NATCHEZ — Dr. Phillip Levin came face-to-face with things in Africa he had never seen in his years as a doctor in the United State.

Levin became a missionary in countries such as Kenya in 2012 because he wanted to help others with the resources God has blessed him with, but he gained a lot more from the experience as well.

“I wanted to help, I recognize the gift I was given and I have been blessed with the medical abilities to travel and help others in need,” Levin said. “We see mostly tropical illnesses, fevers and infections we would never see in America, two of three people have malaria, which you never see in the U.S.”

Levin said he was the first physician to come to Kenya in 20 years, and he wanted to make a difference for the people in the area.

“They had no running water and basic medicines with no x-ray or surgery materials, but provided care for more than 10,000 people,” he said. “There are so many types of diseases like Leprosy, but a lot of times we have no idea what the people have because we don’t have the tools to make diagnostics. You do the best you can on treating them.”

Knowing the type of resources Kenya lacked, Levin worked extensively to bring the most important resource to the country.

“I made it my goal to bring them water and when I came back to the (United) States, I raised enough money that the next year when I went to Kenya again, I put in a well with a pump and had running water for the people,” Levin said. “Then, I flew back to provide medical care and do minor surgeries and help with diagnostic treatment plans.”

Levin has had plenty of experiences, but said one in particular opened his eyes to the world around him.

“I remember a baby was born premature at 30 weeks,” Levin said. “I did my best, I did CPR, but I was unable to save the child. I insisted we take the child to a big city and paid for the ambulance myself,

“I handed the child to the nurse, she put the child on the counter to die and said, ‘we can’t save this child.’ It’s a lesson to learn, America is not Africa. You do what you can, but that’s all you can do.”

Experiences like that one is what keeps Levin doing missionary work year after year.

“My experiences have been very helpful in making me realize how fortunate we are.”

Levin’s experiences were so life changing, he decided to write a book called “On a Mission: Medical Care in Rural Kenya,” to explain why he became a missionary and the journeys he’s been on in his three years in Kenya.

The book is broken down into three parts, Levin said, the first part discusses how he got involved in missionary work and how one can get involved, while the next section focuses on his actual mission work.

The final part will be reflect on his travels and the sights he has seen on his different mission trips.

The book can be purchased at Turning Pages bookstore in Natchez or on his website doctorsdreams.net.

Levin said 100 percent of the profits go to his missionary work.