<![CDATA[Christian Veterinary Missions of Canada

<![CDATA[Christian Veterinary Missions of Canada - Blog]]>Sat, 05 May 2012 19:07:24 -0500Weebly<![CDATA[V.E.T. Net NGO Mongolia ]]>Sat, 05 May 2012 20:13:39 -0500http://www.cvmcanada.org/1/post/2012/05/vet-net-ngo-mongolia.html I have great memories of my first trip to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia in October 2009. I had applied to work in Mongolia as a shuttle veterinarian for V.E.T. Net NGO Mongolia (a division of Christian Veterinary Mission.)

After dropping off my luggage at my apartment my Mongolian guide took me to the small animal clinic where I was immediately put to work. Within an hour I was assisting a young Mongolian veterinarian with surgery for a foreign body blockage using multiple enterotomies to retrieve a cloth bag that a dog had eaten two days before. It was a great start!

I loved my time in Mongolia that first year and every October for the past 2 years I have returned to Ulaanbaatar.

This past October my job description was a little bit different from my first two years. This year I was asked to teach 20 hours of small animal medicine in the Masters Program, I also taught two surgery classes at the Mongolian veterinary college and worked at the Enerekh Caring small animal hospital and training center.

Mongolian Veterinary School

The Masters Program is coordinated by V.E.T Net and is offered in conjunction with the Mongolian veterinary college and 4 veterinary schools in the U.S.A. It is a graduate degree program for Mongolian veterinarians. At the present only V.E.T. Net veterinarians are registered in the program but starting next year upper year students from the veterinary college will also be accepted. The Masters Program is a significant collabrative relationship between the Mongolian veterinary school and V.E.T. Net.

Mongolia is a country bordered by Russia on the north and China on the south. It became a communist country, aligning itself with the Soviet Union after breaking away from China in 1921. In 1992 it became a parliamentary republic with the introduction of perestroika and glasnost in the U.S.S.R.

Over 1 million people live in the capital city, Ulaanbaatar. The remaining 1.7 million people are herder families who live a semi-nomadic existence in the countryside as they move their sheep, goats, cattle and horses over large areas of unfenced hill country. When an area becomes overgrazed the herders move their gers, a round tent house made of layers of felt and canvas, and move to a new area.

V.E.T. Net NGO Mongolia is affiliated with Christian Veterinary Mission U.S.A. V.E.T. Net’s mandate is to “share Christ’s love through veterinary medicine” and more specifically to engage in continuing education for Mongolian companion animal and food animal veterinarians. Equally important is V.ET. Net’s involvement with the education of herder families and their children.

V.E.T Net employs about 80 Mongolians who work as teachers. veterinarians, animal health technologists and administrators. There are also 8 full time expatriates who act as advisors and receive all their financial support from donors outside Mongolia.

Throughout the year about 65 “shuttle” veterinarians from North America, Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain travel to Mongolia to work with V.E.T Net. They are committed to the continuing education of Mongolian companion, food animal and equine veterinarians. In addition to teaching veterinary medicine, shuttle veterinarians are called upon to lead Bible studies and devotions for the V.E.T. Net team in Ulaanbaatar or in the countryside.

During the summer months teams of teachers, veterinarians and animal health technologists travel from the capital city, Ulaanbaatar, into the countryside. They are involved with the education and personal development of herder children and their families as well as continuing education with large animal veterinarians. The summer teams work in 21 aimags (provinces) in an area approximately the size of Alberta and British Columbia combined. It takes 5 travel days to reach the most western province. Although planting churches is not specifically V.E.T. Net’s mandate, many house churches result from V.E.T Net’s three year involvement in a countryside community.

The Enerekh Caring small animal clinic and training center in Ulaanbaatar is a fully equipped veterinary hospital operated by Mongolian veterinarians. Dr. Karen Smirmaul, from the USA, is an advisor for the clinic. It’s a busy practice with several thousand charts.

Enerekh Small Animal Clinic and Training Center

This year during my afternoons at the clinic I helped evaluate radiographs of a fractured femur repaired earlier with an external fixator, sutured a macerated external ear flap, replaced two prolapsed vaginas in central Asian Shepherds, and did a total ear ablation on a Cocker Spaniel with chronic otitits externa.

The Enerekh Caring small animal clinic is well equipped with an X-ray unit, a laboratory and a surgical suite with gas anesthesia. It is the only small animal clinic in Ulaanbaatar with this kind of equipment. All surgical procedures are done under sterile conditions with surgical caps, masks and gowns. As a service to the other clinics in Ulaanbaatar the V.E.T. Net small animal clinic periodically offers Saturday training days in surgery, anesthesia and sterile technique.

Every week 60 or more veterinary students gather together at the V.E.T. Net office for supper followed by a Bible study. Some of these students from previous years have become Christians and are now on staff at the veterinary clinic or work with V.E.T. Net in the countryside. Many students from the veterinary school also attend the biweekly teaching sessions held at the Enerekh veterinary small animal clinic on various aspects of small animal practice. During my time at the clinic last year I taught a session on reading and interpreting radiographs.

Shuttle veterinarians are often invited to give lectures in companion and food animal medicine and surgery at the Mongolian University Veterinary School. Last year I taught two “lectures” in companion internal medicine: one case in dermatology and another in endocrinology and introduced the students to the problem orientated case based learning model. They worked together in small groups to formulate a diagnostic plan. This year I helped the students work through two surgical cases using power point presentations and videos.

In August a Canadian colleague Dr. Dana Caswell, from Ontario, travelled to Mongolia with V.E.T. Net. She spent most of her time in the countryside. The countryside is a never ending landscape of rolling hills and sparsely covered grasslands populated with herders who slowly move horses, sheep, goats, and cattle to new grazing areas. There are few fences in Mongolia.

Dana Caswell, Melissa White and a herder family

Large Animal “shuttle” veterinarians join a V.E.T. Net team and travel into the remote areas of the Mongolian countryside for a period of 2-3 weeks. In small settlements and villages Mongolian large animal veterinarians gather together for 2-3 day continuing education seminars on various topics and procedures such as: Caesarean section, parasite monitoring and control, and animal nutrition.

Dana writes:

"We drove to the far west side of the country to a province called Uvs. Our team consisted of Toodoo our driver, Tsoomoo a large animal vet, Inkbayar a small animal vet, Melissa a veterinary tech and long term missionary and myself. Our goal was to visit with the countryside veterinarians and meet with some of their herders to do training and also to follow up with the herders who were finishing the model herder program. The herders were all very happy with the programs, and reported increased cashmere, and healthier animals because of the drugs V.E.T. Net provided. We also saw and treated some sick animals with the countryside vets as we went.

Visiting with the herder families in their gers was some of the most interesting and rewarding time spent on the trip. Travelling the Mongolian countryside is truly an adventure, and an eye opening experience in terms of cultural differences, living conditions and generally a good exercise in learning to trust in God and to be flexible! The country is beautiful and I will treasure the many pictures I took. I hope the time the team spent together with the countryside herders and vets will have strengthened relationships and allow for further opportunities to share the gospel in the future."

My October visit to Mongolia with V.E.T. Net was my best time so far. I became friends with the other team members and felt I belonged in this work. I loved Ulaanbaatar and plan to return in October 2012.

I decided to go to Mongolia as a volunteer with Christian Veterinary Mission to share the experience I have developed over many years of practicing veterinary medicine in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Mongolia is great experience and I would recommend it to anyone who is willing to share Christ’s love through veterinary medicine.

Melissa White and Dana Caswell

]]><![CDATA[A Letter From Dr. Joe in the Middle East]]>Wed, 03 Aug 2011 14:43:02 -0500http://www.cvmcanada.org/1/post/2011/08/a-letter-from-dr-joe-in-the-middle-east.html

On a recent farm call, I was introduced to a visitor (a Christian foreigner) and
one of the farmers told that the foreigner was a good man – if only he would
become a Muslim then he would be fine. I asked the farmer why the foreigner
should become a Muslim and he replied, “So he can pray to God!” “He already
prays to God” I replied. Then I asked the farmer a leading question: “Can you
think of any reason this foreigner would want to become a Muslim that would
benefit him over being a Christian believer?” There are quick and easy answers
to that question for Muslim evangelists, but the farmer said he would think
about it and we would talk again the next time I came to his farm. I look
forward to that.

Reflecting on the question I asked, however, I wonder – was I insinuating that a valid reason for being a Christian was personal benefit? Was I to some degree preaching Christ because it benefits me and do I desire others to become like me so as to share in the benefits?

Serving in the mission field does not necessarily mean leaving your country and travelling to some 3rd world country, bringing your “foreign” culture and clothes with you, preaching from your own variety of theological background and asking people to repeat the same words that you did when you became a Christian. It’s not necessarily helping others to memorize your “Christian phrases” and to mimic your style of worship.

We can tend to preach a type of Christianity that satisfies ourselves. Living in other cultures and places with mind-sets very different than ours (and I presume in North America too) we risk reaching a point when we put our head on the pillow and look back over the day and can identify moments when we showed other people that they were wrong. We can tend to spread a gospel that makes us feels right and other people wrong! We may corrupt Jesus’ teachings by promoting a Christianity that makes ourselves feel comfortable and yes, maybe even a little superior.

I used to think that a goal of my Christian faith was to make me feel good and to help me live in such a way to increase my understanding and give me ways to improve myself and be satisfied with growth in spiritual knowledge and action. I was, however, forgetting that the central message of Christianity is abandonment of self!

Preaching the Gospel rarely leads to fairy tale endings such as a whole village turning to Christ. Spreading the good news is not simply telling an emotional or romantic story about some poor humble guy had nothing else to do but live a moral life and then give it up for some sinners. It is not primarily a means of self-improvement. It’s not a ‘Once upon a time’ and ‘lived happily ever after’ type of guarantee.

Two months ago, something happened that challenged my view of mission work

. A friend of mine had a car accident which resulted in the death of a young
child. It was my friend’s fault, and he turned himself into the police right
away. In this culture, one would expect that the dead child’s father would
exact from my friend everything he could based on the law – blood money for the death of a son. However, the very first thing the bereaved father did after
the doctors told him his child was dead was go to the police station where my
friend had turned himself in and release him with full forgiveness! Yes he
forgave the person that killed his own son! Just like God the father forgives
us, the ones responsible for crucifying His Son.

When I heard the story I sat down and looked at the dead child’s father,
stunned. I noted his long black beard and his old gray dress and the small hat on his head, all typical dress for devout Muslims in this culture. Like most others here, this man is a devoted Muslim who wakes up at sunrise every single day to pray, prays 5 times a day every day, pays some of his income to the local mosque, loves his family and most likely feels satisfied being a Muslim.

However, I learned that men like him show more forgiveness than many of us
(do you experience such profound forgiveness from God that you will forgive
the one who just killed your child?)! Menlike him show more love than many
of us (will you love your enemy to the level of selflessly helping him?)!

So, what should we preach to people like that man? Are we going to preach that becoming a Christian will enable him to show the love and forgiveness of God?This man already does. Are we going to preach about the fruit of the Holy Spirit? This man has shown signs of that fruit already, without a saving knowledge of Jesus and His Holy Spirit. What about preaching some Christian morals? He has displayed praiseworthy morals, especially compared with what he sees expressed in Hollywood (ostensibly, all representations from Hollywood exemplify ‘Christianity’)! Are we going to say that Jesus died to give him a better life? Or make him a better person? For this man already lives the best life he can imagine, and by his standards and those of his community he is a great person
morally.

I am still struggling with all these questions, and I certainly am challenged
to evaluate again if I am preaching a different Jesus than the one mentioned
in the bible. Challenged again to lay my life before Him, and humbly accept
that my goals are to live for Christ, and preach Him only, being very careful
not to preach my understanding of Him. God is strong, but we are weak; our message to the lost is only of value if it directs others to God and not to
ourselves. We must realize that Christianity is all about Jesus being the
supreme God who created earth and heavens. He is the God who breaks
barriers to show His love to all people, even in weakness, humility and death.

Please let’s not under-estimate our Lord and never turn Him into only a romantic story by trying to make people feeling sorry for the wounds and suffering of Jesus!!! We must avoid cheap caricatures of Christianity that lean on our own understanding but fail to point to the exalted revelation of God in His Son Jesus. You and I must not preach anything less than a God-centered, Christ-exalting, self-denying gospel. We dare not presume to have all the answers for those seeking God. We must not try to make others think like us and be like us. But we do know the King Eternal and we may and we must bring others to the Throne of Grace and introduce them to King Jesus, who makesall things new– in your neighborhood and here in the Middle East – in His time.

]]><![CDATA[Mission in Sierra Leone]]>Tue, 19 Jul 2011 10:37:31 -0500http://www.cvmcanada.org/1/post/2011/07/mission-in-sierra-leone.htmlI am sitting at my desk near an open window in my room in the SCHDO (Sierra
Canadian Humanitarian and Development Organization) guesthouse. Outside, the rain is pouring buckets straight down from heaven. This is a typical downpour in the rainy season of Sierra Leone.

We arrived three days ago. Cautiously, I want to share that exciting things are happening in Sierra Leone and with our organization, SCHDO. With me on this mission trip is Bill Boston a farmer from Illinois. We have known each other since 1969 when I arrived as a greenhorn in Sierra Leone and he was the head of the Animal Science Department of what is now Njala University, and also my boss. Besides lecturing at the university, we operated a small for profit Agribusiness in the Animal Science Department consisting of a feed mill, slaughter house and raising pigs, poultry and cattle. We produced the best meat in the country at that time. Things have changed since then. During the civil war of 1991 to 2002, Njala University College was destroyed and evacuated from the country into Freetown. Three years ago students and staff were being moved back in and the rebuilding process has begun.

Bill and I have two main goals, we want to help the local pig and poultry farmers by expanding our feed mill to supply feed. Secondly, we want to help the Animal Science Department of Njala University to become a profit center again as it was before..

My cautious optimism is that the progress I am discussing here is broader in the country as whole. Roads are starting to be built. Mining companies are much more active. Outside of Freetown many houses are being built. How is the population as a whole? They are still suffering. Fuel prices have gone up. Inflation continues. There is still an extremely high unemployment and underemployment rate. But there is a flickering light at the end of the tunnel.

We are continuing our work with subsistence farmers both in poultry and corn. We have 125 water filters that we want to distribute to needy women with young children. Our container is in the port and besides poultry feed premix and poultry feeders, we have a variety of goods, including Ontario Gleaner soup mix for two orphanages and polio victims, some sewing machines, tools, medical supplies, and much more to distribute to the neediest people.

Please pray for our work, for the alleviation of poverty in Sierra Leone, that the gospel be spread, that the captives of poverty and spiritual oppression be set free. Pray for the SCHDO staff and workers and that the Lord will provide the resources to carry out the work.

-Conrad Van Dijk
July 10, 2011 (early morning)

]]><![CDATA[Post AGM Thoughts... What are His Plans for the future?]]>Tue, 12 Jul 2011 12:07:07 -0500http://www.cvmcanada.org/1/post/2011/07/post-agm-thoughts-what-are-his-plans-for-the-future.htmlJeremiah 29:9-11

God has plans for you and for CVMCanada! We are seeking His will: that it may be done and that we are available to do His bidding. With this in mind, our AGM was held in Bulington recently. All of the Directors attended from across Canada, and we believe the Lord blessed our time together.

Some highlights included celebration of the Lord’s blessings in putting the Canadian office in the position that the board has been working toward for a year now. We are now in a solid debit position and are planning new work. Some of these include extending funds from our Canadian Ministry funds to be budgeted to encourage students to plan short term missions. This would include grants toward their STM costs. We can also use this budget to investigate a mission to answer a call from Armstrong in Northern Ontario.

We celebrated with our friends heading to Rwanda in July and prayed with them for their vision and efforts. Please do pray for them as well— for safety and work in the Udder Project as they are in Rwanda now at time of writing this article. May the Lord protect them and guide them and use their labours to bring others to Him.

Much more transpired as we even made new friends at the barbecue and were challenged by Dr. Louis Kwantes and Dr. Tom Mulder. There are great challenges to step out for the Lord here in Canada and all over the world. He has plans for you! Be at the AGM next year, you will be blessed.

As we write this we are at CVMA in Halifax. We have met some interesting and special people, please pray that they will join our cause and use their special gift of veterinary medicine to tell others of our Lord. We have been given much and have a special platform from which to tell of Jesus, may we use it well. To whom much is given, much is required.

- Dr. Len Carr (Interim Executive Director)
]]><![CDATA[Attention All Vets With an Interest in Missions!]]>Sat, 07 May 2011 11:29:32 -0500http://www.cvmcanada.org/1/post/2011/05/attention-all-vets-with-an-interest-in-missions.htmlEach year our friends at CVM US hold a workshop for Christian Vets interested in missions and ministry. This conference/workshop is one that members of CVMCanada attend each year, and those who have gone in the past have really learned a lot. The conference has a lot to offer, not only for Vets interested in long-term missions, but also those interested in building their faith, and learning great tips for their practice. It is also a great time of fellowship and networking with other Christian Vets and their spouses.

The Annual CVM Short Course session is designed for those seeking God’s will in discovering the role full-time missions will play in their lives. The session will be seek to answer the following questions:
o   How do you know if God is calling you?
o   Where could you serve?
o   How can God use a Vet?
o   Is CVM the best agency for me to serve with?
o   How is a vet missionary funded?

If you are interested, come join CVM staff and Veterinary Missionaries at the CVM Shortcourse in Kansas City Missouri August 24 to 26th.

Register now to get the early registration rates at Shortcourse 2011.

If you are not interested in the learning about long-term missions, there are other sessions which might interest you still. Other topics include:
o   How to do effective Short Term Mission
o   Disaster preparedness Training
o   Using God’s word to address interpersonal relationships at work and at home to address life the way God intended

A great highlight of the conference is the great worship, sharing and fellowship. Hope to see you there!
email shortcourse@cvmusa.org for more information. ]]><![CDATA["Trust in the Lord With All Your Heart" Sierra Leone Update]]>Thu, 07 Apr 2011 11:16:19 -0500http://www.cvmcanada.org/1/post/2011/04/sierra-leone-update.html

The following is a Sierra Leone Missions update from Conrad Van Dijk, taken from our Sierra Leone e-newsletter.

"This trip was a journey of faith and we tried to live out Proverbs 3: 5 and 6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart…and he will make your paths straight” The Lord surely blessed us and allowed us to get a lot accomplished, for which we are very thankful... (Please click below to read the rest of this post).

On January 28, we went to drop off Harry Boer and Bernie Pot at the Freetown Airport. Our car was already waiting in line at the ferry to the airport and I took a taxi to catch up with the others there. Taxis in Freetown operate like busses, picking up passengers on the way until the car is full and then dropping them off one or more at a time. One passenger was a friendly Muslim business college student, Alieu, who asked for my phone number and later came to visit me, asked for a Bible; every Sunday after that we had a Bible study together.

We also picked up John Kamara at the airport. He is a Sierra Leonean-Canadian who the Lord has called to be part of the leadership of SCHDO in Sierra Leone. His re-entry into Sierra Leone was typical. As he exited from the airport building with his abundance of luggage he was surrounded by 6 or more porters who wanted to help him with his luggage with the purpose of earning as much money (tips) from what they saw as a rich S.L. Canadian. That is life here, so much poverty, and everyone trying to earn a living even at the expense of others who are not that much better off than they are.

John and I had been preparing ourselves since early September for hours every week, to teach and encourage the Christian leaders in S.L. to deal with the spiritual atmosphere, which has a great influence on the people and the poverty there. We facilitated 3 workshops on three Saturdays in a row in February. The titles were “Heal the Land”, “No Compromise”, and “Holiness Living”. In these workshops we encouraged them to deal with the sins of the past, the sins of the present and to move forward in a holy lifestyle. The workshops were attended by approx. 50 Christian leaders (directly or indirectly associated in the work we do) weekly who were excited about the teachings. One of the ministries represented asked us to teach the workshops again at their retreat for 22 pastors. We believe the application of these principles are essential in the success of any ministry, including our work of alleviating poverty through our poultry project. We spent a lot of time on how to apply these principles in our daily devotions with our SCHDO (Sierra Canadian Humanitarian and Development Org.) staff, because some of these compromises are ingrained in their culture.

I also went on weekly visits with poultry farmers of the Pig and Poultry Association of S.L. and gave them a one day workshop on poultry health and management. As usual we visited the Polio Brothers who are using sewing machines and tools we had sent before, and some other local NGO’s such as Missionaries of Charity (Mother Teresa’s ministry) with knitted baby booties, and soap bars. These people need so much more but they are so thankful.

We tried out a new water filter from Sawyer (www.sawyer.com), and drank the water in our office. This water filter removes all bacteria from the water so that it is pure for the people to drink who cannot afford bottled water. We are looking for funding to distribute these in S.L. Each filter costs about $35 and will be a life saver especially for mothers with children under five years old.

Anna spent a lot of time at the Wellington Orphanage. She interviewed all the (now) 110 orphans and updated their profiles. We had a fun evening there with a celebration meal and listening to talented musical entertainment by the children.

We made contact with Rev. and Mrs. Levi Clarke, a Canadian couple from Brampton who had just arrived in Freetown where he is the overseer or Bishop of the Church of God of Prophecy in Sierra Leone. They would like to share a container with us.

We made contact with Njala University which is rebuilding their university as part of recovering from the civil war in the 1990’s, especially the Agricultural College and Animal Science Department where I was a lecturer 40 years ago and where Anna was a primary school teacher at their Experimental School. We are also collaborating with Njala to help farmers grow corn for chicken feed. We also made contacts with several other NGO’s to help them with their poultry projects.

As I wanted some more exercise, I would walk on weekends on the unpaved roads leading up the mountain rising gradually to about 1000 ft. behind Freetown. This area is scattered with houses. Close to the top I met a pastor who wanted help to start a church. So we started a weekly Bible study of 10+ people. John Kamara is following up on since I left. Lord willing, a church will come out of this."

Please Pray for our work. Can we count on you?

We are so thankful for the openness to the gospel of the people of S.L. Even the Muslims are very open!
- Pray that Alieu gave his life to the Lord, and for a Church to start growing on the mountain where that Bible Study was started.
- That the seeds planted in the workshops will take root, and that the prayer groups set up from this will have a strong influence in healing the land and living holy lives to glorify God, Who alleviates poverty.
- Funds to be able to distribute water filters to people who cannot afford them. (Please specify SL water filters)
- Funds for a container we are sending to S.L. soon with poultry equipment and other needed goods. (SL container)
- Funds for Poultry Project (SL poultry project)
- Funds for furthering our poultry project, thus helping to alleviate poverty.

-Dr. Conrad Van Dijk

To join the e-news mailing list, or to receive newsletters in the mail click here.
To donate to the Sierra Leone project online, click here.

]]><![CDATA[Thoughts About the 2011 AAHA/OVMA Conference]]>Wed, 06 Apr 2011 10:17:14 -0500http://www.cvmcanada.org/1/post/2011/04/aahaovma-conference-2011.htmlCVMCanada had the privilege of attending the 2011 AAHA/OVMA conference in Toronto with our American counterpart/sister organization, CVM (Christian Veterinary Mission). The event took place over the weekend of March 24-27, and proved to be fruitful in advancing our ministries and building fellowship amongst Christian, Canadian vets. CVMCanada board member, Becky Holvik, wrote an update on her experience at the conference:

"As many of you know the OVMA conference was a combined event with the AAHA conference and it all occurred in Toronto. There were good things (quality of conference) and bad things (crowding) about a large event like this. But, for us at CVM/CVMC it was a good thing. We had a unique chance to meet and share our message with veterinarians from all over North America right in Toronto and we made some new contacts. We had a seminar on the Friday night led by Dr. Wendell Cantrell from CVM USA (I did not get to attend this due to my work schedule, but I am sure it was excellent). We also had a very well attended fellowship breakfast on Saturday morning with a devotional from Dr. Cantrell followed by a time of sharing and prayer. I left wishing I could have spent more time with our American brothers and sisters and it increased my desire to make a trip to their "Short Course" or other events."

Were you at the AAHA/OVMA conference this year? What did you think?
We're gearing up for the CVMA convention in Halifax in July. See you then! ]]><![CDATA[Have You Heard About the Hope for Nigeria Project?]]>Wed, 30 Mar 2011 15:41:17 -0500http://www.cvmcanada.org/1/post/2011/03/hope-for-nigeria.htmlHere are some of the highlights from the latest Hope for Nigeria Newsletter. For the full newsletter, see our Overseas Missions page.

Hope for Nigeria is working together with the Mennonite Brethren Charity Organization of Nigeria in the organization and operation of successful poultry operations for beginning poultry farms in Nigeria. Our ultimate goal is to portray Christ’s loving by helping the poor people of Nigeria in this material way.

In early November, Charles and Dennis, together with their wives, traveled to Nigeria to visit the four farms and meet with our contacts in Nigeria. We inspected the existing farms, and Dennis gave training sessions in basic bookkeeping. The farms have become profitable, and the loans to the farmers are being paid back. However, some improvement was needed in the record keeping, both to satisfy our government’s requirements, and for the farmers’ own benefit in managing their new businesses.

Charles and Dennis also met with Dr. Gbenga Idowu of the Christian Veterinarians Nigeria organization. Dr. Idowu has been invaluable in providing direction, advice and oversight for the farmers. It was good to meet with him and discuss the current issues affecting the project in Nigeria. Two of the farmers have switched to raising layers, and Dr. Idowu had a lot of valuable insight to share with us on raising layers and producing and marketing eggs in the Nigerian setting.

On the ground in Fugar, the Mennonite Brethren Charity Organization (MBCO) oversees the poultry projects, and some members are the first to participate as chicken farmers. By operating their own chicken farms, they in turn can train and oversee other local farmers who are in need of an income to help them out of poverty. Our role in the project is to provide the members in Nigeria with advice, direction and funding. We are excited about this project, but we cannot
maintain this work alone. We need willing participants to provide funding, advice, and other material aid. We earnestly solicit your prayers, advice, and generous donations for this worthy project.

If you want to receive regular updates from the Hope for Nigeria project, contact us to have your name added to the email list.

]]><![CDATA[From One Vet to Another...]]>Fri, 18 Mar 2011 14:34:23 -0500http://www.cvmcanada.org/1/post/2011/03/from-one-vet-to-another.html     Here we are - March 2011 and CVMCanada is at a very important time in its history. After a couple of lean years financially, CVMC had to make some key changes. Thanks to faithful donors and leaders, it is well and we are ready to move on to even greater things in God’s work, but CVMC still needs you!

     I am an old timer and have enjoyed so much the veterinary profession. Some of the very special blessings of the profession are the great clients, staff, and fellow veterinarians. We have met many great Christian people in the veterinary profession, people who have crossed our paths, touched our lives in a meaningful way – and sadly moved on. Ever sit and wonder where they are? What triggered these thoughts was a visit to our home on the event of the annual meeting of CVMC - a meeting attended by one such individual. You see when I was a young student, starting to make my way in the veterinary world, there was a professor who invited us into his home – he and his lovely wife cooked us a great meal, ministered encouragement to us in a low key way and sent us on our way. Dr. Barnum ministered in his professional way for so many years to so many students and it was a thrill to see him again on that evening!

     There are so many more special individuals – people who love Jesus Christ and are involved in the veterinary world. Has it ever occurred to you how great a body of people we could be working together for His kingdom if we stayed attached as a body and pooled our unique abilities for Christ?

    I believe that this is the current mission of CVMC - how can we draw back together many of you to minister together – to minister here in Canada – to minister around the world – to help our veterinary college students as they launch their careers – to help one another in business – to offer help to one another’s staff members – we have such unique gifts given to us by our God!

    How can we help one another? Any ideas? Leave us a comment and lets hear those thoughts and move forward helping one another to use our gifts for His kingdom. We can start by continuing in prayer for one another.

- Dr. Len Carr (Interim Executive Director)
]]><![CDATA[Turning Over a New Leaf...]]>Fri, 11 Mar 2011 10:27:39 -0500http://www.cvmcanada.org/1/post/2011/03/welcome-to-the-new-website.htmlWe've been hard at work at the CVMCanada office in Burlington, Ontario, to launch this new site. I hope you have had a chance to look at all the different features that we have added so far. In order to best promote CVMCanada and its different projects, it was time to update our website and make it more user-friendly for our present and future supporters. With our recent office transition from Dundas to Burlington, Ontario, it feels as if we are turning over a new leaf at CVMCanada. Our new website is just one step of many in a fresh beginning.

This blog will be a source of news from our office in Canada, as well as missions updates from our Long and Short term missions trips all around the world. You can look here for prayer requests and maybe some pictures too.

We are excited to hear what you think about the new look of our website! Feel free to suggest any features you think we should add, or give us helpful suggestions on how we can make this site even better. Leave us a comment below, or email at admin@cvmcanada.org

-Rachel, Office Administrator ]]>