I know that you can do anything, and no plan of yours can be thwarted. Job 42:2
There’s an old American saying: When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Those who serve the Lord are certainly the type of people who are equipped to step up and handle difficult situations.
In the mission field, we are routinely faced with a variety of scenarios. Transportation not available? Ride a horse through Kashmir or trek the Himalayas. The government decides the team who just arrived in one Asian nation can’t do medical clinics after all? Travel across a border and watch lives being changed. Plans weren’t communicated and sites to serve haven’t been prepared? Spend the day in a prison watching inmates meet Jesus.
God always has a perfect plan. It’s superior to ours. And yet. Over a year into travel restrictions, the call to GO for him hasn’t waned—but also isn’t possible. And there is nothing to indicate it will change any time soon. What’s a tough missionary to do when we simply can’t get going?
Turns out God really does have a plan—multiple, unbelievable, amazing plans—for his work to continue. Hearts that are tuned in to him are finding ways to cope personally and to further the kingdom from home base. One such opportunity has the potential to improve lives in a very real, very concrete way.
We all have wish lists. For the medical team, of course, being creative in improving health is a constant challenge. The main goal is always to be the catalyst to bring people in for prayer so that they can find and follow Jesus. But medical treatment and holistic wellness is in short supply in villages across the world. A two-week packet of medicine and health teaching is not the best answer. And telling a desperately poor diabetic man in Guatemala or Nepal that he can only eat a small palm-full of rice a day, when that’s the staple of his diet, is not a viable solution.
During one Missions meeting in the fall of 2020, a longstanding item on my wish list popped up. “If only we could find a nutritionist to travel with us, we might be able to figure out longer term solutions for people. We see the same stuff all over the world.”
Justin McGurgan, a member of the team, spoke up. “My sister-in-law is a nutritionist. Maybe she could help.”
And we moved on to other topics. But Justin put me in touch with Jenee. Who, it turns out, has many initials after her name, MS, RD, LDN, CNSC, and an equally impressive job, CMD Clinical Instructor at the University of Pittsburgh. After honing in on the Registered Dietician part, I couldn’t wait to meet her.
What followed has turned into a project so exciting that it’s absolutely clear God is making a way, both for his people and for his workers. Jenee put the project out to her students as an option for their independent study in the spring. Two young women were interested. And so it began in the early part of 2021.
They are developing healthy diet plans for two general regions, Central America and Asia, and for three disorders, heart disease, diabetes, and gastric reflux. With the cheapest, most readily available foodstuffs being rice and highly spiced rice, there is much research needed. The students are busy doing just that. In addition, they completed a Zoom meeting with Debbie Zetino, who was able to discuss what people in Guatemala eat most often, including what they can and cannot afford to buy. Within weeks, they will be meeting with our friend Man Dai in Nepal to gather the same information for Asia.
The final product will be three diet plans, specific to each of these illnesses, that will help to control symptoms and maintain health. They will be based on common, easily accessed, affordable foods. Once completed, friends in the nations will translate them into local languages.
In countries where we can Google a plethora of diets with a few keystrokes, this may not seem earth-shattering. To the poor in under-developed nations, some of whom are still living in caves and digging roots for food, it is revolutionary. When the medical team can once more hit the road, it will be with an added tool. Yes, medicine is important. But when that runs out, it’s uncertain if patients can find a pharmacy or afford a refill. With the ability to manage disease through a healthy diet, wellness will increase. And because we go in the name of Jesus, God will be glorified.
That’s the thing about medical missions. We who are believers understand that eternal life is so much more important than temporal life. But medicine is the hook that brings people in to meet their basic physical needs. So that their need for a savior can also be met. At a normal clinic, one hundred or more people are seen a day. At least fifty percent suffer from heart disease, diabetes, and/or reflux. One hundred percent have poor nutrition. If we can provide lasting wellness to bodies through diet, souls called by the Lord will become healthy as well.
Sometimes, when the going gets tough, the tough need to find new ways to get going.
God is providing opportunities for growth, for evangelism, for creativity, for faith, and for so much more during this time of waiting. Rather than bemoaning what is, the tough need to seek God’s will, listen for his direction, and be obedient to his call.
How can you serve from home? What gifts do you have that can be used in missions while stranded in the States? Could your personal or career expertise impact people around the world even in this season? Pray about it. See where you are led. Reach out to SEAPC with your thoughts and ideas. Together, we can make a difference for Jesus.
The going may be tough right now, but our Lord and Savior is always tougher!
