March 17, 2003

Love, death, and mission

Dear Friends,

War seems to be imminent and we are in the third week of Lent. "What would Jesus do?" is not a rhetorical question, but a life and death question today for us. Last month, we shared with you that mission for us is a part, a large part, of worship. A friend wrote to us that in Hebrew, the word for work, service, and worship is the same word. Now that we know the theory, we only need to live it.This month Haejung and I decided to write separate letters, Haejung in Korean and I in English.

When my father was terminally ill with cancer, I heard my grandmother cry out to God, "Grant however many days I have left to my son and take me home now. He can serve you better than I can." I do not know whether God granted her wish, but I do know that she meant every word and she believed it to be according to God's will. Her prayer of almost thirty years ago resonates today and become one with Jesus's prayer in my heart. First is the love of a mother for her son, and the second is the clear sense of priority she had in making the request.

During the several years I have spent in the mission field, I have faced difficult decisions where none of the alternatives seemed desirable but we had to choose one. Most of the time, it is the search of a clear sense of priority rather than more calculation. In the hospitals, I saw young children going through limb amputations, truly a sad event, but something that had to be done to save their lives. As radical an action as it was, considering the alternative, it was a non-decision.

Jesus had the clear priority of obeying the Father's will, and he had the love to place our lives in him above his own life. Do I have the vision and the love? Is our opposition or support of the war grounded on the clear vision and the love? I have been trying to understand what motivates the passionate debates and what assures them of the correctness of their positions. Here in Nepal, we do not hear the arguments as much as in the Western world, but it is so difficult to believe that the world leaders got on their knees seeking answers to this question. I pray that the willingness for all the sacrifice is based on love, and the path we take is based on God's priorities.

Last month, I made a visit to the Okhaldhunga Health Project in the remote eastern hills of Nepal. A 30-minute flight on a 17-seat plane took us to the dirt landing strip of the town of Rumjatar. Seeing the numerous bullet holes on the control tower and the surrounding buildings and seeing the military patrols in flak jackets reminded us of how real the Maoist conflicts are.

A family of porters came from Okhaldhunga to carry our luggage. A lady barely five feet tall who must have weighed less than hundred pounds took my bag and another one as our group of eight started on our four-hour journey. My pride did not allow giving up the small backpack I was carrying, so I kept it. I had not seen a single vehicle, not even a bicycle, during all the time we were there. In fact, once we left the town of Rumjatar, I could not find even one acre of flat land.It was either going up or down, resulting in a gain in altitude of half a mile. Within the first hour I was regretting my decision to keep the bag, and was having a good test of the bypass surgery of sixteen months ago.

My admiration of the majestic hills and layers of ridges quickly changed to turning to the sky asking for journey mercies, and the prayer that I may finish. Layers of clothing came off, but still drenching and with a rest every ten steps, we finally arrived at the hospital and community health complex, which was started forty years ago serving the people of this remote district. Next came the search of a stool-style toilet, just to learn that none existed in the station. My respect for the missionaries who served years in this station went up manyfold.

I did find a school for missionary children that stands empty today and many houses for expatriate doctors and missionaries being used for occasional visitors. There are ample examples of how important the hospital is to the people of the district, who may walk as many as five days to reach the hospital. But due to lack of doctors who can perform surgeries, due to conflict between the government and the Maoist guerrillas, and due to lack of funds, the number of people seeking care at the hospital is much reduced from a few years ago. Our discussion of the situation quickly turned into finger pointing. Some point to the lack of dedicated missionaries of years past. Some say that nothing has changed in 40 years and point to the absence of local ownership and the futility of continuing expensive operations that don't build the capacity of indigenous to care for themselves. These arguments are happening all over the world in almost all mission hospitals. No one answer is right, and I certainly do not have it.

Can we apply the love and priority standards to this question as well? At the risk of sounding like a "know it all," let me share questions on mission giving. When you give to help those in need, you are partnering in God's work rather than being a sugar daddy or being God yourself. There are people in place who have the hearts and skills to care for the God's children in need.They ask less about whose fault it is, but ask what we can do to help them. God has given us the gift of compassion and the resources to share. Do we clearly see the promised future for others and love them, or God, enough to share what we are given? Is it necessary that we support only Christian workers, or is it more important that our actions start with the love of Christ? For practical suggestions, I recommend that you support the activities in partnership and demand accountability. When we support the activities we are affirming the common worship of our God, and what God does to the people rather than organizations. At the same time, we have stewardship responsibilities to be generous, yet to guard against waste and misuse. It is very common to give donations to a mission hospital to care for the destitute. Usually the money is given in return for the promise of caring for the needy. The hard-nosed demand to hear about the activities is not demeaning but actually encouraging to the field workers. This way the hospital has the incentive to actually provide the care, control the cost, and show that they are the worthy partners. I understand it is almost impossible for an individual or a congregation to have sufficient leverage. My recommendation is to work through the organizations that practice this system already. A little bit of homework will give you the confidence that your love is well grounded in God's priorities. Consider this an invitation for discussion.

I will be visiting Korea and the States for four weeks starting in mid May. Haejung will stay here in Nepal and continue her work and witnessing during my trip to see family and friends as well as get my annual physical and have some meetings with church leaders. My plan is to visit Korea (May 17-24), then to go Denver during the General Assembly of the PC(USA) (May 24-31) and finally to Louisville (June 1-14). I look forward to seeing many friends and sharing stories from Nepal.

May this Lenten season finds you getting closer to God and journeying together with Christ.

Simon

The 2003 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 166