During certain seasons of the year, just before it rains, Guatemala is infested with gnats so small you can inhale them and never know they are there until you start to choke. They love white meat and will create a colony on your wrist or forearm without a permit or an invitation; but their favorite place is up your nose. Even the strongest North American insect repellents couldn’t stand a field trial against these buggers.It was during this gnat season that a team of four of us were building temporary housing for earthquake victims. In just a few seconds these folks had been made orphans and widows. Our band of volunteers was working as a team to get 150 sheds up as fast as we could; for these nasty harbingers of rain meant we had to hurry to get the people under roof before the skies would give forth the chilling seasonal rinse.Each building had two twelve-foot walls and two ten-foot walls. They were ten feet high made of rough pine 2x4 studs and 1x10 planks. The new homeowners could choose two doors and one window or two windows and one door. The building was erected on the cement slab of their former home. After completion of the walls, rafters were constructed and tin roofing affixed. Each place took about 3 hours to assemble as pre-cut materials were delivered to the sites by another part of our volunteer teams.Two men worked as a team to construct the walls and upon their completion, the four formed a team to lift the wall into place. One person then held the assembled wall while three people lifted the second wall to prepare to nail the two together.With both walls now vertical, someone had to let go of their wall, take up a 22 oz hammer and drive several framing nails to hold the two at right angles. Terrible communication often resulted in everyone letting go of the walls at the same time. The walls crashed down on workers testing the unity and Christian nature of the teams.

I learned to stand where the window was.

It took four people to lift one of these, so the person pinned under the wall cried out for the others to lift. Somebody had to hold the other vertical wall, so two would lift together to free the trapped worker. It was not a time for preaching. Often hammers were thrown and one or another worker would walk over to a private place to reconnect with Jesus and the purpose in being there. To this day I am amazed that no one was seriously hurt, no one was hit with a hammer, and by dusk, with three houses built, the team could laugh about it.

Teams succeed only when we all lift together.

I can not lift your part of the wall, neither do I expect you to lift mine. Galatians 6, the restoration chapter, instructs that we are to each carry our own load and then help another. The key to teamwork is to complement rather than compete. To release from entrapment rather than judge the fallen one. To focus on our part of the process, not another’s.Nehemiah set the workers on the wall according to families. Each family was to contribute to the timely completion of the project. When they faced opposition or attack, they sounded a trumpet and the others came to their aid.

Let us clear our thinking to hear that cry. Let us bear the additional weight of the wall to lift the crushing burden from our coworker. Let us not throw hammers. And let us love even with a gnat up our nose.

But the thunder of His power who can understand?Job 26:14b

Imagine that you can change the world. Too big a dream? Okay, how about changing a nation. Still over the top? A city? A village? A household? How about one life? After all, Jesus told the parable about leaving the flock to find one lost sheep (Luke 15). And at this point in history, we are the plan through which God works.Deciding to take on the challenge—be it one lost soul or an entire lost nation—is a big step. Where to start, how to begin, who to choose, why now? Great questions all. Good news! There is a place to begin that can change an entire land and potentially make a difference in the world.Kashmir, India, is not the India seen in most movies. It is set apart by custom, history, and religion. A predominantly Muslim population, the people cling to their beliefs in the midst of the troubled and often dangerous circumstances in which they live. It has been said that there are seven million Muslims and two hundred twenty Christians in Kashmir; that’s not a hard fact but a window into the spiritual state of the region.In the midst of this sits John Bishop Memorial Hospital, a Christian bastion that has been operating since 1890. Located in the town of Anantnag on land donated by the Maharaja, it is a cluster of aging red brick buildings that today focuses on obstetrical care for women and infants.It also houses a nursing school that is renowned for the excellent education it provides to young Muslim women. The students begin their day with Christian devotions and Bible reading. It is mandatory. Christian professionals who utilize not only textbooks and hands-on nursing techniques, but who also bring Jesus into the mainstream of the day, every day, are educating them. This school is in danger of closing its doors, as the antiquated facilities no longer meet code requirements. Closure would shut off a main conduit that takes Jesus into the greater community.

The SEAPC medical team served at John Bishop this past year. Student nurses functioned as helpers and translators; they were eager to learn and had many questions during private moments. At clinics they witnessed miracle healings through prayer, reinforcing for them the power of the Great Physician. And reinforcing for the team the absolute need for this school to remain open.The team stayed on the hospital grounds for part of the Kashmir outreach. One morning, quite early, we were hurried to the main building and helped into sterile gowns and masks. In the delivery suite, Dr. Sarah made the first incision for a Cesarean section birth. Her skillful hands soon reached into the womb, and a moment later she pulled out a small, red, wrinkled body. After cutting the umbilical cord, the nurse put the newborn in a warm bed.I stood by the baby girl’s side, enthralled with her lusty cry, her pouty lips, and her waving hands. One tiny, new life. One brand new soul. Thirty seconds after she first took a breath, I put my hand on her tummy and lifted her to the Lord. To be honest, I don’t recall exactly what I prayed, except that I dedicated her to Jesus Christ and asked for protection from forces that would prevent her from coming to a saving faith.

This experience turned into a teaching moment for the students. Not only on obstetrical practice, but on Christ and him crucified, resurrected, and living within believers. One of many such moments the staff has with the young women on a daily basis while they are there. Moments that send Jesus into hearts and into the community, moments that will not happen if the school closes.SEAPC is stepping in, with plans being developed to build a new nursing school facility on the hospital grounds. Certainly, medical care is needed in the area, and practitioners to provide it. But how much more does the village need Jesus to seep into the Muslim culture? And if just a few of these student nurses are reborn, they will take the Lord into workplaces and homes in Kashmir, and from Kashmir into other areas of the nation, and from the nation into the region. And there you have it. A world impacted for Jesus Christ, a world reborn one soul at a time.This is not simply a touching story, inspiring words, or a lofty vision. It is literally a brick and mortar project. SEAPC must raise $185,000 to rebuild. That’s a lot of money for an obscure facility halfway around the globe. A nice thought but seriously, how can it possibly happen?Let me suggest it can happen. Through you. This is a blatant “ask” for your support. Up to fifty babies are born daily at John Bishop Memorial Hospital. What if fifty souls are reborn each day to Jesus? Or what if only one soul comes to him at a time? Is one too little for the investment? Jesus didn’t think so. He came for everyone, anyone, or only one.This is a brief glimpse into the history, vision, and need faced today in the battle for Christian survival and growth in a dark part of the world. Let the light come. Let it flood the mountains, the valleys, the souls of Kashmir. Be the one who helps to make it happen. Feel the joy of something so much bigger than our finite minds can even grasp.As you read this there is likely a baby being born at John Bishop. And maybe—just maybe—even a soul being reborn.For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 1 Peter 1:23.If you are interested in more information about the history of healthcare in Kashmir, John Bishop Memorial Hospital, or the region in general, please contact us at info@seapc.org.

We may know in our heart that God has ordained a life dream, goal, or desire, but the ability to see a positive end result can seem daunting. Sometimes believing that you can indeed do what God has called you to do can be stretching. Be encouraged, there is hope!Those who have allowed themselves to imagine success through God’s eyes and subsequently stepped out in faith have seen godly results. I attended a missions conference a few months ago and had the privilege of hearing from speakers who openly shared about their own experiences and victories.Daniel Pach shared about the importance of reaching out in love to our diverse neighbors. Daniel survived the Sudan Civil War. Due to casualties of war, Daniel was orphaned at a young age, and with God’s help overcame many obstacles in coping with daily life. Daniel led thousands of boys to freedom as they fled war-torn countries in the midst of active gunfire. Amy Scheuring is the Executive Director at Women’s Choice Network, an organization that reaches out to women to empower them to choose life. Amy presented techniques for valuing all human life in a society which is often marred by shifting cultural landscapes and morals. A panel led by representatives of local ministries discussed how individuals and churches can be involved in global missions while living locally.Although varied in ministry focuses and life circumstances, all the conference speakers had one common thread.

They experienced victories and saw challenges through spiritual eyes, not through natural eyes fueled by emotions or human reasoning.

God designed our spirits to teach our soulish emotional realm. We are created to be led by the spirit of God which dwells in each of us when we become believers. There is victory that flows from thinking as God would think and seeing how God would see.As I processed the nuggets I gleaned from the conference, I saw a parallel with SEAPC.We have rejoiced in many celebrated breakthroughs. We have seen the technical training centers open in Cambodia, and we’ve seen God grant favor in China for implementing the autism ministry program CARE. God has opened the door for short-term outreaches into Japan and Haiti. After years of praying, a ministry is now up and running in Guatemala.However, in addition to these victories there are big challenges on the horizon. More sponsors are needed for children around the world. Additional funding is needed for the completion of the nursing school at John Bishop Memorial Hospital in Kashmir, and also for the school for the blind. There are still more technical training centers to be built in Cambodia.These challenges SEAPC is facing may seem daunting, but there is a promise. Just as the speakers from the mission conference attested to, when God calls and leads He does not disappoint.Going forward we have the opportunity to step out as He directs, as we prayerfully imagine godly results while looking through His eyes and listening through His ears.

What makes missionaries serve in a war zone?The headline from a local Kashmir newspaper reads: "2018 deadliest year for Jammu and Kashmir in the decade. 586 people -- including 160 civilians -- were killed in 2018."John Bishop Memorial Hospital is in the center of southern Kashmir in Anantang, the region's second largest city. The first time I visited the hospital, it was like visiting a peaceful oasis in a wasteland of conflict. Outside the walls of the hospital there were paramilitary and police forces with machine gun pill boxes, and armored Jeeps filled with soldiers to protect the city from militants trained in Pakistan in the name of Islam. But inside the peaceful compound, we sat under a large leafy tree drinking tea and talking with Dr. Sarah—the hospital's director—and her staff. We learned a little history about the hospital and how it received its name.

In 1888, Mrs. Isabella Bird—the widow of Dr. John Bishop— traveled to Srinagar where she found Dr. Fanny Butler. Dr. Butler one of England’s pioneer women doctors, working among the women of the Kashmir Valley without a hospital as a base. Through Bird’s generosity a small hospital was built in memory of her late husband, even though she called Kashmir the "smelly hole."Dr. Fanny was an amazing missionary doctor that loved the people of India and children. I was reading through a book about her life and her compassion for the people of Kashmir. As I thought about her and the word “compassion,” I looked up a good definition for it in Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology. And it was defined as, “That (human) disposition that fuels acts of kindness and mercy. Compassion, a form of love, is aroused within us when we are confronted with those who suffer or are vulnerable.”I love those words, “aroused within us when we are confronted with those who suffer or are vulnerable.” What do we do when we are confronted with suffering or people who are vulnerable? 100 years ago, the babies had less than a 50% chance to live in Kashmir, but women like Dr. Fanny Butler and Dr. Sarah have shown compassion by loving the vulnerable and the suffering. Each day some 50 babies are born in the hospital and more than 30 nurses are taught to have compassion and deliver and care for babies.We at SEAPC are partnering with Dr. Sarah, her son, and the staff to expand and provide more learning space for the nursing school at the hospital. This partnership will also maintain the existence of this place of compassion and light to south Kashmir. We are trusting the Lord for $185,000 USD in order to begin construction this year, so that the nursing school can continue to hold classes and the hospital can continue to show love in action and be the hands of Jesus.Will you take the step of faith with us to see this new construction for an expanded nursing school?

Walls are in the news today. There are sea walls, firewalls, Great Walls, prison walls, emotional walls, and handball walls.

Driving through the North Indian state of Jammu-Kashmir we saw a tall wall on the left side of the road. It is just South of the town of Druz. It has neither corner nor door, but just stands there as you drive by. When asked about the wall, our guide laughed and explained that the Pakistani snipers are high in the mountains on the other side of the wall hoping to poach an Indian soldier or a tourist.There is a wall in the old city of Warsaw that held me in rapt silence for over an hour. It was the wall of the Warsaw Ghetto and, still bullet pocked, it holds the names of those who were stood against it and killed by the Germans. Having read about it as a teen, I was stunned at its stark reality.Just after seeing that wall, I found myself standing before the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, bobbing my head and reading prayers in Hebrew which I had not done since Bible school. There is something very special about that wall.Take advantage of the spring in Colorado and stop in at the Jericho Center, home of Every Home for Christ. There you will find Agatha’s wall. Named for a wonderful intercessor, Dr. Agatha Chan, and built by EHC in response to a revelation to its President, Dick Eastman. This is a true prayer wall. It is made of Jerusalem Stone and within its chambers are prayer cells with state of the art techno-links to all that is going on in the world. You can occupy one of the “gaps” as Dick likes to call them and, in one hour, pray for every nation on earth.Agatha, a friend to both the Geppert and Eastman families, truly inspired us to build prayer walls in the 19 districts of her beloved Hong Kong. We influenced churches to take up the call and build a wall of 24 hour prayer for this gateway to Asia. They have responded and we are seeing an unprecedented move of the Holy Spirit as churches work together to change the world.Resource flows as from the high watch towers of prayer God speaks to those who love to serve Him. The watchmen on these prayer walls have dual function: to hear from God, and to proclaim His word over the nation.Though these are not literal material walls, we have climbed to the top of the highest building in Hong Kong and declared it to be one of the prayer towers.“Well,” you say. “That is great for you and the other missions people; but, I am not going to Europe or the Middle East in the near future and Hong Kong is not on my viewfinder.”

While I do feel bad that you can’t go and see these places, I do understand. What about your local high school? Do you think a wall needs to be built there to keep the drugs and violence out? Or how about your local member of the US House of Representatives? Don’t you think a wall should be built around them? And what about your local church and your beloved pastor? Don’t you think a wall of protection should be built around them?

Just go on over there and take a walk around and build a wall in the Holy Spirit. Let each step be a block and each prayer the mortar and build that thing. If you go, it is a prayer walk. If a friend goes with you, it is a prayer ministry. If a group goes, it is a prayer movement. Look at that, you can start a prayer movement.

But, if you and some friends pile into a van and head out to Washington or your State Capitol, look out—you are starting a nation changing movement that will build so many walls the enemy will never be able to get to those protected by your prayers.Got an attack on your kids? Build a wall. Got an attack on your health? Build a wall. Got an attack on the youth in your town? Build that wall.You are a wall builder.

I think we are onto something here!

I believe that prayer changes lives and nations. So, we came into 2019 shifting our strategy by asking you to focus your prayers into the people and projects we serve in one particular place over a specific period of time. Each month we are sharing posts from friends serving in areas that are hosting significant nation changing events. This month we called out for Banteay Meanchey, Cambodia! Early in the month, our friends Dan and ZoeAnna Shorthouse—recently retired teachers who now serve every day in Banteay Meanchey—shared with us the joy of witnessing their gifts and experiences developed over the years walking with God come together in unique and poignant ways to very specifically minister to a Cambodian youth population that is desperate for change.

Then we heard from Jenni Taylor, who wakes up each day in Banteay Meanchey pretty much shaking her head in wonder before the Lord. In her blog post, she shared deep vision and promised truths to the future of the platform God has laid before her as she is asked to provide a Christ-centered English curriculum to a communist public education system in a Buddhist nation that is fighting the stagnation of post-war trauma.

On the 9th and 10th of January, SEAPC opened its doors to two more centers for vocational and technical training in Banteay Meanchey. These are the third and fourth of nine total centers that we have committed to build, which are daily providing STEM and English education, job skills training, and a message of hope to the 150,000 students attending the 488 public schools of the province.The local community gathered together for the events. National and local heads of education were present, the governor of the province gathered together with the local commune chiefs, and several missionaries including Dan, ZoeAnna, and Jenni, were honored for their commitment to serve the children, as Deputy Prime Minister General Ke Kimyan, his wife, and their team affirmed the vision that God has given to us to see a generation emerge from the Killing Fields in the resurrection power of Jesus Christ to change a nation. You prayed! And from it an invitation to expand this work to the nation has emerged. Friendships formed on those days within the context of the vision and surrounded by the presence of God in prayer will change a nation. In fact, it has already begun! Thank you for taking a moment to pray for Banteay Meanchey!

Noami arrived at the children’s home in Myanmar when she was just around four years old. She had been abandoned at a railroad station. No one knows who her parents are, her actual birthday, or where she originally came from. She only remembers that her father was tall.She grew up at the children’s home. She learned about Jesus, how to walk with Him and she received an education. In 2018, as a young adult at 21 years of age, she got a job at the bus station as a ticket sales girl. She is still living at the home, while she saves a little money to be able to get her own place to live.The house parents describe her as being an obedient, quiet, and shy child. Now, they said she is still obedient, but is more talkative, active, and enthusiastic. She is known as a hardworking person.

When she speaks of her life, she says, “My life would be miserable if I was not picked up in railway station by someone who brought me in to the children’s home. Sometimes, especially when I was young, I felt very bad about my life whenever I see people enjoying their families. I desired so much to have my own family: father, mother, brothers and sisters. But my life has been transformed into a better way because of these Godly people (pastors, caregivers, sponsors, and friends at the home) and now I am starting to learn how to depend on my own two feet. Most of all, I thank God for leading me into His presence. I know that it was by God' s grace that I started to see so many people who loved me and care for me. Thank you very much for loving me and caring for me. I am here; able to live in a very supportive environment because of you.”God has watched over Noami her entire life.He knew the choices her parents or caregiver would make in leaving her at the railroad station. He protected her there and brought her to the attention of a lady who brought her to the children’s home, instead of someone else finding her and doing something unthinkable.She has grown up in love, security, and health. Her life completely changed because of people praying around the world.Now, she is going out and changing the lives of others.

Hubert Chan is a friend of mine.

We met at the insistence of his mother, Dorothy. She was a member of a Friday Bible Study that I had been invited to attend. Meeting in a very private home among the high society of Singapore, it was this group that often prayed for us and helped us with the costs of ministry. I have no idea their material wealth, but as we sang and danced and played tambourines the glory of God came among us. Those ladies could pray. Often the prayer and worship time took up most of the teaching time, which was good for me. Folly is to try to tell someone 20 years older than you anything.Dorothy had a son whom she loved very much and whom she wanted more than anything else to be a man of God and especially a missionary. She asked me to meet up with Hubert and a lifelong friendship was established. A wild and woolly character, Hubert was ready to take on any challenge. Once he surrendered to the Holy Spirit, he became a Caleb for sure. Taking the highest mountains and loyal to Joshua.

We spent a few years reaching from Thailand into Laos. At that time the church in Laos was facing very strong persecution. Pastors were being martyred and fear was trying to hold a grip. Any large meeting was going to be raided and sentences were severe. As we prayed about this, we remembered the power of small.One of the fathers of the House Church Movement in China had shared about taking a small group of four disciples and training them to each reach four more. The man had shared that this was the key to growth of the movement and, since we were facing the same communist spirit in Laos, we decided to give it a go.The Lord brought us seven of the New Generation Youth; and from a center in Thailand, we began the discipleship process. Hungry to know the Bible and Christian lifestyle as Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount, and commissioned by their parents, these youth grew tremendously until it was time for them to go back through the “Bamboo Curtain” and under the oppression. Sending them off with prayer and love, we knew we could not go over to visit them for our faces would surely bring police action as the Lao government did not want their citizens involved in any western influence.More than a year passed. I was in the US and Hubert in Malaysia and Thailand when he called. He was so very excited. “You won’t believe this,” he said excitedly.“What won’t I believe?”“They did it. They did what we taught them to do. Seven disciples had trained another 28 people who were now training 140 people and they have already decided how to place 560 house-based discipleship groups.”Hubert was beside himself with glee. No one had been harmed. The groups were small. The large number realized continued to grow through the Lao Christian Movement which no one ever heard of because each representative group was so small, they wouldn’t even be noticed.

Find four. If you don’t have time for four, then find one, but find someone to impart Spirit life to on a daily basis. Pray for them daily and send a text of encouragement. Make Matthew chapters 5-7 your training material.

If each of us reached one, and taught them to reach one, and if the Christian population of the world today is around 31 percent... How long would it take for all to hear the great news of Jesus?

But if anyone drinks the living water I give them, they will never thirst again and will be forever satisfied! For when you drink the water I give you it becomes a gushing fountain of the Holy Spirit, springing up and flooding you with endless life!John 4:14 (Passion Translation)

It’s January now, and we are in the throes of dry season here in Banteay Meanchey Province, Cambodia. The sky is cloudless, the breeze is cool, and the land is thirsty. In just a few months, the rainy season will begin again, bringing floods that lap at the ankles of moto drivers and cause the rice field crops to “spring up,” as the verse says. Despite the dry and cracked land seen with the physical eye during this season, a drop of spiritual water has plopped down in this unlikely country and is rippling out this very moment.This water drop began long before I came onto the scene. A particular man, whom I have never met, shut himself in his closet one day and began to intensely pray for the nations. If he were writing this I’m sure he would have a lot more to add, but suffice to say that this man’s and many others’ prayers were heard as ASEAN nations (Cambodia included) began to slowly open up to the gospel.One day, a beautiful five-year-old boy who happened to be this man’s grandson, passed away. I can’t imagine what this family went through losing this child, but I can tell you that he was beautiful because this little boy’s picture is now all over the country of Cambodia. You see, out of the pain of loss, a children’s book of Bible stories called My Precious Book was written.It’s hard to explain the power of this little book until you’ve held it in your hands. It’s a tiny little thing, just over 5 inches tall, with colorful and inviting pictures on every page to accompany the Bible story written in English and Khmer. It was written in honor of that little boy, translated into multiple languages, and passed out to over 200,000 children across Cambodia. The boy’s image is used throughout the book, a gentle reminder of loss, redemption, and hope as children are led from the story of creation to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

This leads us to our current Water Drop—the name of our English program completely based on My Precious Book. Because of the prayers of the saints, the loss experienced by a family, and the relationships forged through the dual efforts of prayer and time from Mark Geppert and SEAPC, we now have a complete open door to minister to the public school teachers of Banteay Meanchey Province with English lessons based on this book of hope.Each week, over 400 teachers gather at 10 locations across the province to learn vocabulary, memorize a power verse, read a Bible story from MPB, and practice their conversational skills in English. They have MPB in their hands, an English workbook, access to our free teaching videos on YouTube, and a free vocabulary practice app on their phones. They learn lessons about everything from introductions to specific grammar points, while also reading Bible stories and learning that they are “fearfully and wonderfully made”.

One day, I hope this man and his family who lost their dear little boy can come to Cambodia and see that, while nothing will ever justify their loss, a nation is changing and a generation is staying in school, no longer lost to the killing fields, the mine fields, the flesh trade, or the borders of other nations offering false promises. They are learning from these pages that they are loved, and there is hope. We can’t wait to see these drops of hope filter out from the teachers to their students, their schools, their communities, and their nation.Please join me in praying for the nation of Cambodia, that a simple water drop becomes “a gushing fountain of the Holy Spirit” in the hearts of the teachers and the students learning from My Precious Book.

He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” - Luke 10:2

Was Jesus talking about farming in this passage? If not, what message did he leave for future generations? Does this even apply in our non-agrarian culture?Rhetorical questions of course, as all of Scripture is meant for all time. He wanted us to imagine the harvest of souls, ripe for Him. And the need for believers to head into the fields of the world—not on their own but with fervent prayer to call workers, to send them out, and to guide them.To further SEAPC’s healthcare platform, the medical team formed several years ago. We came together as strangers; we are now family. The Lord has called us to many places around the world, each with a unique ministry. The key word to what we do is prayer—along with flexibility, common sense, and preparation.Opportunities to travel begin with prayer. Is God calling each of us to this particular mission? One member will immediately affirm any trip in the belief that serving the least and the lost is always God’s will. His statement, “I’m on Instagram with God,” brings a laugh every time. Once we all receive the “Instagram" message, planning begins in earnest.Firm dates are chosen based on team availability and our hosts’ needs and schedules. Think flexibility. The SEAPC missions team works their scheduling and flight magic while we prepare. Medicines can be purchased for less money in most countries, but there are not always convenient pharmacies or available brands. We carry a portable pharmacy along, stocked with what we think will be needed. This covers basics like skin disorders, diabetes, hypertension, reflux, and pain as well as more target-specific agents. Dressing supplies, emergency and diagnostic equipment, and a plethora of other items round out the supply list. We also take eyeglasses to distribute. Medical missions are not a carry-on-only endeavor.

For years the team bought all medicine out of pocket. The past few trips God has blessed the ministry with medicine/supply donations from Brother’s Brother and through donated funds from Riverside Community Church in Oakmont, PA. This has enabled us to provide improved care. Help in this area is always needed—and most welcome!In the mission field, the clinical settings are as varied as the nations we serve. Churches and schools have opened their doors to us. A huge mango tree provided shade. Tents in a field of scrub grass filled quickly with patients. In a small village along the Mekong River, rickety tables were set up in the dust. A prison provided guards and afternoon tea.

The day begins with staff prayer and devotions. It’s all about Jesus. The usual format for clinic starts with triage. Pertinent data is obtained, vital signs done, chief complaint registered. This is the moment when more emergent issues are moved to the front of the line. A woman in Nepal with snakebite, for example, received immediate attention. It is also the patients’ first introduction to the Christian medical team, and as such we strive to provide love and calm even in the midst of chaos.In turn, the patients are seen by the physician, sent to the pharmacy area, and then receive one-on-one prayer for physical and spiritual healing—and anything else that is requested. Flexibility is the key. Sometimes the doctor is a janitor. The nurse, supervised by the M.D., might act as a physician. A prayer warrior could end up manning the pharmacy. The triage nurse does double duty in crowd control. Any one of us pray as led when we are face to face with the patient.Although the most common maladies seen are pain and reflux, we also have patients who present with anthrax, snakebite, seizures, tuberculosis, thyroid disorders, tumors, heart disease—on and on. We have removed large fatty cysts and small growths under the light of a cell phone and been present for a Cesarean section birth. Some things are treatable; some are referred to a specialist or for further testing. In most places there will be no healthcare other than what we can provide. The child with a flaccid neck, the young man with a probable malignant tumor, the woman with infertility—we do our earthly best and send them to the prayer team for heavenly healing.

Prayer is our most important role in the communities we visit. Medicine is merely the means to gather a large number of people together so that we can bring them, hopefully harvest them, for the Lord. Yes, taking care of their bodies is an important task. But through prayer we have seen actual miracles. A woman with useless legs stood up and walked across the porch. Cloudiness of cataracts that had claimed vision disappeared, sight restored. The deaf have received hearing, painful joints have begun to move, a heart murmur could no longer be detected. These are never the result of modern medicine. They are the direct intervention of our loving, compassionate Great Physician. The One who not only heals bodies, but also heals souls for eternity.So, what does the medical team need? Donations to purchase medicines and supplies make clinics possible. But basically, the same thing that was needed in Jesus’ time on earth is still necessary today: “The workers are few…ask the Lord to send out workers into his harvest field.” Workers include doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, pharmacists or students in these fields who are believers in Jesus Christ and called to use their gifts on His behalf for the poor and suffering in the world. There is no more rewarding, inspiring, or enjoyable way to spend time, talents, and treasures than in seeing the physically sick restored and the spiritually sick healed. What are you waiting for, fellow medical practitioners? There is never a perfect time to take off work, to spend the money, or to step outside of one’s comfort zone. Thankfully, Jesus didn’t count the cost when He stepped out of heaven and took the time to spend His entire life for our salvation.SEAPC has an exciting year ahead for 2019. There are a variety of medical trips being discussed and scheduled. With more workers, the harvest could go from the hundreds to the thousands and beyond. Check out our trips page or email me for further information: laurel@seapc.org. I am happy to email, speak on the phone, or meet for coffee to discuss these exciting opportunities to serve! Join us!

So then, my friends, because of God’s great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer. - Romans 12:1