Please join us in congratulations and thanksgiving as 12 Medical Mission Sisters celebrate their 50th anniversaries on February 11. The Jubilarian Sisters' names, and the locations where they are in mission, are:
Katherine (Kate) Coombes and Mary Leonara Major (England)
Ellen Hummel, Lorraine Schneider, and Maura Robinson (North America)
Blanche Fernandes and Rose Clare Neelankavil (North India)
Celine Bernier and Elona Stanchak (Pakistan)
Angelina Alfafara (Philippines)
Dolores Kannampuzha and Mary Padavil (South India)

We thank these Sisters for their many years of service, and ask God to bless them on this special anniversary.

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Sister-Doctor Elizabeth Vadakekara, our Sector Coordinator in Asia, reports on our work with tsunami victims in the Tamil Nadu border area of India. "The immediate need was to respond to the medical problems in one village with 400+ families, as no medical team had gone there… we conducted medical camps on alternate days." In 2 neighboring villages, our Sisters identified widows with children for long-term rehabilitation assistance. "They will be helped to do something that will bring a regular income to their family," explains Sister Elizabeth.

Medical Mission Sisters are also working with victims in the southern part of Kerala. "The devastation is so extensive, and the needs are overwhelming," writes Sister Elizabeth about this area. One village with 750 families lost 340 residents, including 80 children. "Most needy families will be identified for long-term rehabilitation … the affected families are to stay in temporary sheds for the coming 8 months or so." There is an increased fear that communicable diseases will spread. As Sister Elizabeth says, "It is going to be a long-term commitment."

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Camden Wellness, the holistic health ministry of Sister Lucy Klein-Gebbinck, was featured in the January 21 issue of National Catholic Reporter. Camden, New Jersey, is one of the poorest, most blighted cities in the U.S. 70% of its residents live at or below the poverty line. "Camden Wellness is about health care, not sick care. It's preventive medicine … we want to help residents lead healthier lives," says Sister Lucy, who also lives in Camden. To learn more about this program, please visit: www.camdenwellness.org.

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Friday, February 11, is the 13th World Day of the Sick. The theme for this year's observance is, "Christ, hope for Africa." Many Medical Mission Sisters serve in Africa, where HIV/AIDS is having a devastating effect. To read the message from Pope John Paul II for this special day, please click here.

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The Liturgy Schedule for Medical Mission Sisters' celebration of Lent and Easter at our North American Headquarters in Philadelphia is now available. Evening Prayer takes place each Saturday in Lent at 5:00 p.m., and Sunday Liturgy at 10:00 a.m. For a copy of the full schedule, please contact us at mmsorg@medicalmissionsisters.org.