Sharing the love of Christ through medicine
I believe the Devil is the author of disease, but most diseases have physiological causes, and modern medicine, and medical doctors are a blessed source of healing. Healing is always welcome, and it keeps the church growing. In one week of medical clinic ministry, around 1800 people came to Christ out of the 3000 that were seen. This was in an extremely difficult area with both animistic and Muslim influences. Mak Sou opened the clinic with the assistant governor of the province.
We had 20 foreign workers, and another hundred or so Cambodians serving at the site. Everyone who came through the clinic heard the Gospel at least four times. About one-half of those seen prayed to ask Christ to be Lord of their lives. (‘Fox hole’ prayers? Well, maybe a few, but they were never forced.) The rains were a daily occurrence in this eastern area of Cambodia (I wish we could have moved them 600 kilometers west to our rice farm).
It takes a lot of work and money to prepare for a major clinic. Just the construction of proper sanitary facilities, to care for thousands of sick people, is a major problem in the muddy soil, let alone the cost of medications and clinical testing. The New Life Church in Everett, Washington, USA, was the main funding partner and team organizer, but a number of team members also came from a church in Oregon, pastored by our old friend Rick Sawczuk, as well as Idaho, Iowa and Nebraska.
