Demonstrating and proclaiming the Truth with compassion. Sharing God s Word. Spring 2012 Volume 3, Number 3

Transcription

1 Sowing by Grace Demonstrating and proclaiming the Truth with compassion Sharing God s Word Volume 3, Number 3

2 Features Holding God s Word in My Hands frees God s Word Bound Prisoners Medical Missions Universal Attraction with a Universal Solution Reaching Ulithi Planting Churches in the Isolated Parts of the World Medicine in Missions History The Black Bearded Barbarian A Warning to Medical Missionaries Altruism Without the Gospel is Vain Volume 3 Number 3 US Address: GDMMissions 635 Methuen Street Dracut, MA Phone: office@gdmmissions.org President: Jack Mitchell Executive Director: Bryan Bell Editor: Michael Vetter Design/Layout: Bryan Bell, Ray Toomey Proofreader: Millie Hemingway On the Web Sowing by Grace is available online at sowing.html Permissions & Rights We encourage GDMMissions supporters to use material from Sowing by Grace to mobilize churches and individuals for missions. Permission is granted to copy or excerpt material as published without photos for non-commercial purposes as long as this publication is credited as the source. All other rights are reserved by GDMMissions, and permission for other commercial or non-commercial use requires written permission. by Grace Dental and Medical Missions, Inc.

3 Holding God s Word in My Hands! A by Michael Vetter, Editor nyone reading this issue of Sowing by Grace probably has more than one Bible at home. We take it for granted that we can readily put our hands on a copy of Scripture and connect with the Word of God. Thanks to modern technology this can be instantaneous through our phone! But can you remember the very first time you held a Bible in your hands and read God s Word? Maybe not, but our medical and dental evangelism team on the Micronesian island atoll of Ulithi relived this awesome experience scores of times when New Testaments were handed out and people read about Jesus Christ in their island heart language. Our cover image conveys this life-changing experience and nurse Sarah Higgins expressed her reaction this way: People from Salem Bible Church (my local church) took an offering last year to reprint the out-of-print Ulithian New Testament. After seeing God provide financially for the reprinting, this March was my first opportunity to hold one in my hands and give it out to people hungry to know what it said. Tears of praise came to my eyes. This issue also has a field report about our equally-exciting ministry in Cameroon. Dr. Carol Loescher tells of God s Light shining in a dark African prison through medical and dental care. Another article, looks at free medical and dental care as a universal attraction for people often large crowds of people. What an opportunity! We consider how a universal attraction presents an opening for GDMMissions to give a universal solution. Finally, read Jennifer Mitchell s review of The Black Bearded Barbarian to find out who this medical missionary was! s Sowing by Grace 3

4 frees Bound Prisoners God s Word GDMMissions has conducted more medical evangelism clinics in Cameroon than any other region of Africa with an objective of revisiting the same villages to encourage new believers and assist missionaries starting churches. In conjunction with missionaries Tom and Barb Needham and Walter and Carol Loescher and their families the trip in January, 2012 was further proof that God is working among people groups in villages and in a prison through medical evangelism. Here are three reports about the work of GDMMissions and host missionaries that recently changed lives in Cameroon: The darkness of the prison and the despondency of the men within is difficult to describe with mere words. The dreariness of the days, the drudgery of monotony, the depravity of sin, and depression of illness create a gloominess that invades the remote recess of the dimly lit cells. Then a GDMMissions team walked through the iron doors and entered the prison with the light of the Gospel. But gaining entrance to the human heart is more challenging. The portal to that hidden spot is an ancient one. Christ entered it when He walked on earth through acts of mercy and deeds of kindness. 4 Sowing by Grace

5 Some prisoners literally waited months for Dr. Jack s arrival. The long list of men waiting to see him would have intimidated the most intrepid dentist, and his patients were not mere chicken-thieves or jay-walkers! Yet, Dr. Jack and his assistant, Nina Minka, treated them with dignity and kindness. A prisoner who was condemned to death once told me: You are different because you touch us. No doctor or nurse ever touched us before. The team touched these men literally and figuratively through compassionate medical care and kindness. I was honored to work with them, and I trust that the fruit of their visit will continue to ripen. Dr. Carol Loescher, MD, Medical Missionary Do you know the Lord? I asked the next patient in line after a brief conversation. He exclaimed, Yes, madam, He is my Savior! Because Pastor Felix came and shared the Gospel, I believed and the Lord changed my life! Two minutes later I had to return to my duty and found myself thinking on that power that changes lives. His testimony sounded so simple someone came and told; he heard and believed. As a result his eternal destiny changed. We read Romans 1:16 the next morning for our team devotions: The gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. The phrase because he came and told, my life was changed stayed in my mind for many days. I am excited what the Lord is doing through GDMMissions! Their ministry is not about making the Gospel message powerful. Their ministry is about Missionary Walter Loescher shares with a prisoner at the Foumbam Prison. being obedient to the Great Commission, Go ye Because they go and tell, the power of God is working. Nina Minka, Dental Assistant Our ministry in Cameroon proved to be a physically demanding but spiritually rewarding ministry. In the village of Amanavile, where we ve ministered on three separate occasions, a church has been officially organized. Ten believers were baptized the Sunday we were there. Following the baptismal service the ten signed a church covenant officially establishing the church. Many of the believers who were baptized were saved at our medical outreaches throughout the last few years and have been discipled by Pastor Felix (national pastor) under the teaching of missionary Tom Needham. Overall, in the villages of Amanavile and Akwaya, we saw around thirty individuals trust Christ as their Savior. Bryan Bell, Executive Director s Sowing by Grace 5

6 Medical Missions Universal Attraction with a Universal Solution by Michael Vetter, Editor Wherever GDMMissions travels with free clinics the crowds often form early in the morning and by opening time individuals and families waiting to see a dentist or doctor can number in the hundreds! The attraction of someone who can relieve human suffering is a universal phenomenon depicted in the Gospels and seen today in African villages, Pacific atolls, and South American huts. Is the attraction universal because it is free, gives some small temporary relief, offers hope of a full cure, or is a combination of all the above? Numerous times in the Gospel of Mark we read about large crowds attracted to Jesus when they heard that He healed the sick. We read of: great multitudes (sometimes in the thousands) seeking His healing touch; much people followed Him, and thronged Him in their eagerness to be healed; they pressed upon Him, for to touch Him. Whithersoever He entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, hoping He would end their physical suffering. Sadly, as helpful as those cures were, they stopped only the ravages of sickness on their physical bodies. Jesus knew this but also offered the multitudes living water to satisfy their souls. A promised cure for their sicknesses was the universal physical attraction to draw them to the universal spiritual solution. Our methodology at GDMMissions in dental/ medical evangelism is to use the abilities of skilled, willing servants to attract people to hear the saving message of God s grace. Understanding mankind s common desire for health and wellness we use medicine as an attraction to create an opportunity to present an eternal, spiritual solution in the Gospel. The universal attraction 6 Sowing by Grace

7 of medicine has powerful benefits in evangelism: Physical relief through medicine crosses all language and cultural barriers Skilled professionals can minister care to anyone and tangibly demonstrate the compassion of Christ. Doors are opened to medical clinics even in countries hostile to the Gospel. Dental and medical care has an impact across all age groups Infants, children, teenagers, men and women are all helped. Medical care for infants and mothers has an especially profound impact on families. Field clinic care is very cost-effective A few dental and medical professionals, with minimal equipment and supplies, can effectively treat large numbers of patients in a single day. Hundreds in a village or remote island can be reached for a fraction of the cost a comparable clinic would cost in the U.S. Minimal health care is always appreciated Blood pressure screening, teeth exams, or a packet of ibuprofen may seem of limited value to us but they are received gratefully by those who have very little and never experience compassionate health care. Everyone benefits especially from dental care Constant tooth pain resulting from a lifetime of poor hygiene can be relieved in a dental clinic using minimal equipment and medicine. Simple check-ups and preventive oral hygiene lessons (with free toothbrushes) have long term benefits. Our teams are motivated to travel anywhere in the world, giving their time and sometimes enduring personal hardship and difficulties to help missionaries evangelize and start local churches. We appreciate that the universal attraction of health care can be used by Good as a prelude to the message of the Gospel that will last forever. s Sowing by Grace 7

8 Reaching Ulithi Planting Churches in the Isolated Parts of the World The ministry of GDMMissions in Micronesia in March, 2012 had the goal of flying to the island of Yap to concentrate efforts with missionaries Paul and Sherry Zimmer, Bob and Polly Whitmore, and national student pastor James Layomai on the outer island atoll of Ulithi and its smaller islands. This was the third time GDMMissions had come on Ulithi to help missionaries bring the Good News to an otherwise closed island. Over the past three years we ve seen people saved and the island people become generally more receptive to the Gospel. This report from missionary Mark Zimmer highlights the need and the fruit from our recent trip: Dr. Jack Mitchell with a GDMMissions team came out to Yap for clinics and medical evangelism. Bibles in the language of Ulithi and small, solar powered radios arrived just in time to use for this outreach! On this trip, the team s focus was Yap s outer island atoll of Ulithi. We were able to reach two islands in this group: Falelop and Mog Mog. The people were especially hungry to hear the Truth on Mog Mog, which has always held the reputation of being the least receptive of the four islands. Many hearts turned to the Lord and over 300 Ulithian New Testaments were given out, along with 100 English Bibles. We met many of the people who made professions of faith last year and they were continuing in the faith. Please pray that God will continue to grow these new believers on Ulithi and that the seeds that were planted will yield fruit. Paul Zimmer, Missionary Sarah Higgins, RN has been on the GDMMissions team to Ulithi for the past three years and shares her excitement seeing believers grow. On Monday night (the advance team s first day on Ulithi), despite that fact we 8 Sowing by Grace

9 had told islanders we thought studies might start on Tuesday night (when the rest of the medical team would be there), we heard noises outside while we were eating dinner. Opening the front door of the clinic, we found about 20 people quietly waiting in the dark for us to come out and have a Bible study. How can you say No to that? Dr. Jack and Dr. Greg shared the Gospel and portions of Scripture, and people went home spiritually fed! This same approach of informal evening Bible studies, begun when we were on Ulithi the previous year, continued each night with increasing numbers in attendance. Each attendee followed along in their new Ulithian New Testaments. On our last day, Angelina (Pastor Zimmer s daughter) and I said tearful goodbyes to James mother, sister, and aunts. A little group of believers, as well as many other islanders, gathered at the airstrip to say goodbye. It reminded me of Jesus talking of sheep without a shepherd. But there is now a group on Ulithi who are hungry for Bible study and teaching. Some are saved, some maybe not... please pray that James Layomai (now a Bible student on Guam) could move to Ulithi soon to meet this need and begin a church there. Sarah Higgins, RN s Sowing by Grace 9

10 Medicine in Missions History The Black Bearded B by Jennifer Mitchell, Dental Assistant George Leslie Mackay was born on the Canadian prairie just before the American Civil War. Hard work and responsibility were learned early on their farm where he also gained a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. He had set his heart to serve the Lord in a foreign land and nothing would deter him. He was known for his unbeatable spirit both on the farm and also on the North Coast of Formosa where he felt lead to serve. It was the most unreached portion of the island and that was what drew George to it. The Chinese bitterly rejected his presence and he found it hard to even find shelter as no one would rent him a room. But George was not deterred. He just kept asking until finally someone gave in. Next he tackled the language, finally getting some young children to teach him. Because of the terrible prejudice he knew his Chinese would need to be impeccable. He studied the Chinese language night and day but also literature and culture until he could defeat any scholar in a debate and answer any question that was put to him. He called himself a teacher and as he showed himself proficient in all things Chinese and was bold in his preaching, some began to soften and listen. After months of prayer God answered with his first convert. A Hoa became George s Timothy and together they traveled to the different towns on the island of Formosa to share the gospel. Everywhere he went he was yelled at and called Black-bearded Barbarian or Foreign Devil. Often George and A Hoa were pelted with rocks and manure until it became too dangerous to stay, but in a few days, George would convince A Hoa that they should go back. This would continue until they were finally able to rent a room and make it into a chapel. George realized early on the terrible condition of the people s teeth and he whittled a tool out of wood for extracting teeth. He would announce that he would be glad to help in this way and soon the people would be lined up for extractions. So grateful were they to have their pain relieved that their hearts began to soften and they would give George and A Hoa a hearing. Some would be saved and begin to attend the little chapels. At times the idol worshipping Chinese would attack the chapels in fury and tear them apart stone by stone but George would just rebuild them and 10 Sowing by Grace

11 arbarian keep preaching. Soon he had built over twenty chapels and had trained enough Chinese young men in the Scriptures to become the pastors of each one of them. Then he would move on to another bastion of idolatry and start extracting teeth to gain a hearing. Never trained in dentistry, he became proficient through trial and error but God blessed his practice and people s attitudes began to change. With so much to do, he slept no more than four hours a night so he could study the Bible, train his students, oversee the chapels and preach the gospel in new towns. Heathenism was losing its grip on the North Coast of Formosa through one man s dedication to Christ. As money poured in from Canada, he built a hospital and a Bible college. Other medical missionaries came to help him in his practice freeing him to concentrate on evangelism. After years of single hearted devotion to his work, he married a Formosan Christian who helped in the evangelism of women. Continuing his unrelenting pace, he was eventually broken in health but as soon as he recovered he was right back into his work and travel. Everywhere he went people were saved and idols forsaken. He became greatly loved and respected by the Formosan people. In 1901, forty one years after George Leslie Mackay arrived on Formosa with his unbeatable spirit, the Lord called him home to heaven. Thousands had come to Christ in those years through the Canadian missionary who preached s the gospel and wouldn t quit. Taken from The Black Bearded Barbarian by Marian Keith; Published by Dodo Press A Warning to Medical Missionaries Altruism Without the Gospel is Vain Taken from an article in The Medical Missionary monthly newsletter, February 1910 There are many people today who are moved by noble impulses to be of use and service to mankind. They devote their lives to some branch of philanthropic work and take delight in those things which to their mind go to elevate the [human] race and benefit the world. They feel a measure of dependence upon divine assistance. Altruism as an element in the Christian religion is essential; but as a substitute for the Gospel of Christ it will never do for fallen men and women that which they need to have done. The ladder that reaches from earth to heaven is not the inherent good that is in the heart of all men, nor is it in the inspiration obtained by admiring the love and benevolence of God as the benevolent power that upholds and provides for all creatures. These are great facts, but the greatest of all truths is that Jesus Christ is in the world seeking and saving that which is lost. The view that the world needs most to have is that of a Son of God lifted up from the earth. It is absolutely vain for any man to attempt to escape from the incubus of sin except through the atoning blood of Christ. It is equally futile for us to encourage men and women to lift themselves out of the depths into which sin has thrust them down except by that uplifting power that comes from the cross of Christ. Jesus does not warn us against believing in God; He approves of that; but He Sowing by Grace 11

12 would have us not forget to believe in Himself as the greatest and only means of saving the world. Get & Stay Connected GDMMissions needs your prayers. To keep you informed we publish regular reports and notices via . Sign up at html. After inputting your address in the signup box, you will be prompted to choose which type of communication you would like to receive including the Mitchell s, or Bell s newsletters, and ministry opportunity bulletins for medical and non-medical personnel. Sign up today. Sowing by Grace Grace Dental & Medical Missions 635 Methuen Street Dracut, MA Change Service Requested Presorted Standard Non-Profit Org. US Postage Paid Dracut, MA Permit No. 3