God's Scale: Small in the Eyes of the World

“Our salvation comes from something small, tender, and vulnerable, something hardly noticeable. God, who is the Creator of the Universe, comes to us in smallness, weakness, and hiddenness.”

His sweet smile was like many of the boys I see as they come through the hospital, but his blue lips signaled the underlying disease affecting his life. Born with a congenital heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot, John was subject to chronic hypoxia (low oxygen levels). He would occasionally faint when he exerted himself too much. He was unable to go to school or play with friends. He has a hard, difficult life. But his face lit up with radiance as I slipped a bracelet brought by one of our volunteers that said, “Jesus Loves You.” A small gift, hardly noticeable, yet full of joy and love for John.

She was rushed into the emergency room by a young doctor from the Provincial Hospital in the city an hour away. She had inhaled a coffee bean and had stridor (high pitched noise when inhaling) when she was agitated. Outside of the capital, we are the only hospital in PNG that could help with this type of case. But even still, it was a difficult case. Our surgeons needed three attempts and finally finding the right piece of equipment to remove the coffee bean, something that almost certainly saved this little girl’s life. Such a small thing, but with huge potential consequences.

In the midst of the busyness that has been the last three months since my return to PNG, I have been thinking a lot about this quote from Henri Nouwen. God so often comes in quietness and tenderness, but only as we are willing to lay aside the many things that scream out for our attention. It is critical for me to not forget that, as it can be easy to lose site of God as we get so busy going about “His work.”

I arrived back from home assignment May 17^th and jumped right back into work, starting in my new role as the Director of Medical Services while still working in the hospital. Over the summer many of our missionaries returned home for home assignments and sabbaticals. This has left us with a small but mighty team for the last several months. But God is continuing to work in Kudjip in mighty ways.

A mom with her young baby treated for pneumonia and now ready to go home

 

This morning as I write this, I am in Port Moresby waiting to meet with the Health Secretary and Health Minister. Our hospital is currently in a financial crisis as we are swiftly depleting our savings and are looking at the possibility of needing to close the hospital later this year if we are unable to secure more funding. Please pray for grace in this meeting and that God would provide for our hospital’s needs.

Other prayer requests:

Accreditation: The hospital will soon be undergoing an evaluation process called Accreditation that will establish our hospital level and determine our funding. Please pray for that process to go well and that our team can show the quality care that we provide.

Doctors: Please pray for our team of doctors that have been pushed this summer while we have been short. Pray for encouragement, strength and endurance.

New arrivals: We have several doctors joining our team starting in October. Please pray that God would be preparing their hearts and that our team here can support them well as they start life and work here at Kudjip.

 

Thank you for your prayers and support for me. I want to leave you with the continuation of the quote from Henri Nouwen. May you find God’s work of salvation today in the deep and quiet places in your life.

 

“The work of salvation takes place in the midst of a world that continues to shout, scream, and overwhelm us with its claims and promises. But the promise is hidden in the shoot that sprouts from the stump, a shoot that hardly anyone notices.” Henri Nouwen Gracias

 

If you would like to give financially to help the hospital you can do so here: https://store.nazarene.org/category/global-missions-projects/png-nazarene-hospital-greatest-need-fund