| Tracey
Rzepka, MS, ARNP joined our staff on
January
6, 2009
.
She is originally from
Chicago
but
has lived in the
Sarasota
area
off and on since 1984. She graduated with an Associate Degree in Nursing
in 1982 from
Joliet
Junior
College
and
has worked at various hospitals from
Illinois
to
Florida
to
Hawaii
where
she spent 3 months working at
Wahiawa
General
Hospital
as
a travel nurse in 1990. She later attended the
University
of
South
Florida
where
she received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and then a Master of
Science in Nursing in the area of Adult Health in 1990 and then a
post-Masters certificate in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing in 2001. She
worked as an ARNP (Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner) at the Lee
County Public Health Unit and then at the Community AIDS Network here in
Sarasota
.
She has also worked at the Bay Isles Medical Clinic on Longboat Key during
the 97/98 and 98/99 winter seasons. Tracey began working in
Uganda
(
East
Africa
)
in 1997
with a mission organization called Youth With a Mission
(YWAM)
then continued under Global Outreach International in 2004. She has served
in various parts of
Uganda
as
well as
Botswana
,
Zambia
,
Zimbabwe
and
the Democratic Republic of Congo educating people about HIV/AIDS for terms
of 1 month to one year at a time. She will continue to serve in
Africa
during the summer months when things have slowed down at SAKLC. She is
thankful to Susan DeRosa, the previous Parish Nurse at SAKLC, who
connected her to SAKLC, and
along with the Health Ministry Committee, formed the basis for a great
Parish Nurse Program.
UGANDA
UPDATE- 7/26/09
Hi Everyone,
Everything
is going well here in
Uganda
. I am happy to
be back and people are happy to have me back. Our program has been going
smoothly. God has been working to help the team envision continuing the
work without me and without outside financial support. Many organizations
provide funds for programs which end when the funds are gone. This program
has the possibility of continuing for a long time. Much of this is due to
Reverend Francis Atwau who has been working with me for the last few
years. He is a wonderful pastor who has sacrificed for years for the sake
of the gospel and is now sacrificing to make sure this program works and
reaches many places. He has a lot of wisdom which he imparts to the church
leaders we are training.
Ron
Kelley is doing well on his first trip to
Africa
.
He is learning a lot and people appreciate the wisdom he is sharing with
the leaders. He will be going to another town today to do prison ministry
for a few days and preach in a church service there. He slept in the
village the other night in a mud house and he has managed to eat the local
foods without any problems or complaints.
Thank
you for all your prayers and to those who have supported this ministry
financially. We have been able to buy 200 Bibles which will be distributed
in the different places we are doing the HIV Trainings. We are actually
selling the Bibles for less than half the cost so that people will value
them. There are different methods of bringing development. There is a
saying “You can give a man a fish or you can teach him how to fish”
When you give things out freely, people do not appreciate them as much. So
we are asking people to sacrifice to buy the Bibles and will then decide
how to use the money raised. Each leader that is trained is also giving
money towards our trainings. Because of this, in one place they have made
some improvements by building a latrine (outhouse) for the church because
they have taken ownership of the knowledge they received instead of
depending on an organization to make the improvements for them. They have
worked together to get things done. They have also appreciated the fact
that we chose various denominations to attend the trainings instead of
only the one we are representing. Before there was a lot of division
between the churches and now they have become friends and respect one
another.
So we praise God for the work He is doing through us. There is a song that
was sung
at the
Lutheran
Church
where
I work before I left which has really ministered to me. May it also
minister to you.
Grace
Alone
Every
promise we can make, every prayer and step of faith
Every
difference we will make is only by His grace
Every
mountain we will climb, every ray of hope we shine,
Every
blessing left behind, is only by His grace
Grace
alone which God supplies, strength unknown He will provide
Christ
in us, our Cornerstone, we will go forth in grace alone
Every
soul we long to reach, every heart we hope to teach
Everywhere
we share His peace, is only by His grace
Every
loving word we say, every tear we wipe away
Every
sorrow turned to praise is only by His grace.
Grace
alone which God supplies, strength unknown He will provide
Christ
in us, our Cornerstone, we will go forth in grace alone
We will go forth in Grace alone.
Blessings to you,
Tracey
“To
you O Lord, I lift up my soul. In
you I trust, O My God.”
Psalm 25:1-2
|
St.
Armands Key Lutheran Church
