Why have we come to Nepal? We believe we’ve been called here. Jesus tells his disciples, “Go and make disciples of all the nations…”(Matt. 28:19) We are his disciples, and we have gone. Yet, making disciples is a challenging endeavor. It doesn’t happen overnight. Is anybody out there making disciples among your children? You might know what I mean about long-term investment. One of our observations here is this: in the process of cultures coming together, and ideas mingling, rather than a convert being made a disciple, sometimes that person is corrupted (often by money). So, now here we are encountering people with “problems” (as far as we can tell). And we are tempted to offer solutions before we even know what resources and assets our “troubled” friends here have. Our goal should be to empower our friends to solve problems, being careful not to create dependency by doing things for them. So, making disciples is not that dissimilar from raising children: and doing that well is no simple task!
So, that brings me to our opportunities to grow. Today, I worked on the Maternity Ward. The obstetrician that I work with keeps telling me that he practices obstetrics because it is simple and he is confounded by generalists, like me, who keep track of so many different aspects of medicine. Well, the truth is that I don’t find obstetrics that simple. I feel overwhelmed sometimes by the pregnant women I see and I find the decision-making quite taxing when the obstetrician is away. Thankfully, the nurses and midwives are amazingly talented here. Still, I get the opportunity to grow when I am assigned as a maternity doctor. So while I was feeling challenged at the hospital, David was finding opportunities to be strong at home. Our tanks ran out of water today. It has been raining almost daily lately and the water supply should be good, but for some reason our connection with the city water supply has been cut off. Furthermore, our Nepali helper was having a very hard day today. Although her husband abandoned her many years ago, she became very upset today upon learning that he has died. I’m not sure that we understand all of the reasons for her pain and struggle (we have a few hypotheses) but it is a difficult time to clarify what is really going on. Still, we hurt with her in her widowhood, and we seek a good response in this relationship. What would true disciple-making look like? Please pray with us as we seek this.
When I came home briefly for lunch to see how everybody was doing, I learned that two of the kids have headache and general malaise, while Ana is struggling with insomnia. You know the concept that muscles only become strong by meeting resistance/challenge. Today, I looked around at my little social circle and saw that we all have the opportunity to become stronger in our spirits as we continue to find ways to cope with our challenges here in Tansen, Nepal. And the first step to becoming strong is trusting God in every circumstance that he allows to filter through his hands into our lives. Speaking of life here, we recently heard an historian speak on the beginnings of missionary/medical service in Tansen (in the 1950s). A few devoted disciples of Christ faced many very difficult challenges while establishing Tansen Mission Hospital. We live and serve in relative comfort and ease, I see, as I consider the true pioneers here.
So, how are your spiritual muscles being strengthened today?
Thank you for journeying with us.
With love from the dirty (not enough water for showering) Beines.
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