Occasionally God allows us to see our role in the process of building His kingdom.  As health-care workers we are privileged to offer advice regarding the diseases that afflict our patients, bringing both comfort and healing to their bodies.  But treating the physical is only part of our calling.  God calls us to integrate our faith in the process as well as giving Him all the credit for the result.

In the International Saline course we learn about the importance of integrating faith and medicine to bring about healing of the body and healing of the soul.  We use faith flags to identify ourselves as people who believe in God and project the hope we have in Christ.

Recently, I received a call from a mother with a 10-year-old son who developed an abscess on his knee from a small wound.  She was very concerned because despite lancing the lesion and trying to remove the purulent material, the infection was getting worse.  This was quite painful for her son.  The next step would be to go to the hospital which neither the mother nor the child was eager to do.  What else could be done?

Normally, I do not recommend treating patients over the phone.   But on those occasions when I do, I tell the patient what to expect and when to call back so they don’t develop a false sense of security and delay more appropriate treatment, creating a worse situation.  I prescribed an antibiotic, warm compresses three times a day and gave specific directions about what to expect.  I told her I would be praying for her son.

After several days I called to learn what happened and this is what she told me.

“After the first day of antibiotics we were not really seeing any improvements.  I am so glad you told me to wait for the second day or I would have been very nervous.  We had two groups of people praying.  My son was really afraid to have to go to the doctor to be “cut up” so to speak.  On the evening of the second day of antibiotics, the inflammation was less and the circle of redness for the first time had started to become smaller.  Praise God!  In the morning of the third day we saw a miracle.  It was completely healed.  No redness and the opening where the pus was coming out had closed.  It was as if it had been healed a week before.  We nevertheless continued with the antibiotics.

“One of the sweet things I got to see from my son was that after each cleaning, still with tears in his eyes, he would come and hug me and give me thanks for cleaning his wound.  What an amazing opportunity the Lord gave me to see that my son understands: that we who try to heal sometimes produce pain for the benefit of our patients, as does God.  I was so proud of his courage in this ordeal.  At the end, he became stronger, he understood very clearly the power of prayer, he experienced first hand the power of medicine and he gave Glory to God for it all!

“We have been blessed!  Thank you again for direction and for the “peace” you gave me over the phone!  You have blessed me, my son and my family!  Indeed, it is by His grace and it is for His glory!”

God used my words to offer hope to this family and revealed His eternal purpose in the process to this mother and her son.

Thank you God for your encouragement and for teaching us how we can be your instruments of both temporal and spiritual healing.  May we always remember to give you the credit for our success.

Part of being of a missionary is being willing to serve and to go whenever and wherever.  Some missionaries are not required to travel much in the countries where they serve while others are continually leaving family and familiar environs to meet, teach, and share with those God has given them the opportunity to serve.

So, when I had the opportunity to travel to western Ukraine this past month and take Marianna along with me, it was a real blessing.  We boarded our train on a Wednesday night in Kyiv and arrived in Ivano-Frankovsk the next morning.  At the train station we were met by Andrei Mikitin who is the director of a rehabilitation center for families dealing with HIV/AIDS.  It is always exciting to learn about what God is doing through other ministries.

Andrei is a man who used to work in the government, but since becoming a Christian in 2004, he has begun an organization/charitable fund called Solidarity (www.solidarity.if.ua).  They publish a small newspaper, paid for by  selling advertisements.  They provide support for programs related to alcoholism and drug use as well as families affected by HIV/AIDS.  Western Ukraine is not as affected by the HIV crisis, but often find themselves underfunded because the  money goes to areas more severely affected.

After we met Andrei’s staff, we were invited to meet with several children who are HIV+.  When one 10-year-old boy arrived, his jaw dropped when he saw me.  “I know you  You are one of the doctors at Okmadet where I was a patient recently.”  I was just as surprised.  This was a good reminder of how God directs our paths providing divine appointments according to His purpose.

Also present was a woman who was gaunt and obviously ill.  During the conversation Jim was able to plant the seeds of the gospel and offer true hope through Christ.  Pray for this woman that she might be one step closer to salvation,  eternal life and healing for her body and soul.

During our brief visit, we discovered several areas of overlapping interest besides the care of HIV+ patients.  These included Biblical counseling, adoption, publishing of Christian books and networking with other Christian organizations in Ukraine.

Our time in Ivano-Frankovsk was short, but very profitable.  In the afternoon we left by bus and headed for Mukatchava to visit Dr. Pavel Orossi and learn about the Christian Clinic he started with the help of the Luke Society.  On the map it looks like a short three-hour trip, but I forgot we were crossing the Carpathian Mountains.  As we crossed the mountains it began to snow.  At one rest stop there appeared to be about six inches of snow on the ground and it was still snowing hard.  Seven hours later we arrived and were taken to the Christian Hotel connected to the Reformed Church of which Pavel is a member.

After a very comfortable night’s sleep and a delicious breakfast we began our time with Dr. Orossi.  We first met him at the UMO conference for young Christian physicians in August 2008 and deepened our relationship with him at the International Christian Medical Dental Association  meetings in Austria.  He is very much interested in encouraging his colleagues, sharing his faith with his patients and developing the International Saline program in Ukraine.

The medical clinic he started in 2000 with the support of the Luke Society is now self-sufficient except for the restoring or the purchasing of major equipment.  By the grace of God they have the most modern clinic I have visited in Ukraine.  They started from the beginning to be committed to excellence in whatever they did because they serve a most excellent God.  Until recently they owned the only CT scanner in the region.  Their mammography equipment is the only functioning unit for a population of 1.2 million people.  They provide in addition a laboratory, several ultrasound machines, endoscopy, culposcopy, EKG and soon EEG examinations.  The most amazing aspect is the whole clinic is paperless.  All medical records, lab results and results of examinations are available on site via computer to all clinic physicians.  This computer program was developed completely by their in-house IT technician.  Truly amazing, since my office in Maryland was not totally paperless.

Next we visited their satellite clinic which serves 8,000 people from 13 villages.  At the clinic we found the same warm atmosphere.  The staff at both locations seemed happy to be at work and showed genuine concern for the patients they were serving.  These clinics were truly being salt and light to the patients and the surrounding communities.  While only the leadership are Christians, they are raising the standard of care in the community and attracting qualified professionals to work at the clinic.

Before we boarded the train to return to Kyiv we were privileged to share a meal with Dr. Pavel, his wife and Dr. Vasyl, his partner.  The food was delicious and the fellowship even sweeter.  At the end of the evening we paused to pray for God to work in the hearts of healthcare professionals and patients throughout Ukraine and his blessing upon the work of the Christian Clinic, UMO and the work we can accomplish together for his kingdom.

For several years we have been praying for God to help us develop relationships with medical students and recent graduates of medical institutes.  We realized the future of medicine in Ukraine will one day be in the hands of the next generation.  Strategically working with this group through evangelization, discipleship and encouragement seems a natural way to transform the lives of these young professionals with the Gospel.  Then they will transform their medical system.

Therefore, when Rostyslav, a young Ukrainian physician we have been praying for and working with for several years, called about two months ago and asked for my assistance in preparing for a medical conference for students and recent graduates in the field of health care, I readily accepted.

One of the many positive things about this conference was the organization was done solely by the Ukrainians themselves from beginning to end.  They did need substantial financial support and still need about $500 to break even.  This is a significant step forward.  Last year our ministry partnered with Intervarsity Christian Fellowship in Ukraine to sponsor and organize what we think was the first such conference of young Christian medical workers.

The theme of this conference was Golden Standards and Christian Values in Modern Medicine.  There were two foreign speakers with the remainder from Ukraine.  There were lectures on evidence-based medicine, how to discern truth from error using the Bible, and what is good medicine.  While the Bible is not a textbook of medicine it does provide unchanging guidelines regarding how to use the knowledge God has allowed us to discover about his creation, us.

Equally important during our time together were the many conversations during the breaks or while walking down the street in the beautiful city of Odessa.  “I learned that the Word of God is unchanging.”  “I didn’t know there were so many other Christian students.”  “I feel stronger knowing we are together.”  “How do I share my faith with my patients?”  “I want to begin a Christian medical fellowship at my school.  How do I do it?”  “We should put God and his Word first because they play a significant and functional role in our daily lives.”  “I learned over the years that  science and technology have changed due to discovery and research but, the Bible still remains the same.”  “We can discover the difference between truth and error by studying the Scripture.”

Indeed, we are seeing God at work through medicine.  Last year we had 35 attendees.  This year we expected 150 and 170 came.  Many are returning to their schools or hospitals with a desire to reach their colleagues and patients and  begin meeting together regularly for encouragement and to learn how to apply the Scripture to the practice of medicine, bringing true hope and healing to those they live with, work with and serve.

Much of life, I am convinced is just a matter of showing up and being available.  Recently a fellow missionary in Ukraine asked me to participate in a conference for business people.  The conference was about using the Ten Commandments to develop a personal code of ethics when dealing with employees, colleagues, customers and government officials.  My first reaction was this really does not pertain to me.  I have an extremely busy month ahead in our own ministry.  What would I have to offer?  The presenters said there are always questions about medicine and my participation would provide first hand knowledge.  Eventually and reluctantly I said “Yes.”  In addition I agreed to host one of  one the couples in our flat.

The weekend course turned out to be very useful and applicable to the practice of medicine and me personally.  Many young Ukrainian physicians dream of opening their own clinics.  But, on what principles will they build their practice?  The course helped me prepare for a conference for medical students later in the month with the title, Golden Standards and Biblical Principles in Medicine.  What better standard to use than the Ten Commandments!

The couple we hosted, Tom and Ann Tannery, were extremely encouraging.  Tom owns his own business in Atlanta and is president of a ministry called Europartners.   They both have quite a testimony of how God reconciled them to himself.  The time of fellowship we enjoyed with them was just what the doctor needed.  It is always interesting how God puts people in our paths to instruct, rebuke, correct and train  if we are willing to submit to another’s authority.

During the conference I was able to make new friendships and renew some old ones.  In the end, there was not one question asked that pertained directly to medicine, but my wife and I were blessed for being available in so many other ways.

One week ago my colleague and partner in the practice of pediatrics died after being involved in a horrendous car accident.  There were lots of unanswered questions.  He drove his car into the back of a truck parked on the side of the road.  Did he fall asleep?  Why him?  Why now?  He  did so much good and brought physical healing to so many.  Why?  Why?  Why?

It is never easy to deal with death.  As doctors we are supposed to keep people alive.  Our patients desire and expect us to restore their health and at the very least beat back the specter of death from overcoming them.  In reality, the best a physician can do is delay the inevitable.  Even this gives physicians too much credit, for it is God who enables us to provide physical healing and controls the number of our days.  And yet, those who believe and those who do not ask, why, why, why!

When a doctor dies, we can say, “Look, for all his knowledge of medicine, he could not save himself, therefore, what hope is there for me?”  In the same way Jesus was mocked by the chief priest and elders as He was dying on the cross.  “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself!  He’s the King of Israel!  Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.  He trusts in God.  Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” (Matthew 27:41-43)  Why?  Why?  Why?

But this is not the end of the story.  On the third day after Jesus died, he rose from the dead, witnessed by many and remains alive today.  As Jesus said to Thomas, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

As Christian physicians, we are obligated to do our best and God entrusts us with the truth.  We are reminded daily of our frailty and who is in control.  Why we ask?  So that we may reflect on the condition of our souls and those of our patients’, as well as our need for a Savior.  It is only after believing in Christ and him crucified for our transgressions that we can have true hope and offer it to our patients.  Our sadness will turn to joy knowing the peace that surpasses all understanding will bring healing to our souls and ultimately the restoration of our bodies.

Read 1 Corinthians 15.

Not many of us get to make some great contribution to medicine like Dr’s. Warren and Marshall in this month’s devotion.   But everyday we can to do something in the service of our God that will have meaning for eternity in someone’s life.   Now that is significant in the eyes of God.  Are you willing to be used by God for this purpose?

We pray God may give us understanding of his purpose for medicine to care for the physically dying and offer hope for the spiritually dead.

Enjoy this month’s devotional from The Doctor’s Life Support published by the International Christian Medical Dental Association.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in the very nature of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!  Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Phil 2:5-11

In 1982, the Australian pathologists, Dr. Robin Warren and Dr. Barry Marshall identified Helicobacter pylori    as causing gastritis and gastric ulcers.  How they confirmed that the organism was the cause of suffering for millions worldwide, is an example of how we can relate as Christians to healthcare and life.

Firstly, Dr. Warren did not take things at face value, nor did he accept the teaching of his predecessors as written in stone.  He raised new hypotheses to explain what he was observing.  As Christians we need to be prepared to practice from a new paradigm, a paradigm which places importance on faith and prayer in a world where Jesus Christ reigns as LORD.  We need to try and incorporate what we observe into our Christian worldview of medicine.

Secondly, Dr. Marshall, by ingesting the bacteria, committed himself to becoming an infected patient from whom biopsies were taken and the pathogens re-isolated.  He took on the condition he was trying to cure.  As a result of this, a cure for the disease was found.  This is a mild reflection of the fact that our God was prepared to become a human in the form of Jesus Christ.  He took on our human condition and experienced grief, temptation and pain.  However, as a result of his perfect life of obedience and death on the cross, a cure for the world’s most serious ailment, SIN, was achieved.

Dr. Marshall’s gastritis settled in 10-14 days.  In contrast, Jesus endured the ultimate in human suffering some 2000 years ago.  Yes, he died, but rose again and is alive today.  What is more, Jesus is alive in us now as we trust and believe him.  With him we live lives which can resist sin.

In Ukraine, students everywhere are preparing for and taking exams to finish the current year of study.  How can the Word of God be applied to this situation?  In 1Co9:24-25, the Apostle Paul writes, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.”(NIV translation)

First, we see there are many who want to claim the prize, but what exactly is the prize.  The prize is not only completion of the course of study and graduating to the next year of study.  The prize is how we may bring the most glory and honor to God in the process.  This is also our testimony as believers to a watching world.

Second, how should we run the race God has prepared for us?  We are required to run with integrity.  The world may lie, cheat, steal or bribe in order to get what it desires, but in the end this will not benefit the doctor or the patient.  The patient’s trust will be destroyed.  The doctor’s influence will be greatly diminished.  The healing, both physical and spiritual will be suppressed.  The cause of Christ will not be advanced.

Third, what does being in the competition require of us?  All who participate must be in strict training.  This training requires both time and effort.  One cannot acquire a semester’s worth of knowledge in a couple of weeks of study.  It is the persistent and vigorous pursuit of knowledge that enables one to not only pass the exam but retain the knowledge for use after the exam.

Finally, everyday whether still in school or graduated we are tested.  God provides us with gifts and talents to be used in His service and the means to with stand any test we must face. Therefore, be encouraged to fight the good fight and hold on to faith and a good conscience (1 Tim 1:18-19).  May God bless all students during this time of intense study.

Every missionary arrives at that day when he and his family find themselves standing before their home church for the last time before heading to the field God has called them to till.  That day was filled with so many emotions, excitement, sadness, joy and uncertain expectation.  I remember clearly our Pastor’s charge from Romans 12:9-21, the elders gathering around and praying and those last hugs and goodbyes from dear friends.

So off we went to Ukraine with our eighteen year old daughters and sixteen your old son.  Few mission boards would risk sending this couple in mid-life to the field.  How would our teenagers cope?  Would they even adapt to life in a foreign country?

Now we fast forward seven years.  Today we again find ourselves in our home church but in Ukraine, however only our son and his wife stand before the congregation to receive blessings and prayer before they leave for America.   Our son, who was reluctant to move to Ukraine, has mastered the Russian language, graduated from the Tchaikovsky Conservatory of Music, became skillful at playing the vibrofone, married a beautiful Ukrainian young woman at age 20, worked for the National Philarmonic Orchestra of Ukraine and has led praise music at our church.  Now in just two weeks, at age 23, he will begin study at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Once again my heart is filled with so many emotions.  As a father the emotion I feel the most is joy in the blessing of a son who has become a man who knows and fears God.  Our desire with all our children was to teach them to be independent, to think, to make decisions based on the Word of God and be caring others oriented adults.  We wanted them to understand God created them for a purpose and gave them gifts and  talents to use in His service and the service of others.  As Jamie played and Dasha sang for the last time in Kiev for awhile and listening to our pastor speak for the congregation about their service to our church, we know God enabled us to succeed and answered our prayers.

So now we stand in the congregation of our Ukrainian church, praying for God to continue to be at the center of their lives.  As our American church sent us, our Ukrainian church sends them back to America.  We remain continuing to till the field God has prepared for us and we eagerly look forward to learn what God has prepared for them.  We say “goodbye” knowing God has been and will be faithful.

Living in Ukraine and being from the USA, one must reorient ones thinking regarding the celebration of holidays, particularly those holidays with special traditions such as Christmas.  In Ukraine December 25th is just like any other workday, with Christmas not celebrated until January 7th according to the Orthodox Calender.  New Year’s Day is sandwiched in between but allows two full weeks potentially for reflection on what it means when “unto us a Savior was born.”

This time of year is indeed full of reflection of what we have done and what we plan to do.  All too often my focus is look and see what I have done.  God offers His perspective on our reflections in Jeremiah 9:23-24.

This is what the LORD says, “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight, ” declares the LORD.

So as the New Year approaches let us use God’s  measure of the past, present and the future.  Let our focus be on Him!   Retrospectively, we can marvel at what God has done through us.  Introspectively, we are thankful for all God is doing in us.  Prospectively, we can look forward to what God has planned for us. 

 Finally, we can ask ourselves two questions.  First, do we understand and know God better this past year and do we have a plan to accomplish this in the coming year?  Second,was, is and will God be delighted in how we exercise kindness, justice and righteousness?

May God grant us the grace and the ability to follow Him.

Hours of prayer and many small steps of faith over the past several years led up to the recent conference for Christian medical students and young doctors in Ukraine.  Often missionaries say, “What I thought I was going to do changed after our arrival on the mission field.”  Transforming the medical culture of Ukraine through medical students was not our initial plan.  As time passed God opened more and more doors with Christian medical students thirsting for direction regarding how they could express their faith and encourage one another.

Some of these doors were seemingly random opportunities to connect with students and young doctors, but in retrospect we can clearly see the hand of God preparing the way.  Every connection is important and provided the necessary links between different denominations, different cities, and different organizations that literally span the world that resulted in a successful conference.

These connections came from a willingness to meet with someone not knowing if or when there would ever be any possibility of cooperation.  Meeting with someone not knowing if I could clearly communicate with them.  Or maybe traveling somewhere that took me out of my comfort zone – riding on a bus or train not knowing all the details of knowing where I was going.  All these were small steps of faith and trust in what was not seen.

Our first trip to Ukraine was to Belgorod-Dinestrovski in 1999.  I met a pediatrician with a daughter.  This daughter now attends the Crimean State Medical Institution.  She came to the conference.

In the fall of 2006 Marianna met a woman at a retreat for Christian missionaries living in Ukraine.  This resulted in the presentation of the Saline Solution program to teach doctors how to share their faith in a city called Burdansk.  At this conference I met Rostyslav who Introduced me to James Tomlinson, an Englishman, who is the director of the Eurasian Region of the International Christian Medical Dental Association.  He in turn put me in touch with Dennis Gorenko, co-director of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship of Ukraine.  Also two students from Burdansk came to the conference.  

So in the Spring of 2006 I attended the Christian Medical Association of Ukraine’s annual meeting in Rivne.  There I met some young doctors from Chernivtsi.  In October of the same year  Ukraine Medical Outreach partnered with Caring Partners International to sponser a conference in Lutsk to teach how to develop an Early Intervention Program for children with disabilities.  A speech pathologist in Chernivtsi heard of this conference, found how to contact me and asked if I would hold a conference there.  We held a conference there on autism, an introduction to Biblical counseling and an introduction to Biblical healthcare in the Spring of 2007.  There were 8 students and young doctors from Chernivtsi at the conference as a result.

All of these were thin but vital threads God was weaving into a still not completed tapestry, yet more opportunities to trust in God.  In January of 2008 I met with Dennis Gorenko.  We developed a budget based on 65 people attending the conference including staff. Based on this educated guess, we determined how much money we would need to raise. Amazingly one Church responded with the whole sum.

About five weeks before the conference we learned the cost of the conference almost doubled due to the decreased value of the dollar and an inflation rate in Ukraine of almost 30%. Then we learned the two main speakers for the conference could not come, one from Belarus and one from Russia.  Next my assistant resigned to return home to care for her sick grandmother.

Events were rapidly spinning out of control.  I began to realize we planned in faith, but God planned from complete foreknowledge.  He knew exactly how much money we would need because He knew how many would attend.  One by one God provided for each of the challenges I faced.  The solutions did not depend upon my ability, but upon God’s.  He gave me the desire to make contacts within the Ukrainian medical system and now He was using these circumstances to increase my faith in Him.  He provided sufficient funds to meet all our needs.  He provided for two speakers from Lithuania plus the non-budgeted money to get them to Kyiv. 

Now we are looking at the possibility of a winter conference and several regional conferences.  Our only desire was to glorify God through medical ministry.  When we began we did not know what would happen or how it would happen, but now we clearly see the hand of God at work.