Prayer Letter 2

Greetings to you all – wishing you a blessed and Happy 2006. I hope you are enjoying the festivities back home.

With Christmas festivities fresh in our minds, (see my post about the Christmas party) I am afraid my specific prayer request in this letter is a bit of a reality check in that it is a reminder of the real and pressing reason for Jesus to come into the world and to accomplish what he did for us – the destructive corrupting results of sin in the world.

I have just got back from visiting Sreekumar at the hospital. Sreekumar is only 46, and is fellow believer, but a convert from Hinduism. His family completely disowned him with the exception of his wife and brother-in-laws family, who have also become believers. 3 weeks ago, he came to see his family doctor with complaining of increasing difficulty and pain on swallowing. His physician immediately sent him for an MRI the results of which returned on Tuesday 2 weeks ago. The day after, Wednesday, he was admitted under Dr Stephen’s care for major surgery to remove an oesophageal (eating tube) cancer. The surgery also involved cracking some ribs to remove part of his stomach. He made a surprisingly rapid recovery in ICU and on the wards, and is going home today. When I first visited him, he asked me to pray with him, and I have been going back every day since, to do that with him.

Sreekumar’s prognosis is very poor. Typically less than 5% survival after 5 years, and with the particularly rare signet cell variant which he has, even less than this. I have been told it would be a miracle if he were alive in one year from now. Yet he is making a much better and faster recovery from the surgery than we had expected, and if it is in His will, nothing is impossible for God. Tonight we read Romans Chapter 8 and also read from psalms (66 & 23). We had a time of prayer and fellowship afterwards, and it is truly wonderful how God blesses you when you serve Him, with treasures and joy so much more abundant than what you are offering to another. I was able to share with Sreekumar some of the difficulties I have encountered in explaining the power of the gospel to Hindu believers here and he was able to point out some of the particular scriptures that bring out the good news in the ways that bite hardest for a hindu believer, something which has been very helpful.

Also, as I mentioned in my boxingday post, one of the things I am noticing each time I meet with David and Anjali is that at some point the conversation comes round to the things of God, and the gospel. This time, the conversation was sparked by the American court ruling in the “Intelligent Design” case. David is a very intelligent person from a catholic background, who is very reluctant to accept the bible as the word of God on the basis of such ‘incredible’ features as the virgin birth, etc etc, so he was making the case that the Judge had found that there was no scientific basis to make the intelligent design argument from. I said that the problem with this ruling is that it presupposes that those bringing the case have no agenda themselves. I accept that the intelligent design lobby may well have an “unscientific” (in that it is unprovable) basis for arguing a designer but my issue is that Darwinism is taught in schools as a “proved theory” already when the evidence for descent by modification (as opposed to mutation) is in fact rather weak. Dawkins and most other scientists who advocate it resort to models since they cannot find evidence of it in the natural world. Similarly, most of the scientific community are not Christian (as David originally asserted!) but would accept that in the absence of any other explanation (eg intelligent design) Darwinism is the best available guess. Anyhow, without digressing into a diatribe on evolutionary theory, as the conversation with David progressed, I realised that it needs God’s wisdom in uncovering and answering the real heart issues that hold him back from Jesus; I would greatly value prayer in continuing a faithful testimony and for further opportunity to share with them. Most of his factual objections are to do with his catholic doctrinal upbringing and a lack of coherent biblical teaching and interpretation.


So please remember the following points in your prayers:

For Sreekumar particularly, and for his wife Shobha:

• Please pray that the Lord may continue to give Sreekumar peace and be close to him at this time, and that whatever God’s will is, that He would be glorified in this tragic situation.
• Please give thanks and pray for his continued rapid recovery from Surgery
• Please also pray for his family and his wife Shobha.
• Please pray for the work of God among Hindu believers, through the witness of those like Sreekumar.
• Please pray for God’s wisdom and strength for the Christian healthcare staff involved in Sreekumar’s ongoing care
  
  For Lok:
• Please give thanks for the witness of the hospital to this community and to patients and non-christian staff
• Please give thanks for the Christmas party and those who were able to hear the gospel preached here.
• Please pray for the continued wisdom of Dr Stephen in doing God’s bidding here
• Please pray for the expansion plans and for God’s direction and blessing in these.
  
  For Me:
• Please give thanks for fellowship and firiendship as I settle in here.
• Please give thanks for a mobile phone loaned to me so that I am able to contact Jess.
• Please pray for me, for more opportunites to share the gospel with Hindu believers here and for wisdom in recalling and applying scripture in giving an answer for the hope that I have.
• Please pray for good recall and discipline as I start the process of revision and preparation for clinical finals in June
• I am not as involved with patients here practically as I would like to be – please pray for more opportunities to develop and use my clinical skills.
• Please pray for further conversations with David and Anjali and for wisdom in pointing them towards the truth of Jesus and the gospel.

Thanks for all your support and prayers – God continues to provide for me and bless me in my time here.

Love to you all, and a happy New Year,

Duncan