mission opportunities at home and abroad testimonies focus · the witnesses and testimonies found...

august Issue two

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receiving and giving Mission opportunities at hoMe and abroad testiMonies

Editor-in-ChiEfLarry Worthen, Dartmouth, NS

Editorial assistantStephanie Potter, Halifax, NS

foCUs MaGaZinE is PUBlishEd BYChristian Medical and Dental Society of Canada1-197D Main StreetSteinbach, MB R5G 1Y5Tel: 204.326.2523Fax: 204.326.3098Toll-free: 1.888.256.8653Email: [email protected] www.cmdscanada.org

ProdUCtion and dEsiGnMegan Kamei, Winnipeg, MB

FOCUS is published three times per year. It is a national forum for students and graduates of medicine and dentistry to discuss topics related to the integration of Christian faith and practice across Canada. Contributions are welcome and should be directed to the Editor in chief (address above). We encourage readers to submit articles of personal or professional interest as well as those related to CMDS Canada activities at home and around the world. Subscriptions are available for $20/year. (Membership in CMDS Canada includes a subscription to FOCUS magazine)

Publications Mail AgreementNo. 40012641

ISSN 0925-8321 FOCUS (Steinbach, Print)

Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to Christian Medical and Dental Society of Canada1-197D Main StreetSteinbach, MB R5G 1Y5Email: [email protected]

FOCUS articles reflect the beliefs and opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of CMDS Canada

focus MaGaZINe

CMDS CANADA ON SOCIAL MEDIA

We had a lot of buzz this quarter surrounding our National Conference in Calgary. For those of you who missed it, check out the Storify post at the top of our Facebook page or search #CMedCon15 on Twitter and go to our YouTube channel to listen to many of the talks from the Conference. To keep up to date on the latest news, follow us on Twitter @CMDSCanada and like and share our Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/CMDSCanada

WWW.CMDSCANADA.ORG

Our new website will launch this fall. Watch our social media accounts for announcements of our new, user-friendly page. You can still rely on our website to give you access to all the latest information our members and friends want to read.

Learn more about the CMDS Canada legal action in response to the CPSO’s March 6th, 2015 policy.

Watch the video “Freedom to Care: The Threat to Conscience Rights in Medicine”

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

We are currently accepting submissions for our blog. Let us know what issues are affecting you as a medical professional or medical student. Contact Stephanie Potter at [email protected] for more information.

Issue 2 | August 2015 FOCUS 1

editorialSocial responsibility becomes an aspect not of Christian mission only, but also of Christian conversion. It is impossible to be truly converted to God without being thereby converted to our neighbor. John R.W. Stott

In this issue of FOCUS, we have the pleasure of reading about the various medical and dental missions currently open to our members. The witnesses and testimonies found within these pages are an invitation and challenge to each of us. Our faith as Christians fills us with joy and the desire to serve, so obvious in the stories we encounter in the pages of this issue of FOCUS. Within these pages we read about opportunities for students, doctors, dentists, other medical professionals and their families to reach out to our brothers and sisters across the world. These are opportunities not just to provide medical care, but also to connect with the people of these communities, to preach the Gospel and to grow in faith with them. These experiences of service transform not just the communities served, but the servants themselves.

We are also invited to support those engaged in missionary work with our prayers. Missionary work requires special graces, and we can join together with our missionary brothers and sisters by spiritually adopting them while they prepare for and go on their missions. Our prayers are the greatest gift we can give them as they go into unfamiliar places to heal the sick and spread the Gospel. We should also take special care to pray that the Holy Spirit would go before them and prepare the hearts of those our colleagues will meet in their missionary work.

My hope is that this issue of FOCUS will help inspire you to discern God’s call for your life. Not everyone is called to missionary work, but we are all called to carry the missionary spirit into our daily lives. We are also called to be missionaries within our own country, cities, and families. Each of us is given opportunities every day to be the hands and feet of Christ to the broken and lost God places in our lives. Wherever we are called to “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch” (Lk 5:4), God will give us the means to work miracles to bring His mercy to those in need.

Letter to the editor The UrgenT needThe CPSO has released its final policy statement on the obligation of physicians to refer their patients when conscience speaks otherwise. Although the policy may be perceived by the public and courts alike as being a reasonable compromise, there are some strong arguments that may, in the end, result in a better accommodation of physicians’ conscience rights. However, we cannot presume that the eventual ruling would favourably result in a change of policy.

Some feel that acquiescing to the policy of referral will make them an accomplice to what they feel to be ethically or morally forbidden. Therefore, it is perhaps important for us to initiate a timely, broader dialogue on the ethics of referral in the context of autonomy. 2 Kings 5:15-19 is a passage that may speak to this. It appears that Naaman, as body guard to the king was obligated to be with the king at all times, including the king’s worship of the god Rimmon and therefore, to be the support physically, Naaman also would be obligated to bow down. He recognizes this as a problem and asks that the Lord would forgive him for this. Elisha says, “Go in peace.” Other relevant references would be in the life of Joseph, Esther, Obadiah, Jeremiah’s advice to the exiles, paying taxes to Caesar, the parable of the wheat

and the tares and Romans 13. 1 John 3:19-20 also speaks to our felt guilt within the big picture. I believe that there are optional ways to comply with the CPSO policy that will preserve one’s personal integrity whilst maintaining the possibility of redemptive dialogue with the patients. May the bottom line be a representation of the love of Jesus Christ in world that has lost direction!John KraulisOakville, ON

We would appreciate your feedback on the articles in FOCUS. Please address your comments to “Letters to the Editor” at the CMDS Canada National Office. Send a letter, fax or email to:

Letters to the EditorCMDS Canada National Office1-197D Main StreetSteinbach MB R5G 1Y5Fax: [email protected]

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HEALING AND RESURRECTION EUTHANASIA, ASSISTED SUICIDE CONSCIENCE RIGHTS

APRIL ISSUE ONE

2015

FOCUS Receiving & Giving 2

coNtrIbutors

Miles Byworth is a 2nd year medical student at McGill University. Although he grew up in Thornhill, ON, he has been living in Montreal for the past six years. He became a Christian in May 2013, and currently attends Peoples Church.

John Patrick retired from the University of Ottawa in 2002. He now lectures throughout the world on moral issues in medicine and culture, and the integration of faith and science. John is the president of Augustine College in Ottawa. He is married to Sally, and resides part time in Ottawa, and part time on the farm.

Dan Reilly practices and teaches ob/gyn in small town Ontario and teaches ethics at McMaster University. Dan is a Past President of the CMDS Canada National Board, and provides leadership on many levels, including the annual Student Leadership Conference and the Eastern Student Retreat.

Christopher Wang is a second year medical student at the University of Toronto. Previously, he completed his undergrad degree at McMaster University, where he also served with the Hamilton Chinese Christian Fellowship. While serving as small group leader and eventually as co-chair, Chris developed a passion for mentorship, discipleship and seeing others embrace the ministry that God has called them to.

Jennifer Waterhouse is a fourth year medical student from the University of Saskatchewan studying in Regina, SK. At the time this article was written, she was still unsure of what residency program she will be applying to, but hopes that by the time it is published there will be more clarity. She has been involved with CMDS Canada since her first year of medical school, and has recently joined the CMDS Canada board as student rep.

Christopher Wang

Miles byworth

dan reilly

John patrick

Jennifer Waterhouse

Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

Matthew 10:8

In eVerY ISSUe

Letter to the Editor 1

Milestones 4

Point/Counterpoint 14

The Last Word 24

FeATUreS

Lifeline Malawi 5

Christian Medical and Dental Association - USA 6

Education, Medical Aid and Service - Canada 8

Medical Ministry International Canada 10

The Missionary Call Serving God wherever He calls you 12

Samaritan’s Purse 16

Chalice Canada 18

The ICMDA National Institute of Health Sciences 19

The Greatest of These is Love 21

CMdS CAnAdA COMMUnITY

2015 Awards Presentatione 20

National Conference Report 22

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Milestones

This summer we say a fond goodbye to Kirsten and Drew Spence. We were fortunate to have this excellent team as Associate Staff in Halifax at Dalhousie University. They worked hard to help students engage their faith and grow spiritually, while learning how to integrate faith, practice, and life. Practically speaking, this was done through weekly Bible studies, individual meetings with students, relevant talks given by local experts and practitioners, and connection to the larger Christian medical community.

In terms of the future, Kirsten and Drew are planning on moving into an ethnically and economically mixed neighborhood of inner-city Seattle to live, work, and care for the needs of the community there. They’re excited about the opportunity to root in a community and to bring light to dark places and tangible good to the community in which they live. Kirstin and Drew’s desire is to be engaged in whole-life discipleship, where their hearts – as well as their minds – are fully engaged. They look forward to journeying through the highs and lows of life with others, and to open the Bible with those who have had little prior exposure to its transforming power. They have a vision

that their home would be a place of ministry for all – a place where neighbors, family, and friends find refuge, comfort, healing, support, and unconditional love. Kirsten and Drew send their thanks to all those who supported them in their time as Associate Staff with CMDS Canada and ask that we keep them and their future endeavors in our prayers!

We also say farewell to Marilyn Wieler, who resigned her position as Administration Director effective July 31st, 2015. Marilyn has served in this role for the past eight years, and has been instrumental in placing CMDS Canada on the firm financial foundation which it now enjoys. Her dependability, integrity, dedication and strong personal faith have served as the backbone of the organization over those years. We all owe her a great debt of gratitude for her deep commitment to the work of the Society. Marilyn is our organizational “metronome” - the one who remembered the annual schedule and kept us focused on the next thing that needed to be accomplished. She was the one who kept the beat to make sure that the

symphony that is CMDS Canada continued to sound better and better as the months progressed. We have been incredibly blessed by her tireless service. Marilyn would like to express her gratitude for the opportunities CMDS Canada has provided her during the last eight years. She has enjoyed meeting our members at the conferences. She has also appreciated all the prayers on her behalf.

Please pray for the organization that we will be able to find a suitable replacement. Please pray for Marilyn that she will experience success wherever God calls her to serve Him.

The CMDS Canada community at the University of Calgary Medical School is saying a formal goodbye to Associate Staff member Paul Verhoef. Paul is leaving his work with CMDS Canada to invest more deeply in his work as a Chaplain at the Univeristy of Calgary, supported by the Christian Reformed Church (CRC), a position he has held for 11 years. Paul is leaving us with deep praise for CMDS Canada, which operates locally, regionally and nationally, giving a myriad of opportunities for fellowship and mentoring. We thank Paul for sharing his gifts with us and will keep him in our prayers as he continues to fan the flames of faith of the university community in Calgary. f

National Healthcare Prayer SummitSept 24-26, 2015 • Peel Pentecostal Tabernacle • Brampton, ON

ManifestingChristin HealtHcare Join us for a two day prayer retreat where

we aim to intercede for all participating healthcare professionals and ministries. We want to learn about Canadian healthcare ministries and form partnerships that advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Register at: https://quis-38626.ticketbud.com/national-healthcare-prayer-summit-2015

For more information contact: [email protected]


Lifeline Malawi

In 1998, acting upon God’s call on his life, Chris Brooks, a medical doctor from Calgary, AB, sold his practice and moved to Malawi with his wife, Heather, and daughter, Chloe. Upon seeing the great need for a medical presence in the community of Ngodzi, Chris began working in the rural district that is approximately 140 km southeast of the country’s capital, Lilongwe. A property site was donated by the Ngodzi community and Lifeline Malawi was established as a registered Canadian charity in April, 2003. Since this time, the work has grown to include a medical health centre which provides outpatient services, a pharmacy, the RoseTree Maternity Centre, a mission house, a maize mill, plus offices and staff housing, employing a total of 51 people, many of them coming from the local area.

Located on the beautiful shores of Lake Malawi in the rural community of Ngodzi, the Lifeline Malawi Health Centre is nestled beside the rustic and often noisy fishing village of Chilumbula. You can find us by travelling approximately 3.5 KM along a dusty, potholed track east from village of Ngodzi which is located along the tarmacked Lakeshore Road. The LM Health Centre serves an area of about 50 villages and approximately 30,000 people. This population is predominantly Muslim and dependent on rain-fed crops and local fishing to survive. Poverty, malnutrition, and disease are common in the community. With the community situated near the lake, malaria is one of the biggest threats to life, along with other communicable diseases such as tuberculosis (TB), respiratory infections, childhood diseases, bilharzia and HIV/AIDS.

Landlocked Malawi ranks among the world’s most densely populated (16.36 million people) and least developed countries. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 39% of the population lives below the poverty line. Malawi is characterized by a heavy burden of disease evidenced by high levels of child and adulthood mortality rates and high prevalence of diseases.

Our mission is to uphold the life-transforming message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to provide community based medical services and to incorporate preventative initiatives that act to strengthen the health of the local community. During the past 12 years, Lifeline Malawi has provided medical care and support to the local community through compassionate and loving service, saving lives and bringing hope to the people. We have not accomplished this on our own, but through the grace of God, through collaborations within the community, through partnerships with the

Malawi government and other organizations, and through our supporters in Canada. We are truly thankful. Together we are working to empower the people of Malawi by investing in a healthy and hopeful future.

Lifeline Malawi’s goals continue to address the reduction of both child and maternal mortality, and to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other life threatening diseases. Approximately 4,500-5,000 patients are treated each month. The core programs at the Lifeline Malawi Health Centre are: 1. RoseTree Maternity Centre: Maternal and newborn care provides

comprehensive pregnancy related services and obstetric care for women in low-risk pregnancies. Services continue to be accessed by many women. There are between 35-60 babies delivered each month at the Health Centre. Every woman who goes through the antenatal program during various stages of her pregnancy is tested for HIV. If she is positive she starts immediately on anti-retroviral therapy (ART) and will receive medicine during the childbirth, reducing the risk of HIV transmission to the infant during delivery. Family planning is also discussed with patients and a variety of options are offered.

2. Primary Health Care: The LM Health Centre provides primary health care consultations, treatments and medicines, in addition to laboratory services to all its patients. An ambulance is available to take seriously ill patients to the Salima District Hospital, 40 KM away.

3. HIV/AIDS: The LM Health Centre provides counselling, testing and ART (antiretroviral) for those with the life threatening HIV/AIDS. Total cumulative active number of HIV clients is 1065. Patients continue to be monitored and supplied their ART at HIV Clinics throughout the week.

4. Community Health Education: Health talks are given daily to patients in the waiting room on various health related topics. Each program at Lifeline Malawi Health Centre educates and promotes preventative measures throughout the clinic on topics such as HIV prevention, safe motherhood, immunizations, nutrition, and public health issues.

5. Under Five Clinics: Newborns and children under five are referred to the Under Five Clinic which provides access to post maternity services, growth monitoring, and immunisation. Malnourished children are referred to the LM Nutrition Clinic, where they will become part of the supplementary feeding program.

6. Palliative Care Clinics: Lifeline Malawi Palliative Care Team care for sick and dying patients at our palliative care outpatient clinics and though home care visits for those who are too sick to travel. We give comfort and love to the suffering, providing medicines to relieve the pain, changing dressings and providing relief for other symptoms. f

Lifeline Malawi welcomes doctors, nurses and medical students to join us at Lifeline Malawi. Your presence and the knowledge you share will greatly bless the staff. In exchange you will be blessed too, experiencing rural medicine in Malawi, enjoying new relationships and exploring the community. If you would like more information contact us at [email protected] or call us at 604-498-3551. Visit our website at www.lifelinemalawi.com and help us to continue this work by donating today.


christian Medical and Dental association - usaA Firsthand Glimpse at God’s Mighty WorkDon Thompson

A handicapped man venturing outside and enjoying the sunshine for the first time in nearly four years. A hospital receiving desperately needed medical supplies out of nowhere without asking. A burned out and weary physician rediscovering his passion and joy for healthcare. A young girl being rescued from the pits of prostitution and human trafficking. A grandfather receiving his first pair of reading glasses after years of blurriness. A teenager smiling again after getting a new pair of front teeth.

It paints quite a picture, doesn’t it?Each year, countless lives just like these are being changed through

the mission outreaches of Christian Medical & Dental Associations-USA. I could go on and on sharing story after story, but you’ll only get a small glimpse of the mighty work the Holy Spirit is doing around the world through healthcare missions. That’s why we are inviting you to join us in this amazing work, so you can see firsthand how God can work through you.

AbOUT CMdA-USAWe are dedicated to carrying out the Great Commission by using the healthcare skills the Lord has entrusted to us. To accomplish this, we provide numerous opportunities for healthcare professionals to meet the physical needs of the world while also sharing the Gospel. (For a full list of CMDA’s mission outreaches, visit www.cmda.org/missions.)

We are working to fulfill our vision of “Transformed Doctors, Transforming the World.”

To do this, our mission outreaches offer you the opportunity to serve on a short-term basis in three particular areas: clinical, academic and surgical training.

ShOrT-TerM ClInICAlGlobal Health Outreach (GHO) sends 50 clinical teams each year to 25 countries for one to two week healthcare missions trips. There is a great need for almost all types of healthcare personnel on these trips, and many non-medical personnel can participate as well. About 50 Canadian healthcare personnel, students and family members serve on our teams each year, and we would love to see that number grow.

Students and residents of all backgrounds are welcome, including medical, dental, nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy and physician assistant, as well as undergraduate students. Plus, many teams are suitable for families. Because we offer so many trips throughout the year, you are sure to find one to fit within your busy schedule. To find a trip, visit www.ghotrips.org.

It’s important to note that we don’t only focus on healthcare during these trips, as our main goals are also to disciple participants, grow the national churches and share the Gospel. In the clinics, we see people who have no hope – they work hard just to survive from day to day and are oppressed from all sides. When they see the unconditional love demonstrated by our teams and hear of the freedom that comes only through Jesus Christ, many quickly respond and turn to follow Him. That’s why we work closely with national partners in each of the countries we serve in order to make sure that local pastors are following up with these people, allowing our trips to have a far-reaching impact long after we return home.

ShOrT-TerM ACAdeMICIf you’re looking to serve on a team in an academic setting, then Medical Education International (MEI) is the right place for you. Through this mission outreach, we send small teams of healthcare


professionals to universities and hospitals to countries around the world to teach and train local national physicians.

Many countries, which are normally closed to missionaries, openly welcome healthcare professionals who are willing to pass their skills to others. Through these educational opportunities, we also are given the chance to form personal relationships with our international colleagues while also sharing the hope we have in Christ. In fact, we encourage our participants to return to the same areas in subsequent trips to deepen these relationships.

ShOrT-TerM SUrgICAl TrAInIngFor those with surgical skills, we encourage you to get involved with the Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS). PAACS is dedicated to bringing Christians together from all over the world to train and disciple African surgeons to help meet the overwhelming shortage of surgeons in Africa. To do this, they operate surgical residency programs at nine sites in seven countries in Africa, providing high-quality training in general surgery, general pediatric surgery and orthopedic surgery. These teaching commitments are a minimum of two weeks long and range in length.

Through this program, residents are schooled in modern surgical thought adapted to resource-poor environments and given a vision to serve and proclaim Christ among the poor. Training residents at hospitals in Africa also motivates them to remain to serve their own people. Visit www.paacs.net for more information.

Time and time again, we hear from our participants that they ultimately receive far more during the trip than what they actually give to others. Living in our comfortable environments, we often lose touch with what it means to depend on God, but working in a different culture forces you to depend on God in new and tangible ways. As one student said, “The greatest blessing I received was to return home filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit with a renewed vision of what God has in store for me as a doctor in the future, serving Him through practicing medicine.”

So what are you waiting for? Are you ready to see what God has in store for you through healthcare missions? Are you ready to make a difference in the lives of people all across the world? Are you ready to be transformed? Join a trip today, and I promise you will never be the same. f

Don Thompson, MD, MPH&TM, is the Director of Global Health Outreach, a ministry of CMDA-USA.

I arrived with a bag of medical equipment, including bag valve masks. The doctors were amazed. They stated that just three days prior to my arrival they had been discussing the need for bag valve masks – how did I know? I told them that I didn’t know, that when I purchased the equipment four months ago God knew that they had that need, and that it was God’s gracious intervention that led me to purchase and bring exactly what they needed. The ED’s mouth literally hung open during that conversation. – A pediatric ER physician on a MEI trip to the Balkans


education, Medical aid and service

Dentists teaching and serving with EMAS CHINA WEST team: Dr. Don Morris and Dr. Vincent Wang Dr. David Chan examining patient in Myanmar 2014

UPCOMIng MISSIOnS TrIPS

Vietnam (Medical/Dental) Oct 17 - Nov 1, 2015Contact Dr. David Neima: [email protected]

Myanmar(Medical/Dental) Nov 8 - 16, 2015 Contact Dr. Chan: [email protected]

China EastUrban (Education, Psychiatry, Mental Health, Pediatrics, Dental) Oct 30 - Nov 14, 2015Contact Justina Chan: [email protected]

Rural (Medical/Dental) and Urban (Pharmacist, RNs, Interpreters) Nov 6 - 14, 2015Contact Helen Chen: [email protected]

China South(G.P.) Nov 2 - 12, 2015Contact Dr. Walter Woo: [email protected]

(Surgical) Nov 8 - 21, 2015

(Post-Op) Nov 15 - 27, 2015 Contact: [email protected]

Guangdong(Medical, Dental, Optometrists, Physiotherapists) Nov 9 - 14, 2015 Contact Dr. Clay Li: [email protected]

In 1948, Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children constructed a new building with new equipment. When a group of local doctors heard this news, they banded together and requested that medical equipment from the old hospital be sent to under-resourced hospitals around the world. The request was approved, and Education, Medical Aid and Service (EMAS) was formed to oversee the distribution of warehouses full of donated medical equipment.

More than 65 years later, hundreds of Canadian healthcare professionals continue to band together every year on behalf of those in need. EMAS’ mandate has grown from equipment distribution to short-term medical mission trips and healthcare training, but the responsiveness to opportunities, a willingness to serve, and the underlying motivation to share God’s love with others remains constant.

EMAS is focused on giving God glory in all we do. We are interdenominational, our teams include Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox Christians. While our trips typically last a week or two, we commit to partner with specific underserved communities for the long term. Our teams are holistic, including members with a broad range of skills that contribute to fulfilling the specific purpose and goal of each mission trip where we can serve in regions where healthcare is unavailable or unaffordable.

EMAS Canada focuses on forming high-functioning interdisciplinary teams. We bring together teams made up of physicians, nurses,

physiotherapists, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals. Our flexible approach allows people with a wide range of healthcare skills and experience to participate. EMAS Canada also welcomes non-medical volunteers. Skills such as education, chaplaincy and administration can be huge assets for a healthcare team working in an underserved community.

OUr MISSIOn IS TO brIng “hOSPITAl” And heAlIng TO PeOPle.We provide free immediate and long-term medical care, dental treatments, vision examinations, cataract surgeries and give free medication to the sick and poor people in remote areas in Vietnam where health care service is scarce, inaccessible and expensive. We work with local doctors and collaborate with local clinics and hospitals to maintain long term care and treatment to people in dire need. We also provide surgery funding for less fortunate children with congenital heart problem whose families cannot afford to pay for the surgeries.

Over the years, we’ve had 24 MAV teams and a total of over 1,000 different volunteers. During each trip, we see between 10,000 to 14,000 patients and donate $50,000-$75,000 worth of medications and surgeries. We’ve trained over 40 local cataract surgeons who now use the equipment we’ve donated. We work in clinics and hospitals or assist local nuns and churches. f


EMAS Medical Aid for VietnamAlAnA Cormier, BsC mD CCFp

I first became involved in CMDS Canada as a medical student, attending CMDS Canada group discussions, BBQs, and one of the annual CMDS Canada conferences for medical students. This was a great opportunity to share the joys and challenges of the medical profession with other medical students and mentors who held similar values and beliefs. I continue to be a CMDS Canada member and thoroughly enjoyed attending the annual conference in Calgary, June 11-14, 2015 .

Since finishing residency in 2009, I have participated in two medical mission trips with Medical Aid for Vietnam. Medical Aid for Vietnam is a charitable project functioning under the umbrella and support of EMAS (Education Medical Aid & Service).

These medical mission trips were an incredible experience for me personally. We worked hard on clinic days, usually seeing between 60-80 patients per day, but the joyfulness and gratitude of the Vietnamese people and the opportunity to work with incredibly generous and loving volunteers and colleagues made for a very valuable experience. The joyfulness of our Vietnamese patients was infectious and their extreme gratitude, for even the smallest care and assistance that we were able to provide, definitely made our efforts worthwhile.

The medical mission allowed us to increase our medical knowledge; our medical team saw manifestations of diseases and illnesses that are rare or had progressed beyond what we are usually exposed to in Canada. The EMAS Team has worked with local Vietnamese physicians, translators, and religious orders to build a more sustainable network to serve the people of

Vietnam and helping to improve training for local Vietnamese physicians ensuring that the benefits of the work that is done extends beyond the time of the missions themselves. Medical Aid for Vietnam helps to fund such things as eye glasses, cataract surgeries, medications, and heart surgeries for children with congenital heart defects. These opportunities are life changing for the families affected. On one of my missions, we had the opportunity to meet some of the children who had received heart surgeries as a result of detection of the need on a previous mission. The love and gratitude these families had for the team members who had been involved was beautiful to see.

Most importantly however, these medical missions are an opportunity to grow in faith: we shared stories, meditations, prayers, songs, and there was opportunity to attend daily mass for those interested. I think that most of us who participate in these missions do it to be witnesses of God’s love in the world and to live as Jesus taught, but I think we would all agree that the gifts and blessings we receive from our participation, far surpass anything we are able to provide. f

VISION: Christ-centred healthcare teams proclaiming God’s love to all the world through healing and teaching.

MISSION: to heal, teach and serve those in need in a Christ-like manner

Ecuador(Orthopedic Surgery, RNs, Dental) Jan 28 - Feb 7, 2016Contact Dr. Tom Greidanus: [email protected]

India North(Mentorship) March 2016 Contact Peter Agwa: [email protected]

Haiti(Community Health)Feb 19 - 28, 2016French proficiency required.Contact Krista Waring: [email protected]

(G.P.)Ideal for physicians in the Hamilton, ON area.Contact Peter Agwa: [email protected]

China WestNingxia June 4 - 18, 2016Qinghai June 19 - 27, 2016 Contact Dr. Ian Ma: [email protected]

Zimbabwe(Dental)Contact Peter Agwa: [email protected]

Zimbabwe, Malawi and Philippines(Physicians, Surgeons, Dental) Contact Peter Agwa: [email protected]

You can find out more about where we serve at www.emascanada.org#1 - 20 Freel Lane, Stouffville, ON, L4A 8B9, Phone: 905-642-4661


Medical Ministry International canadaBArBArA skinner

This is an exciting year of transformation for Medical Ministry International Canada (MMI Canada) in Stoney Creek, ON. We are collaborating directly with our international locations and designing opportunities in response to identified needs in local areas. Our teams are led by in-country directors. We come alongside to add capacity to the local health network. In some countries we serve, there are ongoing health care locations delivering care on a daily basis, after we leave.

Our roots take us back to 1969, when Dr. Douglas and Lois Harper led ophthalmology teams to the Dominican Republic. During the 70s, 80s, and up until 1993, we were known as the Medical Group Mission program (MGM), and in Canada were under the umbrella of Evangelical Medical Aid Society (EMAS), back when the EMAS and CMDS Canada offices were in Campbellford, ON. In 1993, a new charitable organization was formed and the MGM projects became a part of MGM Canada. Today we are known as Medical Ministry International Canada (MMI Canada) and our national office is in Stoney Creek, ON.

Each year, MMI Canada offers opportunities for physicians, surgeons, dentists, and support staff, including nurses, technicians, PT’s, optometrists and opticians, as well as non-medical staff and families, to join a medical team and serve in a developing country where care is limited. Services include: primary medical care, dental services (including extractions and restorative care), health education, general and ophthalmology surgery, optical services, and vision and hearing screening. Last year, 250 Canadians joined fifty-two teams. In 2015, we expanded our ministry to be able to provide opportunities to Americans as well as Canadians. If you have a friend from the USA or other country around the world, who would like to join you on a team, this is now possible through MMI Canada. See details at www.mmicanada.ca or call toll free to 1-844-335-6642.

Patients are impacted on projects and receive life changing care. Volunteers are also changed by serving Jesus Christ! Our Mission Statement is: “Medical Ministry International Canada is an opportunity to serve Jesus Christ by providing spiritual and compassionate health care in a world of need.”

We think this will be an amazing chapter of service to some of the neediest people in the world. We can make a difference together. Changing Lives starts with you! Join a Team……Let’s go!Barbara Skinner, Acting Executive Director

The Anniversary PresentA story from the Bolivia, Vision Care Team, from February, 2015. With God’s provision, the team of 68 medical and non-medical staff served 5,003 clinical and surgical patients, including 291 cases of surgery.

It was the Friday of the first week of our 2015 surgical eye mission to Bolivia. Coincidently, it was also the 27th anniversary of my marriage to Sheila. She and I had exchanged our anniversary gifts privately in the morning, before we left for the clinic. The rest of the group serenaded us at breakfast, and I thought that was the end of the gift giving. It seems I was a little too hasty in my presumption.

It was just after lunch when Raul Castillo was escorted by his sister to my work station. Raul is a 63 year old farm worker whose distance vision was perfect for his age, but whose otherwise healthy eyes needed a little help when reading. And these would be his very first pair of glasses. However, his vision was not Raul’s only challenge. He had worked with, and mastered fairly well, the physical challenges presented by cerebral palsy early in his life. His mind was sharp, and his speech was clear, his gait and agility less so.

The first pair of readers we tried fit him perfectly, and exactly suited his optical needs. He was so excited that the veil of blurriness with which he had lived with these many years had been lifted that he took the reading card, gleefully read, then carefully re-read the entire thing just to be sure. He profusely thanked me, his sister blessed me, and Raul quickly left the room, eager to share his new-found treasure with the rest of his world.

It took me a second or two to realize the magnitude of the event that had just occurred in Raul’s life and my role in it. Others had been able to help him with his physical challenges, but God had selected me to help him with his visual ones! That fact stopped me cold, and rendered my own vision blurry with tears of joy and humbleness. For the first time in eight years of serving on MMI projects, I finally realized exactly how it was that God was using me to change lives. – Bob Guest, 2015-03-18

Many medical and dental teams are much smaller and would have 10-25 volunteers moving daily from village to village, to serve more remote areas with needed primary medical and dental care. Often, local in-country health care professionals join our efforts. f


A Life of ServiceI have been involved with CMDS Canada my whole medical career, mainly as a participant in our local Hamilton chapter. I have been involved with Medical Ministry International my whole career as well. I was first introduced to MMI (then MGM) as a medical student and my love of foreign missions has stayed with me all my life.

MMI provides a wonderful opportunity to share the love of Jesus through medical care to poor people in developing countries.

I have travelled to many countries around the world and people everywhere appreciate a warm smile and a helping act when they are suffering or in need. Often something as simple as a pair of reading glasses is a huge help to an old woman who wants to be able to see to remove the stones from her family’s rice bowl. Or a cataract operation that can restore a man to working so that he can have the pride of once again providing for his family or maybe the joy of seeing his grandchildren. To us in a developed country, we take these things for granted. We

expect that our government or our society or our medical system will provide for us and in the main they do. But in a poor country with an undeveloped infrastructure, these safety nets do not exist.

So, I would like to encourage you to get involved in serving medically somewhere else in the world. If you are a young doctor just starting your practice, make it a lifelong habit to serve. If you are in the prime of your career, take a 2-week holiday and help people in another country. And if you are nearing the close of your Canadian career, you are not done! There are lots of opportunities for retired docs to make a difference in a far away land. And if you can’t go, support someone who can.

Contact MMI Canada to sign up for an overseas mission at www.mmicanada.ca. f

John Harvey, MD, FRCSC, Division of Ophthalmology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON

MMI Canada continues to feel called to bring spiritual and compassionate health care in this world of need. To that end, we have established a variety of suitable agreements with the following individuals and organizations in the countries listed below and are proud to be collaborating with them. We have a full calendar of 40+ teams planned.

Allan Melicor ..............................................................................PhilippinesBa Vision .................................................................................................... FijiClinica Leticia...............................................................................ColombiaCollins Antwi ..................................................................................... GhanaDan Copeland ...................................................................................MexicoElias Santana Hospital, CCSM ............................Dominican RepublicFrancis Perez ........................................................................................BoliviaGustavo & Mildred Elicegui ......................................................HondurasHopethiopia ...................................................................................... CanadaI Care San Antonio ............................................................................... USAIris Malawi ..........................................................................................MalawiJoné Hernandez ............................................................................... Ecuador

Juan Alan Muñoz .........................................................................ColombiaJuan Carlos Pedraza ..........................................................................MexicoMercy Eye Center .................................................................................IndiaMMI-Peru ...............................................................................................PeruPeta-Ann Schmidt .......................................................Rwanda & ZambiaSight for Africa ................................................................................... GhanaSight for Souls ..................................................................................EthiopiaSlippery Rock University .................................................................... USASusanna Logacho ............................................................................. EcuadorTania Catacora ........................................................................................PeruTeo & Frida Beato ....................................................Dominican Republic


the Missionary callServing God wherever He calls you miles ByworTh

Last summer, I spent two months volunteering at a mission hospital in the Republic of Congo. Had you told me in the fall prior that I’d have the chance to bring medical care and the Gospel to villages scattered in a dense tropical rainforest, I’d have been more than a little sceptical. I’d actually figured I would be spending my summer in a lab, micropipetting or poring over patient records. Yet, something held me back from making much of an effort to apply to the various research programs available. As a part of my local CMDS Canada chapter, I’d heard stories about the work some were doing to combine their faith, and their desire to care for the underprivileged world-wide, and it piqued my interest. I began emailing various organizations to inquire about volunteering with them overseas, and several encouraged me to do so. Still, I felt uneasy about following up with any of those opportunities. As a man with a pathological inability to let go of control, I surmised that this was because I just hadn’t found the “best” placement for me yet. Only later was I to realize who was actually pulling the strings. Time dragged on and by mid-March I had started losing faith in my ability to plan the perfect mission trip. Fortunately, CMDS Canada’s Student Leadership Conference was that weekend and I brought up my difficulty finding a site with Larry Worthen, who suggested I visit the website of the Christian Medical and Dental Associations, CMDS Canada’s American counterpart. A quick browse led to an email, that email led to a link, which after further exploration led to a PDF listing dozens of different mission hospitals around the world. Naturally, I began ranking them on the basis of various characteristics, intending to email the first three “most appropriate” hospitals, and based on the responses to whittle it down to that which would provide me the most interesting, spiritually fulfilling journey. I had gotten about halfway through this tedious process when I landed on the description of the Pioneer Christian Hospital, situated in the north-eastern corner of the smaller of two Congos. No sooner had my eyes hit the page than I felt an overwhelming conviction

that this was where I had to be and that this was where God would put me. The joy of having my desires so aligned with God’s and the knowledge that I could trust in his strength and not my own to bring about his purposes made it impossible to sit still. I didn’t even bother emailing any other hospitals, or making any back-up plans, so sure was I that the Lord would provide. The process went just as smoothly as you’d imagine. I was accepted by the hospital, and got my visa and tickets without a hitch. I was astonished by the generosity of my Church community, friends, and family, when raising the necessary funds and the support I had through prayer. Three months later I was sitting in a UNHCR plane flying over a vast jungle on my way to Impfondo.

On weekdays, I’d wake up at 6:30am, eat a quick breakfast, and head to chapel for the morning service. Following that, I spent the morning either in rounds, learning about the management of

patients with diseases rarely seen in Canada, or watching and often scrubbing in on surgeries. Afternoons were spent shadowing in clinic hours, taking care of patients in the ER, or helping diagnose and admit patients. The other volunteers and I would often spend time going to the market, exploring the town and jungle, befriending the locals, and helping out in the evenings when staff had a lot of patients to handle. Sleeping came easily, except for the fact that babies often pick the wee hours of the morning to come into the world. On weekends, anything could happen: swimming, canoeing, biking, helping build huts, even going on a rainforest hike with a medicine man who taught us about natural cures for a wide range of maladies. By far the most rewarding outing was when we would hop in the van with a couple pastors and head to an outlying village. There we’d show films about people coming to Christ. We’d run clinics where we’d give medical advice, offer medication, and hold presentations on hygiene and nutrition.

God reminded us frequently while on those outings that He was in charge. Initially, they

No sooner had my eyes hit the page than I felt an overwhelming

conviction that this was where I had to be and that this was where God would put me.

FeATUre


only involved showing films and having a short sermon. The first time I went, a huge crowd showed up to watch the film, but the generator stopped working just as we were about to start. While trying to fix it, we took some time to pray about the situation. The generator display claimed it was low on oil, despite having just been filled, but in any case we had none. Much to my surprise, within a few minutes of praying a villager showed up with a bottle of oil from his store, and this in a village with no electricity and only two cars as far as I could tell. The generator worked like a charm, praise God! On the next outing, to a larger town called Nyange, the spark plug stopped working, and despite our prayers we couldn’t get the generator running that evening. God had something greater in mind though, and we came back a few days later with the generator functional, the extra time having allowed us to get medication, vitamins, equipment, and people together to run a small clinic for the first time! We were able to give some much-needed help and advice to families who may never otherwise have gotten it, on top of teaching about Jesus. I’ve never experienced God’s sovereignty more clearly than in those small towns around Impfondo.

Here’s some advice to those contemplating a medical mission this summer:1. Let God place you where He wants you. If

you get the feeling God is pushing you in a certain direction, don’t ignore it. Prayerfully consider whether the plans you’re considering for the summer are what you think is best for your career, or what God knows is best for His Kingdom. If you’re having trouble, try to find a Christian hospital. There, you will be surrounded by people who can mentor you in the faith and you will have the opportunity to pray with patients and discuss the Gospel. Try to get out of your comfort zone, and you’ll find growth in your faith as you learn to rely on God and not your own strength.

2. Try to learn the language and culture. In order to share God’s message and help treat patients effectively, you have to be able to communicate. This means travelling somewhere where you know the languages, or being willing to learn the language once you arrive. So, download a textbook and dictionary onto your smartphone and strike up conversations! Understanding the local culture and the needs of the population will help you address issues that arise, which can prevent you offending someone or being offended. Try to develop strong friendships with a few of the locals. Be curious and don’t be afraid to ask questions.

3. Go for a walk. While of course keeping your wits about you, go get lost! Wander or cycle through the town or countryside, and get to know the place where you’re a missionary. Just by chatting with strangers, I got to meet a would-be pastor who

showed me how cocoa beans are processed, a ship’s captain who showed me around his freighter, a judge who taught me about the legal system, policemen with grenade launchers, and many others besides. People respond well when you take an interest in their lives, and it teaches you empathy and humility. Be open to experiencing the lives others lead, whether that involves eating smoked caterpillars, climbing trees to get the ripest fruit, or dodging a stampede of angry bulls.

4. Offer to help whenever possible. Whether it’s helping a friend with an odd job, working on a worthwhile project, or giving away food and belongings, you’ll be demonstrating the love that Jesus has for us. In the clinical context, the less shy you are, the more you’ll get to do stuff like reducing a dislocated shoulder, learning to suture, giving spinal anaesthesia, interviewing patients, or delivering a baby. The more you do, the more you learn, and the more you can help others. So, ask and ye shall receive. f

Be open to experiencing the lives others lead, whether

that involves eating smoked caterpillars ... or dodging a stampede of angry bulls.

FeATUre


POInT/COUnTerPOInT

Pwhy is Development in africa so hard?Dr. John pATriCk

In the 1960s, Ghana and South Korea had similar agriculture based economies and similar average incomes. Today, the average income in South Korea is twenty-seven times greater than in Ghana. The superficial modern explanation is that Korea industrialized its economy and Ghana didn’t. But that is simply to place the question at a different level. Why can’t African economies modernize?

In his provocative book - Civilization: The West and the Rest – Niall Ferguson starts with an unremarkable list of six reasons for the western economic and developmental hegemony: competition, science, property rights, medicine, the consumer society and the work ethic. The “why” question is displaced again – why did these particular intellectual and ethical attributes arise? Ferguson uses two Chinese scholars to provide an answer, which is politically incorrect and, therefore, probably right:

We were asked to look into what accounted for the… pre-eminence of the West over the world… At first, we thought it was because you had more powerful guns than we had. Then we thought it was because you had the best political system. Next we focused on your economic system. But in the past twenty years, we realized that the heart of you culture is

your religion: Christianity. That is why the West has been so powerful. The Christian moral foundation of social and cultural life was what made possible the emergence of capitalism and then the successful transition to democratic politics. We don’t have any doubt about this.1

Another scholar, Zhuo Xinping, recognized that the Christian understanding of transcendence has a very important role:

Only by accepting this understanding of transcendence as our criterion can we understand the real meaning of such concepts as freedom, human rights, tolerance, equality, justice, and democracy, the rule of law, universality and environmental protection.2

Ferguson says, “If that sounds familiar it should. …those used to be among the key foundations of Western civilization. Yet in recent years we have seemed to lose our faith in them.”

He goes on to point to empty churches, banker’s greed, children disinterested in science, government violation of property rights, government waste of taxes and he might of

1 Niall Ferguson, Civilization: The West and the Rest (Penguin Books, 2012), 287.

2 As quoted in Ferguson.

added fabrication of scientific data. We risk being left with “a vacuous consumer society and a culture of relativism.” For a literate Christian or a literate Jewish audience this should bring to mind the following passage: “O, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep my commands always, so that it may go well with them and their children forever” (Dt 6:29).

The phenomenal academic performance of Jewish scientists, mathematicians, political scientists and medical researchers is a by-word. Every year they take a significant percentage of the “Hard” Nobel prizes, so there must be a clue in their history. The heart of Judaism is the Torah and its exposition in Deuteronomy (incidentally Our Lord’s most quoted book), which can be profitably thought of as the world’s greatest commencement address. “That it might go well with you and your children forever.” Who would not want that? In fact it would be a good definition of the purpose of real development.

The Ten Commandments are one way of describing what must be “second nature” in order for a culture to flourish. The concepts we now put first, such as equality and tolerance, would not have emerged without our now dismissed Judeo-Christian history. It is logically

impossible, if we are all equal but without a moral consensus, to make effective law. Every law is vulnerable to the charge – says who? The only way out is to accept de facto power, but it will only produce submission, not community. The Chinese scholar recognized that there has to be some source of authority to which we all bend the knee if the law is to be the pursuit of justice rather than power. The Jews developed a profound respect for the Torah and scripture which was inculcated into the children so that its moral injunctions and the knowledge of the results of disobedience became second nature – behaviour that could be routinely expected. Nevertheless, the Jewish hope that obedience would be enough “for Messiah to come” was not fulfilled and Jesus showed why. He showed that the law’s function was primarily to show us that we are incapable of keeping the law and therefore we have need of a Saviour. Thus, as Pascal puts it;

There are in faith two equally constant truths. One is that man…in the state of grace, is exalted above the whole of nature… the other is that in the state of corruption and sin he has become like the beasts.3

3 Blaise Pascal, Pensées, trans. A. J. Krailsheimer (London: Penguin Books, 1966), 131.


When Christ came and died for our sins, the world changed. Conversion was rapid, but character change was slow. It came over centuries and provided the foundations for the success of the West. The explosion of learning began long before the so-called enlightenment.

If this historical process or something like it is a sine qua non for development, then our presentation of the faith in Africa has been shallow, both Protestant and Roman Catholic, although in different forms of shallowness. On the Protestant side, being the children of reductionist times, we have reduced the Gospel to

acceptance of a simple set of propositions and an obsession with the immediate process of conversion. Our actual impact has been much more to do with bringing skills of medicine, engineering and simple education, which we naively think have no need of cultural underpinning. By way of illustration, last week I had an email from Africa in which the doctor described a malnourished child brought in by an “educated” mother who had purchased totems from the pagan healer before coming to the mission hospital.

I worked with others for many years researching the best

way to resuscitate 10lb two year olds. The project was successful, so that our protocols properly followed would predictably save almost all children. In the last 35 years I have yet to see a properly run program in Africa. It’s the culture, not ignorance, that is the problem. All people need a way to understand life as it happens, to make sense of suffering death and injustice. Paganism does this very well, at first sight better than Christianity. To believe in a God of love is not a natural response to living in central Africa, but evil spirits and magic make complete explanations easily. But, with this as your road map, the modern

world is impossible. This is particularly obvious in the crown jewel that is the western science experiment, which is connected to universal truth by inductive reasoning and is founded on a belief in a logical creator.

The failure of development in Africa can be reasonably hypothesized to be due to a failure to tell with careful exposition the whole story of God’s dealings with man. It is the story of how we were lead from holy fear to ideas of right living by way of obedience until after Christ were told to use our minds to work out our own salvation because God is at work in us. f

POInT/COUnTerPOInT

Cchange is slowDr. DAn reilly

Dr. Patrick’s insight about the link between worldview and difficulties in development is one of the most important things I have learned from him. When I encountered that truth as a medical student, it started me on a journey of learning about worldview, worldview change, and ethics. One of the most useful resources I have read on the topic is “Transforming Worldviews: An Anthropogical

Understanding of How People Change” by Paul G. Hiebert.

Dr. Patrick’s observation that conversion is rapid, but character change is slow, is usually as true for individuals as it is for societies. If your missionary goal is character change across a society then you should be prepared for work that will take a few generations. Character change in individuals is possible if you are willing to commit to

long-term discipleship. The only useful short-term missionary work is contribution to a local team already engaged in long-term work.

Given how slow change is in societies and individuals, it is encouraging to see a change in missionary work from short-term efforts at conversion to long-term mentorship/discipleship and building of local capacities. The model is moving from selling

change brought from the outside of a community to partnering with communities to pursue the community’s improvement goals.

There are still many places where the fields are awaiting harvesters and conversion seeking missionary work is desperately needed. There are also many places where the harvest is in the barns and now the task is to make flour and bread! f


samaritan’s purseCanadians bring health and hope to a hurting worldDr. nAThAn GinTher

Canada, on average, has two physicians and roughly nine nurses or midwives per 1,000 people. This stands in stark contrast to many countries in the developing world. They may have as few as two physicians for every 100,000 people. But Canadian medical professionals are helping to create a new, more hopeful reality through Samaritan’s Purse World Medical Mission.

The focus of Samaritan’s Purse World Medical Missions is clear: Following Jesus Christ’s command to “heal the sick who are there, and tell them the Kingdom of God is near you” (Lk 10:19). This command has been followed by countless physicians, dentists, and other medical personnel – some who are members of the Christian Medical and Dental Society – who have shared their skills to bring healing to those in need through short-term service at mission hospitals and clinics around the world.

World Medical Mission began in 1977, when two surgeon brothers, Drs. Lowell and Richard Furman, approached Franklin Graham two years before he would become president and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse. The brothers wanted to volunteer for a short-term assignment in a mission hospital during their vacation, but said there didn’t seem to be any organization that arranged such trips. Not wanting to duplicate efforts, Franklin researched the field for other organizations that might already be involved in this work. To his surprise, there were none. Franklin accepted the challenge to lead this organization, and World Medical Mission was born. The hospitals served by World Medical Mission are used by God to lead thousands of people to faith in Jesus Christ. In remote areas around the world, missionary medicine is one of the most effective means of evangelism.

Dr. Greg Kline is a Canadian endocrinologist who served at Mbingo Hospital in Cameroon for two weeks, which was his second trip with World Medical Mission.

Dr. Kline was invited to Mbingo Hospital, in a rural part of the Northwest Province, where he spent two weeks providing intensive endocrinology training for eight Cameroonian physicians in residency. “One patient in particular had a tremendous impact upon the residents,” says Dr. Kline. “A young man had been wasting away for six months to the point where he was bedridden, hospitalized, and barely responsive.” The patient had been aggressively investigated for all sorts of medical disorders, including a comprehensive search for various types of infections or cancers but nothing was found. The team decided to consider a diagnosis of adrenal insufficiency. Dr. Kline recommended that the residents test their hypothesis by giving him just 5 mg of prednisone, which would otherwise be harmless if

their diagnosis was wrong. What happened next left Dr. Kline and the staff amazed. “The very next day we came by on ward rounds, and when we stopped in front of the man’s bed, he sat up straight and said ‘Hello’ and ‘I want to eat!’” says Kline. “From that point on, we called him Lazarus. He was discharged from the hospital within a week.” Dr. Kline says when he was a medical resident, he chose to specialize in endocrinology because of a love for this area of specialization. He had felt guilty at times, however, thinking he would have been more useful to God in a surgical or procedural specialty. “[The patient dubbed] Lazarus has shown me I was wrong,” says Dr. Kline. Kline says Lazarus, among other patients, were people brought to him by God, in dire need of his exact skills. He says he’s now learned that God can use anyone - even an academic endocrinologist – to serve His people and accomplish His purposes.

JOY reTUrnedWhen a 19-year-old girl came to Kapsowar Hospital for help, she was suffering from a severe post-partum hemorrhage. A first-time mother, she had delivered her baby at home, but continued to bleed for the next week. First, her family tried traditional healing methods by cutting 10 small incisions on the skin overlying the young woman’s uterus. When that didn’t work, they finally took her for treatment and were referred to Kapsowar Hospital for possible surgery. “When she finally arrived, she had lost over half her blood volume and desperately needed a transfusion,” Dr. Ginther recalls. “When we discovered that our blood bank was empty, two doctors sacrificially volunteered their own blood. We were forced to perform an emergency hysterectomy.” Although the team was able to save the mother’s life, it came at great cost. The young woman is part of the Pokot tribe of Kenya – an impoverished community that measures social status not by possessions, but by children and childbearing. Tragically, this mother will never be able to bear children again. As a result, her husband will likely marry a second woman for more children, while she will become the subject of village gossip, jokes, and malicious slander – all because of something beyond her control. In the days following the operation, Dr. Ginther says she struggled with depression. “Through counseling provided by our chaplains, and prayer from many at the hospital, a visible change began to come over the young mother,” he says. “Joy returned and she began to rejoice in her healthy baby.” Though the woman has a difficult road ahead, she and countless other patients treated at Kapsowar Hospital are better equipped to face adversity after receiving quality care and support for their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. “Our prayer is that through the care we provide and the power of God, their lives will be changed in Jesus’ Name,” says Dr. Ginther. f

Dr. Nathan Ginther is a general surgeon from Warman, SK, who served at Kapsowar Hospital in Kenya. While there, he was impacted by a young mother who didn’t just receive life-saving medical care, but also emotional and spiritual support in the midst of crisis.

For more information about upcoming volunteer opportunities with World Medical Mission or about Samaritan’s Purse please contact us at SamaritansPurse.ca/WMM


While listening to a cassette tape at the age of four, my life was forever changed. A young boy struggled to stay warm in the winter while a group of wealthy children played nearby, ignoring him. The boy sang a song of faith, of recognizing that God was all he needed, even if his feet were cold and shoe-less. One of the children eventually helped the boy and his family, and I thought to my four-year-old self, “I want to do that too. I want to help people.” I wanted to be a missionary.

Through a rather tortuous series of events, God led me into medicine at the Université de Sherbrooke in Québec, Canada. It was there, through a CMDS Canada conference, that I first heard about the Samaritan’s Purse Post-Residency Program (SP PRP) as it was just beginning. I tucked the information away in my memory and prayed that God would guide me when the time was right. At the same conference, I was introduced to the CanMedSend Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that further enables missionary physicians and dentists to go overseas by covering the cost of student loan payments while the physician is away.

Following medical school, I was accepted into an Obstetrics and Gynecology residency in Regina, SK. Wanting to be better equipped to serve overseas, I chose to do an elective in Obstetrics and Gynecology in Lubango, Angola, focusing on learning to do fistula repair surgeries with Dr. Stephen Foster at the CEML Hospital. During my two months in Angola, I questioned and pondered, prayed and wondered about where God might be leading me. I connected with two of the SP PRP graduates while I was there, Dr. Priscila Cummings and Dr. Annelise Olsen, and plied them with questions. It was in my last two weeks in Angola, ten days before the SP PRP application deadline, that I finally had a sense of peace and confirmation that God was leading me to apply for the PRP – and to request to return to Angola.

Samaritan’s Purse is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization that has been providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world since 1973. They are involved with emergency disaster relief, community development and vocation programs, Operation Christmas Child, medical projects and water projects, with the ultimate goal of sharing God’s love with the people they serve.

Samaritan’s Purse and World Medical Mission started the Post-Residency Program (PRP) to enable a recently graduated physician to leave for the mission field immediately after completing residency. The

PRP enables the physician to serve for two years in preparation for full time service. World Medical Mission will locate a hospital in need; will get the doctor to the field, paying for airfare as well as financial support for food and housing for the two year period. During the two year program, the doctor will be preparing to continue on in the mission field once the PRP is complete. This includes studying theological courses through the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, language study, and developing a list of individuals who will give prayer and financial support for the doctor once the initial two years are completed.

I was accepted into the SP PRP in September of 2014 and will begin my time with them in the summer of 2015. I leave for language training in Lisbon, Portugal on August 31st and will spend 4 months there prior to leaving for Angola in December 2015 for a two year stay. I will be working both at the CEML hospital with Dr. Foster and Dr. Olsen as well as at the Kalukembe Hospital with Dr. Olsen. For part of my time at CEML, I will be the only residency-trained OBGYN in a city of over a million people – a rather daunting role to fulfill. I will also serve as the unofficial neonatologist in a country with the world’s highest child mortality rate (I still occasionally have palpitations over this…). During my time in Angola, I am seconded to SIM (Serving in Mission) Angola in order to facilitate my work at CEML and my involvement in the local missions community. I have also been accepted by CanMedSend, who will pay my student loans for me while I am gone.

When I think back to that cassette tape, I shake my head in amazement at the path God has lead me along, growing in me His heart of compassion along the way. And although I dreamed of being a missionary for 26 years, I get the impression that His dreams will be bigger than mine have ever been. f

When His dreams are bigger than yoursDr. sArAh huDGins

For more information regarding Samaritan’s Purse or the Post Residency program, check out www.samaritanspurse.ca or www.samaritanspurse.ca/rss/world-medical-mission/about/serving-overseas.aspx#.VV4FHflViko

To read about the work of the CEML Hospital in Angola, check out www.ceml.org


chalice canada

With the TANCAN team and the Chalice organization behind me I experienced the belief that I could do something to balance the social scales. – Joan Roach, RN

Chalice is a Catholic Sponsorship Programme based in Nova Scotia which sponsors over 49,000 children and elderly in 15 countries. Sponsorship provides healthcare, nutrition and education for those in need, along with the support of someone who cares. Chalice has received a top rating among International Aid and Development Charities in Canada by MoneySense magazine for the past five years.

Why join a Chalice mission? The difference that you make will be meaningful and sustainable.

Chalice has led six medical missions in East Africa. The 2014 TANCAN mission, a partnership between our Tanzanian and

Canadian teams, offered medical training to Site Staff and other local health professionals, as well as served 2403 people, with an emphasis on maternal health. Leslie Slaunwhite, RN, shares: “The most rewarding experience was the education I was able to provide to medical staff in Tanzania. Showing the staff how to use a Doppler to hear fetal heart rates, or use an oxygen bag and face mask, can help to make a real difference in achieving better health outcomes for pregnant women and newborns, and may even help to save lives.”

Every Chalice Sponsor Site is under local direction, as we work closely with lay people, religious congregations and local communities in their efforts to provide care for families caught in the dehumanizing grip of extreme poverty and lack of education. Long before and after your mission experience, Chalice is working in the community through our local partners.

Chalice is seeking to partner with CMDS Canada and its members to offer dental and medical missions in the future. Everyone is welcome to join us. f

If you are interested in joining one of our teams, contact us today: 1-800-776-6855, [email protected] 445 Sackville Drive, Lower Sackville, NS, B4C 2S1


the IcMDa National Institute of health sciences

The Institute is currently looking for teachers in the following subjects for the Fall term: • Pharmacology • Health Services Management • Epidemiology • Pathology• Microbiology • Clinical Methods

For the Winter term, the teaching needs include:• Epidemiology• Ophthalmology• ENT• Medicine• Surgery• Pediatrics• Obstetrics and Gynecology• Clinical bedside teaching

There is some flexibility in the schedule and the subjects can be taught any time between July and December, depending on the availability of teachers. The duration for short-term assignments can be anywhere from two weeks to three months. Teachers will be responsible for air travel and accommodations are available at a nominal rate at Guest Houses. These are volunteer opportunities, so there will be no compensation. If teachers are available for more than three months, a modest stipend may be available. The teaching is at a basic level since the graduates will become clinical officers, nurses or midwives. The teaching personnel can be either doctors or nurses and they don’t need to be specialists.

For more information contact Dr. Abraham Ninan at 306 954 0922 or [email protected]

Rebuilding the Healthcare System of South Sudan In May 2014, ICMDA’s Health Training Institute, Jonglei was launched to deal with the critical shortage of healthcare professionals at all levels of South Sudan’s healthcare system.

When the Institute opened, fifty students undertook the twelve-hour journey by bus from Juba to Kampala. It was a long, rough journey over bumpy roads, but nothing compared to the dangers and difficulties that these brave young men and women had undertaken to enroll in the Institute. Some had run away to escape death as the “lost boys” of South Sudan and had grown up in camps in North Kenya and Uganda. Some of them were determined to leave their life in the cattle camps to get an education. A young girl left her town in the Nuba mountains in hopes of becoming the first qualified midwife for her community. A young man came who was keen on curing the people in his community from strange and neglected tropical diseases. They all came with dreams and huge expectations. The Institute began with only three full-time teaching staff and a small administrative team. It is only by God’s grace and timely provisions that this small team has managed to accomplish the huge task of opening the Institute.

Over the last year, many Christian doctors have come together to work towards supporting the ICMDA South Sudan Initiative. In an exciting move, members of CMDS Canada, EMAS, Sharing-in-Health and EHA Canada have recently formed a working group and committee to coordinate support and to promote the work of the Institute. Together we endeavor to help rebuild South Sudan

by educating and developing a reliable cadre of health workers.

In May 2015, the ICMDA National Institute of Health Sciences Jonglei completed its first year. Fifty students took their second semester examinations, 19 are studying for a Diploma in Clinical Medicine and Public Health and will one day qualify as Clinical Officers, 16 are studying for a Diploma in Registered Nursing and 15 are studying for the Diploma in Registered Midwifery. The programs all include in-class work as well as practical experience working in community medical centres. The Institute hopes it’s first class of clinical officers, nurses and midwives will graduate in June, 2017.

If you are a Christian doctor, nurse or health worker and are interested in joining us on this exciting journey, we would love to have you join us. You could:1. Support the teaching programme by volunteering

to come to Uganda to teach for 2-3 weeks.2. Help us in developing medical and nursing

teaching resources. We are looking for teaching presentations, videos and other educational tools. Sharing-in-Health is currently assisting the Institute in developing and collating these resources.

3. Support the educational costs of a student. Training for each student comes to approximately $10,000. To donate, please visit the CMDS Canada website and donate under the ICMDA field on our donations page. f


christian Medical and Dental society of canada2015 Awards Presentation

CMdS CAnAdA dISTIngUIShed ChrISTIAn SerVICe AwArd 2015

Dr. Alison Froese In recognition of a lifetime of exemplary Christian service as a medical educator, CMDS Canada mentor, practitioner, and short-term medical missionary.

Alison’s involvement with CMDS Canada began during med school and in her early residency days in Manitoba in the late 60s. The local graduate doctors held monthly Bible study/discussions at someone’s house

and invited students and residents to join in. She valued those meetings highly, getting to know some graduate doctors, receiving some mentoring, and just seeing what the practicing doctors were wrestling with and how they coped. Once a year there was a CMDS Canada weekend ‘camp’ somewhere in the Manitoba Lake region. She became hooked on CMDS Canada and stayed hooked. Since moving to Kingston in the 80s, Alison worked as a “prof ” within the medical school and started meeting with Christian students at Queens University for prayer or ‘Bible studies.’ One of her rewards has been the opportunity to meet students, mentor some more intensely, and be part of their growth as both Christ-followers and soon-to-be physicians.

In July 2012, Alison was appointed “Professor Emerita” at Queen’s University,

in Kingston. That capped a 30-year long academic career in the Departments of Anaesthesia, Physiology, and Paediatrics. During that period, she was awarded 33 grants and 23 visiting professorships. Alison has also authored 44 peer-reviewed publications, 17 book chapters, and 17 invited reviews/editorials.

Alison’s unique contribution has been her ability to combine her Christian faith, her passion for medical missions, and her academic focus. For years she has presented at the “Global Anesthesia Course” for health workers in remote areas of developing countries: for example, in Cambodia, Nepal, Tibet, and the Philippines.

Our sincere congratulations to Dr. Alison Froese on her receipt of this award and our thanks for her years of tireless service.

CMdS CAnAdA dISTIngUIShed ChrISTIAn leAderShIP AwArd 2015

Dr. Rudy HammIn recognition of a lifetime of exemplary Christian leadership as President of the Kelowna Chapter, member of the National Board, missionary and physician.

Dr. Rudy Hamm’s first involvement with CMDS Canada was during his first year of Medical School at UBC in 1959. At that time CMDS Canada was called Medical Christian Fellowship, with ties to Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship and it was under the auspices of Christian Medical Association of the United States. The group had regular meetings with Christian medical staff.

After graduation in 1963, he spent two years in Cleveland, Ohio where he did his internship and a year of residency. Then it was on to Fresno, California where he did a part time pediatric residency as well as attending

Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary in preparation for medical mission work. During the time in Cleveland and Fresno, Rudy cherished the involvement and support of the local CMA chapters.

His next stop was in Brussels, Belgium for French language and Tropical Medicine studies. Then it was on to Democratic Republic of Congo. During his five years there, Rudy was the only physician in Kajiji serving a population of 50,000 for the Mennonite Brethren Mission. Kajiji was a mission station with a hospital, nurses training school, numerous village dispensaries, as well as a large church and a primary and a middle school. However, there was no electricity or running water!

Upon his return to Canada in 1972, he spent five years in Dartmouth, NS, doing some post-graduate studies as well as working in the Armed Forces Hospital. During those five years, Rudy reconnected with CMDS Canada and was actively involved in the Maritime chapter. At the time he was fortunate to receive the kind encouragement of Dr. Peter Thompson.

Rudy and his family returned to BC in 1977 and, after a year of practicing in Vancouver, they moved to Abbotsford. During his twenty-two years in Family Practice, he continued his

involvement with CMDS Canada and helped to organize regular functions for the Upper Fraser Valley. Rudy also served on the BC Chapter Board and joined the National Board as Treasurer and later as Member at Large for a total of 15 years.

In 2000, after retiring from active practice, the Hamms moved to Winfield, BC (close to Kelowna), where Rudy did locums for 13 years. During this time, he organized the Okanagan CMDS Canada Chapter, which is still active. He continues to be the contact person for this Chapter. In the last four years, he has also been involved in supporting Dr. Sarah Brears and Dr. Sue McLoughlin, who minister to the Univeristy of British Columbia’s CMDS Canada medical students. A highlight of his CMDS Canada involvement in Kelowna was the organizing, planning, and hosting of the Kelowna National CMDS Canada Convention.

CMDS Canada has always been a source of encouragement and strength during his medical studies and in Rudy’s career. He is grateful for the privilege to serve CMDS Canada all these years in various ways. CMDS Canada is grateful for his contribution to our work and his dedication being a leader and mentor to our members. f


The Greatest of These is LoveChrisTopher wAnG

Picture this. Looking out from the window of the tour bus, there’s desert land as far as the eye can see. It’s the end of the harvest season and most of the fields are empty. Suddenly, the bus turns the corner and a deep emerald green fills the landscape. Emerging from out of the sand and rock below, defying all agricultural reasoning, comes forth a symbol of resilience and prosperity, the watermelon.

This remains my fondest memories of my very first mission trip to Ningxia, China almost seven years ago. For the past 25 years, Education, Medical Aid and Service (EMAS) has been sending teams of medical and dental practitioners to this underserved area in north-west China. I joined the team straight out of high school along with my family in 2009. Now, I count it a true blessing that I have been able to return every summer since. Year after year I am blown away by new sights and new stories, but I will never forget that very first visit to the watermelon fields.

It is still a mystery to me how a land that receives no more than 500 millimetres of rain per year can produce some of the largest and sweetest watermelon I’ve ever tasted. But over the years, I have come to simply accept it as a God-given blessing to the people of Ningxia. Whenever I think of the watermelon, I am reminded of that famous verse from 1 Corinthians 13:13, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” To me, the watermelon is a symbol of all three virtues and it has unexpectedly shaped the way I viewed medical missions as a student. Here are some of the lessons I’ve learnt over the years:

Faith. When I first asked a local farmer how it is that watermelon can grow in such harsh conditions, his reply implied that there was a fair bit of faith involved. They did not use fertilizers or chemicals, yet somehow, no matter how hot and dry the season was, it seemed to me that faith was what assured the farmers of a good yield. Similarly, our medical and dental work relies on a similar faith. We recruit physicians, collect drug donations and prepare programs for the kids. But we are completely reliant on the Holy Spirit to direct our steps. I have learned that God’s promises are sure and He provides abundantly for our everyday needs.

Hope. Farmers construct domes over their fields to trap in the heat and moisture. This “watermelon sauna” was supposedly what contributed to their incredible sweetness and juiciness. The story of the watermelon

again bears much resemblance to the land itself, which has undergone many hardships and prevailed. The province of Ningxia has one of the lowest GDPs in the entire nation, and from a spiritual perspective, the prospects appear equally bleak. Over 95% of the population are Muslims and there are very few Christian churches in the region. Yet, there is still hope. For three years, we have been partnering with young, local, Christian healthcare students, empowering them to be the leaders of the next generation. If we want to see the love of Christ reach the ends of the Earth, we need to place as much hope in them as God places in us.

Love. Upon entering any house in Ningxia, we are always offered some freshly cut watermelon. I am always humbled by this act of generosity. These people often have very little to eat themselves, yet through their actions, I have come to appreciate that love really is the currency of missions. It is not about how many patients we are able to see or how many medications we are able to dispense. It is about whether we are able to reflect the love of Christ through healing hands, listening ears, or simply a welcoming smile.

When thinking about faith, hope, and love, I used to wonder why Paul so confidently affirms that “the greatest of these is love.” Little did I know, the answer was staring me right in the face. Every year, on top of the medications, we also make sure to hand each patient a poster with the Chinese character “ai” meaning “love.” Upon closer inspection, each stroke of the Chinese character is actually made up of a verse from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8:

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

We often get patients to read these verses out loud while they are waiting to see the doctor. While they may be oblivious to where these words of truth are coming from, in accepting these truths into their hearts, they are actually accepting the greatest gift of all, Jesus Christ himself. That is why the greatest of these is love. From the story of the watermelon, I am constantly reminded of this great exchange of love and my prayer is that one day, the people of Ningxia will come to know this story as well. f

FeATUre


National conference reportJenniFer wATerhouse

I had the privilege of attending the CMDS Canada national conference, Love One Another, this past June in Calgary, AB. For myself, it was my first conference, and for CMDS Canada, it was the first time joining with the Canadian Federation of Catholic Physicians’ Societies. It was a weekend of encouragement, equipping, and unity as we shared in the close fellowship that can only be found amongst family.

I am a medical student who is currently transitioning into the professional world and, as it was once put, am “trying to survive drinking from a fire hose.” In complete honesty, I sometimes struggle with attending functions that leave me with a longer to do list, and an even deeper awareness of what I should be doing if I had more time and energy. I often go away feeling more exhausted than encouraged, and more defeated than inspired.

I have pondered what was different about this conference that left me with very little of the above feelings. Maybe it was walking into a hotel lobby filled with worship music, or perhaps it was the hearty meals that were a welcomed change from whatever comes on sale at the grocery store. However, when I get quiet before God I know that I experience the joy that comes from obeying the trusted commandment of our Father, “to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as He commanded us” (1 Jn 3:23). The words are simple, but if they are understood in their truest intent, we are not left striving to love others more so that we can be better. Rather, when we remain in the vine, God’s Spirit is at work in us, and the result is people who believe more and love better. When we gather in fellowship and believe what He tells us, we gain a deeper revelation of the love and acceptance we already have before God, and are given the motivation and joy to share that love freely with the world in which we live.

We were very fortunate to have Dr. Gordon Smith from Ambrose College lead our plenary sessions. Dr. Smith shared both deep wisdom and refreshing entertainment and almost every subsequent speaker continued the retelling of his jokes. Dr. Smith encouraged us to know that our most effective witnesses for God’s truth comes once

that truth has become part of our being. Our lives will naturally become shining examples of the joy that truth brings. He urged us to develop healthy prayer lives through which we can discern what is needed for such a time as this and what love might look like in each situation we encounter. We are to fight cynicism with prayerful disengagement. He encouraged us throughout the day to have a few quiet moments of daily office with God, wherein we anchor to the generosity of God and meet Christ in real time to know we are loved. Spending this time allows us to recognize what we are being called to do, let go of what we cannot do free of guilt, and have the capacity to discern the difference. True service is not entitlement, but an uncalculated generosity. As Christians, we

have the freedom to do what needs to be done simply because it needs doing through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us. Prayers sustain our hope in the world, because it gives us the quiet peace that this is our Father’s world, and Jesus is Lord.

I was able to experience my first Dr. John Patrick lectures at the conference on “A Brief History of Love” and “What Hippocrates Knew.” Dr. Patrick and his wife Sally run the Registry of Hippocratic Physicians, which has the purpose of bringing together practitioners who have an ethical consensus and/or are preparing to practice Hippocratic medicine. I had spent various study breaks this past year looking up his work and so I was tipped off that my pen might have difficulty keeping up, despite the practise these past three years of medical school have provided. Dr. Patrick has a gift for teaching and, because he has committed this gift back to the giver, he provides his audience with reasoned

confidence to stand firm with what they know to be right. As a medical student, that meant repairing some of the foundations that the medical environment has tried to take away. I think it suffices to say that Dr. Patrick has a way of making seemingly loose tangents fit together to form a tapestry that leaves listeners with more questions than answers. Questions that prod one to recognize the gift God has given them through their own individual story and to understand that story within the proper context of the larger storyline that is portrayed throughout Scripture. The stories we inhabit matter.

Dr. Patrick encouraged us to find support groups and mentors who will routinely ask us if we have “read our bibles, prayed, and whether we just lied.” As Christians, we have a huge family and we need to not only be in relationship with Christ the head, but also with the body. Dr. Patrick’s sessions left me with a Hippocratic oath pin on my coat, a quiet confidence that transcendence is essential to ethical practise of medicine, and the following quote on my wall:

There are those who seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge; that is Curiosity. There are those who seek knowledge to be known by others; that is Vanity. There are those who seek knowledge in order to serve; that is Love. – Bernard of Clairvaux

A large focus of the conference was the importance of conscience rights, which are currently being threatened in Canada. Dr. Janet Epp-Buckingham presented the session “Give to God what is God’s and Caesar what is Caesar’s.” Being able to “love the Lord your god with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind” (Mt 22:37) requires practising medicine with a conscience. Therefore, our conscience is God’s, making the stakes huge. It is the difference between adopting a priestly role wherein we are able to make moral, ethical, spiritual decisions and conversely being merely service providers and technicians carrying out patients’ wishes.

I know I often feel exhausted when I leave the hospital, and have difficulty gathering both the understanding and motivation to play my role in defending the right to practise

Individuals who, out of love, choose to take a stand and

are risking both their careers and reputations for future

generation of physicians. On behalf of all of us, thank you.


conscientiously in the future. CMDS Canada is very fortunate to have Larry Worthen working tirelessly on our behalf and it is certain that God is ultimately in control, but throughout Scripture God’s people are called to participation. We certainly are not lawyers, and therefore require more coaxing to take our stand, but through CMDS Canada’s resources and email updates we each can stay informed on how we can be involved locally, nationally, and in prayer as the events continue to unfold. There was a special moment at our table of students wherein a student shared how humbled they were by the work that is being done by older generations for our futures. Individuals who, out of love, choose to take a stand and are risking both their careers and reputations for future generation of physicians. On behalf of all of us, thank you.

At the celebration banquet we raised over $47,000. These funds will be going to our student programs and to the fight for conscience protection. Thank you to everyone for your generosity!

Dr. Sheila Harding shared on learning to navigate in the Babylonian school of medicine.

A highlight to training in Saskatchewan has been seeing this wisdom lead to a reputation for impeccable integrity that is well known at our college. Dr. Harding is a role model who not only talks the talk, but genuinely walks the walk. She shared that religious faith is always personal, but it is not private. In order to survive in Babylon we must stay grounded in the traditions of our faith, be rigorous in studies, faithful in attributing success to God, surrounded and supported by faithful friends, and courageous – because God is our judge. An excellent examples of this was from an Ottawa med student Amanda Kelsall, a girl who “got it” from a young age, and was called home by Jesus in January 2014 in a car accident. Dr. Harding often says “you don’t learn navigation in the middle of the storm,” and the Kelsall family’s commitment to God even when their world fell apart has allowed her story to have incredible impact (more information can be found at www.missionamanda.kelsall.ca) on both those in her class and others looking in.

In conclusion, it occurred to me recently how much trust we as students put in those

who go before us that they will not lead us astray. It is easy for faith to be neglected, as it can be seen as another thing to keep up, rather than the very thing that keeps us up. CMDS Canada meetings, retreats, and conferences have played a pivotal role in my life through connecting me with people who too have spent time with Jesus to know His joy and peace, and have had both the character and competency to speak truth into my life. People who have been able to encourage me that following Jesus in the medicine world is indeed hard at times, but there is no other name through which we are saved, and God is faithful. We need to witness to this faithfulness in our social circles and among the younger generations. in our circles and with younger generations. We need to be reminded of our true calling in the midst of the battles we face with PAS and conscientious objection: to love God, love ourselves, and love others. We need each other and need to be the friends that carry one another to Jesus. We need to be like family who remind one another that although we will face trouble in this world, Jesus is Lord and evil does not have the last say. f


the Last wordlArry worThen executive Director, CmDs Canada [email protected]

The apostle Paul’s reminder that we are called to be witnesses “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8) speaks to us even today. As we read in the pages of this issue of FOCUS, some of us are called to preach to the physical ends of the earth. Our members who have followed the call to missionary work are bringing the Gospel and the gift of God’s healing to people in need all around the world. Their work with medical missions helps to bring the name of Christ to communities where His word has never been heard. This issue of Focus is designed to encourage all of us to have a global vision when we ask the question “Who is my neighbour?”

We encourage all of our members to get involved in some way in short or long-term medical missions if you can. It can be a great way to experience the joy of service in the name of Christ. Providing medical and dental care in areas of poverty and real hardship helps to rekindle one’s passion for serving others.

Most of us are primarily focused on evangelizing here at home. We are all called to share the word of God to those around us who have not heard it preached convincingly. Often our neighbours greet the message of freedom and love with hostility. Still, we persevere in our witness. The ends of the earth may in fact be our own neighbour’s heart. As we proceed, we need to place our trust in the Holy Spirit, who goes ahead of us, softening hearts to receive the message of the Gospel. For some of us, the ends of the earth may well be in the depths of our own hearts. We too need to hear the Gospel we are preaching and to find ways to grow closer to Christ, so that we can better radiate His love to others.

Our recent National Conference in Calgary was a real celebration of the freedom and love that comes from knowing Jesus Christ. It was, by all accounts, a smashing success by the grace of God. Sincere thanks are in order for Dr. Thomas Bouchard and Dr. Suzanne Sawyer, the co-chairs of the conference. Marilyn Wieler and Shannon Friesen provided excellent staff leadership. $47,000 was raised at the Celebration

Banquet to support student ministries and promote conscience rights. We were pleased to welcome the Canadian Federation of Catholic Physicians’ Societies to our first joint conference.

Despite the sometimes disturbing discussions about assisted suicide and euthanasia and our ongoing worries about conscience rights, there was a wonderful spirit of unity and commitment as we were sent out after the final session. Despite the challenges and uncertainties of the present situation, we were united in our common cause to witness to our faith during our day-to-day lives as practitioners. It has never been so clear that the world needs this witness desperately.

Here in North America, we are faced with the need for a new kind of evangelization. Our culture, which was once Christian, has grown to see Christianity as a matter of private practice with no place in the public sphere. As respect for life is being eroded, we stand as a daily reminder that all life has dignity, regardless of ability, geographic location or age. We are strangers in our own land, speaking truths that seem alien to those around us. As medical professionals, the members of CMDS Canada have the unique opportunity to show their patients that they have immense dignity in the moments of their deepest vulnerability. Christ has sent us on a mission. It is a mission to speak to the hearts of the broken, lost, and weary, and to remind them that they are the beloved children of a merciful Father. We need not always speak the name of Christ to preach this Gospel, because our actions reveal Christ to those around us when we allow the Holy Spirit to inspire our work. But we will need to be very close to the Son of God in order to find the right words when the opportunity arises.

The Conference demonstrated that we are not alone in our difficulties. We have each other in these challenging times. Let us continue to press on as we follow the Lord “to the ends of the earth.”

“Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you” ( Jo 3:5). f

If you know someone you think might be interested in becoming a member, send us their name and we will mail them a complimentary copy of FOCUS and invite them to join our fellowship!

[email protected]

Reach out to your colleagues

The issues have never been so serious, the need for a Christian voice in healthcare has never been more apparent.

Invite them to join the CMDS Canada fellowship

“I would like to express my thanks to all the members of your society who are involved in this [CPSO] case. If Christians do not stand up to discrimination and the violation of our rights, we will only have more and more of them taken away.“ – member of the public

NATIONAL2016CMDS

CONFERENCE

May 26-29, 2016Sheraton Cavalier Hotel

Saskatoon, SK

Keynote speaker Dr. David Shenk, an authority

on Christian relations with Islam and other religions

strangersWelcoming

Christian Medical and Dental Society of Canada1-197D Main StreetSteinbach, MB R5G 1Y5

mission opportunities at home and abroad testimonies focus · the witnesses and testimonies found...

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