My name is Alice and I am a final year medical student at the University of Cambridge. This summer, with the help of MMN, I travelled to Tanzania for 7 weeks for my medical elective placement. I spent the first 5 weeks in Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) in a town called Moshi. Here I was placed in the surgery department. The final 2 weeks I spent in the bigger city of Dar es Salaam in the Emergency Department of Muhimbili National Hospital.

I thoroughly enjoyed both my placements and got to experience a lot of medical scenarios that I would not necessarily encounter in the UK. I saw many trauma surgeries from motor bike crashes and observed how surgeons innovated when not all the resources were available, for example using catheter bags as surgical drains.

I also got to spend time exploring Tanzania. I went on safari and saw a whole range of incredible animals. Seeing baby lions climbing a tree was an absolute highlight! I also went hiking, visited some waterfalls and learnt about local culture.

Throughout my time in Tanzania, I really felt that God was teaching me to trust in his provision. In the first week I felt quite out of my depth, but God made his presence so apparent. In Moshi, my friend and I stayed in an AirBnB and the hosts were so caring and became like an aunt and uncle to us. The international student community in the hospital was a great support network, and it was great to share the experience with other students. God’s provision was also apparent in the small everyday things. One day I was walking to the hospital when it started to rain torrentially. Just as the rain started, the hospital chaplain was driving past and stopped to offer me a lift. Despite being so far from home, it was so apparent that I was taken care of and held.

I also found an international church nearby and felt instantly welcomed and at home. It was so profound to stand there and sing with believers from so many different countries all worshiping the same God. I also enjoyed joining a home group bible study. On one Sunday I also went to the church at the hospital. This was an incredibly joyful experience and lots of the international students joined, some of whom had never been to church before. In Dar es Salaam I also found a church to join. This church was much bigger and busier, but within moments of my arrival, another girl from Northern Ireland arrived.

Something that I will really take from this placement is consciously incorporating my faith life into my work. Before surgeries in KCMC, the doctors would often stop to pray and one night in Muhimbili National Hospital before an emergency surgery for a leg fracture I was asked to pray. Although praying as a team isn’t something I can do in the NHS, praying personally and asking for and trusting in God’s guidance during my work is something that I will try to do more consciously and intentionally.

I am incredibly grateful to MMN for all the support, both financially and through prayer. My experience in Tanzania certainly helped me to grow in my faith and I hope and pray that God will have used me to make others consider Him too.