No Fear

Jesus returned to the Temple, knowing full well the hatred the Pharisees held in their hearts toward him.  He knew of their intent to kill him, yet he returned.

Yvonne and I serve at the HOPE Center for Mercy Ships.  The ship has limited bed space, so the center serves as a hostel for those awaiting surgery and recuperating once they come out of intensive care. 

Our building is part of Toamatave's Hopital Be (Big Hospital).  We pass their patients every day as we come to work.

One morning we walked in and a Muslim stood on the veranda outside one of the hospital's rooms.  He looked forlorn and weary.  As I passed by the room several times that day I could see a woman inside.  She seemed to never move from her left side.

In the next two days more and more family members showed up at the room.  There seemed to a be a growing mood of despair and expectation of death.  I sensed more and more, with each stroll by the room, that I was supposed to pray for them.

I prayed, but the more I prayed the more I had an urging to go into the room and intercede for the woman.  So, I approached one of our Malagasy interpreters and asked him to take me to the man with the taqiyah (a prayer cap).  I sensed some trepidation on my translator's part.

The conversation was brief. I told the man that I was praying for the woman inside the room and, if he would like, Yvonne and I could come and pray at her bedside.  His face was deadpan as he responded.

The interpreter later told me that he thought the man was scared.  "To him Jesus is a prophet, not God," my translator said, something that I already knew.  "He is probably scared that you would pray to Jesus, so all he said was, 'Thank you.'"

The interpreter went on to tell me how Islam is gaining strength in Madagascar; that there is tension between Muslims and Christians; that each side is afraid of the other.  I told him that I recognize there is fear, but reminded him that the Bible says, "Perfect love casts out all fear."

We conversed and I encouraged him that Jesus loves all people and that if we don't approach our supposed enemies without fear they will never see nor hear the love of Christ.  

Later that day, the interpreter rushed to Yvonne and me with exuberance and a big smile.  "You're not going to believe this," he said.  "It's a miracle!"   

"What's a miracle?" we asked.

"The husband of the woman in the room came to me and said that he welcomes you and Yvonne to come and pray for his wife," he said.

Early two mornings later, Yvonne and I went to the room.  Yvonne chose to cover her head out of respect for the Muslim woman.  We brought towels as prayer rugs.  We both got on our knees at the foot of the bed, me with my face to the ground.  The woman was where she had been for days, on her left side barely moving and groaning with pain.  So, we prayed.  And we prayed in and through the name of Jesus Christ.

The very next day we saw a first; the woman was on the veranda sitting upright.  The husband greeted us with a face aglow, a beaming smile, thumbs up signifying success and then shaking our hands.  Three days later they were gone.  The nurses at Hopital Be said the woman had regained her strength, stood up and walked out of the hospital with her family.

We didn't get a chance to speak the gospel to them, but they saw first hand the power of the Savior.  I pray that the seed of life given to that woman will stir their hearts to pursue the One who said, "No one can enter the kingdom of heaven except through me."

Caring

One of Yvonne's favorite sayings is, "People don't care about how much you know until they see how much you care."

We would not have spent over nine years in the streets of Savannah, nor eight years at Ridgeland Correctional Institute and we certainly would not be on a current two-year commitment to Africa if we didn't believe in doing the work of Jesus Christ.

However, in the last few weeks here in Madagascar, it has become infinitely clear to us that all of the well-intentioned works are of no value if they are devoid of the Christian responsibility to use our mouth, too.

Dear friends and family, Jesus Christ's greatest accomplishment was not feeding 4,000, nor was it walking on water.  No, it wasn't even healing all who would come to Him.  Our Savior's single greatest accomplishment was what occurred in the three days surrounding His death, burial and resurrection.

His victory over death and promise of eternal rest to all who call upon His name is the lone reason why there is a Church at all.  It is the message of the New Testament.  If you research the antiquities, you'll find it is what made a rag-tag "world-wide" following so uniquely powerful, willing to face persecution even unto death.

For them, the gospel did not promise wealth.  They didn't think they could avoid sickness.  They were a strange group who rejoiced when persecuted, shared their meager belongings, did not fear lepers and lived lives of faith without compromise.  What drove them?

Mercy Ships is an incredible organization, served by many wonderful people, but the stark reality is there are many who come to our doors that we just can't help.  So, the logical question many of us ponder is, "Where is their hope?"

The answer seems rather apparent.  Jesus said it, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations...to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you."  Matthew 28:19-20  The Apostle Paul expounds on it, "How then shall they call on him whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except that they be sent?" Romans 10:14-15

So, yes, Yvonne and I will be his feet and hands, but we must also be his mouth as well.

We leave you with the writings of the Apostle Paul,  "If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied." 1 Cor. 15:19

Love and a Club Foot

Some of my deepest, most satisfying meditations come before the sun rises - before I'm fully awake.  The clarity of introspection is so intense that I'm not sure there are words fitting for its description. The thoughts are so unusually concise and real, it is as though they are coming from a source other than myself.  I like to call them, "My God moments."

This morning I awoke to the memory of something that I had long since forgotten.  I was born with a club foot.  I remember my mom telling me on several occasions about the experience. She said that when the doctor informed my father and her, my father threw himself across the bed bawling like a baby.  My dad was not someone who cried.

As my mom told the story, in the ensuing months several times a day she would have to take my feet and bend them in an unnatural way until I screamed and cried with pain.  She said it was so difficult she could hardly do it, but she knew that if she didn't do it that the affliction would grow worse.  

As I recalled this story I whimpered in my slumber, trying to do so quietly so that I didn't wake up my wife.  Why was I crying?  Let me explain.

I don't know how severe my club foot was, but suffice to say it didn't require surgery.  There are many people here in Madagascar who are severely afflicted with the deformity.   Manipulative treatment can correct it and this is one of the services that Mercy Ships has the capacity to provide.

Mercy Ships does a great work, but as I'm sure you can understand they can't do all of the work.  As I was standing on the balcony of the upper floor of the Hope Center yesterday I was watching our screening team meet with about 50 local people suffering from various infirmities.

Keep in mind this part of the Mercy Ships cadre has already been to 10 regions of Madagascar interviewing people for potential life-changing surgeries.  What that means is that the surgery and treatment schedules have pretty much been booked up for our entire 10-month service.

Let me interject here, hospitals in Madagascar are not what you think of when you think of a hospital in the USA.  That's worth a whole other blog.  Suffice to say, Malagasy hospitals are lacking by comparison.

Over the past few months Mercy Ships has completed the rehabilitation of a building within the Toamasina hospital complex for the purpose of Ponseti procedures.  This manipulative technique corrects congenital clubfoot without invasive surgery.  Sometimes the treatment can take several years when provided for persons well beyond infancy, as it requires reshaping tissue, cartilage and bone with casting and recasting.  If caught early enough the affliction can start to be reversed in a matter of weeks.

From that balcony I could see people being tenderly turned away, though many have treatable infirmities.  One young man, perhaps the age of 15, limped slowly toward the hospital's security gate with his mother.  His right hand on her left shoulder, they would take three or four steps, stop to rest and repeat the process.  Suffice to say, their journey was arduous.

So, I wept.  I wept because the young man suffered from club foot, a very treatable deformity.

According to medical sources, Ponseti treatment is almost 100% successful in all cases of club foot. IT IS NOT EXPENSIVE.  About 150,000 children are born with this affliction annually,  80% of them are in developing nations.  So, in my mind, that young man limped away needlessly.

The fact is most of the horrendous appearing deformities and diseases here are very treatable, if not avoidable, if countered with proper nutrition, education and/or routine medical attention.

The famous atheist Richard Dawkins loves to ask mockingly, "If there is a God, then why is there so much suffering."  Some in churches, synagogues and temples will ask this weekend, "What can I do?" and then do nothing.

Suffering doesn't exist because there is no God or there is a God.  Suffering exists because there is man...many of them with the wherewithal to help other men and still have plenty left over.

So, will you ponder this question with me.  At what cost?

Oh, that if the world could see, feel and touch the pain that is beyond the miles that separate them from places like Madagascar.  I'm certain hearts would be changed.

Patience

We are in Madagascar.  We have been here for two weeks, well-ahead of our hospital ship Africa Mercy and the instruments of hope and healing that she carries within her confines.

The crew that is here represents a small portion of the contingent that will eventually call this port city of Toamasina their home for the next 10 months.  While the ship's arrival has been put off for a few days, I know that many of our fellow workers are anxious to get here and start the work for which they so eagerly volunteered.

The Hope Center, where Yvonne and I will serve, is a 242-bed facility where patients will come to prepare for and recuperate from life-renewing operations.  Our job right now is to prepare the building for its purpose as a welcoming place for those coming with such great expectations.

Mercy Ships has never endeavored such a great undertaking.  We are told that past Hope Centers typically housed 50 to 100 patients.  The capacity of the Toamasina center was increased by over 100-beds to meet the needs of this field service.  Right now it is empty. 

We wait patiently, praying and praising our Lord.  The time spent together is sweet.  I am particularly fond of the moments that I get to spend in one-on-one conversations with other crew mates who share this common goal.  That is, to serve a Savior who has equipped us for every good work.

Giving

Six weeks of cross cultural training was supposed to prepare us for the differences between the way we Westerners see things and the way people in Africa respond in similar circumstances.  Part of our "education" was to shed light on how most African cultures view money.  

In simple terms, in the USA the goal is to save money, accumulate wealth, prepare for "rainy" days and retire with a suitable nest egg.   Money, in a sense, is very personal.  

In Africa, money is communal property.  The village comes first.  To have something and not share it with others is not virtuous.  To have something and "save" it for the future can actually lead to someone being shunned by a community.

With that as a backdrop I want to share an anecdote that touched my heart.  Let me make it very clear that the villages that we visited in the area of the Drakensberg Mountains are very poor by the way of American standards.  In one village the population numbered about 400.  

One local care-giver who led us into homes for the purpose of providing healthcare services and prayer said that 80% of the inhabitants test positive for HIV/AIDS.  Many are children under the age of 10.  In several circumstances our team met with people on their death beds...a thin matress on a cement floor was their only comfort as they prepared for their last breath.

On Sundays our team of 30 would break up into groups and attend different churches.  One of our group went to a church where the pastor had died two years ago.  His wife had inhereted a small flock.  Last Sunday five of our group attended her church.  The congregation numbered 10, including those representing our team.

Like churches in the West, offerings are very much a part of the African experience.  In some services there's actually several collections.  At this particular church an offering was taken at the end of the service.  Everyone in the church, locals included, put something in the basket.

The pastor then made her way to the person heading up our group.  She presented the enitire offering to our team, telling him, "Because you have come to Africa to minister to us, we want to give to you to help you in your work."

My friends, what they gave wasn't 10% of their earnings.  I can assure you that what they gave was not out of a savings account.  The contents in the basket represented several days wages, if not a week's.  In a very real sense, some of the members of that congregation gave everything they had.

These people that we are ministering to are beautiful people.  They are humble people.  They are loving people.  They are people who have blessed us beyond measure.  My prayer is that Yvonne and I might leave this place with a morsel of their faith.

Ready, Willing and Able

The outpouring of feedback that Yvonne and I have received is, well, overwhelming.  We can't thank you enough for your interest, your prayers and your financial support.  To know that so many of you are thinking about us is an incredible encouragement.

"Our bags are packed and we're ready to go..."  I'm writing this from our dorm room, moments before we jump in the car and head to Dallas/Forth Worth Airport.  We will not arrive at our next destination - Winterton, South Africa, until Friday afternoon.  We will fly from Dallas to London today; London to Johannesburg tomorrow, which by then will be Friday.  Then we fly to Durban and then take several shuttle buses to Winterton.  

Winterton is a Zulu squatters camp in the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains.  We will be serving an orphanage and an aids clinic.  To be honest, I'm not sure what to expect...I just know that I will be in the company of 24 incredible team members who love the Lord and love the people we are going to meet.  We are all very excited.  

Expectations

Today we have been asked to journal about our expectations for our journey with Mercy Ships.  It's hard to say that we personally have any expectations about what we are about to learn.  If anything,  our expectations are to see how God is going to move in Yvonne and my lives.

I think about Abraham and how when he received an instruction, didn't ask questions, but just responded.  I think, too, about Jesus' instruction that we are to "...take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?... But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.". (Matthew 6:31 and 33).

I find there to be a freedom in this approach.  I know the Lord has thoughts toward me, and they are to provide to "...me an expected end." (Jeremiah 29:12). 

Our prayer then is that His expectations are sufficient for our daily needs.

Anticipation

Each morning Yvonne and I wake up to share in a morning devotional.  Today we found ourselves in 2 Corinthians 5.  The chapter starts off by talking about metaphorical "houses."  That is, that our earthly bodies are something of a temporary dwelling and that our real home is awaiting us heavenward. Since we are real estate agents about to embark on a call to full-time missionary work, it's easy to relate to this scripture.

If you've gone through the home-buying process recently, maybe you can relate, too.  Note what it says in verse 5: 

“Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.”

— King James Bible

“He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.”

— English Standard Version

The Greek word that gets translated as  "earnest" and "guarantee" represents money which when purchasing is given as a pledge or down-payment in expectation that the full amount will subsequently be paid.  

If you've purchased a home lately you can easily identify with this concept.  You've put up an earnest money deposit and you're living in a rented home, or maybe a house in a different community. Your new home beckons and with great anticipation you can only imagine how much better things will be in the new crib.  

The wait can be both tantalizing and, if you're trying to get a mortgage, agonizing. Yet you press on because of this innate expectation, knowing that in the end it will be worth it all. 

Yvonne and I can easily relate to this excitement as we put our careers on hold and enter into full-time ministry with the Lord.  For the past eight months we've been preparing and, trust me, it has not been easy, but nothing could keep us from this day.  

Truly, truly we say to you, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon (us), because the Lord has anointed (us) to bring good news to the poor; he has sent (us) to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound."  Isaiah 61:1.

Indeed, we look forward to a day when our earthly homes will be replaced by a heavenly dwelling, but for now we are endowed with a gift which compels us to press forward.  After all, has not the Lord proclaimed, "...repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

We invite you to follow us in our journey.  Please pray for us.  And, if you are so led, share in our ministry at the donations page of our web-site.