Sowing by Grace Demonstrating and proclaiming the Truth with compassion A rural clinic committed to the Gospel s advance among the unreached of Northern Benin Volume 5, Number 1
Features Your Servants for Jesus Sake Vision» Burden» Direction» I being in the way the Lord led me Partnering for the Advance of the Gospel in Difficult Places The Blessings and Challenges of Medical Mission Paperwork, Paperwork, and More Paperwork! The Logistics of starting a clinic in Africa Medicine in Missions History The Scalpel & The Sword 3 4 6 8 10 11 Volume 5 Number 1 US Address: GDMMissions 150 Cross Street Methuen, MA 01844 Phone: 978.454.6710 E-mail: office@gdmmissions.org www.gdmmissions.org President: Jack Mitchell Executive Director: Bryan Bell Editor: Michael Vetter Design/Layout: Bryan Bell, Ray Toomey Proofreader: Nancy Krawczyk On the Web Sowing by Grace is available online at www.gdmmissions.org/ 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.
your servants for Jesus sake by Michael Vetter, Editor The articles in this issue of Sowing by Grace explain our vision for a medical clinic in the northern region of the African country of Benin as a base for spreading the gospel. When I think of this challenging effort, it brings to my mind the passage in the apostle Paul s second epistle to the Corinthian church that explained his motivation when he came with the gospel to their city. He and his team were used to manifest the truth while they endured painful difficulties and opposition. (II Cor 4:1-2) Paul had a twofold desire: that he and his team not be the focus of their ministry, but that Christ Jesus the Lord would be preeminent; and, that the Corinthians believers should consider Paul and his partners your servants for Jesus sake. (v. 5) GDMMissions missionaries and those on our short-term missions trips are similarly motivated to share the gospel around the world as servants for Jesus sake. In the past six months we have experienced some significant events in our ministry and enjoyed many blessings: some high-impact dental/medical evangelism trips to Africa, the Philippines, and Micronesia; new missionaries Rick and Becky Enterline; and a larger home office facility have demonstrated that God is abundantly faithful. This issue of Sowing by Grace is devoted to sharing a project that has been on our minds and hearts for several years. One of our long term strategic goals for the mission has been to establish a permanent clinic somewhere in Africa to provide patients with follow-up medical care and spiritual discipleship. When a team was in northern Benin last January ministering in a predominantly Muslim tribal area, the pieces seemed to fall into place to present a unique opportunity. GDMMissions leaders discovered that they shared a common vision with missionary Colin Ovenell and local pastor Zak for evangelism complemented by medical care. The idea for the Benin Clinic Project began to take shape! Enjoy the articles in this issue of Sowing by Grace devoted to the Benin Clinic that introduce its origin in the heart of a missionary pastor, how GDMMissions is and will be involved, and what must be done to establish a state-recognized medical and religious facility in northern Benin. Finally, we hope you ll be encouraged by another book review from Jennifer Mitchell on the life of Dr. Lincoln Nelson, M.D. whose medical ministry in the Philippines spanned an amazing sixty years. s Sowing by Grace 3
»» the Lord led me by Colin Ovenell, Missionary to Benin 99% by most estimates). As is customary, Joshua mentioned in passing (although very intentionally), that he would appreciate if I could help him find interested sponsors who would be willing to partner in a medical outreach with a vision toward evangelism I being in the way This confession by Abraham s servant spoke of God s sovereign control over the affairs of the patriarch when it came to choosing a wife for his master s son, Isaac. This simple phrase is instructive because it reminds us that God works today through the purposed flow of ordinary events in our lives to ultimately bring glory to Himself. Jesus Christ is magnified when we take the time to reflect on how He is working. I was sitting in my living room one day with Joshua, a Beninese brother in Christ, who shares our burden for reaching the Dendi people of northern Benin with the gospel. Joshua is a registered nurse with a heart for medical evangelism. The Dendi tribes are a predominately Muslim people group (over among the Dendi tribes. As church planting missionaries, we were most certainly interested but the concept passed through my mind like water under a bridge when I considered an already-heavy ministry workload. We parted ways and agreed to make a medical mission a subject of our ongoing prayers. Several months later, Bryan Bell of GDMMissions wrote to us and asked about the possibility of bringing a medical team to assist in opening doors for the gospel on this 4 Sowing by Grace
Vision» Burden Direction challenging field in northern Benin. To our needs of the local population to the best of surprise, governmental doors were opened wide their abilities from a little mud hut near the and GDMMissions was welcomed into the church building. region shortly after we began making inquiries. A local pastor in one of a very few villages with Medical evangelism is not the only strategy an established local church, had recognized for reaching the lost for Christ in our region, the chronic need in his village for medical but it has in fact become a very large part care around the same time. He and his wife in an overall strategy which includes ongoing had lost a son to malaria and knew of many church planting ministries, Bible translation, other families in the surrounding region who and leadership training. Medical intervention were losing loved ones to illnesses that often and evangelistic efforts have intertwined to required only basic intervention. He reached become an integral part of all aspects of the out to Joshua and together they discovered a goal of taking our Savior to the Dendi people. common vision for a small medical dispensary. God has very evidently orchestrated the details With minimal funds they began meeting the of this work. Being in the way the Lord leads us. We are excited to witness this work blossom into fruit for God s praise and glory. s Sowing by Grace 5
Partnering for the Advance of the Gospel in Difficult Places Partnerships have been integral to the advance of the gospel since our Lord commanded the great commission and the Holy Spirit empowered believers to live the gospel in and before a hostile world. When Paul closed his letter to the believers in Rome he mentioned more than 30 individuals, most of them by name, who were crucial to the advance of the gospel. These fellow workers or partners (a term used five times) made the advance of the gospel possible in spite of the restrictions and persecution imposed on that great apostolic missionary. Paul s partners had various gifts and roles: Timothy, mentioned in verse 21 of Romans 16, served as a fellow missionary and a pastor of the church in Ephesus; Priscilla and Aquila, mentioned in verse 3, served in the trenches with Paul, risking their own necks for the apostle and for the gospel s advance; Mary, who appears in verse 6, worked hard and faithfully meeting logistical needs; Phoebe, who is commended to the church in Rome, is called a succourer or a patron of Paul and others; finally, the apostle s ministry was supported financially by Phoebe. It took a by Bryan Bell, Executive Director, GDMMissions team of individuals and churches striving together for the sake of the gospel to take God s message of salvation to the world. In an effort to see the gospel advance in the harsh Muslim-dominated territory of northern Benin, GDMMissions is partnering with veteran missionary Colin Ovenell and the Boifo Baptist Church to establish a medical clinic that will function as a forward command post for the gospel of Christ. The clinic, once registered with the government of Benin, will be incorporated as a health and training organization, thus providing an umbrella for regional evangelism, on-going discipleship, and the training of national men for church ministry. Colin and Teena Ovenell have ministered in northern Benin for eight years. Their understanding of the language, culture, and religious tensions of that region make them indispensable assets to a work in this region. Through their mission board, Faith Baptist Mission of Winterhaven, FL, they will provide local oversight for the clinic project. As the Field Coordinator, Colin will oversee the initial building phase and provide high-level 6 Sowing by Grace
management of the facilities and ministry once the medical clinic is operational. Having the Ovenells on the field in the town of Boifo will allow short-term teams of medical and ministry personal from GDMMissions to enhance this ministry s effectiveness. The vision for the clinic was born out of Pastor Zak s desire to reach the large Muslim population in and around his village. Efforts to place evangelists in other villages have failed. Villages that once had a gospel witness twenty years ago have no light today. The Boifo Baptist Church under the leadership of Pastor Zak is committed to train, equip, and engage in sustained evangelism and discipleship using the clinic as a focal point within the Muslim community. A medical clinic for the region brings people where gospel seeds can be sown in territory that is friendly to the gospel. A clinic also demonstrates Christ s compassion something completely foreign within northern Benin s Muslim context. A clinic helps build trust and relationships which are key ingredients in reaching any tribal group. As a committed partner, GDMMissions medical non-profit status will expedite the process of securing legal standing with the Benin government. GDMMissions will provide medical expertise and deploy state-side medical professionals to train national medical personnel to provide care that exceeds the current dysfunctional/non-existent health care options in the region. GDMMissions will also serve as the financial conduit for accountability and sustainability. Partnerships are crucial for successful ministry. Advancing the Gospel in harsh places like northern Benin requires many partners with widely varying roles. What role would God have for you in this partnership? s Sowing by Grace 7
The Blessings and Challenges of M in remote short-term situations It was a joy to serve with GDMMissions in the Philippines as a resident physician for two weeks in May, 2011 and again for two weeks in May, 2012. While my first trip in 2011 was the third time I had participated in a medical or dental ministry overseas, it was my first time doing so as a physician. I was excited about the opportunity to take time out of residency [Stony Brook University School of Medicine in Long Island, NY] to serve, but also nervous about working independently for the first time in an unfamiliar setting, with limited resources. I am so thankful that I was able to come boldly to the throne of grace and experience the peace that comes with bringing every concern and obstacle to the Lord and trusting His ability to work out the details as He sees fit. The value and gravity of this type of ministry became readily apparent on the first day of our clinic in 2011 when eight hundred patients showed up early in the morning at the church in Brooke s Point, Palawan hoping to be evaluated in the clinic that day. I immediately realized that I would be of more value to these patients, and our medical evangelism team, if I evaluated them efficiently and independently in order to maximize the number of patients we treated, instead of the American model I was used to that involved spending a longer time with each patient and then discussing cases with a senior physician. God knew which village clinics would be the busiest, and in each of those locations He saw fit to provide local nurses, physicians, dentists, and other local believers with useful skills to allow us to work most efficiently to provide care for large numbers of people. It was exciting to see God at work as all of those whose physical needs were met also had the opportunity to hear how they could be by Stephen Boutrus, MD reconciled to God through the work of Christ on their behalf. Many made professions of faith or expressed interest in further contact with the local church pastors and believers with whom we worked. We also had the joy of meeting with the local believers for church services and times to pray with them as they sought to continue to carry out the rest of the great commission after we left: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:20) God allowed many interesting challenges to arise 8 Sowing by Grace
edical Missions both in 2011 and 2012. At one location, our supplies had to be pulled into the mountains on sleds by water buffalo while we hiked up on foot. At another village, the government sent inspectors to the clinic to look for faults in the care we were providing. In one setting, I spoke English, which was translated by one person into Tagalog, which was then translated by another into the local dialect. The patient replied in the local dialect, which was translated back to Tagalog and then back to English. By the time I received a reply in English a couple of minutes later, it was not an answer to the question I had originally asked! In another setting, I was told for weeks before our trip that the local government would not allow me to practice medicine in that location. Then, I was able to praise God that He saw fit to have them reverse this decision the day before I arrived. Through these and many other challenges, the one constant was God s faithfulness in ensuring that no obstacle would prevent an effective ministry for His glory. Traveling with GDMMissions to the Philippines in 2011 and 2012 was both an opportunity to serve our wonderful Savior and an encouragement to me. It is a reminder of the greatness of our God as He shines through simple clay vessels like us to work wonders in the lives of people (II Corinthians 4:7), and also a stimulus to pray for the many needs of church-planting pastors and local believers as they seek to serve the Lord, both in the U.S., the Philippines, and around the world. s Sowing by Grace 9
Paperwork, Paperwork, and More Paperwork! How do you begin a medical clinic in a remote region of Africa? Where will the doctors and nurses come from? What will it cost? How do you turn a vision into a reality? Where do you start? Jeremiah put his faith in the LORD when the armies of Babylon surrounded Jerusalem and threatened its total destruction: Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee (Jeremiah 32:17) God reassured the prophet that He would make sure that Israel was not completely obliterated but would one day return to the land because, Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for Me? (v. 27; cf. Genesis 18:14) GDMMissions has always trusted the same God to provide all that is needed according to His divine will to take the gospel to the far ends of the earth. Sensing that He has opened unique doors of opportunity to make Jesus Christ known in the northern region of Benin, we are trusting Him to meet our needs in the Benin Clinic Project. As we make plans for a medical clinic in northern Benin, we recognize the positive aspects of the political and cultural climate in that country. Northern Benin is in a remote, rural, sparsely populated area of the country and thus more removed from the politics and turmoil of the capitol in the south. The people are tribal and cautious of newcomers. This insular culture, although almost entirely Muslim, offers missionaries and local believers many opportunities to establish oneon-one relationships and demonstrate the love of Christ on a personal level. Thankfully we don t need to start from scratch! A small church-sponsored medical dispensary, with limited staffing in the village of Boifo, has, in the past, created positive openings for sharing the gospel with an appreciative people and made an impact on the health of the villagers. With this favorable experience in mind, a local chieftain offered the local church of Boifo a plot of land upon which to construct buildings for a permanent medical clinic. With a village location identified and a local church to sponsor the clinic, where do we go from here? As you might expect, the answer is three words paperwork, Paperwork, PAPERWORK! Nothing can move forward in Benin without paperwork, and lots of it! We have begun charter documents to operate officially in Benin as a nonprofit Non-Governmental Organization. (NGO) This will allow us to conduct routine business transactions, purchase supplies, ship medical supplies and equipment, license professional health workers, and move workers within the northern tribal regions. There are other licenses and permits needed, but the journey has begun. We ask your prayers to work in the hearts of national and local government officials to view the clinic favorably and give speedy approval to our requests. We are making information available about the Benin Clinic Project through a web site http:// www.beninclinic.com as we begin speaking about the clinic in local churches. A brochure is available on the clinic web site and the GDMMissions web site http://www.gdmmissions.org s 10 Sowing by Grace
Medicine in Missions History The Scalpel & the Sword Medical Missions in the Philippines And take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. (Ephesians 6:17) Lincoln Nelson was saved as a young boy and had no idea what a medical missionary was until he heard one speak at a youth camp when he was in the sixth grade. That was in 1935. From then on, Linc, as he was called, knew that he wanted to be a doctor who told people about Jesus. Following his desire, he entered college and began a premedical program. When World War II broke out he enlisted in the United States Navy and, through a special program, was able to continue his college courses. He went on to medical school, still attached to the Navy, and gained valuable training and experience that he would later use on the mission field. Linc married his childhood sweetheart, Lenore, who was also interested in medicine, and she gained her degree in nursing. Their desire after medical school was to go to Dutch New Guinea to serve the Lord, but the way was blocked by the Dutch Religious Consul who controlled all religious works in the Dutch East Indies. When their orders from the Navy sent them to the Philippine Islands, they saw this as God s direction and rejoiced. When Linc completed his military obligation in the Philippines, they would be already in their country of service, with much of the cultural adjustments behind them. And so began thirty-eight years in the Philippines by Jennifer Mitchell, Dental Assistant treating its people and sharing God s Word with them. Linc was primarily a surgeon and Lenore his operating room nurse, although often he was called upon to hike to remote villages to operate on those too sick or badly injured to come to the Baptist clinic where he worked. While in these villages he would gather the people together and tell them of a loving Savior who had given His life for them on the cross. Linc and Lenore lived and served most of their years on Mindanao, the Philippines most southern island, but they were also concerned for the sick and indigent patients on the neighboring island of Palawan. Soon, Linc and some of the other missionaries had established an itinerary of monthly fly-in clinics. They flew to remote coastal villages, treated the people in need, and held Gospel services in the evening. Then, the next day they would repeat that schedule. Groups of believers sprang up and churches were formed. The same ministry was begun on the island of Leyte, where opposition by leaders of a dominant religious group had constantly hindered church planting efforts in the past. The medical team was able to break down some of the prejudice that had created barriers in the past and soon patients were coming in increasing numbers. A Baptist clinic was built and became a center for evangelism. God used these medical teams as catalysts to introduce hundreds of people to Jesus Christ. Whether in the operating room or in the jungle, Linc used the skills God had allowed him to acquire to reach the people of the Philippines with Sowing by Grace 11
the Gospel. To a medical missionary, medicine is not an end in itself, but a means to an end. Using the Word of God, evangelism was his main burden. Dr. Lincoln Nelson fully understood the definition of a medical missionary: one who wields both the scalpel and the sword. (Editor - Dr. Lincoln David Nelson, 88, joyfully entered the presence of His Lord and Savior on Thursday, March 15, 2012. According to his obituary reprinted by ABWE, for sixty years he performed surgeries and helped to start four hospitals in the Philippines, which in turn started more than one hundred twenty churches.) Taken from With Scalpel and the Sword - An American Doctor s Odyssey in the Philippines by Lincoln D. Nelson M.D., ABWE Publishing. Get & Stay Connected GDMMissions needs your prayers. To keep you informed we publish regular reports and notices via email. Sign up at http://gdmmissions.org/contact. html. After inputting your email 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 150 Cross Street Methuen, MA 01844 Change Service Requested Presorted Standard Non-Profit Org. US Postage Paid Dracut, MA 01826 Permit No. 3