Elephants, Tigers and a Regional Conference... Oh, My!

       What a joy and privilege to join nearly 500 brothers and sisters in Christ from over 20 countries in the Asia-Pacific Region for a week of worship, fellowship, and workshops. The theme this year was Unleash the Power: the power of God, the power of the Church, the power of the Holy Spirit, the power of Discipleship, the power of Love, and the power of Unity. We were challenged and encouraged by many great speakers and seminars. It was also encouraging to hear stories of how God is working throughout the region. So often, I am so focused on the work before me in our small part of the world that I don’t praise God for what He is accomplishing around the world. 

         Some of the most potent take-aways for me were: “Don’t be a seedless watermelon”. I need to make sure I’m planting seeds and training up others to produce fruit as well. Also, “the person in front of you is more important than anything you have to do.” A great reminder for me, a very task-oriented person, to focus on the person, not just the task to be accomplished. This also means embracing interruptions, for they are often divine appointments. I still have much to learn, and much to unlearn in order to reflect more clearly the Lord I strive to serve. 

        Following the conference, we enjoyed a time of retreat and lots of free time to explore the wonders of Thailand. This included up-close encounters with tigers and a day caring for elephants. Speaking of unleashing power, the power and majesty displayed by these creatures was nothing short of incredible. I felt a mix of fear and wonder as I stroked the big cat’s hindquarters and felt her rippling muscles underneath her beautiful coat. I was amazed by the gentleness of the mother elephant and the strength of the baby, who at 5 months of age could knock me over like a feather as he tumbled and played. Surely the God who created such majestic creatures as the elephant and the tiger is worthy of even more fear and awe-struck wonder. His power far surpasses the power displayed in these amazing animals. 

 

“O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art”

Lord, may you unleash your power in our lives and in the lives of all whom we encounter. May we display your power in gentleness and love. And may you receive all the honor and praise for all the wonders you perform every day. 

Amen.

Celebrating 40 years

Forty years ago, a 15-year-old girl from the nearby town of Banz came to the hospital looking for work. She was trained to assist the doctors performing procedures and when a young surgeon from America arrived a few years later, she became his first scrub nurse. Now, Auntie Margaret is the matron of the Operating Theatre. She is the supervisor of over 15 surgical and sterilization staff. After 40 years, she knows every piece of surgical equipment and every procedure by heart. More than being an amazing surgical nurse and supervisor, Auntie is a strong spiritual mentor and prayer warrior. She has cared for and prayed over thousands of patients and hundreds of nurses and doctors during her 40 years of service at Kudjip. She has been a wonderful mentor for me during my time at Kudjip and I honestly couldn’t imagine OT without her. This week, we celebrated her 40 years of service to God and the people of Papua New Guinea through her work at the hospital. We had a lovely time of devotion, worship and a luncheon to celebrate this outstanding woman of faith. During the celebration she quoted from Joshua 14, the story of Caleb receiving his allotment in the Promised Land, more than 40 years after spying out the land. In verse 11, Caleb declares, “I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out.” We pray that God will continue to strengthen Auntie Margaret to minister for another 40 years.

Hospital Evangelism

       

       

       Several times a year, the missionaries lead the weekly church service on the patient wards in the hospital. Since this Monday was Repentance Day, a public holiday devoted to national prayer, I selected Andrae Crouch’s “My Tribute: To God be the Glory” for a flute solo. 

        

        

      Afterwards, our newest missionary doctor, Dr. Dave Lean, a pediatrician from Australia, gave a short message. Jeremiah 17:7-8 holds special significance in his life and was a good reminder to all of us. Afterwards, we prayed with the patients and their families. 

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,

    whose confidence is in him.

 They will be like a tree planted by the water

    that sends out its roots by the stream.

It does not fear when heat comes;

    its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought

    and never fails to bear fruit.”

Jeremiah 17:7-8

Lord, help us to stay close to your life-giving spirit and your Word of truth so that you may sustain us through all trials and bear fruit in our lives. Amen. 

Showers of Blessings

         When it rains, it pours. And in the midst of dry season any rain is a blessing. That is why we were so excited to unpack not one, not two, but FOUR shipping containers of donated supplies and equipment in the past few weeks. I have never seen so containers arrive at one time! Our new storeroom is overflowing with all the much-needed and generously donated supplies. 

     

    It started with a container of donated goods from Project S.A.V.E., a non-profit group that “collects, then re-distributes, quality recycled medical and dental equipment and supplies both locally and around the world, free of charge, in an effort to help people receive needed care who otherwise might not.” We were so excited to receive desperately needed bandages, surgery and anesthesia supplies, and much more. 

       The next container to arrive, from Nazarene Hospital Foundation, contained tons of donated medical equipment and supplies from a hospital in California that closed down last year. We have been blessed with an operating table and scrub sinks for the new Operating Theatre expansion, plus lots of equipment to outfit the new clinic and office areas. 

      Yesterday, we unpacked two containers simultaneously! The first was from Rotary Australia with donated patient beds for the new delivery ward expansion. The second is a container from Samaritan’s Purse with a new autoclave (sterilization machine) and parts to fix our broken one. 

     

  Today, a biomedical team from Samaritan’s Purse arrived to assemble the new machine and work on fixing the old one, along with sundry other machines that need new life around the hospital. What a huge shower of blessings! Praise God who supplies everything that we need in his perfect timing. Thank you to everyone who has worked diligently, donated, and prayed for these containers. They are a huge blessing that will enable the hospital to continue to reach out and touch lives for Christ. 

In God’s Hands

       

        Do you believe that God is in control? Do you believe all things happen for a reason?

Sometimes in the midst of heartache, pain, or grief it is difficult to completely trust the One who holds all things in His hands.  Last Friday was one of those days. The morning clinic ended early, so I caught up on some office work that had piled up in my absence. One of our surgical trainees was completing his weekly reading assignment on trauma, so we made plans to review those chapters after lunch. But on our way back from lunch, we were waylaid by an actual trauma in the Emergency Room. 

Kudjip Emergency Room
(photo credit: Matt Woodley)

      Three victims from a car accident were brought in simultaneously. Dr. Matt and Dr. Imelda immediately started assessing their injuries and triaging. When I saw the patient whom Dr. Imelda was examining, my heart sank. No matter how long you work in healthcare, nothing prepares you for seeing someone you know lying in the vulnerable position of a trauma patient in the Emergency Room.  Emilyn, a nursing student and daughter of Mr. White, the principle of our College of Nursing at Kudjip, appeared to be the most injured of the three. Dr. Imelda was just finishing an ultrasound scan which showed no signs of internal bleeding. Emilyn’s main complaints were neck and back pain along with a laceration on her forehead. I automatically started testing for sensation in her feet. 

       “Do you feel me pinching your feet?” 

My heart sank when she replied, “No.”

      “Move your toes”

      “I am moving them,” she responded, but there was no perceptible movement. 

She could feel the IV being placed in her arm, but her hands were very weak. 

      “No Lord!” I internally screamed. “Please don’t let her be paralyzed. Her family has already been through so much,” I silently pleaded as I remembered her mother’s funeral less than 2 years ago. Hearing her call my name, I looked up and without pause, the words slipped out of my mouth, “You’re going to be okay, Emilyn” 

         Oh no! Did I just make a promise I couldn’t keep?  I busied myself with finding a cervical collar and reviewing her paperwork and orders, but I couldn’t escape the question, would she be okay? The more I pondered this, the more I realized that the answer was not physical, but rather spiritual. No matter the physical outcome, do I believe that God is sovereign? Do I believe he has a plan for each of our lives? Do I believe God is faithful? Do I believe God is worthy of praise and honor and glory? Yes. No matter the physical outcome, Emilyn would be okay, because she knows and trusts the one who is faithful. 

          Recently, our pastor spoke about Job, a man who was righteous and blameless before God, yet lost all his possessions and his ten children in a single day. He didn’t do anything wrong to deserve this; rather it was a test of his faith. Would he turn and curse God? No. Job’s response in the midst of his grief was to fall on the ground and worship God. “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” (Job 1:21). Job trusted God so completely that he was able to release all his possessions and his family into God’s hands and simply worship God. What faith!

Dr. Imelda and I reviewing
an X-ray

         On a daily basis, I ask my patients to have the faith of Job, to release their cares, their sicknesses, their very lives into the hands of God and to worship Him whatever the outcome. My daily prayer over my patients is “Mipela lusim laip bilong em long han bilong yu, Bikpela, na yu ken kisim biknem long laip bilong em.” = We release their life into your hand, Lord, that you may receive glory through them. That was my prayer over Emilyn as well. No matter the outcome, may you be glorified in her, Lord. 

        I was slightly relieved when the x-rays showed no spinal fractures. I was even more encouraged when, a few hours later, Emilyn moved her big toe. We admitted her to the hospital with spinal precautions and lots of prayer. The next day, Emilyn was able to move her legs but not lift them against gravity. Then, she was able to sit up in a brace. The following day, she walked with assistance. Today, a week after her accident, she is back to full strength. Praise God for this miracle and answer to prayer!

Emelyn on her way to a full recovery.

      

       It is easy to praise God when we see his miraculous hand of healing and a good physical outcome. But recently one of my friends asked how I deal with the poor outcomes. My response: By remembering that God is sovereign. I treat with the best medical knowledge and skills that God has given me, placing the results in God’s hands. No matter the physical outcome, He is sovereign, He is faithful and He is worthy of praise. 

Body of Christ

        So often we think of a missionary as a lone ranger, going to far-off places, blazing trails where no one has ever been before. Perhaps some pioneer missionaries fit this description, but most of the missionaries I know today are part of a team. That team includes co-workers on the field as well as family and friends providing support from home. I can’t think of any better example of the body of Christ working together for a common goal. In order to make Christ-like disciples of all nations, it requires feet—people who are willing to go to all nations. It requires hands –hands of service and outreach. It requires eyes and ears to observe the felt needs in each community. It requires a mouth to proclaim the good news. But none of these parts could do its work without the backbone –the support that holds every part together and allows the different parts to work in synchrony. The body only functions if we are all connected to the head, Christ, and work together according to his purpose. 

Pharmacy team

          Even within the ministry of the hospital, I see the different parts of the body at work. 

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” (1Cor 12:4-6). The work of doctors and nurses is crucial to the medical care that takes place at the hospital, but even the best doctor or nurse won’t have as much of an impact without all the support roles: chaplains, pharmacy, laboratory services, X-ray staff, cleaners, and the maintenance team. Every week another piece of equipment seems to break- whether the x-ray machine, the autoclave used to sterilize instruments and dressings, or the ultrasound machines. 

X-ray team

Thanks be to God, we have a team who can help address all these needs.  “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’ On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable” (1 Cor 12: 21-22). At Kudjip, every role is indispensable, because each part of the team is necessary to accomplish the work. Each part of the body—the hands, the feet, and the mouth—has a unique part to play. 

          In different seasons, it seems my role in the body changes. Sometimes I am the hands, but at the present I am the feet (crisscrossing the USA) and the mouth—proclaiming the marvelous works of God that I have witnessed abroad and encouraging each person to do their part. It has been such a joy to share how God is working and to meet new people who are a part of this work. Thank you to all of you who are the backbone that keeps this body functioning. Additionally, thank you for all your prayers, which move to empower each part to do its work according to the will of Christ the head. 

Home

              For much of my adult life I have lived far from my parents and the place where I grew up, so I have become accustomed to the terms  “home” = where I currently live and “home home” = my parent’s house where I grew up. For the past two years, the concept of home has stretched further as I now have a “home” on the missions field in Papua New Guinea as well as a “home” country. Thus, going “home” has become complicated. It seems that I have become a wanderer, with many different mooring points around the world. In some ways the mobility brings freedom as I accumulate less clutter and find that places or possessions aren’t as important as relationships. On the other hand, the long distances and separation from friends makes maintaining relationships harder and more painful as I always seem to be saying hello and goodbye in the same breathe.  Constant transition. That is the missionary life, always hovering between here and there. 

           Four weeks ago, I returned to my “home base”, my parent’s house in California. Shortly thereafter, I felt the familiarity of being “home” when I visited my old roommate in Syracuse, NY, the last place I lived before moving abroad. As I travelled from Wisconsin to Florida and everywhere in between, I reconnected with many old friends and met many more new ones. During that time I realized that even though “home” has become a transient entity, my “family” continues to grow and expand, stretching around the world. Just as Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel, will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields...” (Mark 10:29-30). He never promised that it would be easy, but by leaving my home and my family I have found so many more homes and brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, nieces and nephews than I ever could have imagined. And as long as I’m with family, I am home.