I have met with the heart of Kudjip Hospital, and I am humbled. My spirit is filled with reverence for God's workmanship among the servant leaders of our missionary community.
The first of its kind, this retreat brought together all the department supervisors as well as physicians of the “Nazarene Health Ministries” (NHM) - after well over 50 years of effective Christ-centered service to the Highland people.
We retreated to a mountain, high above the people we serve, amid clouds and tall trees, closer to the Heavenly Father we sought for counsel and renewal.
Over 40 strong, our hearts were light with anticipation and filled with the joy of beloved company. Though a newcomer to this tightly woven fellowship, I was pulled into many a warm embrace, like a favorite younger brother or prodigal son, and my heart was likewise filled.
I witnessed in this gathering the Spirit of God fiercely manifested among His finest warriors - worship and testimonies freely declared in tearful joy, a rich glimpse of Heaven and the Life to come. Our weekend speakers, Spiritual heavyweights all, stood before us morning, afternoon, and night, exhorting the small congregation, each a leader of many, into even greater servanthood.
We received Truth on the power of prayer directing our spirits, on the compassion of Christ directing our hearts, and on the freedom of Faith directing us upon His path. We revisited Christ's example of leadership - loving, serving, protecting, and ready at all times to lay down self - even to death.
We reviewed the triangle of Spiritual Health - UP to God, IN to Discipleship, and OUT in Evangelism - and we wrestled with aspects of our personal and ministry lives which have fallen short. With these things illustrated as a garden, we appreciated the nurturing importance of good soil (the Word), water (the Spirit), and pruning (our Trials), and we accepted the call as unique tools in the Gardener's hands to take part in cultivating and reaping His harvest.
I recall this inspiring Truth:
God accepts whatever is placed on His alter...
What He accepts, He purifies.
What He purifies, and fills.
What He fills, He uses!
In meeting with this heart of ministry, God has rekindled my desire to lay down my life to His call. Is there anything greater in this life than to be so purified, filled, and used?! The question is not yes or no, but where and how will God make our home? He has placed us at Kudjip for the year, and every day while living in service to this ministry, we seek understanding of His call with open eyes and hearts - is this the people we will serve for the rest of our lives? Will our children play and grow among these rich mountains?
These are the questions that roamed the recesses of my mind while driving home on Sunday. I drank in the cool air and lush green landscape, returning many roadside smiles, and God's answer came as it always does: Be at peace my son, trust me, this too will be revealed in my time. And right on cue a rainbow appeared, chased before another afternoon storm, dividing the sky with a perfect ROYGBIV.
As an interesting epilogue to our journey home, we came upon stopped traffic blocking the main road outside of Kudjip Station. In the storm that had just passed, a tree had fallen across the road, and in best PNG fashion, every local man with a cutting tool had eagerly fallen to clearing the road. This heroic act would seem genuinely chivalric, except they were then using the cut branches as road blockades to collect payment for their work from all passing traffic. I later learned this is not an uncommon practice, and in some circumstances, it’s not always clear whether these road “improvements” are in fact created by locals in order to levy a tax on those passing through.
As we rolled to a stop behind others waiting to pass, a little debate took place among the passengers as to whether we should pay the toll, or just get out and walk the rest of the way to Station. Not particularly feeling like carrying luggage the last half mile home, I took the opportunity to stick my head out the window and wave down the nice gentleman who seemed to be directing traffic with his large split log. Seeing my white skin (and probably the Nazarene logo on our Cruiser), my greeting was warmly returned, and we were immediately gestured to pass by. Our driver handed the man a small note as we rolled through the debris, and I took the following pictures, which I think are fantastic – clearly representing the spirit of PNG.
No comments:
Post a Comment