Power in the Word

With only a couple weeks left on Station, I am eager to make the most of every moment. There are certainly practical measures I exercise every day to see good medical outcomes, like putting my Tok Pisin to the test to go past surface level history and invest extra time to find the real source of my patients' problems. And there are also disciplines in self-awareness to recognize when no amount of my language effort or medical knowledge is sufficient for a given case, so I waste no time in seeking out Dr Mark or Dr Ben for guidance. But beyond the practical steps to serve the insanely diverse medical needs here, I have increasingly enjoyed the regular application of scripture into my patient's Spiritual care. 

On a number of occasions before we left the US, I spent some quiet evenings cross-referencing my English NIV with my "Buk Baibel". This was done in part to exercise my reading comprehension of Tok Pisin, but also with the express purpose of bookmarking a number of my favorite Bible verses in the Buk Baibel for future reference. On past trips to PNG I had regularly prayed with patients, but did not have the verses in Tok Pisin to quickly reference. I wanted for this trip to have just the right verses readily available to share for a variety of scenarios.

Throughout our time on this trip, I have carried the tiny Buk Baibel in my medical shoulder bag and much to my joy it has made a frequent appearance in my day to day work. Without any preconceived plan, the Holy Spirit has led me to stop and take a moment to step out of my comfort zone (or my busy-with-medical-stuff zone), in order to apply the Light of Truth into the person in front of me. Rarely in the past have I felt the move of the Holy Spirit in the midst of serving the medical needs of a patient, but WOW do I ever feel the move now in cracking open the Word in native tongue! 

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Proverbs 3:3-8 

My early exercise of the Buk Baibel mostly occurred in the outpatient clinic, and interestingly I was most frequently drawn to invest the Word into middle aged men struggling with anxiety over their hypertension, heartburn, and muscle pains. The verses from Philippians 4:4-6, Proverbs 3:3-8, and Romans 5:1-5 all made regular appearances as I was led to admonish their worries and encourage their spirits to receive peace and hope. 

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Romans 5:1-5

In both clinic and the ER I have also had to give many diagnoses of terminal cancer (most commonly liver, breast, and uterine) for which I have invested scripture from Psalm 46:1-3, Romans 8:35-39, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, and Act 20:24. I am so thankful to have fellow missionaries here to help me in confirming a terminal diagnosis and affirming there is nothing else that can be done. I am also thankful to have Chaplains on staff who I can hand these patients off to once I have explained their medical situation and prayed with them. The Chaplains, also being nationals, are able to connect with the patients on a deeper cultural level to ensure they understand the terminal nature of their diagnosis, and then invest further into their Spiritual health.

I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace. Acts 20:24

Another regular appearance of my Buk Baibel has been on A Ward where I have given a devotional every Sunday morning following pediatric rounds. Initially I chose specific parables to read like "The Parable of the Sower" (Mark 4:3-9, & 14-20) and "A Tree and Its Fruit" (Luke 6:43-45), which I used to encourage the faith of the sick children's caregivers. I have always been amazed to see how clearly the PNG Highlands people, almost all subsistence farmers, understand and appreciate Jesus' farming parables. Equally relevant was the morning after we had a terrific 7+ earthquake overnight, when I shared Psalm 46:1-3 and Jeremiah 29:11 to address fear and encourage hope. 

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Psalm 46:1-3

Over this past Easter weekend, I went Saturday morning to round on the Peds ward and was greeted by the sound of a mother's heartcry for the death of her child. This baby with severe malnutrition had been admitted a couple days prior - a very similar presentation to the severely wasted baby "Setina Dominick" who I'd shared about dying in my last post. It is true here in PNG that there is an exaggeration to the mourning exhibited by the caregivers of a deceased loved one - an effort to demonstrate they had nothing to do with the death and that they are truly sorry. The culture demands a culprit for deaths wherever possible, so proper revenge and/or compensation can be made. But for me it is always heart wrenching to witness all the same. 

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

So having signed the death certificate with a heavy heart, I started rounds with another very sick toddler who had been worsening overnight. I had admitted this child a few days prior and there was discussion about whether the underlying disease was new-onset diabetes (very unlikely), versus some other metabolic derangement associated with her malnutrition (much more likely). Either way, she was knocking on death's door and here I was rushing the order of another battery of tests, hoping to find an effective treatment. Halfway through rounds, the crescendo wail of a mother's cry began and my heart sunk. I rushed to the bed to find the child without a heartbeat or respirations, staring lifelessly past us all, a clear fluid foaming out of her mouth. In the moment, I felt a little nauseous and wanted to escape the piercing cries. I mumbled the obvious diagnosis, gave my sorry, and knowing the family culturally needed space and time to cry, I went back to finishing rounds. Sitting down on the end of the next child's bed, I forced a feeble smile onto my face for another mother hoping her child might escape death. There were tears in her eyes - I wasn't the only one feeling gut punched by the death cries. 

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

After finishing rounds, I have never been more eager in my life to escape into the Word and share in the balm of healing to be found there. With Buk Baibel in hand, I stood in middle of the ward and said something to the effect of "It is not easy for me to hear the mothers' cry. My heart breaks for their loss. I believe you too share their pain. When the hardship of life shatters our peace, I find that the Word of God is a refuge of His love and hope. I do not have a specific verse to share with you, so I will let the Spirit show me which passages to read, and we can share this refuge together." With the Easter miracle of Christ's death and resurrection in my heart, I read from John 11:25-26, Galatians 2:20, Romans 8:35-39, and Psalms 51:10-12 (can't recall in which order I read them). And then I prayed and the Holy Spirit spoke through me!! Every other time I have previously prayed in Tok Pisin there have been moments of struggle to find the right words to express my prayer - not this time. The words flowed through me, a space in time where the Spirit was ministering peace and purpose into my innermost being while bestowing a fiercely deep love upon those with ears to hear. What a blessing! 

Jesus said “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Roman 8: 35-39

There is POWER in the Word of God, and I am here at Kudjip Nazarene Hospital in the Western Highlands of Papua New Guinea to be a conduit of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His love sustains me. His Spirit leads me. His Name is worthy of our praise! AMEN

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20