the world of Yobo....a life in DUO

Friday, November 24, 2006

 

Medical Missions

Two weeks ago, I went with Amara to Kentucky (a new venue for me) to attend a medical missions conference. It was held at a mega church in Louisville called Southeast Christian Church:

As a ministry of Southeast Christian Church, the Global Missions Health Conference (GMHC) shares the church’s vision to connect people to Jesus and one another. Stemming from the Missions Ministry at Southeast, which seeks to make these connections throughout the world, the GMHC extends that reach even further. Each year the GMHC connects healthcare professionals and students with one another and with mission workers, agencies, non-profit organization leaders, and ministers. Further, through main sessions and breakouts the conference provides information, training and equipping for medical personnel interested in ways to use their skills to connect people to the Great Physician, Jesus. The GMHC is the largest gathering of its kind. Networking among like-minded believers fosters action and unity regarding the call to evangelize every people. Christian healthcare professionals encourage one another in their faith and work—and the intersection thereof. In addition, the conference is designed to encourage all believers with special worship and prayer times intended to strengthen connections to God. The result, we pray, is worldwide impact.

It was a very informational, inspirational, and encouraging time for me to find out more about medical missions and hear excellent speakers share about their experiences in the mission field. The conference was big and featured awesome plenary sessions with worship, quality breakout sessions, lots of exhibitors from various missionary organizations, and yummy food (like they served Arby's and Chick-fil-A!).

One of the plenary session speakers was Dr. John Patrick, a retired Christian physician who now lectures around the world on many moral issues as well as the integration of faith and science. He spoke on the topic of culture and development. One of the things he emphasized was the importance of raising children with a love for God and a deep knowledge/familiarity with the Bible.

Another cool speaker was Steve Saint:

Steve was born and raised in Ecuador where his parents were missionaries. His father, Nate Saint, was the “Jungle Pilot” who was one of five young men killed in 1956 by the Waodani Indians (known as Aucas) whom they were trying to reach with the Gospel. Miraculously, two years after the killings, Steve’s Aunt Rachel (along with Elisabeth Elliot) was invited by the tribe to live with them where she was based until her death in 1994. Steve’s mother Marj moved with her three children to Quito, where Steve attended school, visiting his aunt and the Waodani during the summers. He grew up knowing the men who had killed his father and came to love them, to regard them as family, to be baptized by their hands, and to be embraced as a son.

The experience of Steve Saint is what the movie End of the Spear is based on. His lecture was entertaining and touching as he recounted his work with the Waodani people and the impact that they had after being transformed in Christ.

The breakout sessions I went to were:

1) Faith Enough to Walk on Water
2) How to Use Your Practice as a Missionary Site
3) The Top 12 Questions
4) Continuing to Follow Jesus: Living the Christian Story
5) How to Manage your Student Loans and Still be a Medical Missionary

A couple of these were more inspirational and the rest were a lot more practical and information-rich.

Amara and I were able to explore the exhibit halls and talk to many organizations and programs about doing short-term missions trips as clinical rotations for next year. Hopefully, we'll be able to find an opportunity for us to serve and work alongside one another for next November.

We didn't take many, but here are a couple of the pics from that weekend:


Amara and I with some of her Lawndale Summer Medical Project teammates from her time in Chicago this past summer


Amara and I in the main atrium of Southeast Christian Church

Growing up, it was on my heart to use my knowledge/skills/training/gifts to serve people. And thus, becoming a physician was a natural decision for me. More recently, the importance of reaching out to serve people's spiritual needs has become more evident to me. I never really knew what that would look like as a doctor, but missions (domestic or abroad) is something that I am very interested in exploring and until now, have not had much experience in.

For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

~2 Corinthians 4:5-6

4:25 PM Albert