1 Hospital for 14 Million People [August Prayer Focus]

TEAM – The Evangelical Alliance Mission • Aug 03, 2020

Zimbabwe is a country of 14.44 million people — but often only one operational, surgical hospital for the general public. That hospital is called Karanda Mission Hospital. To put this into perspective, that would be like everyone in the whole state of Pennsylvania having to go to the same surgical hospital .

But Karanda isn’t just meeting physical needs. While the staff care for medical needs, they’re also sharing the Good News of Jesus. Chaplains meet with patients, preach the Gospel and offer Christ-centered counseling. Christian staff are encouraged to pray with and for the patients. A Christian radio program plays over the PA system throughout the day.

“ We have the privilege of working alongside local believers to accomplish God’s good work here,” says TEAM missionary Jon Christiansen. “It is a better image of what the heavenly community will be like.”

But the challenges Karanda Mission Hospital faces are growing, like a struggling economy and difficulty acquiring medical supplies. That’s why we’re taking the month of August to pray for Karanda Mission Hospital. Will you join us?

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1. Pray that staff will endure through hard circumstances with little compensation.

In Zimbabwe , the government sets the salaries for medical workers. But hyperinflation has made these salaries hardly livable. The hospital supplements the staff’s income with food and supply packages, but finances remain a constant concern.

Meanwhile, Karanda is a busy hospital, seeing hundreds of patients a day — while others wait in line. A limited water system requires staff to keep trash cans full of water in case they run out. Patients are often exhausted, having trekked from other parts of the country to receive care at Karanda . And after a long day of dealing with all these problems, Karanda staff come home to financial worries.

Ask God to encourage the staff in the midst of their exhaustion. Pray that He will help employees stretch their dollars farther and provide a way for them to be paid a livable wage.

2. Ask God to provide adequate medical supplies to the hospital.

Medical supplies can be hard to get in rural Zimbabwe. Yet, these supplies are essential to performing surgeries, treating wounds and many other medical procedures. The hospital has to order 90 percent of its medicine from either India or South Africa . And once they’re shipped, getting them through customs can be a huge challenge.

Doctors and nurses at Karanda Mission Hospital are top-notch, but they can only work with the supplies they have. Pray that medical shipments will easily make it through customs.

The hospital gets other medical supplies, including blood, from the nearest major city, Harare. But the trip from Harare to Karanda is not an easy one. It takes hours, mostly on a two-lane road, then on a bumpy gravel road and to top it all off, you have to drive through a river.

Ask God to fast-track any supplies that are on their way and easily get them through customs. Pray for favor with customs officials and for all needed funds.

3. Pray that patients and staff won’t be able to deny God’s presence at the hospital.

The purpose of Karanda Mission Hospital is to bring glory to God through their work. When healings occur, it can be tempting for people to give credit to the medical practice and forget God’s part in it. But God is the ultimate healer. He is the one who brought the doctors and nurses to Karanda in the first place, and He is the one who guides their hands as they work.

God is also at work in the lives of each of the people on staff at the hospital, including doctors, nurses and chaplains. These people are all working to heal people physically, but also to spread the Gospel to each of the people they encounter.

And on top of that, Karanda Mission Hospital partners with other programs, like AWANA and LifePump, to ensure that people have opportunities to encounter the love of God even after they leave the hospital.

Pray that people will recognize God’s role in their healing. Pray that God’s work will be so evident in staff’s lives that people will have no choice but to praise Him.

Click here to download a printable copy of this month’s prayer focus!

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Loving Like Jesus Cross-Culturally (Part 1)

By Megan Lunsford • 23 Apr, 2024

When seeking to serve cross-culturally with an authentic love for others, there’s no better example for us than Jesus. If we sat around a table and threw out the question, “How do we love like Jesus?” I think we would have several commonalities as we respond. For example, Jesus loved all people right where they were. He loved those who were deemed the least, those hardest to love, or those who were His enemies. These are all beautiful realities of the heart of Jesus. When we step into relationships, it can be easier to take on the warmer, more gracious gestures of Jesus’ love, especially in cross-cultural relationships. Think about it––when doing life with those who look and act differently than us, we are already out of our comfort zones and would rather keep things as simple and familiar as possible. But there are other facets of Jesus’ heart we often overlook that can transform us and others even more into His likeness. Jesus is love because God is love. Everything Jesus did was out of love; it’s the mere definition of who He is. As followers of Jesus, He calls us to the same: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.” (1 John:7-12) Every display of love we offer to others is an opportunity for them to encounter the ultimate love of the Father. That’s a pretty big deal! In this article, we’ll look at three expressions of Jesus’ love that we tend to overlook when engaging others cross-culturally. (Next month, we’ll look at three more.) 1. Jesus loved sacrificially. Everywhere Jesus went, crowds followed Him. We even see times in Scripture where Jesus had plans to step away for time alone but those who were hurting found Him and He had compassion on them and stayed with them. Can you imagine rarely having any time to yourself but, instead, constantly being surrounded by crowds of people wanting help from you? Jesus loved sacrificially. He welcomed all who came to Him with love and compassion, never turning anyone away. “When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36) In the same way, we can make room in our lives for Jesus to bring sacrificial interruptions which, in His eyes, are orchestrated encounters to transfer His love to others. It can be tempting to be so “on mission” that we are full steam ahead and find ourselves frustrated when the Holy Spirit sends an interruption into our path that we feel we don’t have time for. Or, perhaps, we have scheduled a meet-up but it’s the norm in another culture to be 30 minutes or an hour late. We anxiously think through how it will affect whatever we have planned next. While it’s normal to feel a little stressed, what if the very "interruption” standing in front of you was really a divine appointment sent by God? Or what if that person running late experiences how peaceful and gracious you are in adapting to their culture and therefore, they can encounter a beautiful display of Jesus’ love? To truly represent Christ, we should remain ready and willing for each assignment the Lord sends into our path, no matter the cost or how much we will have to re-route our day. He is always a hundred steps ahead and will work all things for His glory and our good. 2. Jesus loved by discerning each situation well. Think about how many situations Jesus had to respond to on a daily basis. We read in Scripture that there were lines of people waiting to be healed by Him, talk to Him, hear His teachings, or simply touch the hem of His robe. Jesus was fully dependent on His Father to discern each situation before addressing it. “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.” (John 5:19) Another temptation we can have when in a relationship with those God has sent us to is to think we already know the solution or what God wants to do before we’ve even asked Him. We believe we are full of knowledge, so we just pull from the bank we have stored within and go with it. However, when we access what is familiar to us as our default, we risk missing out on a God-given solution that might truly be the key to unlocking whatever challenge is in front of us. What does this look like when interacting with others? We can simply ask, “God, what is on Your heart for the person standing in front of me?” Then we listen and respond as He speaks. When we make it a daily habit to pause and hear God’s heart for each situation before responding, we are guaranteed to be effective in loving those around us. He knows the heart of every person that will cross our paths. Imagine how impactful we can be if we first lean on His wisdom and discernment before moving forward. 3. Jesus loved by speaking truth. Most of us are familiar with the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. If we are honest, this conversation makes us a bit nervous as none of us would be comfortable with Jesus calling out intimate details of our lives that we would prefer to hide. But Jesus went further than just airing her dirty laundry. He offered her the hope of the Gospel and a relationship with Him - a divine fulfillment that could never be found in an earthly relationship. Jesus modeled a powerful example of loving others well cross-culturally. He took the low place and spoke truth, truly out of love––speaking to her heart from His. Like Jesus, our goal in sharing the truths about Him and His Word is to bring hope and satisfaction through Him alone. When we speak truth from Scripture, we are calling others higher into all God has for them. The tricky part here is we should avoid speaking truth if it isn’t first fueled by compassion. If it merely comes from a place of judgment, condemnation, or self-righteousness, it will fall flat 100% of the time. But if it truly comes from love, you are likely to not only win a heart back to the Father but, like the story of the Samaritan woman, even an entire village! If you see someone living outside of God’s best for their lives, ask God to show you your heart before engaging theirs. Once your heart is properly postured, you can speak truth out of an overflow of God’s love and trust Him for a transformation in their lives.

Hospitality, Help, and the Hope of the Gospel

By Suzanne Pearson • 16 Apr, 2024

TEAM Canada provides warm welcome and trusted friendships for diaspora populations living far from their native countries. As TEAM Canada workers Peter and Ruth (names changed) drive from their home to a nearby community center, they pass numerous apartment buildings and townhouses. Most of the families who live there are immigrants. They’ve left their countries of origin due to political unrest, trauma, and other difficulties. They’ve left family, friends, homes, jobs, and personal wealth behind. They search for peace, justice for the oppressed, and rest from fear and weariness. And as they adjust to a new country and a new language, they are often very isolated from others around them. “The sad reality is most immigrants are never even invited inside a Canadian home,” says Ruth. Peter and Ruth and their team try to change that reality. For the last nine years, the team, which includes workers from partner organizations as well as volunteers, has held English classes at the community center. Three days a week, over 60 students from more than 20 countries come together to learn English as well as to fellowship together and receive practical help in assimilating to a new normal. Meeting Needs and Building Trust That practical help may come in the form of procuring furniture, clothes, or dishes for newcomers, assistance with creating a resume and finding a job, or teaching people how to navigate Canadian laws and the medical system. As these tangible needs are met, relationships are built. “We invite them into our homes for meals and games,” Ruth shares. “We take them on hiking trips, picnics, outings, and out for coffee.” This is particularly important in this type of ministry because most immigrants come to Canada from cultures that value hospitality. Conversely, Canadians do not typically prioritize hospitality and consequently many newcomers feel lonely and isolated. Inviting folks to various gatherings and outings allows the team to spend extended time hearing people’s stories, struggles, hopes, and dreams. When she speaks about building friendships, Ruth’s heart for the people she serves is evident. “Hearing their stories, it’s easy to love them, and many have become close friends,” Ruth says. “We recognize the value of steady one-on-one relationships.”