Yesterday my housemate and I were doing
daily devotionals using “Stream in the Desert”. The message was on the
importance of perseverance in praying.
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to
show them that they should always pray and not give up. (Luke 18:1)
Coincidentally, today I realized that
many of my prayers and the prayers of those around me suddenly all got answered at the same time!
A few months ago my mom received news about
a medical exchange program in Taiwan. Around that time, I also happened to meet
someone who showed me a video about healthcare in Taiwan. So I decided to apply
for this program. The program recruits doctors from all over the world, so it
will be a great opportunity to exchange technical information as well as make
new friends. The exchange period has to be one month minimum, which incurs a
big financial loss for me, but it’s a great opportunity for me to build up closer
relationships with my relatives. Plus, I don’t need that much money anyways.
Subsequently, I received news of various
problems popping up amongst my relatives and friends in Taiwan, and there are big national issues happening there, which made me
even more certain that this trip I will be making at the end of this month is
meant to be. One very close relative became terminally ill and kept it to
herself until treatment has been completed. I prayed for her intensely for the
last few weeks. Miraculously I received news yesterday that she’s gone into
remission after treatment! I am even more surprised to hear that she’s been
praying to God while she was sick, because there are no Christians amongst the
relatives!
I also had a health scare myself a few
months ago, and also found out yesterday that everything returned to normal.
And it was also yesterday that the exchange
program sent me more information about the exchange. They informed me that the
collaborative hospital for my exchange will be the Mackay Memorial Hospital!
Now, I had a long history with this hospital because I used to visit this
hospital all the time when I was a sickly skinny pale kid in Taiwan. And Dr
Leslie Mackay is one of the best known missionaries in Taiwan history, was the
one behind the establishment of this hospital!
In
1872, George Leslie Mackay from the Canadian Presbyterian church entered north
Taiwan. Mackay was one of the most remarkable missionaries in the late Victoria
era, whereby during his three decades in Taiwan he single-handedly established
the groundwork of the northern Presbyterian mission, leaving at his death in
1901 sixty churches and more than two thousand baptised communicants, with a
much larger pool of non-baptised enquirers. Blessed with a prodigious memory,
he learned to write one hundred new Chinese characters daily and spent the rest
of his time speaking with anybody who would listen to him. When the mission
committee in Toronto instructed him to give up on his efforts to go native,
build a Western-style home, establish a more normal Presbyterian mission, and
wait for a “charming” Canadian lady to be sent out to share his work, he
married a local woman Tiu Chhang Mia instead. He insisted upon indigenous
leadership in every facet of ministry. Throughout his life he showed a marked
aversion to correspondence with other missionaries, and is still a folk hero
loved by the Taiwanese today, Christians and non-Christians alike. For more info about Taiwan’s church history, check out: http://dryvonnewang.blogspot.com/2014/09/christianity-in-taiwan-trend.html
Anyways, as soon as I click into the
hospital website, an intense sense of call pops out!
The superintendent’s message goes like
this:
I believe in “providing patients with
comprehensive physical, psychological and spiritual care that is based on
faith”. Faith is fundamental, and rises above all technological and
humanity tasks. 2 Corinthians 3:5 says: “Not that we are competent in ourselves
to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.”
James 2:17 says: “faith by itself, if it is
not accompanied by action, is dead.” Therefore we need to practice our faith
through medical ministry, and I urge my colleagues to demonstrate your faith
through your service attitude. There are many such exhortations and reminders
in the Bible. Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31 tell us, “Do to others as you would
have them do to you,” and Proverbs 3:27-28 says, “Do not withhold good from
those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your
neighbor, “Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you.”
Faith is not stagnant, but requires
nourishment and irrigation. Hence we have spiritual activities such as prayers,
daily bible reading and fellowship to help our colleagues understand the
importance of reverence and thanksgiving so that we may remain steadfast and
eager to help others, and build a solid foundation for leading others to the
LORD.
And in the mission statement:
"We want to ensure that every patient
receives comprehensive treatment of body, mind and soul as a way to demonstrate
God’s love, and eventually to complete our ministry's divine mission of medical
evangelism."
During the last few months, I had been scratching my head a lot about my calling and future direction. This trip might hold the key. Looking forward to the upcoming adventure in two weeks time!
