hospitals. We can get the materials to set this up for about $20,000 USD.

Intensive Care Unit Development

Another of the stipulations for maintaining our accreditation is the development of an ICU with ventilation capabilities. This means

being able to treat patients with breathing machines. Already God has provided the money for the purchase of seven new

anesthesia machines for the hospital. These machines have built in ventilators and we plan to use some of them in building the

upgraded ICU. This purchase is already underway. However, we have a desperate need for sufficiently trained nurses to staff this

ICU. They are not available in this country. No such training exists here. We need western ICU nurses who are willing to commit

themselves to work with our nurses and train them, on-the-job, so to speak. Realistically speaking, we need people willing to come

for at least six months, though we would be thrilled to have them longer. Only God can provide this need.

Emergency Room and Outpatient Care

Though surgeons may be loathe to

admit it, surgery doesnt happen in a

vacuum. A good surgical training site

requires adequate primary care

support. Our current Outpatient

Department is woefully inadequate

and is overcrowded. Our emergency

room is also inadequate. Our

pediatric care needs expansion and

needs room to do so. One of the

many blessings God has provided is

another young doctor willing to givehis career to missions, a pediatrician.

He and his family will also be with us in the next two years. Our current six-bed pediatric ward will be nowhere near enough.

Engineering Ministries International is also working with us for plans for a new Outpatient Department that will provide and free

up adequate facilities for these crucial hospital needs. A floor plan is seen below. It will cost $600,000 USD.

The Beachhead Needs to Be Stabilized!

We are requesting about 1.3 million dollars and people (including ICU nurses and people knowledgeable in construction to oversee

our building projects). These needs are God-sized needs. I want to make them known to you and ask for your help in an effort to

seek Gods provision of them. First, pray. The Bible says God actually answers prayer. It amazes me that an all -powerful,sovereign God has chosen to use the prayers of mankind to accomplish His will in the world. But He has done it nonetheless.

Oh, that we would recognize this truth, for it would compel us to pray more than ever.

Second, obey whatever God may be leading you to do. If He wants you to give something of

what He has entrusted to you, please do so in full confidence of His direction and desire.

Finally, help me. We will be returning to the USA this October. I will approach

whomever God wants me to approach. But I dont know who to go to. This is very

foreign territory for me. If God brings to your mind any individuals or companies or

organizations I should visit, please contact me and let me know. I firmly believe God can do

this and am willing to be used by Him in the process.

My graceis sufficientfor you,

for my power is madeperfect in weakness.

2Corinthians 12:9

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Finally, before I close, I want to pull back from heady discussions of training and governmental

recognition and hundreds of thousands of dollars, and return to the reason all of this is being done.

Jesus says in the book of Matthew that when He returns the nations will be divided into two groups.

To one of those groups He will say, Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom

prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to

eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;

naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.

Then those will answer Him, When did we do these things? And Jesussays He will answer, Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to

one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.

In the end, our eyes and aims are on those least people Jesus cares so

much about.

Thank you for your help and prayers.

Love,

Paul, Becca, Nathan and Lydia

Email: paulandbecca@gmail.com

Website: http://paulandbecca.wordpress.com

Mailing address:

Soddo Christian Hospital

Paul and Becca Gray

PO Box 305

Soddo, Woliatta, Ethiopia

Financial gifts to support our ministry may be sent to:

Global Outreach:

P.O. Box 1, Tupelo, MS 38802

Checks can be written to Global Outreach with our names inthe memo. 100% of funds go towards our ministry and per-

sonal needs.

You can also give online at: www.globaloutreach.org and

click on Please give a donation

Current Contact Information

Will you help us take these steps?As Paul said in the first paragraph it sounds daunting, but we

are excited about the doors God is opening here and we trust that

he will provide for His plans. Thank you for being a part of

Gods work in Ethiopia. If you would like to donate, please in-

dicate your wishes; either towards the project in general (Soddo

Development) or to the specific project you would like to support.

As always, 100% of donations given through Global Outreach

will get to the hospital.

Pictures in this newsletter were

used with permission, by Caffery

Photo, a visitor to Soddo, Ethiopia.

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