A Model for Medical and Dental Missions

An article titled A Model for Medical and Dental Missions was published on the SharperIron blog last month. This article was written by Michael Vetter, GDMMissions’ Latin American Field Representative and captures the essence of what makes medical and dental missions a powerful tool for field evangelism.

Click on the title above to read the article or go to the SharperIron blog:
http://www.sharperiron.org/article/model-for-medical-and-dental-missions

BTW - If you haven’t visited the SharperIron blog site we recommend it as one of the best biblically fundamental blogs for its edifying articles and informed discussion.

Sowing by Grace

Summer Issue Available On-line Soon

In a few days the Summer 2010 issue of GDMMissions' Sowing by Grace newsletter will be available by clicking on the Sowing by Grace link on our website.

This issue contains articles about our involvement in church planting and how dental and medical evangelism is used by missionaries and national leaders to start churches.

Look for the link to the Summer (July) 2010 issue and download the file in PDF format.

A TESTIMONY OF GOD’S GRACE – A Medical Story of God’s Work in the Life of a Missionary

I suppose this can be called a “medical missions” testimony since it is an account of how God worked in the life of a missionary though a serious medical condition that threatened to end his ministry.

It is a tribute to God’s providential care that the disease was finally diagnosed after many months of medical tests and attempted treatments. Medical professionals who read this blog will appreciate the difficulty in diagnosing David's illness. The rest of us marvel at how God brought the correct diagnosis to light. (Psalm 139) We trust that David and his family will soon resume their ministry to U.S. Hispanic churches and the Hispanic population in Lorain, Ohio; we pray for his complete healing.

A TESTIMONY OF GOD’S GRACE
by David Whitcher
(Missionary to Hispanics with Baptist Church Planters)

DISCOVERY

As you know, we have been looking into my health issues from every angle while asking for God’s wisdom and direction. It has been a long eight months while being very ill and with the doctors suspecting some serious illnesses. A couple of weeks ago we had an environmental inspector come and look at our home. We were curious especially about mold. He found no mold, but said that our furnace had a serious issue in that there was a gap in the piping of the flue. He recommended that we have someone come who is an expert in carbon monoxide. That carbon monoxide inspector came and sure enough, with the furnace on, he detected carbon monoxide (CO) in the furnace room. He also came upstairs and saw increasing amounts of CO fill our bathroom as the furnace ran. So, we were exposed to CO throughout the winter when the furnace ran. The CO levels were not enough to kill us, but high enough to cause health issues with long-term exposure. The inspector kept on saying over and over again, “You guys are lucky to be alive. Someone is watching out for you.” We have been having HVAC people come give us bids for a new furnace. All of them have been amazed when they see the issue and say the same thing, “You guys are lucky to be alive.”

DIAGNOSIS

That Sunday we mentioned the furnace leak to a physician’s assistant in our church. His first response was doubtful but he promised he would research it. By the time I looked at my cell phone that Sunday night, there were two messages from him saying that he thought that this had to be the cause of my health symptoms. He referenced a reputable physician’s website that talks about neurological damage which shows up three to four weeks after acute CO exposure. Two-thirds of the symptoms that were mentioned in the article are symptoms that I have including dizziness, vision problems, trembling, changes in gait (the way I walk), confusion, decrease cognition, etc. CO poisoning could also explain the vascular damage of the aortic aneurism.

While waiting to see my doctor, we were able to speak to a toxicologist from John Hopkins University who was recommended to us as one of the nation’s leading CO experts. He listened to my symptoms and exposure levels and said that it is very probable that CO has been the issue. He emailed a protocol and instructions to give to our doctor to do some specialized blood tests to see if there is still CO toxicity in my body. Indeed, the doctor’s office called and said, “You definitely have CO poisoning. All the blood levels are very high.”

HINDSIGHT IS 20/20

Our first response was, “If it was carbon monoxide then why didn’t the rest of the family get as sick?” The professor from John Hopkins said that if one place one hundred people in a room and exposed them to carbon monoxide then each person would react differently to the poison. Then we got to thinking and remembering that the boys were having random episodes of throwing up in the winter. We just thought they had the flu or something. We thought it was odd, but it was not dramatic enough for us to think twice about it. Also, throughout the winter, Brittany was walking around in a daze. She has hypothyroidism so we thought her thyroid levels were off and began the process of getting her blood levels rechecked. Now we know why her thyroid levels came back fine, yet she still had those symptoms. Also, we remember that the winter months are when Melissa was having her severe migraines followed by vomiting. Now that we know what it is, Melissa remembers doing laundry downstairs and feeling very tired and nauseated throughout the winter. Melissa and the kids mostly appear to be fine now; however, we are planning to get them checked out as well.

As for me, I had mono or some other virus that they found in January. This would have compromised my immune system causing the CO to do more damage on me than the others. Plus, I was sick in bed for those first three months being only in our bedroom and the bathroom which is located immediately above the furnace. So, I was exposed to it continually whenever the furnace was on. It makes sense as Easter Sunday was the first Sunday that I felt well enough to be able to make it out to church. Coincidentally, that is when the weather began to get warm! During those winter months, I would get up and go take a bath. After the bath I was so week and dizzy I would stumble back to my bed and sleep for the rest of the day. It all makes sense now. I still have no strength and have several episodes a day of being dizzy and lightheaded. They say that the oxygen treatment will take care of that.

TREATMENT

The treatment is to be on 95% oxygen for two hours a day for four months. There may be more drastic measures needed such as a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, but since the poisoning is no longer acute doctors doubt the need for this.

Doctors tell us that I should begin to feel quite a bit better after just a week. Yet, it will take up to a month for the oxygen to saturate the tissues enough for symptoms to subside. It is interesting that when I thought I was getting better (at the end of March) was right after I spent a week in the hospital. I was on oxygen that whole time! Anyway, I will need to be treated for four months total before the toxicity is gone, the blood levels normalize.

PROGNOSIS

While a brain scan in February was negative, a recent MRI showed some spots beginning to develop on my brain. What CO does is it gets in your blood and attaches to the hemoglobin causing it to no longer be able to carry oxygen. During very acute CO poisoning, this lack of oxygen kills your body’s tissues (especially the brain and heart) within three to four hours. Since I was exposed to low levels for a long period of time, what they say happened is that my tissues were damaged but not immediately killed. The after effects unfortunately are that the tissues do eventually die within weeks causing damage to the central nervous system first. This is why many of my symptoms mock a neurological disease such as MS or Parkinsons.

We have read that two-thirds of patients completely recover. Others say that the tissues are damaged and there is no going back. In either case, it is unclear if and when the neurological symptoms will reverse. We’ll see how the oxygen therapy helps long-term. Some doctors are pretty confident that the brain will re-route itself and that I can experience a complete reversal of symptoms just as other patients do after suffering a stroke. The encouraging thing is that all my symptoms worsen with fatigue and exertion. So getting rid of the poison and fatigue may cause the neurological symptoms to disappear. It is in the Lord’s hands to do as He wills.

REASONS TO THANK THE LORD

- Praise the Lord that we travel a lot! We were not home much during the months of October, November, and December when the weather was getting colder and the furnace would have kicked in.

- We praise the Lord that our kids did not frequent the parts of the house where the CO was invading the most.

- Praise the Lord that it was not something worse! Carbon monoxide is of course colorless, odorless, and tasteless and often called “the great mimic” as its symptoms can appear to be a variety of diseases. Doctors feared and tested for some pretty nasty diseases. Praise the Lord that the prognosis looks good!

- Praise the Lord that this was found so that the problem would not be reoccurring this coming winter.

- Mostly, praise the Lord that the disjointed pipe off the furnace was never bumped. Each contractor who has seen the furnace said, “You guys are lucky to be alive.” We know that it is much more than that! We have been humbled to hear of those praying for us. It is amazing how many churches mentioned that we are brought up in every prayer meeting. Little did we know that all of these prayers were keeping us alive and protected us while an invisible poison invaded our home. God is so good!

CONCLUSION

It is so great to know that God is completely sovereign and in control of all things. His purposes are always perfect. We’ll see how the oxygen therapy works (after 5 days, it appears to be working well). There are still some unknowns and uncertainties. Ultimately, our hope is that I would regain strength enough to drive and to function again in ministry. At this point, it looks as though God will answer that prayer also. Please pray specifically for no long-term effects in our children. We need wisdom as we move forward.

Again, thank you so much for your love and prayers. We cannot express how God has used you to encourage us and sustain us this year. We are so very thankful for you and for your continued partnership. Thank you for considering with us what God is doing (Psalm 64:9).

Sincerely,

David Whitcher
http://www.whitchers.com/

Reason #8 For Taking a GDMMissions Field Team Trip

Reason #8, and the last in our series on 8 Reasons to Take a GDMMissions Field Team Trip, is a first-hand opportunity to participate in church planting.

We believe that GDMMissions is in a special place to help start local churches, without starting them ourselves. We work with missionaries and national pastors who know how to use us effectively in their church planting strategies.

#8 – Participate in Church Planting
The goal of evangelism is to see souls saved, but those who profess Christ need to grow in the Lord and be part of a local church where they can mature, serve, and reproduce spiritually. With GDMMissions you will experience church planting first-hand in its basic, formative stages. This is something unique in short-term missions. Missionaries and national pastors use our dental and medical evangelistic clinics to “jump start” the beginning of new churches in neighborhoods, villages, and towns where there is not a fundamental, Christ-honoring witness. When we return to the same areas year after year we have seen that what began as a handful of new believers has become a healthy New Testament local church as a direct result of our dental and medical evangelistic campaigns. If you want to observe, and actually participate in, planting new churches, then a field team trip with us will introduce you to this amazing experience.

Item of Prayer: That God might burden your heart to participate in evangelism that brings forth fruit in the formation and growth of local churches; that God would use you as He continues His program to build His Body – the Church – in this age.

For more information about GDMMissions and our short-term field team trips contact our home office at http://www.gdmmissions.org/contact.html or call 1-978-454-6710 or visit our web site http://www.gdmmissions.org

Justification by Faith

The Message of Missions in One Verse (Galatians 2:16)
Our message is the Person of Jesus Christ - who He is and what He did on our behalf. The Good News is that salvation is by faith apart from works.
Psalm 107:2

Reason #7 For Taking a GDMMissions Field Team Trip

Reason #7 in our series on 8 Reasons to Take a GDMMissions Field Team Trip is the bonus benefit of getting to know and minister to missionary families.

The primary reason for a GDMMissions Field Team Trip is evangelism. To accomplish this we work with missionaries and national pastors to organize evangelism opportunities and take the Gospel to others. Fellowship with national believers is a cross-cultural blessing for the team. Often, we find that we can also minister to missionaries and their children as we spend time together.

#7 – Get to Know and Minister to Missionary Families

A priceless benefit of a GDMMissions field team trip is getting to know missionary families in their home setting. You don’t get to know missionaries as well when they visit your church for a few hours, show pictures of their mission field, then leave for their next church presentation. When you spend a week working side-by-side with a family you get a better glimpse of what it means to be a full-time missionary. If you live for one week with a missionary family and help them in their daily service for the Lord you form lasting bonds of friendship with them. You gain an appreciation for the passion they have to see souls saved. You also have occasions to encourage them in some of the difficulties of life on the mission field. As you see them pour out their lives in service to the Lord maybe, just maybe, you will be led by God to give your live for full-time service too.

Item of Prayer: That God would use you in the lives of missionaries during a short-term field team trip; that you would learn more about what it means to serve full time on the mission field.

For more information about GDMMissions and our short-term field team trips contact our home office at http://www.gdmmissions.org/contact.html or call 1-978-454-6710 or visit our web site http://www.gdmmissions.org

Reason #6 For Taking a GDMMissions Field Team Trip

Reason #6 in our series on 8 Reasons to Take a GDMMissions Field Team Trip recognizes that God wants all of us to use our talents and spiritual gifts to the utmost.

The context of the Apostle Paul’s teaching on spiritual gifts in Romans 12 and I Corinthians 12 is the local church but these verses apply, I believe, to the Body of Christ universally as well. In a short-term ministry to another body of believers we should be open to use our humanly-developed skills and talents as well as our spiritual gifts to edify and build up the Body of Christ.

#6 – Use Your Talents and Spiritual Gifts
As servants (literally bondslaves) of Jesus Christ, God calls us to go forth and serve Him. Romans 12:1-2 exhorts us to begin by offering our bodies as a “living sacrifice.” Certainly God can use you regardless of your career specialty, physical training, or spiritual gifts. Field team trips with GDMMissions use talents and spiritual gifts in servants of any age or background. But if you have training and abilities in health care these demonstrate compassion for others and thereby open an opportunity to share the Gospel. Don’t think that all you can do for the Lord is simple labor (although there are plenty of those opportunities for everyone on a field team!) or that you will be relegated to make-work activity because a team is so large. A GDMMissions field team trip “stretches” you to apply talents and gifts that maybe you didn’t even realize you had. Our teams are usually small (fewer than ten people) so everyone is assigned multiple responsibilities for health care and evangelistic ministry. During our trip we also have opportunities to minister spiritually to one another every day.

It doesn’t matter what your talents or gifts are when you serve on a field team. What matters is your selflessness and faithfulness. Our team goal on a trip is for you to use your physical talents and spiritual fruits as you spend time laboring in His harvest field.

Item of Prayer: That God would develop in you a spirit of selflessness service (characterized by Romans 12:1-2) and a willingness to offer all you are to Him; that you would be willing to offer your physical talents and abilities, whatever they are, for God to use as He desires and for His glory.

For more information about GDMMissions and our short-term field team trips contact our home office at http://www.gdmmissions.org/contact.html or call 1-978-454-6710 or visit our web site http://www.gdmmissions.org

Reason #5 For Taking a GDMMissions Field Team Trip

Reason #5 in our series on 8 Reasons to Take a GDMMissions Field Team Trip places an emphasis on fellowshipping with like-minded believers.

“That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” 1 John 1:3

#5 – Fellowship With Like-minded Believers

GDMMissions works with missionaries and national believers who share our doctrine and goals for ministry. Not only do we agree doctrinally, but we find that whatever the culture we share the same general practices from God’s Word of conservative music for worship, modesty of dress, separation from the world, and a desire to share Christ with others. We enjoy wonderful fellowship with national believers specifically because their worship and evangelism approaches are in harmony with ours. When you take a missions trip with GDMMissions you will make lasting friendships with other believers who may speak another language and have very little materially but who have a great reverence for God’s Word and a desire to honor Him in their lives. The evangelistic zeal of many national believers can sometimes be convicting. Biblically knowledgeable, motivated, dedicated servants will challenge us to be better servants too. When you go on a missions trip with a desire to be a blessing to others you often end up being blessed yourself!

Item of Prayer: That you would choose a mission organization that emphasizes participation with like-minded churches and individuals; look for those groups who value national believers as their partners in God’s ministry; look for a mission that only fellowships with organizations and churches with whom you can agree doctrinally.

For more information about GDMMissions and our short-term field team trips contact our home office at http://www.gdmmissions.org/contact.html or call 1-978-454-6710 or visit our web site http://www.gdmmissions.org

Teamwork in Dental and Medical Evangelism: Partnership in the Dominican Republic

The Apostle Paul was not a one-man evangelism campaign. Wherever he traveled throughout the Roman Empire he relied on faithful men like Titus who he called his “fellowhelper” (II Corinthians 8:23) or Timothy his “workfellow.” (Romans 16:21) Sometimes his team included a mighty preacher like Apollos (Acts 18:24-28) but mostly it was made of men and women working in the background like Marcus or Aristarchus who were simply called “fellowlabourers.” (Philemon 1:24) Prominent evangelists, preachers, and pastors worked beside servants and labourers as an extended missionary team took the Gospel to the far ends of the Roman Empire. They were followers of Jesus Christ who shared a love for the Lord and a zeal to see souls saved.

Such is the case when GDMMissions takes the Gospel to a foreign country as part of a dental and medical evangelism team. Our core team of dental and medical professionals is reinforced by those of us with minor skills that God can use to form a unique team with a mission – to provide health care services that draw people out to hear the Word of God, some for the first time.

In the Dominican Republic in June (2010) our team of six from the U.S. was joined by national believers who complemented our skills to make us an effective witness for the Lord. Here are a few examples of team members we worked with who we lovingly call our “fellowhelpers” and “fellowlabourers.”

Pastor Hector Amparo and Family
Almost every day in the Dominican Republic we were joined by Pastor Hector Amparo and his family. (In photo L-R, Jaasiel, Pastor, Pura, Jocabed) They helped us in many ways during our time there. (I had met Pastor Amparo at a Fundamental Baptist conference in Puerto Rico the previous year and he was my contact in setting up the agenda of our 11-day trip to the island.) On our first day in the town of Bayaguana Pastor Amparo presented the Gospel to a number of people who waited to see the dentist. He then sat with 12-year old Armando who accepted Christ as his Savior. We rejoiced with the boy’s mother (a believer) who had brought him to have his teeth checked but it ended us that his heart was transformed by God! Pura (Pastor Amparo’s wife) and their daughter Jaasiel took on the job of patient organization and bringing order out of chaos to get the clinic started. Daughter Jocabed (a sophomore at Calvary Baptist Bible College in Puerto Rico) helped translate for Dr. Mitchell. By the end our days of clinics the Amparo family had become an indispensable part of the dental evangelism team. Their generous hospitality and willingness to do anything needed in the clinics was capped by kind gifts for each team member on the day before we left. Their help for us will be remembered as a refreshing island breeze.

Sulenny
We met Sulenny at our first dental clinic and she immediately attached herself to the team to augment our dental ministry. Sulenny (L in photo with Cuppy who sterilized instruments) is a student at the University in Santo Domingo with two years remaining for her dentist degree. She had heard about our ministry through the pastor of her church in the city and showed up to clean teeth. Her desire was to help in any way with the dental clinic. What stood out was her willingness to serve every day under difficult clinic conditions of extreme heat, noise, and the general hubbub of pressing crowds of patients. She was able to catch a bus from the city to meet us each morning at most of our clinics. Her cheerful disposition was a constant encouragement to us all. She would clean up her workspace and turn to the registrar, smile, and quietly say, “I’m ready for my next patient.” This continued all day, every day, and it was a blessing to have her as our “fellowhelper." When she graduates she wants to conduct dental evangelism clinics in local towns and villages through her local church.

Anna Luiza
We don’t appreciate how much little things mean until we face inconveniences in our lives. We don’t expect to get “American food” when we go to a foreign country. We know it’s going to be hot and that the mosquito population has been eagerly awaiting our arrival. But Anna Luiza (Center in photo in white shirt) arrived from one of our host churches in Santo Domingo to the camp where we were staying in San Pedro and informed us she would be there for most days to cook for us. We enjoyed some wonderful meals of traditional chicken and rice and beans (the Dominican national dish,) plantains, yucca, and fruit. Don’t get me wrong – the food was wonderful but when a few of our less-hardy team members began to suffer from “culinary shock” we asked Anna Luiza if she could cook oatmeal for us. She broke into a smile and said, “Ah, Si!” For dinner that night she made a huge pot of cinnamon oatmeal and it was just what we needed to recalibrate our stomachs and taste buds. We told her how much we loved it and she made it again for breakfast! It was great! Anna Luiza cooked other flavorful things for us during our stay but the cinnamon oatmeal and strong Dominican coffee for breakfast started our day just right. Anna Luiza joined us also at several clinics to register patients and witness to women about her Lord. Of course, it wasn’t the oatmeal and coffee that impressed us as much as this cheerful servant of the Lord who was willing to cook for us and join us in God’s evangelism program.



Euclides and Benoni
Two men worked as part of a larger evangelism team when we ministered in the country town of Quisqueya in conjunction with a local evangelism mission called Jesus Came, Lives, And Is Coming (initials MJV3 in Spanish.) On our first Saturday in the Dominican Republic we were joined by two dentists, five doctors, two pharmacists, and a large number of believers from churches in Santo Domingo. Out of this group several men and women were assigned the task of teaching the Bible to groups of adults and making sure everyone from the town who came to the dental and medical clinic heard a clear presentation of the Gospel. Euclides is a computer engineer and Benoni is head of Immigration at the Santo Domingo Airport (and a Colonel in the Dominican Armed Forces.) Both spent hours talking to groups with their Bibles open and sharing that God loves them and sent His Son to die for their sins. A number came to saving faith in Christ that day. These men, and others like them, were part of a bigger team for one day of evangelism as hundreds heard the Good News of salvation.

Our team of six individuals from the U.S. was complete in so far as God put us together from four churches in New England to go to the Dominican Republic with the Gospel. GDMMissions’ theme verse states our purpose: “that we might be fellowhelpers to the truth.” (3 John 8) In this short epistle the Apostle John exhorts his well-beloved Gaius to meet the needs of “the brethren, and…strangers” as they carried the Gospel forward and thereby participated with them in their ministry for the Truth. We rejoice that we were joined in our ministry by faithful brethren in the Dominican Republic and that we could have a part with them in sharing the Truth.

Reason #4 for Taking a GDMMissions Field Team Trip

Reason #4 in our series on 8 Reasons to Take a GDMMissions Field Team Trip places an emphasis on the experience being spiritually profitable for the individuals participating.

#4 – Grow Spiritually
Every GDMMissions trip is structured for spiritual growth. It’s been said by others that: “It is not so much what God does with you but what God does in you.” Even “veterans” of many GDMMissions trips relate how they continue to grown spiritually as team members interact with each other and with national believers and missionaries.
Sometimes we become so focused on getting things done and ministering to others that we forget how important it is for God’s Holy Spirit to be freely working in our own lives. In fact, the spiritual health and growth of team members is one of the reasons God brings together the unique individuals and team leaders that make each field team special.
Each day of a GDMMissions clinic begins with personal devotions and leader-taught team devotions before the team eats breakfast and packs vehicles for the day’s clinic ministry. Team members encourage and exhort one another during the day as they deal with new health care situations and the difficulties of working under sometimes austere or stressful conditions. God’s loving care is seen every day as spiritual and cultural barriers to the Gospel are broken down and physical obstacles such as broken equipment, unreliable electricity, sickness, or inclement weather are overcome. In the evenings the team participates in worship services for patients and visitors and has opportunities to share how God worked that day to accomplish His purposes in people’s lives.
“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” II Peter 3:18

Item of Prayer: That your short-term trip would emphasize individual spiritual growth; that growth would be more than just a by-product of one trip but the primary goal of your Christian life.

For more information about GDMMissions and our short-term field team trips contact our home office at http://www.gdmmissions.org/contact.html or call 1-978-454-6710 or visit our web site http://www.gdmmissions.org

Reason #3 for Taking a GDMMissions Field Team Trip

Reason #3 in our series on 8 Reasons to Take a GDMMissions Field Team Trip distinguishes GDMMissions by combining health professionals with “fellowhelpers” to form a unique evangelistic team.

#3 – Be Part of a Unique Evangelistic Team

GDMMissions conducts dental and medical evangelism clinics but you don’t need to be a health professional to be part of this unique team approach. Everyone on a short-term field team has multiple important jobs that not only make clinics function on a medical level but also minister to the spiritual needs of patients. You will be active from early in the morning until late at night as you serve our Lord in many ways. (Although our field teams are not your typical summer “work projects” that doesn’t mean you won’t work hard!)
If you are a health professional then our team trips are special times to use talents and knowledge in your field to demonstrate the love of Christ to people who appreciate your help and whose hearts are made tender to hear the Gospel. When you see others receive Christ as their Savior in the waiting area before they even recline in your dental chair or sit for a consultation then you know you’ve already had a joyous part in building the Body of Christ!
Dental and medical evangelism combined with health professionals is a powerful combination that follows a biblical pattern of teamwork. The high-profile, “up front” individuals are supported in countless ways by faithful “fellow labourers” who minister to individuals in ways that are often not recognized. God uses everyone, regardless of their specialties or skills, as part of His team.
“And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” Romans 10:15

Item of Prayer: Pray that God would use you on a short-term missions trip with an evangelistic purpose; that you would be motivated first and foremost to evangelize the lost.

For more information about GDMMissions and our short-term field team trips contact our home office at http://www.gdmmissions.org/contact.html or call 1-978-454-6710 or visit our web site http://www.gdmmissions.org

Jonah's Attitude as a Missionary

We can learn from the Book of Jonah about a missionary's attitude since he embodies almost all that a missionary's attitude should not be. In an occasional series on this topic I suggest some areas where we should search our own hearts about how we view our mission field.

Jonah's disdain for the Assyrians bordered on outright hatred. He was trained in the culture of Israel in his day to look upon the Assyrians as those who had brutally treated his people and whose lifestyle was the height of wickedness (Jonah 1:2) The thought of even speaking to the Assyrians about turning to the God of Israel was revolting to him. He would rather see the city of Nineveh destroyed and thousands of women and children die than give them the benefit of hearing about God's offer of mercy. He made the clear choice to act on his prejudice and disobey God by running in the opposite direction. (Jonah 1:3)

The total destruction of a large city and all its inhabitants whose fate depended on him didn't seem to bother him. When the people did turn to the LORD he was angry with God because things didn't go as he thought they should have. (Jonah 4:1) The book ends with Jonah showing more compassion on a wilted plant than on people. (Jonah 4:9-11)

Is it possible that our prejudice could determine who we witness to or how far we are willing to go out of our way to share the Gospel? A missionary attitude is one that sees individuals as those in need of hearing about Jesus Christ, regardless of what they have done, what they look like, where they are from, how they are dressed, etc. How sad it is to visit a missionary in a foreign country and hear them speak about "those people" in a disparaging or condescending way. We can do the same thing when we rationalize avoiding certain parts of town in our door-to-door ministry or emphasize a preference for going to countries that are "like us" to share the Gospel. God is not a respecter of persons (II Chronicles 19:7) and desires that we see people the same way. (James 2:1; 3:13-18)

Lack of compassion is evident in Jonah’s ability to walk away from an opportunity to tell the people of Nineveh about the One True God who was willing to forgive them and spare them if they repented. The fact that he didn’t care is both amazing and puzzling. How could we look at such an opportunity and walk away in the opposite direction? As those who have been entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation (II Corinthians 5:18-19) we must approach our mission field with real compassion and caring.

Beyond lack of compassion is Jonah’s attitude of insensitivity and indifference. He was open in his refusal to obey God and it was even a hindrance to his testimony before the pagan sailors. (Jonah 1:10) When we leave our country to go to a people for whom Christ died we need to be sensitive to their spiritual needs. When a people are steeped in a culture of immorality and enslaved to pagan religions systems we need to be sensitive to them as individual souls in need of a Savior. It might be easy to be so repulsed by a people’s sin that we think they are not “worthy” of our suffering to tell them how they can be saved from their sin. But that did not keep Jesus Christ from suffering death on the cross to pay for our sins, did it? (Romans 5:8)

What do you think about Jonah as a counter-example of a missionary? There are more things we can learn from him but let me know and I’ll post other thoughts later. Comment below or e-mail me at mvetter@gdmmissions.org

Reason #2 for Taking a GDMMissions Field Team Trip

Reason #2 in our series on 8 Reasons to Take a GDMMissions Field Team Trip makes GDMMissions different from other cross-cultural mission organizations because of one important word: evangelism.

#2 – Experience Cross-cultural Evangelism
You can find plenty of other organizations that sponsor short-term mission trips that will give you a cross-cultural experience. Many of these fine groups have projects that focus on accomplishing useful tasks like construction or repairs that are a help to churches and missionaries. As Americans, we are mostly task-driven; we want to schedule, organize, and manage so we see projects accomplished. But most of the world’s cultures, in underdeveloped countries in particular, are more relationship-driven which is difficult for Americans to appreciate.
When task-driven projects form the central reason for short-term missions we miss out on experiencing new cultures that are different from ours. Moreover, we miss out on developing the relationships needed for evangelism to take place.
Because GDMMissions has evangelism as its primary purpose you will have meaningful cross-cultural evangelism experiences every day. We work with national local churches and missionaries who likewise place great emphasis on sharing the Gospel and leading people to Christ. You will work alongside national believers as they share the Gospel in their own language, partner with a bi-lingual national or missionary to share your testimony of salvation to patients and visitors, and compassionately minister to the health care needs of unsaved individuals in the name of our Savior. The context of our ministry revolves around winning souls to Christ by demonstrating the love and compassion of Christ every day in health care clinics. You will have many opportunities to answer the question, “Why have you come here to do this for us?” You will be able to sit with someone and explain that Christ loved them so much that He died for their sins and that they can have eternal life through faith in Him alone. Cross-cultural evangelism is at the heart of every GDMMissions experience. “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” I Peter 3:15

Item of Prayer: That God would give you a burden for the lost; that you would be prepared spiritually, emotionally, and physically to minister in a different culture.

For more information about GDMMissions and our short-term field team trips contact our home office at http://www.gdmmissions.org/contact.html or call 1-978-454-6710 or visit our web site http://www.gdmmissions.org

Reason #1 for Taking a GDMMissions Field Team Trip

Here is #1 of 8 good reasons to take a field team trip with GDMMissions if you are considering short-term missions within the next year. Now is a good time to start praying about what direction the Lord may be leading in your life and these eight suggestions may help you pray more specifically and more intelligently about your next missions trip.

Motive is critical in short-term missions; it all depends on why you are thinking of serving God for a few weeks on the foreign field.
A suggested “Item of Prayer” will help you pray about the type of short-term missions trip that is best for you. Choosing the right mission organization and team format is because the next missions trip might change your life forever!

#1 – Fundamental Biblical Purpose, Goals, and Methods
GDMMissions is first and foremost a fundamental, Bible-centered evangelistic organization whose purpose is to assist like-minded local churches take the Gospel to foreign countries for the glory of Jesus Christ. Our doctrinal statement emphasizes exactly who we are and is not watered down to appeal to the widest audience. We are careful who we cooperate with, whether for support or team candidates; when on the field we only work with nationals and other mission organizations that are in complete agreement with our doctrine and practice. Our methods of evangelism are built around principles of practical, Biblical separation. “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine…” Ephesians 4:14a.

Item of Prayer: That God would help you choose a mission group built on fundamental, Biblical principles whose practices at home and on the field are a reflection of those principles with which you agree.

For more information about GDMMissions and our short-term field team trips contact our home office at http://www.gdmmissions.org/contact.html or call 1-978-454-6710 or visit our web site http://www.gdmmissions.org

Church Planting in Colonia San Bosco, Hermosillo (Sonora, Mexico)

We’ve been holding annual dental clinics in the San Bosco neighborhood of Hermosillo for four years. Working each year with students from the Ebenezer Bible College (IPE in Spanish), a ministry of Mission Gospel Ministries International (MGMI) in Hermosillo, we set up our first clinic under a tarp in a park in the middle of San Bosco where students had been holding open-air evangelistic services. A product of that two-day clinic in the park was a stack of 60 contact sheets with names and addresses of patients seen and with whom the Gospel had been shared. Several received Christ during that clinic and Tap Hornor, MGMI missionary overseeing the work beamed when he held up the contact sheets and said, “We have months’ worth of contacts here to visit and share the Gospel with!”
Tap and students from IPE followed up with those initial contacts every Saturday and the following year there were believers from the neighborhood helping share the Gospel with more people who came out for the second dental clinic. They met on Saturdays in a small building for services led by IPE students. With another handful of new contacts from our clinic students headed off enthusiastically to meet in homes for more one-on-one evangelism and discipleship.
By the third year Pastor Manual Acedo, an Institute graduate, was pastor of the Living Hope Fundamental Baptist Church of San Bosco meeting in a converted house. People crowded the living room of the house while we conducted a third dental clinic and rejoiced to see so many people sharing the Gospel with patients and visitors.
This past year we held a fourth clinic in a larger house church in San Bosco with a tent in the side yard where 80 people gathered for a special service. What an opportunity to praise God for raising up His Body of believers in San Bosco and being part of this group’s faithful evangelism that led to a vibrant local church when four years earlier a few had met under a tarp in a park! Pastor Acedo relates that our annual dental clinics were instrumental in making so many contacts that allowed them to enter people’s homes and share the Gospel with them. That’s how God builds His Church – in Mexico or anywhere – one believer at a time. (Acts 2:47)