Back Flying Again!

After three weeks of being grounded, we're back flying tomorrow morning (Wednesday). I will be in a meeting at the Ministry of Health all day to be trained on the country wide decentralization of health care plan, but our specialist eye/dental care team will be flying to one of the health clinics. I thank God for answered prayers - patients will get the care they need, our staff will be able to get back to the clinics and out for a break, and we can all do our jobs again. Thanks for praying!

Matsaile Ministry

It's been a long three weeks of no LFDS flying. Same thing as before where the Lesotho gov't is failing to pay the flight bill to MAF and we are grounded. In spite of that, through some special gift money, we flew up to Matsaile on Tuesday to hold the biweekly medical clinic. I was really happy to be sitting in the back seat watching Kelly have the controls to fly under the careful eye of MAF pilot Danny Hulls. Enroute to Matsaile we picked up another missionary who is heading to another part of the mountains to meet a village chief in order to begin the work of ministering to herd boys. Two stops later we were at Matsaile airstrip. Wewere met at the airstrip by Justin and Korby. We gathered up our medical and repair supplies and headed to Matsaile village.

This visit was two fold - to do the clinic and to fix Korby and Justin's HF radio antennae. Strongwinds had broken some fasteners and the lower half of the folded dipole had fallen down. Danny is a pilot/mechanic and offered to help fix it with Justin's help. While they worked on that Kelly, Korby, Thabang headed over to the building to prepare for the clinic. With the help of Ntate Tsupane and a couple of the village health workers, we get the place set up, unpack the medications, and then have a word of prayer before seeing patients. I like to pray for those gathered and

then pray with each patient as I examine and treat them. As we were setting things up, we were surprised to meet a

lady that had come from Thaba Tseka (about 5-6 hours walk) to do voluntary HIV testing for any patient desiring it. I was glad to find out that only 1 of 15 tested were positive for HIV.(the country wide prevalence is around 23%)

Thabang and I saw the patients while Korby and Kelly dispensed the medications. It was not quite as busy as I had hoped (saw 46 patients) but I think that people were not expecting us as they knew of the problems in paying

the bill.

After finishing the clinic we had some time to sit and talk with the guys and have prayer together. We were thankful to be able to complete the tasks we had come to do. We then carried the medical and repair supplies back to the airstrip to prepare to fly back to Maseru. We were soon airborne heading home. 50 minutes later we were on the ground and heading to the house.

Please continue to pray that the bill will get paid so we can resume normal flights. We have staff that need to get back to the mountain clinics and others that need a break. We have three successfully treated patients who were discharged from the hospital here in Maseru but can't get back home till the flights resume. And pray for our LFDS staff as we are discouraged.

Daily by His grace...

So which are you doing?

Sally reminded me this morning that what I posted perhaps wasn't entirely clear. To some of you, it may have come across that we had been doing it all wrong, and suddenly I got some 'new revelation.' It's not the case. Rather what was exciting me from the meeting in Augusta was to realize that our organization now had a 'fresh view' of how you can do the both of Preach and Heal. I had the opportunity to gather with a large number of our health care professionals and supervisors that were being trained and were excited about the both of Preach and Heal. Unfortunately in the past, in some areas where our group works, the supervisors had not viewed this approach as a valid way of church planting, and so had either stopped or at least strongly discouraged our health care personnel from using their medical skills as part of their ministry. (yeah, I know that sounds pretty severe, but it was true.) Sally and I were blessed to have worked in a region where our supervisors were supporting us all along the path.

So, it wasn't that I got a new revelation in Augusta, rather it was affirmation of what Sally and I had been doing (the "A,B,C,D,E" concept) in Uganda over the past years. We began by entering the community (part of the university and hospital), caring for the needy (in the hospital and then HIV/AIDS clinic), and then because of our compassionate loving care were able to get into homes with families of our patients, sharing the gospel. We saw God work in amazing ways as we went into people's homes with our Ugandan colleagues at our side, empowering them to do the same. Disciples were made, and churches were planted - all by the grace of God and for His glory!

What excites me is that Dr. Fielding put it down in a book, something he and his family have been living and teaching. And now, others will have the opportunity to apply those A,B,C principles with intention on the front end of ministry (or be affirmed that they are already doing it). The bottom line is to be more effective in doing what Jesus calls us to do - Go, Preach the Good News, and Heal.

That excites me.

Preach and Heal, or Heal and Preach?

If your task is to share the Gospel with people who haven’t heard before, then which is the best (or better) way? Preaching is good, but what if people are hurt and hungry and not interested in listening? Healing is great, but what if you are so busy doing it you fail to preach the truth? How you answer the question depends a lot on your background, experience, biblical understanding, and your world-view.

I just returned from a conference in the US sponsored by our organization that really challenged my thinking about this topic. Over the years I have tried to integrate both in our ministry, but I confess that the ‘healing’ part of it tends to take precedence. I have felt the tension of ‘preach or heal’, but haven’t really got it figured out. I have been continually remodeling my ‘Theology of Health and Illness’ as I call it, but this conference really forced some re-thinking. Much of the material came from a book called “Preach and Heal” by Dr. Fielding. Now don’t be put off by the title thinking it is only for health care people. It is one of those books that I really think everyone who is serious about following Jesus needs to read. (I don’t often get so passionate about recommending a book, with the exception of the Bible)

I just love the opening chapters that basically have an ongoing dialogue between the ‘preacher types’ and the ‘healer types,’ each presenting their biblical basis for saying that “Preaching” is right, or “Healing” is the answer. They both have strong arguments. Fielding helps us to better understand this artificial dichotomy. You may be surprised to hear that the author (a medical doctor) will conclude that the answer is not one or the other, but both. And will try to convince you that the church has to once again embrace the opportunities of Preaching and Healing in order to more effectively reach all who need to hear the good news.

I like how he takes the “A,B,Cs” of emergency medicine (airway, breathing, circulation, etc) and applies them to missions. Let me share just a bit to whet your appetite to buy the book (available through our mission link on the right).

We all know the biblical mandate for missions. Both the OT and NT make it very clear. Jesus, makes it very clear in his teachings, and the early NT church got to it after a while (after the initial persecution of the early church). In the book, Fielding suggests the following as a model for a form of missions that is both Preaching and Healing, whether you are a health care worker or not.

Access the community. Be in the community, side by side the people you are trying to reach. This is the relatively easy part.

Get Behind closed doors. Although mass-evangelism can work, it is more effective getting into peoples homes where you can share the love of Christ with them and their family.

Care for people with the compassion of Christ. That care takes many forms, both tangible and non-tangibles, medical and non-medical. There is great power in first diligently listening, and then praying for people in their time of trouble.

Disciple the believers – to be followers of what Jesus taught (remember he said to go and make disciples, ‘teaching them to obey all that I have taught you’.) This may not take the traditional form of teacher/student, but that of ministering along side one another, learning the culture and language, while modeling the Jesus-way of life. It’s not just about head knowledge, but heart knowledge translated into a Holy Spirit empowered transformed life.

Empower the local body of Christ-followers. If Sally and I try to do it all, there are only two of us – limited impact. But if we do the A,B,Cs and then do D and E, God can multiply the effect. I have to confess it is often hard, with my ‘I can do it all’ mentality, to let go and empower others to do it. Yep, they will make mistakes along the way, but so have I. Our task is to encourage one another in our walk with Christ.

So there it is – the summary of the ABCs of Preach and Heal missions. For us the ‘A’ and ‘C’ is the easy part, but the ‘B’ is the part that takes effort. And without an intentionality of the ‘D’ and ‘E’, we would just be another group doing good for the poor. Christ calls us to do more than just ‘do good.’

The book has several chapters on how one can take these ABCs and apply them to areas like Community Health, Water and Sanitation, Nutrition, Prison and Refugee Camps, Volunteer teams, and some traditional medical areas like HIV/AIDS, Community based TB treatment, and Mobile Medical Clinics.

I would really encourage you to get this book. If you are interested there is another article on “Teach, Preach, and Heal” by Michael K. Augustson, MD that challenges us along these lines. (www.churchclinic.org/resources/hcrs_teach_preach.pdf) It’s a great read.

As you might imagine, Sally and I are once again rethinking how we are doing our work in view of these simple, but biblical concepts. We are excited to think of what God may do though us by applying this to our ministry to the Basotho in the mountains of Lesotho. We’ll keep you informed…

Back in the Air Again

Wanted to let you all know that the gov't has paid enough of the bill so that LFDS is back flying again. Thank you for praying! So tomorrow, Monday, the LFDS team will head to the remote mountain village of Matekane to provide much needed medical care. I won't be there as I am heading to Augusta, Georgia to the Medical Missions Mobilization Summit at Warren Baptist Church. (http://www.regonline.com/MMMS10)

Thanks again for standing in the gap for the Basotho.

Is My Heart Burning?

This morning I began re-reading a book Kelly gave me for Christmas a couple of years ago. The book is entitled "Great Days with the Great Lives" and provides daily readings along with Scriptures that chronicles 10 great lives found in the Bible. In the introduction, the Russian Poet Boris Pasternak is quoted

"It is not revolutions and upheavals that clear the road

to new and better days, but someone's soul inspired and ablaze."

That caught my attention immediately. I'm ready for a clear road to new and better days. The past months have been frustrating as the ministry plans Sally and I had seem to have all fallen apart. We've been praying for direction, for inspiration, for 'revolutions' of ideas if I may use that term. So I could relate to the poets quote. But then I read it again and realized that what was lacking was the latter part.

To be very honest, I have been spending too much time contemplating the unaccomplished things, and the challenges at LFDS, and the difficulties with the government, etc. Considering the poets thesis, I would classify myself as having a soul that is uninspired and certainly not ablaze. That may sound harsh, but it is true. The past 12 days of not flying again has afforded me the time to do some self evaluation and soul searching. It has been a process of asking hard questions, talking to God, and waiting for answers. Which is the really hard part because I am of the personality type that likes to make things happen. But not this time, I've purposed to go slow and learn.

So what am I doing? I've realized that this is time to immerse myself in the Scriptures. In addition to reading the gospels, I enjoy listening to podcasts of great preachers. I was doing just that last evening as I was on the eliptical. The sermon was based on Jesus' words in John 15 "if my words abide in you..." As I came to the end I was evaluating the message and was about to say 'this wasn't that great' when the preacher said something that hit hard. He shared how he and his wife have a weekly lunch 'date' and that for the past 6 months that date took the form of the first 20 minutes lamenting all the challenges and problems they were facing in the church family. He shared that in the midst of that date he suddenly realized that they had not once shared scripture, but only complaints. They purposed at that moment to change. He shared a verse that really hit me. The psalmist David is in the midst of trouble but is writing about the past mercies of God. He says,

I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;

I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;

I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness

from the great congregation.

As for you, O LORD, you will not restrain your mercy from me;

your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me! (Psalm 40:10-11 ESV)

What struck me was that I had been focusing on all the 'troubles' Sally and I are having and haven't recalled the great mercies and the faithfulness and the salvation God has shown toward us. Not only that, but I haven't been speaking of that faithfulness and salvation, instead just complaining. No wonder I don't have a inspired and burning soul. I know I'm not the only one that is struggling with this. I do recall those in the Scriptures who call out to God to give them a heart that burns for him, that longs for God and his word, that is ablaze with the joy that comes from being totally satisfied with and in Jesus Christ. What I've realized is that I need what only God can do through the power of the Holy Spirit through Scriptures - to transform me more towards the image of Christ. Jesus said, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life." (John 6:63 ESV)

So, as we wait to hear the news of when we can get back to flying to serve the Basotho in the mountains, I'll be trying to do better at recalling the great mercies of God and saturating my mind with the life changing, soul igniting words of Jesus Christ.

Daily by His Grace,

Larry

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Grounded once again!

Well, it's a repeat of last year! The Lesotho gov't is 3 months behind on their flight bill payment to Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) and so we're grounded once again. The explanation given this time is that the Finance Ministry (like the Dept of the Treasury) has failed to process things to get the money transfered. This same thing happened last October and we were grounded for a month. So, no Doctor Team flights, no patient flights except for life threatening emergencies.