[Note: Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said recently that it is possible that the Ebola outbreak in Eastern Congo cannot be brought under control but will become entrenched.]

Dr. Bill Clemmer, IM Global Servant, writes – “The Ebola outbreak continues to rage beyond conventional outbreaks.  At a time when the numbers should be going down …they are climbing.  The complicating factors are the ongoing rebel attacks,  difficult road access in this part of the Congo, a population that is not trusting of foreign aid workers … and maybe a virus that is more virulent than most (half of the cases we have had in the past two weeks are persons who have had no documented contact with other Ebola victims;  disconcerting)

“We pray for relief for a population that has endured and suffered so much … and now has this virus in their midst, for a lull in the fighting and conflict so teams can access villages and people that need to be reached, for patience, endurance, hope, and most of a reminder to all that He is in control and that ‘nothing can separate us’ from the love and hope future we have in Christ … not even the Ebola virus in the interior of the Congo.”

Ann and Bill Clemmer currently reside in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on the Congo-Rwanda border and work with IM partners Heal Africa and IMA World Health in the town of Goma. Bill works with national health care workers providing medical and counseling services to victims of sexual violence while Ann supports educational and relief services to orphans and vulnerable children. The Clemmers travel regularly to South Sudan to help sustain health and educational ministries they have been involved in since 2010.