Participants:
Series Code: AMEN
Program Code: AMEN230004S
|
00:01 >> At this medical event, some network motivates trains and
00:04 equips health professionals to share price with their 00:07 patients. In his presence, we and our patients find rest home 00:13 and powerful healing take hold of God's promised a Biden, 00:16 his presence and experience the surrender 00:21 to faithfully minister as he did. 00:23 [MUSIC] 00:28 [MUSIC] 00:31 >> Good morning, everyone. 00:33 Welcome. It's great to see you all here. 00:37 I am so glad that all if you are here 00:40 to worship together, too, enjoy this conference, you know, 00:44 much prayer and effort has gone into this conference, putting 00:49 it together. So I am certain that God will speak to your 00:53 heart through the different programs we have for you this 00:56 weekend. 00:57 [MUSIC] 01:02 [MUSIC] 01:05 >> This is my first time I never heard about a man before. 01:07 So, yeah, my experience has been incredible has been very, 01:11 very cool to meet, you know, physicians and dentist and I 01:15 love everything that they do from mentorship to going on the 01:19 mission field. I'm not a lot of cool people like to work in 01:23 some really cool places them at. I'm a doctor who worked in 01:26 Guam and I never thought that was a thing because very cool 01:30 to see that there are opportunities, you know, 01:32 not just here in the U.S. but also overseas. And yeah, 01:36 I like the ability of this conference is to get us 01:39 together for us to that work. 01:40 >> A man has impacted me and that. 01:44 >> Allows me to refocus on, you know, during dental school. 01:47 And everything is pretty busy like, you know, special. 01:50 It might not be as strong as some point. So a man has really 01:53 helped to refocus me into seeing like my purpose as a 01:56 health care provider and also like my goal. And we should my 02:01 patients, especially getting them to like that holistic 02:05 care, not only like their physical needs, but also the. 02:09 [MUSIC] 02:14 [MUSIC] 02:17 >> Our speaker for this morning, 02:21 pediatric orthopedic surgeon who is highly respected and 02:26 admired. 02:28 He has a passion for service 02:31 and he's 02:33 passion. Comes for our stems from his grandfather who was a 02:37 surgeon and served for many years and Africa. 02:42 Doctor Scott Nelson goes whoa, be speaking to us this morning, 02:49 dedicated many part, many years of his life, his career 02:55 to service to humanitarian service. 02:58 He has served in Dominican Republic and Haiti and he was 03:03 nationally recognized for his work 03:07 and 2014. He was recipient F that Humanitarian 03:14 award 03:16 humanitarian of the Year award 03:19 by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. 03:24 He currently serves as the medical director and I, Haiti 03:28 Medical Hospital, the Adventist Hospital in Haiti. 03:33 He is blessed with 2 children. His wife, Marina, Marni and him 03:38 have been blessed with 2 children. Chad and Alex, 03:42 I'm Alex is a pilot and his wife is a fourth-year medical 03:47 student and 03:50 his brother. Alex is 03:54 a 3rd year medical student. 03:57 I am now going to turn it over to Doctor Nelson. 04:14 Hello, everybody. 04:15 >> I am thrilled to be here with you this morning. 04:20 I'm embarrassed to admit that I 04:22 I have never been to an amen conference before, 04:26 but for sure 04:28 there will be more. I look forward 04:30 to coming back many times in the future. 04:33 I've already been so blessed 04:36 by the messages they have been shared with us here. 04:40 Let's bow our heads as we start 04:45 father in heaven. 04:46 We thank you 04:48 for this opportunity to be in your presence. 04:52 I stand before you and humility. 04:56 I pray that my words will be your words. 05:00 I pray that he will be with us as we navigate the path of life 05:05 into your presence. 05:07 And that because this session in this conference will be able 05:10 to more effectively share your love 05:14 with all those around us. 05:17 I pray in a special way for this world 05:21 that your piece and love will come for those who are 05:25 suffering, 05:26 those who are suffering conflict 05:29 in the Middle East 05:31 conflict in Ukraine, conflict in Haiti, 05:34 natural disasters in Afghanistan, Morocco, Libya, 05:39 and people who are broken-hearted and desperation 05:42 here in our own country. 05:50 The year 05:52 with 18 94 05:56 and the church was in its infancy ahead, just started in 05:59 South Africa. But it had yet to spread into the inner 06:03 continent. 06:04 One church member there, Peter Wessels 06:08 donated $15,000 to start a mission in Rhodesia. 06:13 That's about $600,000. In today's money 06:19 in the conference, President Elder Robinson 06:21 went to see so roads, the namesake of Rhodesia and the 06:25 head of the British South Africa company 06:28 to lay before him their plans. 06:32 He wasn't very friendly. He had a bias against 06:34 missionaries. 06:37 He was riding on some papers is the day gave him their 06:41 proposal. 06:43 And when they finished, he didn't look up. 06:45 They just finished writing on his paper, 06:48 sealed in an envelope and gave it to the gentleman and told 06:52 them to deliver it to his liaison. Doctor, Jamison in 06:55 blue whale, 06:58 they were able to set out hastily on this trip. They were 07:01 so curious to see what was inside that envelope. 07:06 They took it on the train ride and then 07:08 600 miles more 07:11 that they had to walk over a period of 2 months 07:14 in order to get double the whale 07:17 immediately. When they got there, they delivered a letter 07:20 to Doctor Jamison. 07:24 After reading Mister Rhodes Letter, Doctor Jamison said, 07:28 gentlemen, how much land do you want, 07:33 Peter Standard for a minute or 2? 07:37 Not quite knowing how to answer that question. 07:40 He said, well, doctor, 07:43 the facts are we ought to have 12,000 acres, 07:48 but that depends upon the terms that we will get it. 07:54 Rhodes commands me to give you all the land that you can make. 07:57 You saw said, Doctor Jamison, 08:00 you can stake out any unclaimed territory to the East West, 08:04 North or south of the whale and he gave them a guide and they 08:08 went out 08:09 and laid out 08:11 the area, which is nearly 20 square miles that would become 08:14 the Sulu Sea had been this mission 08:20 the following year. The first missionaries came 08:31 and this book 08:32 on the Trail of Livingston written by Harry Anderson, 08:36 who is one of those first missionaries. He's full of 08:39 amazing and miraculous stories of this journey. 08:43 He and his wife 08:44 move there from Indiana, 08:47 along with the elder George trip, their young son, George 08:50 Junior and his wife Mary 08:52 and a doctor Doctor Carmichael who sold his practice in 08:56 California to move there. 09:00 These people are just like us have met a couple people here 09:03 already from Indiana. And I'm sure there's a few doctors from 09:06 California. 09:07 And I don't think it was 09:09 any easier back then than it is now. 09:14 As soon as they arrived, 09:16 they set out 09:18 building might houses with sticks. They dug a well. 09:21 They planted a garden 09:23 and then a family and set in. 09:26 They were there to help as many people as they could all around 09:29 them. 09:30 But these were difficult times 09:34 just after that rebellion broke out and they had to flee the 09:36 mission station. They buried a few of the belongings that they 09:39 could left the other things behind and went to pull away 09:43 where they slept under a wagon in the rain coats at night, 09:45 trying to keep dry for several months. 09:49 When they returned, 09:51 they found that there are things were taken and put in a 09:54 cave by a local chief who had a fondness for them and gave them 09:58 back and they were able to restart that work. 10:02 But these challenges 10:04 were nothing compared to what lay ahead 10:09 2 and a half years after they arrive, 10:11 Doctor Carmichael 10:13 was taken 10:15 by malaria. 10:19 It was not known at that time that the mosquito is the 10:22 carrier of this disease. And many feared 10:25 the quinine was dangerous. 10:27 One week later, another trip died 10:31 and then 10:33 their son George 5 weeks after that 10:36 died, also the same dreaded disease leaving that poor 10:38 mother. 10:44 Those who look at this situation, 10:47 I thought this endeavor was a complete failure 10:52 and it was even several more years after that until they 10:54 would have their first baptism. 10:58 And as the pastor is going to do the baptism him are saying 11:04 a person who has given his life to Christ, the 6 people that 11:07 had lined up behind him, fled into the jungle because they 11:11 thought he was being drowned. 11:13 But then the next day they came back. 11:16 It saw him alive and well. They, too, are baptized 11:20 and many, many more since that time. I've been baptized in the 11:23 country. That is now Zimbabwe, 11:25 a country where there are now approximately 1 million 11:30 avenues. 11:35 You will show me the path of life in your presence is the 11:40 fullness of joy. 11:42 You're right. Hander pleasures forevermore 11:47 when we pursue happiness. We we oftentimes look for in 11:50 the wrong places. 11:53 These missionaries rather than just pursue happiness, 11:58 surrendered to the lords guidance. 12:04 And we have to remember that the fullness of joy 12:08 and pleasures are not synonymous with come for an 12:11 easy life. 12:13 Theirs was anything but an easy life. But I'm quite certain 12:18 that they experienced the fullness of joy 12:22 in spite of the hardships. 12:27 What we've come here 12:29 asking ourselves 12:31 is how do we navigate into his presence 12:37 and the ministry of healing? 12:39 It says we shall find his footprints beside the sick bed 12:44 in the Hubble's of poverty, in the crowded alleys of the great 12:47 cities and in every place where there are human heart in need 12:51 of consolation. 12:54 Another quote by Archbishop Oscar Romero found in this book 12:58 says All those who worry about the hungry, the naked, the 13:01 poor, they disappeared, 13:03 the tortured, imprisoned about any suffering. Human being are 13:07 close to God. 13:10 This book is a dialogue between Paul Farmer celebrated 13:15 Harvard professor infectious disease specialist that started 13:18 the largest charity hospital in Haiti 13:20 and worked extensively in the developing world. 13:24 And he dialogue with Gustavo Gutierrez at Peruvian Catholic 13:29 Priest, who's the father of liberation theology, 13:33 the movement to liberate the oppressed people 13:36 and combining religious faith with aid for the poor. 13:42 This concept is sometimes called the UN Divided Gospel. 13:48 The title, my talk this morning is in the presence of the poor. 13:52 It relate some of the concepts in this book 13:55 to the theme of our conference. 13:59 These concepts are not new. They come straight from the 14:02 Bible. They repeated in the Ministry of Healing. 14:05 And I realize that being in the presence of the poor, 14:09 he's not the only way to be and to guys in God's presence. 14:13 But it's one of the ways that I personally have felt 14:17 most closely in his presence 14:22 where we live in Haiti. 14:24 Evil surrounds us. 14:28 But we delight in the presence of God, 14:31 which is even stronger. It is palpable in our hospital 14:36 in the people that work in our hospital 14:39 and in the patients who come to us seeking help 14:47 a few years back, I had been invited by a professor to give 14:50 some talks in Israel. 14:52 We landed in Tel Aviv on a Friday afternoon and went to 14:56 Jerusalem on that Friday 15:00 thinking back about 15:02 being in the presence and Jesus as we walked those streets of 15:06 Jerusalem, 15:09 the professor 15:11 who had invited us 15:14 was an atheist who had escaped and impressive part of Eastern 15:18 Europe and come to Israel for a better life. 15:22 And he was asking me 15:24 about why we would move our family from a country of 15:27 resources and opportunities to a place of relative challenging 15:30 hardship. 15:33 How is trying to tell him in a meaningful way 15:38 why we made make a choice like this when he suddenly stopped 15:41 us right there in the middle of the street and there was a long 15:44 pause. 15:48 He said you are lucky. 15:51 You are lucky because you believe in God, 15:54 I could never do that. 15:59 And it left me wondering 16:02 why 16:03 is he saying that? I'm lucky because God's love is there for 16:07 everyone. 16:08 All we have to do 16:10 his allow it to come into our lives. 16:15 But I've reflected more on that. I realized that he was 16:17 right. 16:19 He was right because people don't know that. 16:24 And that is why 16:25 we are all here today. 16:28 Most if not all of us 16:31 knowing that. 16:36 I think most people here live in North America. 16:39 This is a place that 16:41 he's often called the first world 16:45 and the country where I live in Haiti. 16:48 He's often called the 3rd world. 16:52 But I would like to propose to you 16:54 that there is really just one world. 16:59 I think that's what Jesus meant 17:02 when he told us in Mark 12. Love the Lord, your God, 17:05 with all your heart, so mind and strength and love your 17:08 neighbor as yourself. 17:10 He didn't 17:12 consider our neighborhood to be divided up 17:15 by the 3rd world for the first world 17:19 because in essence, 17:21 we all live in one big village. 17:29 It is a plenary session. It's important. 17:32 This talk is relevant for everyone 17:35 discussing the problem of poverty is a little bit like 17:38 talking about climate change. 17:42 The ozone layer over the North Pole might not be right in 17:45 front of our eyes every day. 17:50 Just like poverty may not come in front of every one of us 17:53 here every day. 17:55 Poverty is not an accident of nature. 17:59 It is a man made problem and we're all partially to blame 18:03 for it. 18:06 But as Christians, Adventists 18:09 medical evangelists, 18:11 understanding poverty is relevant to all of us. 18:15 It's relevant to how we ethically live our lives. 18:18 It's relevant to where we could send our kids to school. 18:22 It's relevant to what organizations we support. 18:30 It's relevant to ultimately how we free ourselves from the 18:35 distractions of life in order to call in order to follow 18:39 God's plan for us. 18:43 We should not just be thankful 18:47 that we don't have to go to bed hungry 18:50 our live with a treatable disability, 18:53 that we should be thankful that we are blessed 18:57 to be able to do something about it. 19:08 My own story starts with a visit to my grandparents 19:12 at the age of 8 years old. 19:15 This wasn't a typical visit to grandpa and grandma's house. 19:18 My grandparents lived in a remote and wild part of the 19:21 Belgian Congo. 19:24 When my grandfather spent over 20 years of his career as a 19:26 surgeon, 19:28 it was on that trip that I got to see my first operation. 19:31 This experience planted some of the seeds for decisions I would 19:35 make later in life. 19:38 My grandparents 19:40 mode here 19:42 moved there in 1936, my grandfather graduated from the 19:46 College of Medical Evangelists in 1934. 19:49 he did a fellowship and tropical medicine. And he and 19:51 my grandmother 19:53 boarded a passenger ship in Southampton, England sale for 3 19:57 weeks with their infant son 20:00 before taking a train through Angola and then walking for 20:04 several more days to the song to Mission Hospital in the 20:08 Belgian Congo. 20:11 My grandfather, 20:13 I grew up in Finland. He eventually spoke 8 languages 20:17 in his book. 20:18 You can read stories about casting out demons. 20:22 He was an ordained minister who baptized hundreds of people 20:26 and he laid his hands on the sick. 20:30 He truly 20:31 represented these words of Jesus. 20:37 This is the song that ambulance in 19 in the late 1930's, 20:43 all missionary doctors. He wore many hats 20:47 and one of those ways construction projects he 20:51 built this church. They fired their own bricks. The fires had 20:55 to stay hot for 3 weeks, saw it and he had to go down 2 in the 20:59 morning to Wake up the Watchman and make sure that the fires 21:02 didn't cool down in the BRICS. Crack, 21:06 the dedication, my grandparents, parents 21:09 and the early advantage pioneers 21:13 was no doubt impossible without their dependence on God. 21:18 They left their countries. They left their friends. 21:21 Families gave up their comforts. 21:26 They committed to the Lord 21:28 and he helped establish their plant. 21:34 My story is a bit less dramatic. 21:37 I held that dream 21:39 doing mission service 21:41 from a young age held on to a through medical school 21:45 through residency at Loma Linda, 21:47 through pediatric fellow orthopedic Fellowship in San 21:50 Diego. 21:51 And then a couple years of practice at Riverside County 21:54 Hospital. 21:56 People told us not to do it. 22:00 We could be missionaries right here 22:04 and that is important. 22:08 People tried to talk us out of it more and more as time wore 22:11 on good people, advantage relatives, mentors, financial 22:15 counsellors. They all had their reasons. 22:18 But fortunately, 22:20 we didn't take them too seriously. 22:24 As soon as I finish my aura boards which we do 2 years 22:28 after being in practice, 22:30 we put our house up for sale. We didn't even wait for the 22:33 results. 22:34 We packed my things in an ocean container 22:37 and note 22:38 to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. 22:43 A New Year's Eve 2004, we said goodbye to family and friends. 22:49 Maybe not quite as dramatic as the goodbyes that have been 22:53 said in the past where missionaries 22:57 sometimes never saw their family and friends again. 23:03 But nonetheless, 23:04 significant for us. 23:07 This was actually 23:10 one of the first 2 of the moves that we've made so far to the 23:14 island of Hispaniola, 23:16 which is shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. 23:21 We have visited there a few times on short-term mission 23:23 trips. But going there with a long-term commitment is like 23:27 comparing a first date to marriage. 23:31 We had to learn a new language, read to learn a new culture and 23:34 suddenly the sayings became reality without an end point 23:40 that likewise, 23:43 that commitment 23:44 brought us joy 23:47 and blessings 23:49 that last year things could not. 23:52 Our boys are and what it was like to be a minority. 23:56 We learned what it was like we learned about enjoying the 24:00 beautiful parts of the Dominican culture and even 24:03 appreciating the best part of our own culture 24:06 and blending those into the recipe of life. 24:11 We made great friends there and we have fun memories. 24:16 But this type of experience doesn't come 24:19 without a dependence on God. 24:22 And we learned more than anything how to depend on got. 24:26 And it also doesn't come without a dependence on your 24:31 wife. 24:32 And I wouldn't be 24:34 where I am today without that. 24:38 She certainly has carried many of my burdens 24:48 during that time. We also take many trips to the other side of 24:51 the island where I worked in Haiti. 24:54 I was focused primarily Cure International Hospital 24:58 and Cure International is a Christian organization focus on 25:01 a 50, 50 medical spiritual ministry with the motto to 25:06 proclaim the Kingdom of God and Heal the sick. 25:09 They operate a number of children's surgical hospitals 25:12 in poor countries around the world. 25:16 They had a need for a pediatric orthopedic surgeon in their 25:19 hospital in Santo Domingo. 25:22 And this fit well with my training. And it gave me 25:25 an amazing opportunity 25:28 to serve in an effective way. 25:32 During that time, I gained 25:34 new perspectives and a vision 25:37 and what mission hospitals can be. 25:41 And it also I originally envisioned myself working at 25:44 Adventist Mission Hospital like my grandfather. 25:47 But this experience also helped me appreciate my advantage 25:51 rights. 25:54 When I was looking for when we were looking for a place 25:57 to serve, 25:58 talking to the church recruiters, they said the 26:01 orthopedics 26:02 was not needed in the mission field 26:06 and sometimes they still say that today, 26:12 but poor countries 26:14 tend to be disproportionately affected 26:17 by trauma, 26:19 natural disasters and conflict 26:22 and even more sobering. 26:25 He's a number of children suffering in this world from 26:28 treatable disabilities. 26:33 The dream and prayer of every parent in this world is that 26:37 their kids can they have healthy and happy life 26:41 here in this country? We can take our kids to the doctor and 26:44 they can receive the treatment that they need. 26:47 But in many parts of the world, this is not possible. 26:51 Kids parents give up hope, 26:55 treatable disabilities, become permanent disabilities. 27:01 And let me remind you that 27:03 these are not only physical Davis disabilities, he's affect 27:06 every aspect of their life. 27:08 These kids are marginalized. There are cer size. 27:12 They are oftentimes not even allowed to go to school because 27:15 they have a twisted foot or boat lake. 27:21 But it's because of people 27:25 James and Sarah Palin, who have spent 27:28 over 20 years of their career, people like 27:31 DNA and all the network 27:36 Wong and his wife 27:39 who have made major commitments, 27:42 2 working in places 27:44 where these treatable disabilities and people 27:47 suffering from disease exist. 27:53 It's because of our own efforts that the mayor culls 27:57 have healing can take place, 28:05 James's Palace trained in family practice. And he now 28:08 that became a general surgeon. And now he does it 90% 28:12 orthopedics 28:13 and he does it well, he does cases 28:16 that I can say most of my colleagues wouldn't even touch. 28:21 They lost one of their own children to malaria, 28:25 but they consider that 28:27 a small price for the number 28:30 of lives that they've saved and the number of lives that 28:33 they've changed. 28:36 Our medical school was established to train medical 28:40 evangelists to go into the world. 28:42 And there are now over 5,000 living graduates more than any 28:47 other medical school west of the Mississippi 28:52 and 14 of them 28:54 live and work 28:56 and the developing world 28:59 where people where the bulk of people with treatable 29:02 disabilities and other diseases are suffering. 29:13 But that changed on this girl's face before and after surgery. 29:18 I can understand 29:19 why people get addicted to gambling. 29:26 He's a country this spiraling down 29:29 faster than the bank account balance. If most gamblers, 29:33 people 29:35 sometimes say that I live there just because I like risk and 29:38 danger. 29:39 But I assure you 29:41 that is not the reason. 29:44 Its victories, small victories like this. 29:47 They give me the irresistible urge 29:51 to keep doing it. 29:55 During our time in the Dominican Republic, we traveled 29:57 frequently 29:58 to Haiti where the level of poverty is even 30:02 at another level. 30:06 And during that time on a couple of those trips, I had 30:08 the privilege of visiting the Adventist Hospital. 30:12 And I was really saddened by what I saw there. 30:16 There was decay, lack of infrastructure, 30:20 lack of efficiency. It was an embarrassing representation of 30:23 our church. 30:25 And if the healing Ministry of Jesus 30:28 Little did, I know that it would become my future home. 30:34 But our time in the Dr 30:36 came to an end quite suddenly 30:38 on January 10 and 1/12/2010, 30:42 I was on my way home from work. 30:45 I felt an earthquake. 30:47 It wasn't 30:48 terrible where we were. The epicenter was more than 200 30:51 miles away. 30:53 First, it was just a little reminder of life back in 30:56 California. 30:58 But when I realized we couldn't communicate with anybody on the 31:00 other side of the island 31:02 and having been there many times before, I begin making 31:04 preparations that night to go into the unknown, 31:08 I remember thinking 31:11 what if 31:12 through this tragedy, the Adventist Hospital could come 31:14 back to life 31:16 and once again be a shining light in this country. 31:21 That was not a dream that came true overnight. 31:25 But I can tell you 31:27 that were on that journey. 31:30 The idea is hospitals, a different place. Poor people 31:33 and all other keep the puck types of people are getting 31:35 high quality care 31:37 and life changing operations. 31:39 The Healing Ministry of Jesus Christ is alive and people now 31:43 know our hospital 31:45 as an island of hope. 31:49 When I arrived a day and a half after that earthquake, 31:53 there was people 31:54 lying. There were people lying all over the place in the 31:57 courtyard of the hospital and the yard. A few of the brave 32:00 ones actually inside the building during all the 32:02 aftershocks. 32:04 They grabbed out at our clothes, begging for help. 32:07 They had no food. They had nowhere to go to the bathroom. 32:09 There were no mattresses for them. 32:12 They were compensated dehydrated. And there are more 32:15 orthopedic emergencies 32:17 tonight ever seen in my career and more at one time in one 32:21 place probably than ever and world history. 32:25 We began operating it for the first 4 days and nights. 32:29 We couldn't go to bed because every wasted moment that more 32:33 lives lost. 32:36 This short-term disaster response chip that I did vision 32:40 turned into a 6 month venture 32:44 and while overwhelmed with the patients 32:47 from this disaster, we also 32:50 received many 32:53 who had longstanding issues, untreatable disabilities. 32:57 We also took care of them. This is style. She's a 9 33:00 year-old girl 33:02 who came to us a couple months after the earthquake. 33:05 That expertise and resources never existed in Haiti to treat 33:09 a problem like this. 33:12 Some patients didn't think they would get treated unless 33:15 they're issue was related to the earthquake. And we had to 33:18 relatively interesting histories about certain 33:20 deformities that started on January. 12th. 33:25 We took care of all of them, of course, 33:31 and not only the lives of these people. 33:34 We're change the lives of those who came and served for change. 33:38 We had many well-known orthopedic surgeons that had 33:41 the opportunity to come to our hospital and serve and they 33:45 talk about that experience with fund this. 33:48 And I've heard the word Adventist mentioned from the 33:53 podium of many orthopedic meetings around North America 33:56 and other countries of the world. Since that time, 34:00 it's they're only in it for many of them. It was their only 34:03 interaction 34:04 with our religion. 34:13 Our family was spread out during that time. And it was 34:16 time after a few months to rally back together Hand Loma 34:19 Linda claim that they had a desperate need for a pediatric 34:22 orthopedic surgeon. 34:24 Nothing seemed to desperate for me at that time that we're 34:26 looking for a place to go. We didn't really 34:29 cherish the idea of finishing off far boys upbringing in Loma 34:33 Linda. 34:34 But I had a passion for working with residents and medical 34:36 students, many of them who had come and had experiences at our 34:40 hospital during that time. 34:43 And I read 34:44 this book again about my great, great grandfather, Percy team 34:47 again, 34:49 who was a pioneer and our institution, also having 34:52 reluctant about moving to Loma Linda in 1914, where he was 34:56 called to be the dean, the medical school. 34:59 And he saw our school through some difficult and delicate 35:02 times. 35:04 Ultimately his quest to teach medical evangelism with the 35:09 highest educational standards. 35:11 What what built the foundations for what our school had become 35:14 today? 35:17 It was a very fulfilling experience for me to work in 35:19 the Melinda. I continued to travel back and forth to Haiti, 35:23 at least 3 or 4 times a year. 35:26 I had the opportunity to engage medical students and residents 35:29 into firsthand experiences of working 35:32 in this environment. 35:35 In the meantime, our boys were 35:38 going on through school and Marni realize her career that 35:41 had been devoted to raising the boys were soon going to change 35:44 when first Chad and then Alex would be moving off to college. 35:49 She had some difficult discussions with me. 35:53 Our need to move back to Haiti full-time. 35:57 I was perfectly comfortable perfectly satisfied and content 36:01 with my life of travel and work element to it. 36:05 And I didn't really see it coming a she 36:08 wasn't too happy when I told her that I just told her that 36:11 if it was the got, if it was God's will, then I would go. 36:13 I was pretty sure it wasn't God willing. She was a little 36:16 frustrated because she didn't think I was serious about that. 36:20 But as our son Alex was packing up his gear to move off to you 36:24 see that same week, 36:26 the surgeon who had been serving in Haiti for the last 36:29 few years announced that he would be returning to the 36:32 United States 36:35 when God and your wife are both telling you what to do. You 36:39 don't have any choice. 36:43 I didn't tell Marni that. I heard that announcement, 36:45 I guess schedule an appointment with D*** Hardt and McGahn Hall 36:49 and told him that we would volunteer to go to Haiti at 36:53 that time. It was just for 6 months 36:56 if he could get me out of my responsibilities at Loma Linda 36:58 and with Dick's Passion for Medical Mission Work, he said 37:01 he assured me that would be no problem. 37:05 Marni was a bit surprised to hear that 37:08 completely enthusiastic. 37:12 At that time. Our hospital was running at 15% capacity. 37:15 It was in financial crisis. Payroll was running 5 months 37:19 late. 37:20 Employees were asking for money directly from the patients for 37:23 services performed. 37:25 Start your IV if you pay me a dollar. 37:28 Well, do your operation for $200. This further undermined 37:31 the financial crisis of the hospital. 37:34 There were while a wallet biopsies being performed in the 37:37 front driveway of the emergency room. And if there was no money 37:40 found people even with life-threatening injuries, 37:42 worse turned away. 37:47 There were marketing strategies. 37:49 They had been launched to compete with local hospitals 37:51 and attract wealthy people to our hospital. 37:55 Sadly, many other mission hospitals are in 37:59 similar situation. Sustainability is difficult. 38:04 Our hospital had been largely depending on a contract it had 38:07 with the U.S. embassy. 60 1% of the income from the hospital 38:11 had been coming from this contract that was created to 38:16 provide documented physical exams for people wanting to 38:19 leave the country. 38:21 The embassy came and inspected our hospital and found 38:23 falsified reports. 38:26 Fortunately, they gave us a 3 month warning that when they 38:29 came back 3 months later, they still found the same false 38:31 reports and called the contract 38:35 seemingly 38:37 a terrible problem. This might have been the best thing to 38:40 happen to our hospital. 38:42 What was the solution? Haiti is the poorest country in the 38:45 Americas. Our hospital was completely broke. 38:52 And we had 38:54 to look back at our mission statement, 38:59 the mission of our hospitals to continue the Healing Ministry 39:02 of Jesus Christ by offering high quality care to all 39:05 classes of people. 39:07 And there are 3 parts 39:10 to this mission statement. 39:13 I'm going to start by first saying high quality care 39:17 that is provided 39:19 to all classes. The second to all classes of People 39:24 Ministry of Jesus Christ is all about. He didn't have 39:27 complications when he healed people. They didn't get wound 39:30 infections after work 39:33 and he didn't turn away poor people in order for us to have 39:36 the privilege have claiming that we are providing the 39:40 healing Ministry of Jesus. We need to provide the highest 39:43 quality care and give it to everybody. 39:52 So when we arrived there and I suggested to the employees 39:56 who hadn't been paid for 5 months, who are having 39:58 difficulty keeping food on their table, who are having 40:01 difficulty keeping their kids in school 40:04 when the new foreign doctors suggested that we lower our 40:07 prices and open our doors to poor people, 40:12 see how that was going to work. 40:14 You can only imagine the response. 40:17 This has been a long journey, 40:19 but fortunately 40:21 many have supported it. 40:23 And most of all, the Lord has been able to in blasts S in 40:26 amazing ways by prioritizing this mission. 40:32 When we made the commitment to go there, 40:34 I knew that I was going to be overwhelmed by admitted by 40:36 administrative issues. And I wanted to be a doctor 40:42 and our church here and Callum Mesa, California, 40:45 Jerry Chris Benge and his wife, Marion, 40:48 have been long members that are always interested in the work 40:50 in Haiti, had been there a couple of times. He's a retired 40:52 it executive 40:54 and I asked him in a parking lot after church. If he and his 40:57 wife would be willing to go and join us for that initial 6 41:01 month period of time and help sort out some of the 41:04 administrative issues. 41:06 He said he would talk to Marion and the next day he called me 41:09 and said that they were committed. 41:12 The short end of that story is is that 41:15 6 years later morning, I are still in Haiti, Gerry and Mary 41:19 and now 80 years old are still in Haiti and they come 41:23 committed an inhibited by all the dangers. 41:29 Another huge blessing to us. 41:31 But Jeff Cho and his wife Jeffs to medical evangelist of the 41:35 highest order. I'm sure some of you know him. 41:38 Michelle is an architect and designer 41:40 and we needed her services at our hospital almost as much as 41:44 he has. 41:46 Some people think 41:48 we and I should maybe say myself for a little bit extreme 41:51 and irrational. 41:52 But the Cho family that remember, I remind you that 41:55 these are refined and intelligent people. 41:58 They also made a similar commitment. 42:01 We didn't envision 42:04 that the Lord way to end their time with us quite as soon as 42:07 he did. But they were with us for 2 years in Haiti. And now 42:09 they've gone to expand this same work at the hospital and 42:14 believes which has been a huge blessing. 42:17 And we have many of our local staff that also contribute to 42:20 this effort. 42:21 Our hospital, 75 beds. We have 250 employees. 75% of them her 42:27 address. 42:29 We have more advantages around us in Haiti. Then I think we 42:33 do. And Melinda, 42:35 there are more than 5 churches in at least this crowded every 42:38 sabbath morning. Within a 5 minute walking distance of my 42:41 house. 42:42 We can listen to him services from a church overhear him 42:46 services from a church over here and oftentimes gunfire off 42:50 in the background. 42:52 This is the administering of or city church celebrating 100 42:55 years have education and a rally at the stadium downtown 43:00 where 43:01 hundreds 100's of people were baptized 7 above ground pools 43:05 where they were baptizing somebody every 90 seconds for 3 43:08 hours that afternoon. 43:15 Unfortunately, 43:16 the country of Haiti is in crisis. 43:19 These are our neighbors. 43:23 Armed gangs now control 80% of our city 43:27 without any functioning government. Gangs blocked the 43:30 roads, exploit local businesses, kidnap rape, 43:33 kill, steal without any repercussions. 43:40 On 7/7/2021, the President 43:43 Jovenel Moise was assassinated in some mysterious 43:47 circumstances in the middle of the night. 43:51 And now 43:52 our new President, Ariel honoree and administers 43:55 neurosurgeon who was previously the medical director at our 43:59 hospital. He's the prime minister. 44:03 He's a good man, but his job is almost impossible. And people 44:07 are frustrated. 44:10 2 months after this 44:12 Haiti experience, another major earthquake where over 3,000 44:15 people lost their lives. 44:18 It happened on a Saturday morning 44:22 as the news started coming in 44:25 from the town. Most affected about 4 hours away from us. 44:29 I realize 44:31 that we needed to take action. 44:33 I went on the administrative station and made an 44:35 announcement 44:37 that we would take care of any and all earthquakes victims at 44:40 our hospital. 44:41 We didn't know how we were going to do this. We didn't 44:43 know how we have the capacity or the resources, 44:46 but we stepped out on faith and we knew that was the right 44:48 thing to do. 44:51 Ambulances started coming that night dropping off victims 44:55 soon. Our beds were full. We had to open up the area 44:57 under construction and add more badge add mattresses on the 45:00 floor. 45:03 These this picture is several days after 45:08 MSF, which is Doctors Without Borders. That's awesome. 45:11 Frontier. The standard for offering trauma care all over 45:14 the city of Haiti, they were bringing their patients, 45:17 referring them to the hospital for a higher level of care. 45:22 We were much better prepared for this disaster than we had 45:25 been in the past. 45:27 This is a 16 year-old girl that was running out of the market 45:30 during that earthquake and fractured both of our femurs 45:34 the person beside or didn't make it 45:38 with a simple to our operation. 45:42 She now 45:43 he's able to avoid a lifetime of disability. 45:48 Some people from the NBC News crew. It stopped by that day 45:51 and they did a small interview with her. 45:53 It was on international news. 45:57 This man is a 57 year-old who had broken his femur 9 months 46:00 before the earthquake. It had never been treated. He was 46:02 still in bed 46:04 in a hospital 46:06 trying to escape 46:08 earthquake struck and he broke his femur again. 46:13 We were able to do a similar operation for him to get him 46:15 back on his feet. 46:20 2 months after the earthquake, 46:23 17 Americans were kidnapped 46:27 across town 46:28 before this time. We thought maybe we're a little bit immune 46:31 to some of that civil unrest 46:35 thinking that the gangsters didn't want to mess with the 46:37 international 46:39 crisis. They didn't want to possibly face being extradited 46:43 and have life in prison 46:48 when 6.17 missionaries were kidnapped. 46:52 It was quite unnerving for us. 46:55 I remember I was actually here on that day 46:58 and a few days later 47:01 after everybody pleaded for me not to go back. 47:05 I was one of the only Americans on that plane and it was a bit 47:11 but nonetheless 47:13 dependence on God. 47:15 It was comforting. 47:17 It was the right decision 47:19 up till that time. Even the 2 doctors from our hospital who 47:23 had been kidnapped and then released after several days and 47:26 every morning we woke up saying our prayers that these people 47:28 would be released. There was women, children and an infant 47:31 involved. 47:33 One week went by 2 weeks, went by 3 weeks, went by 47:36 2 people have gotten sick. They released them another few 47:39 weeks went by 3 more people 47:42 got sick and they were released. 47:44 And on December 47:46 16, exactly 2 months 47:49 after they had been kidnapped, 47:53 been able to save a small stick from the yard and this area 47:57 that they were locked up in 47:59 and in the middle of the night, the guards were asleep. They 48:01 use that stick to flip the latch and they made a daring 48:04 escape with a one year-old infant. 48:07 The last 12 people, 48:10 the guards 48:12 who claimed that they had been paid 48:15 the healthy ransom to allow them to leave. Nobody believed 48:19 this story in Haiti. 48:22 His story 48:23 familiar to us from 2000 years ago, 48:32 the U.S. State Department, 48:34 he's told all Americans to leave. 48:37 Friends and family pleaded for us to leave Haiti. 48:40 People question our judgment. 48:43 People who read the Bible, the spirit of prophecy grew up with 48:46 mission story say don't go. 48:49 It's too dangerous. 48:51 Go somewhere else. There's plenty of people in this world 48:53 that need help. 48:55 I gave you a brain. He expects you to use it. 49:01 But Eli and those who have gone before us, 49:05 I can tell you 49:06 the risks of living in Haiti 49:08 are nothing new. 49:12 The disciples only preach the gospel where it was easy where 49:15 they could avoid being put in prison. 49:19 You know, I had to 3 to find my definition of safety. Things 49:23 have gotten progressively danger and more dangerous where 49:25 we live people ask me at what point will you actually decide 49:29 that it's time to leave 49:33 where they say are you safe? 49:35 And now I can confidently tell all of you 49:38 that we are safe 49:40 because I have redefined the definition of safety by being 49:44 where God wants me to be 49:49 bad. Things can happen to any of us at any time. But there's 49:53 a piece 49:54 that comes with knowing 49:56 that we are what God wants us to be. 49:59 It's not an automatic insurance policy against kidnapping 50:02 against death against disease, 50:05 but there's a comfort 50:09 in our hospital. We care for the band as we care for their 50:12 opponents. We have to care for victims. 50:15 These 50:17 are people that have made bad decisions in life, 50:21 but there's hope 50:23 many of them are young boys, 50:25 14, 15, 16 years old. 50:28 They're not in school because the unemployment rate there is 50:31 80%. And if they go to the effort 50:34 being in school, it won't be worth it. Their parents don't 50:38 have jobs. There's no food on the table and somebody comes 50:41 and offers them a paycheck and a weapon. 50:45 What do you expect them to do? 50:48 This is the layout of our city. Our hospital is just outside of 50:51 town. 50:52 The gangs have taken a strong hold on the road between us and 50:55 downtown. 50:57 Now just to get to the airport, to go to town, to get supplies. 51:00 We have to go through a very rough 51:02 four-wheel-drive mountain road. 51:08 It almost makes you think back on those stories and when 51:11 you're a kid and you heard about the end of time when you 51:13 had to flee into the mountains, 51:16 in reality, I kind of enjoy the rough mountain road. And I even 51:19 have a lot of friends here that it's been a lot of money and 51:21 time trying to find roads like that in this country. So I 51:24 consider it a privilege. 51:30 But 90% of all of the missionaries in Haiti have 51:33 left. 51:35 Many Haitians are leaving. 51:38 There's a humanitarian parole program. 7,500 per month are 51:42 going through that another 10,000 every month. They're 51:45 flying to Nicaragua and trying to migrate the difficult road 51:50 up through Mexico. 51:51 We've lost 30 of our hospital employees. We've lost 51:55 directors in our hospital. People that we fostered train 51:59 through the last 6 years who suddenly they text you that 52:02 they're on a plane to New York. 52:05 We've lost the head of nursing, the head of the operating room, 52:08 the head doctor in the emergency room, the head nurse 52:10 in the emergency room. They're not just the gardeners and the 52:13 lower level labors 52:17 to difficult situation, 52:20 but it's all worth it 52:22 when we remember the reasons we do it. 52:25 This isn't a says she's a 6 year-old girl that was hit by a 52:27 car. 52:30 She had a terrible injury of her left leg. We had debris did 52:32 it several times. 52:34 I can show that picture of the operation because I've gotten 52:37 in trouble and church another likewise places for showing 52:40 surgery pictures. 52:43 But we had to edge of her for an amputation and their parents 52:46 reluctantly can consented and it seems like a defeat. We took 52:50 her back that day. 52:52 That operation we thought maybe there's a chance we can just a 52:56 visual, just clean it up. One more time 52:59 after that surgery, she started the saturation had hemoglobin a 53:03 3.6. 53:06 At that point, her life was in serious danger. They gain 53:08 shares had blocked the roads around us and we couldn't get 53:11 oxygen. 53:13 We've been planning to build an oxygen generator in our 53:16 hospital for the last 2 years. 53:19 This is a difficult process 53:21 figuring out how to make this happen in the head, then coming 53:25 to fruition. We had to we had received the equipment 53:29 when it came into the port. We couldn't bring it to a 53:31 hospital because it would have been hijacked by the gangsters 53:34 who had to put on a boat and float it 53:36 around the 5 miles of road that are held by the gangsters and 53:39 get to our hospital the week before he got in there. And 53:42 that same day 53:44 we were able to turn it on for the first time. 53:48 I'm quite certain that she wouldn't be alive today 53:51 without that. And 53:54 it's even a greater blessing in miracle that she's walking 53:58 today with full function of her leg. 54:02 These guys came from opposite ends of the island opposite 54:04 deformities. But with similar operation, they met each other 54:07 as roommates at our hospital and supported each other 54:12 difficulty after surgery. 54:14 This lady has been suffering from my femur fracture for 9 54:18 years, not able to walk the same because she didn't get 54:21 treatment for something as simple as a femur fracture. 54:24 And again, 9 much before that, she broke her femur again. 54:27 And then finally we found out that we were there to take care 54:30 of it. 54:31 And now she's walking. Normally, 54:36 this is our dental clinic that we opened up last month, 54:39 but a beautiful place. 54:42 This is made by local labors with mostly local materials, 54:47 people that are just trying to keep their kids in school. 54:52 We went to extra efforts to make it a beautiful place to 54:55 make it. It's the only place that poor people can come to 54:57 receive dental care, 55:00 but it's also the best place to anybody can come to receive 55:04 dental care 55:05 and by putting forth extra effort to make our hospital a 55:07 beautiful place. It can truly they represent 55:11 the Ministry of Jesus Christ in the high quality care that 55:15 we're getting. 55:18 This is the ward at a hospital that we just finished 55:21 remodeling last month, opening up fresh air oxygen now 55:26 available in every room place to wash our hands after seeing 55:31 patients. 55:34 And these are the reasons that we do it all. 55:38 There are many complicated orthopedic operations, but I 55:40 can tell you there's hardly any operation that I can't perform 55:43 at a hospital in Haiti with the same quality that I do for 55:47 kids. 55:49 We have our own here 55:50 in California. 55:54 This girl suffered an injury from the first earthquake in 55:57 2010 came back to our hospital 8 years later after having 56:01 growth arrest as a result from the injury. 56:05 And we're really straighten her leg and put her back 56:09 into a normal life. 56:11 It is our chapel bizarre physical therapy session, 56:13 every sabbath morning where we also have chapel every morning 56:16 of the week. 56:17 And this patient here getting baptized, had extra fixated on 56:21 his like he came to me quite distraught because he has extra 56:25 fixating said, I want to be baptized, but I have this 56:27 external fixate or on my leg. 56:30 Can it go in the water? 56:32 We've got all of our patients going swimming pools with 56:34 external fix, a nurse. I assured him it was no problem 56:37 to get baptized with his ex turnell fixated on it. He was 56:40 so happy. 56:44 This is doctor our service and Doctor Connors Baby Conner's. 56:47 A graduate of Loma Linda finishes orthopedics a year ago 56:50 and spent a year with me doing a fellowship, learning about 56:54 mission service, learning about global Orthopedics 56:57 and Isaac finished his residency in Haiti. 57:01 We have residents also from the local hospital rotating with 57:04 us. 57:05 Isaac is now after doing a fellowship with us working in 57:09 the northern part of Haiti in a very remote area that has no 57:12 orthopedic surgeons 57:14 in Haiti. There's quite a few orthopedic surgeons being 57:17 produced in Raleigh relationship to the number of 57:20 hospitals and the economic situation. But many of them 57:23 don't have work because even if they're willing to take care of 57:26 patients on a charitable basis, patients can pay for implants. 57:29 They can't pay for hospitalization. And there's no 57:31 way to get these patients with treatable disabilities taking 57:35 care of, even though we have surgeons able to do the work. 57:38 And that's where our hospital has a special role. 57:42 Many of the graduated residents from orthopedic surgery and 57:45 other programs in Haiti have moved to the United States and 57:49 now work at fast food restaurants where they can earn 57:51 more money than being a surgeon and a country like Haiti where 57:54 it's needed. Most 57:57 Clifford has osteogenesis in perfect 58:00 and after a brief operation 58:03 can now 58:04 realize the opportunities in life, 58:09 I'm going to conclude with a confession 58:13 because over the years I have failed so many times 58:17 and as time goes on 58:19 more and more, I realize how little I know 58:23 about taking care, 58:25 the suffering people in the world 58:29 in my early years of mission service, it was actually easier 58:31 to prepare talks like this. 58:34 I was a bit naive, 58:36 but I had a sense of clarity, a sense of clarity that I have to 58:40 look back on. 58:41 And that's why I added this picture to the end of my talk 58:44 from 58:45 15 years ago when I first started working in Haiti 58:52 have become less clear with time as I learn more and more 58:57 but some things. 58:58 I also become more sheriff 59:01 and I know for sure that we don't have to accept the K 59:05 and lack of infrastructure as the inevitable norm at Mission 59:09 Hospital, 59:11 high quality care for all classes of people 59:15 with a special preference for the poor 59:19 enables us to share the presence of God 59:22 with everyone around us. 59:28 The how when, and where of medical evangelism may be 59:32 slightly different for each one of us. 59:34 But the reason 59:37 we proclaim God's love 59:39 to those around us is the same. And that's why we're all here 59:42 today. 59:45 May you continue in his presence? 59:48 So you and those around you 59:51 can experience the fullness of joy 59:54 and at his right hand. Pleasure 59:57 forevermore. 59:59 Amen. 01:00:00 [MUSIC] 01:00:05 [MUSIC] 01:00:10 [MUSIC] |
Revised 2023-11-21