Keep the Light on in Kashmir

We’ve all been there. Take the airport, for example. Up early, frenzied last minute packing, weaving through rush hour traffic, standing in interminable security lines, and finally arriving, breathless, at the proper gate. Only to sit for hours in uncomfortable chairs awaiting the plane which has been delayed in Atlanta.

The Bible addresses this very thing, as it does anything of importance. In Proverbs 16:19 it says, “The mind of a man plans his way. But the Lord directs his steps.” The LUV (Laurel’s Unauthorized Version) reads as follows: “Hurry up. And wait.” It is a difficult verse of Scripture because it is counter-intuitive to the way we (I) do things. Planning is good, right? What would the world be without it? And yet the Lord’s timetable is always the one to follow.

The key is to know when to move and when to stay. So we pray, research Scripture, and if there is no red flag that stops the process, we proceed. When there is peace in the decision to move on, we can feel confident that it is of God.

February has been a month that SEAPC dedicated to Kashmir, India. We did so to focus on two important projects the Lord placed in our hands. One of those is the School of Nursing at John Bishop Memorial Hospital. If you’ve been keeping track, you know the history. One-hundred-year old mission hospital for women. Bastion of Christianity in a Muslim region. A bright light shining in the midst of the deepest darkness.

And you know that unless ground is broken in 2019—that would be this year—this particular outpost of Jesus’ light will close forever. Forever is a very long time.

In the way of humanity, we have implemented our plans to accomplish this goal. As always at SEAPC, we began with prayer. Prayer is integral to everything. Prayer led us to proceed in coming alongside JBM to support their Christian-based needs within the Muslim world in which they live and function. The SEAPC medical team visited, served the community with the student nurses, and saw God at work in their lives.

Articles were written in the SEAPC magazine. Blogs were posted. A video was put together. More prayer, in a weekly group as well as on an individual daily basis. A campaign began last week on Mighty Cause  to be intentional about raising the $185,000 needed. It has been shared on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. And right here, right now, at the risk of being redundant, it is being shared again.

The response has been wonderful…in principle. Good comments from one and all: worthy cause, important, inspiring. Now we must come together to make the construction a reality. We are in touch with our friends at JBM to ascertain what is needed initially to break ground. It is important to work within regulations by submitting to local authorities in such matters. It’s a Biblical principle after all—as is our mandate to further the Kingdom. Hand-in-hand both goals can be accomplished.

Building a nursing school in a region few have heard about and even fewer will visit is a challenging vision to cast. It does function on two separate platforms that are fundamental to SEAPC: healthcare and education. You could think of it as a two-for-one special. In 2018 the land, the nursing school, and the people received prayer as this project was dedicated. Stones were laid, symbolic of the edifice that will rise.

You can lay your own “stones” as you partner with SEAPC, the Church of North India, and JBM to make this dream a reality. And to assure that this Christian institution becomes a permanent fixture in Kashmir. A popular hotel chain advertises, “We’ll keep the light on for you.” Let’s keep Jesus’ light on in Kashmir. Together, it will happen.

We are reaching out in the coming weeks to healthcare institutions in Pittsburgh and to other businesses, hoping to catch their interest. It is highly likely you will read more blogs and hear more pleas. This project goes beyond a fundraising effort. It hits at the very core of what it means to serve the lost. And to go beyond giving to sacrificial giving for the Lord’s work.

Chances are good that the nurses educated at JBM will never care for your mom or dad. They won’t be the faces you see when you awaken after surgery. Or the hands that cradle your newborn. But they will be carrying Jesus in their medical kits, as the program lives out the Great Commission on a daily basis in an area that harbors the largest unreached people groups in the world.

We need YOU to keep Christ in Kashmir.

The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”  Matthew 25:40