MTOS 5.23.2008

Given our geographical disparities, we have taken to meeting ever so often for a video conference via Skype in a session aptly abbreviated "MTOS" - McCropders Talking Over Skype. Last Friday was the most recent of these, with all McCropders in attendance, with a brief reprieve by Heather to put Anna to bed, and the Parents McLaughlin as guest observers.

A number of things were discussed, mostly centered around 3 ideas:
1. The status of our current applications with different agencies we are exploring that would send us to Africa.
2. The relative pros and cons of the two main options: namely, going to train for 2 years in Africa, then finding a long-term agency and location vs. attempting to find a longterm agency on the front end and having the training abbreviated to some degree. This will be discussed more in depth when the Cropseys spend a week in Michigan in early June.
3. The agenda for the said visit from the Cropseys, in which we will gather to meet with a couple different organizations.

This was all done in the subtext of friendship and banter that gives our lives its true color. Thus the following 3 things were also discussed:
1. McCropders Summit 2008 in a farm house in Kentucky, at the Global Health Missions Conference. Man, we're psyched.
2. Heather and Eric strangely have the exact same birthday in early June whilst the Cropseys sojourn with us, and thus there will be celebration, food, and Catan to commemorate what will likely be the first of decades of joint Heather/Eric birthday celebrations.
3. John Cropsey inner desires: "I've always dreamed of becoming a jungle bunny." That's right, friends: Jungle. Bunny.

Faith in Medicine: Thoughts from Dr. Chang

The miniseries at Knox Presbyterian goes on, and last week, the venerable Dr. Robert Chang, hospitalist extraordinnaire, gave a rockin' talk on what he's learned from his work at the hospital. And he did so on a minimal night's sleep, having just come back from a Honduran hospital early in the a.m. He's in internal medicine, and likes these long, sleepless runs.

There were a lot of great points that he made, but I'll focus on one. There's an old testament story (2 Sam 12) that I've heard for many years. King David, after committing adultery with the wife of one of his soldiers and getting her pregnant, he indirectly murders the husband and marries the woman himself. Through the prophet Nathan, David learns that God is going to punish his actions by the baby dying. That such a renowned hero of the Bible as David was guilty of such heinous actions, and that God took the life of the innocent, are both parts of the story that deserve long conversations not to be found here.

Here's the focal point: David hears this, and fasts and prays and lays prostrate on the ground for days and days, imploring God to change his mind. He was so desparate that, when the infant did die, his men were afraid to tell him this news, not knowing what he might do. But he senses their hesitation, and they tell him the truth. He gets up, bathes, changes clothes, goes and worships in the temple, and then eats. They ask him how he could act like this. He answered, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, 'Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.' But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me."

Here is a solemn model for the physician. Ardent striving to save, ardent sacrifice on behalf of the sick and dying that we love. And then, peaceful recognition of the limits of our efforts. Acceptance, and the ability to move on and continue to live as God desires. We sense this tension in which we live. Robert, thanks for using this illustration to acknowledge the tension and instruct in the midst of it.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Just to stay with the music theme for a bit... The other day, I was wondering in the world of YouTube and came across these videos. It brought back the amazing local church choirs I found in Zambia. The stunning part is that these guys are amazing, but everyone else is almost as good. I listen and think, "Who wouldn't want to move to Africa?!"

Let the Nations Be Glad!

I (Jess) recently started reading Let the Nations Be Glad: The Supremacy of God in Missions by John Piper. Here are a few points from the first chapter that stood out to me. Since I’m not much of a writer, I’ll rely heavily on Piper’s more eloquent words.

• Passion for God and His glory is the fuel for missions, and worship is the goal of missions. “Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is….When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever.”

• The Westminster Confession states that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Piper agrees, but also contends that the chief end of God is to glorify God and enjoy Himself forever. He writes, “The most passionate heart for the glorification of God is God’s heart. God’s ultimate goal is to uphold and display the glory of his name.”

Isaiah 48:9-11 "For my name’s sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.”

• Piper states that “…compassion for people must not be detached from passion for the glory of God.” To support this point he quotes from John Dawson’s book Taking Our Cities for God:
  “We should never be Christian humanists, taking Jesus to poor sinful people, reducing Jesus to some kind of product that will better their lot. People deserve to be damned, but Jesus, the suffering Lamb of God, deserves the reward of His suffering.”

• Summary: “No one will be able to rise to the magnificence of the missionary cause who does not feel the magnificence of Christ. There will be no big world vision without a big God. There will be no passion to draw others into our worship where there is no passion for worship.”

Psalm 67:3-4 "Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy!"

Revelations 15:3-4 "Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed."

I would really recommend this book. I’ve only read the first chapter so far, but it’s already given me a lot to chew on!

To God be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Our Church Speaking Debut

Last Sunday the McLaughlins and the Faders made their church speaking debut. We were grateful for the opportunity to speak in Sunday school at our church about medical missions. We seized the opportunity to answer some of the common questions and concerns surrounding medical mission work in Africa. Unfortunately the Cropseys could not be there, but their absence allowed us to tell stories about them freely.

Our church provided the perfect audience for our first official church presentation together. This is because, well, public speaking makes some of us (namely the Faders) pretty nervous. And at church, theoretically, the audience should be a relatively nice and forgiving group. We Faders were also comforted to see that Eric’s hands were occasionally shaking a bit, too.

Easing our nerves wasn’t the only reason that our church was the ideal presentation atmosphere. In addition, our church community is full of wonderful and interested people who will possibly come along side of our mission endeavors. We were encouraged just to think of the possibilities of future partnerships with those in attendance.

"I Want to Be a Dentist"

Physicians don't know anything about teeth. By which, I mean to say you could not possibly underestimate our dental knowledge. The other day, in preparation for this dental education I'm receiving, I asked Rachel, "How many teeth do we have?" Just to put this into perspective.

And yet, we plan on going to a place to practice where there likely are no dentists. And (to state the obvious) this does not at all mean that dental pathology will likewise disappear, in fact it's likely to be all the more severe.

So I'm spending these two weeks working with a fine group of dentists through the UofM dental school. In my first day, I learned a number of helpful tidbits at the hands of some very capable and enthusiastic faculty dentists, and also learned the basics of numbing up pretty much any part of the mouth. One of the residents even let me practice on him. Wow. My hope is that I can learn to do some basic dental assessments, learn regional anesthesia, and even learn how to take teeth out. Anything else is certainly welcome. And I do now know how many teeth we have.

Disabilities and Africa

I have this deep emotional response to people with disabilities. I would guess that this comes from my mom's work as an ASL interpreter and perhaps from medical training. Maybe it's just some innate part of me. It certainly is not pity, rather something more complex.

I got to watch something beautiful yesterday. I was riding the bus home from the hospital, and at a particular stop, about a dozen people with various physical and mental disabilities got on the bus, with some assistants. One of the gentleman already on the bus, whom I had not noticed before, apparently also had some mild disability. As soon as his friends got on the bus, he lit up and greeted each of them with an enthusiastic hug, asking them if they would sit with him, and promising them that he was going to teach them how to dance. And for some reason, I just sat there watching, overwhelmed with joy.

I'm no expert opinion on the matter, but my limited experience and observations makes me think that to live with a disability is to live a high stakes life. The joyful moments seem hearbreakingly joyful and the sorrows are heartbreakingly sorrowful. Either way, the heart is always breaking. Such depth seems to make a beautiful life, and reminds me of the emotional responses of children, and that reminds me of Jesus' words about children inheriting the kingdom of God.

What does this have to do with medicine and Africa? I have often thought that working in Africa is also high stakes. For instance, we have looked into working in South Sudan, possibly moving there permanently after some extra training in 2011. Around that same time, South Sudan is set to hold a referendum as to whether they want to secede from the North. So, either we could be in on the ground level of the world's newest sovreign nation, or maybe it could devolve into the 3rd Sudanese Civil war. High Stakes. Great joy or great sorrow. Either way the heart is breaking.

My friend Luke traveled to the Ukraine and worked briefly with the disabled there, finding that only minimal physical care was given, and more or less no thought was given to try to improve their quality of life and instill the dignity due to each man and woman. I can only begin to imagine what I might encounter in this arena in Africa, but I imagine the stakes might be even higher.

Learning from Jesus the Healer

Our church is doing this awesome miniseries of classes on “Faith in Medicine”. Seeing as though this website is to be a forum for all things Faith, Medicine, and Africa (and the intersections of these themes), this may not be the last posting from the aforementioned miniseries. It’s part of a broader goal the church has of trying to help people discover how to serve God in the work they do.

The first week was Dr. Steve Telian (of dubious Lyntelnoster fame) speaking on what we can learn from the healings of Jesus as well as the worldview from which he seems to have been healing. Here are a couple of my favorite take home points:

1. Healing through medicine is a good gift of God against the destructive effects of sin in this world, regardless of the motivation of the practitioner. It is not only those with a wrong motivation who often presume on God’s grace to accomplish healing through medicine.

2. Health is a gift of God, since He is keeping and preserving (in addition to healing) everything in nature. Thus, it is fitting that we praise God for our health, since the hand of God is not less active here than in health restored after sickness.

3. Sometimes glorious redeeming work comes through suffering. This is a mystery and a difficult thing to find appropriate application for in medicine, but it is certainly in line with Jesus’ teaching. It is plausible because of the fact that we are never at a position to know the whole story and all the ramifications of a given suffering.

Maybe these paraphrases won’t communicate the same as stand-alone ideas, but food for thought…

Jailed for Espionage

Paul Salopek. Man wins Pullitzer Prize for journalism. Man goes to Sudan to write article. Man is jailed for espionage for 34 days. After release, which took a visit to Sudan by his home governor Bill Richardson, he apparently returned to the country in order to finish his article. Man writes cover story for National Geographic last month.

Given our interest in Sudan as a possible long-term goal, I found this article fascinating, especially as it focuses on all the Sahel (the southern border of the Sahara across Africa). Partly, it scared me a whole whole lot. For the record, we are more interested in South Sudan, further away from the heart of conflict currently in Darfur where Salopek was jailed. But overall I thought his article was thoughtful and had a large amount of insight into the culture there. And his willingness to go through a jailing and return to Sudan demonstrates an admirable committment to journalism, if not to Africa and their struggle.

Masai Creed

A little while ago, I heard Jaroslav Pelikan on NPR talking about various creeds of the world. The whole podcast can be found here. He used the Masai Creed as an example of a people who had initially taken on the creed of the missionaries sent to them, and later were able to make the creed their own, but at the same time keep the central truths they were given. An interesting discussion point. Enjoy.

We believe in the one High God, who out of love created the beautiful world and everything good in it. He created Man and wanted Man to be happy in the world. God loves the world and every nation and tribe on the Earth. We have known this High God in darkness, and now we know Him in the light.

God promised in the book of His word, the Bible, that He would save the world and all the nations and tribes. We believe that God made good His promise by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, a man in the flesh, a Jew by tribe, born poor in a little village, who left His home and was always on safari doing good, curing people by the power of God, teaching about God and man, showing the meaning of religion is love.

He was rejected by his people, tortured and nailed hands and feet to a cross, and died. He lay buried in the grave, but the hyenas did not touch him, and on the third day, He rose from the grave. He ascended to the skies.

He is the Lord. We believe that all our sins are forgiven through Him. All who have faith in Him must be sorry for their sins, be baptized in the Holy Spirit of God, live the rules of love and share the bread together in love, to announce the Good News to others until Jesus comes again. We are waiting for Him. He is alive. He lives. This we believe. Amen.