Recently, I was reading an Advent devotional that had this passage from Isaiah:
"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder. For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:2-6
The phrase that struck me, which I had never really noticed before was “every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.” A tribal fight broke out recently between two sub-clans in the community that borders our hospital across a small river. The fight stemmed out of a recent council election. From my backyard, I could see some of the flames and the smoke rising from many houses that had been targeted. We could hear the gunshots ringing across the river. In the ER, I sutured the wounds of several men, one with a deep laceration from the base of his neck to his tailbone, another with a gash in his neck and face and into the bone and another with a cut through his deltoid shoulder muscle and across part of his back. We threw out many shirts, jackets and pants, soaked in blood, destined for the incinerator.
And my heart cried out for peace, for an end to the violence that would not accomplish its end; for peace for the children deprived of their homes and parents; for the shalom and final restoration of God.
This Advent the imagery in this passage struck me in a new way. While there is a need for that final violence-the breaking of the yoke and shattering of oppression, it will be the precursor to our Prince of Peace finally coming to reign. And that is what we both long for and look forward to in Advent.
The day after the fighting broke out, community leaders from both sides and outside, including church leaders from our ministry, helped with peace talks. Thankfully, both sides responded and the immediate violence was concluded. There is still a lot of healing that needs to take place, but it was a much-needed answer to prayer.
Other Updates:
Accreditation: September and October were for me full of preparing for Accreditation for our hospital. This is a standard assessment of health facilities by the government to determine level of care and areas for improvement. The process is relatively new to PNG and it was the first time our hospital had gone through it. In November, a team that consisted of many of the clinical chiefs from the capital came to do a thorough and extensive review of all the parts of our hospital. They were impressed with our services and our staff, and we received full Accreditation as a level 5 facility. Our staff were excited and proud of their work.
Hospital Funding: Shortly after this, we needed to start making plans to close the hospital as we had not received enough funds in 2025 and had already run through most of our savings. Thankfully, within a couple of weeks, the government heard our need and supplied all the funding we needed to remain open. Praise God!
New Faces: In October we were joined by two new doctors, Cristina Franqui-Dominguez and Alessandro Avila. They are both Family Practice doctors and it has been nice to have them join our team. We also hired a local PNG physiotherapist named Joysaka and we are excited about the benefit she will bring to our patients who need rehabilitation.
Testimony: Ricky was a young boy from the Jimi valley who came into my clinic 2 weeks after falling between two logs. He was carried by his father with concerned family following behind. His Xray was one I had not seen before, his growth plate had been completely displaced and flipped up next to the bone instead of being positioned at the end of the bone. Without correction, he would never be able to walk normally again and would be significantly limited. We were short on surgeons, so I tried to refer him to the Orthopedic Specialist at a nearby hospital, but they did not have any beds. Thankfully our surgeons were able to take him for surgery next week and were able to correct the fracture. A few weeks later, I walked past a boy on crutches and it took me a few seconds before I realized that it was Ricky. I continued to see him for the next several weeks, gradually increasing his mobility and strength. We got to celebrate with him and his family when he was finally able to go home.
Merry Christmas to you! May God’s peace rest with you this season.
