Crashing the Kingdom

Clementine spoke at the supply team devotional this past week. She has been part of the hospital chaplaincy for a number of years. She estimates that 90-95% of the patients that are treated here have been rejected by their families and friends because of their illness.  They are seen as being rejected by God.

I met a local Cameroon day worker who normally serves in the admission tent.  He had a day off and volunteered to work an extra day, so he ended up working in Supply in the back of the cargo hold for a special project we needed done.  He introduced himself with his African name, but on the ship he is called John.  John shared that he talks with people who come to the ship without hope.  They expect that they will be asked for money, but instead they meet a surgeon who might be able to help them for free!  When they are given an appointment for surgery they are surprised.  They have never been treated with such compassion before.

When Mercy Ships says that we bring hope and healing, it is spiritual healing as well as physical care.  People experience a tangible healing.  They get better.  They become people who experience real hope for the future.

Scott, another hospital chaplain, prayed at our community meeting last night.  He prayed that God's Kingdom would come crashing into Cameroon.   What does it look like to bring God's kingdom to the nation's of the world?

It looks a lot like Jesus.  How living for him can bring healing to our broken world.  It looks like people who take to heart the exhortation "Whatever you do or say, let in be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks though him to God the Father."  Colossians 3:17


Debbie and Chuck