THE FORT WAYNE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH

THE SABBATH EXPRESS-Online
January/February 1998
Carmelo Mercado, Pastor

Pastor's Corner

A new year has arrived - 1998. I find it hard to imagine that we are already here. It is even harder to imagine that we are only 2 years from the year 2000. Many people are concerned about that date - computer experts are especially worried that computers will have a difficult time coping with such a date.

Some are worried that new dangers await the approach of a new millenium. Jesus says however we are not to worry about tomorrow. We are ask God for our daily bread and let each days worries be sufficient. We can trust in Jesus to care for His people. He says that if parents will give good gifts to their children how much will our Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask.

What have you asked your Father for 1998? For this year I am praying for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit for myself and the church. I am very pleased that the North American Division has designated Jan 3 1998 as the Day of Prayer. All across America and Canada Seventh-day Adventists are being called together to pray and begin a regular pattern of prayer for our people.

It has been our observation that we are inclined to DO and to READ more than to PRAY. Many of us feel uncomfortable praying, especially if someone else is listening. Why is that? Perhaps because we are not an intensely praying people. Whatever the reasons I would like to see our church make 1998 as the Year of Prayer. What we will do is have regular Sabbath afternoon convocations for prayer. We are planning to have a weekend seminar on prayer in the spring. We will give away resources that will give ideas on how to incorporate prayer in your personal life and with your family. With God's grace we hope to have a special Week of Prayer at our church. What is your resolution for this year? Let me encourage you to request of God as the disciples did long ago:

"Teach us to pray."

Healing Body and Spirit

A blind man received sight, an old woman's life is miraculously preserved, and a teenager finds God through the ministry of an aging hospital and its dedicated staff.

Can a hospital make a difference for Christ? The following stories from Simla Sanitarium and Hospital should answer that question. The hospital serves the resort area of Shimla in the hill country of northern India, and the mountain villages that surround it.

Blind Man Finds Jesus

"Next patient, Sohan Lal." The nurse called into the crowded waiting room of the eye clinic at Simla Sanitarium and Hospital. A young man stood and walked uncertainly toward the examination room. There the eye surgeon examined the young man's eyes.

Sohan Lal is a 28-year-old school teacher from a mountain village about five hours away by bus. He told the doctor that he had noticed his vision becoming dimmer over the past several months. Now he was blind in one eye and had very little vision in the other.

As his vision worsened, he had became depressed about his uncertain future. Without sight he would lose his teaching job and become dependent on others. Then a friend told him about the eye clinic at Simla Sanitarium and Hospital.

The doctor examined Sohan, and admitted him into the hospital for further testing. Following the tests the doctor talked to Sohan. "We have found the problem," he said. "You have diabetes. High blood sugar levels have caused cataracts to form on your eye."

Soon Sohan was scheduled for surgery to remove the first cataract. The hospital chaplain visited him and talked about the healing touch of God. He explained that God loves him and wants him to be in good health. Sohan felt peace and confidence flow into him.

Following surgery Sohan returned to his mountain village to teach while he awaited his second surgery. He had come to Shimla with a burden of despair, but he left with hope and a new knowledge of the master Physician, who cares.

Auntie Jeremiah´s Miracle

The hospital staff knows her only as Auntie Jeremiah, a sweet, silver-haired lady who lives with her daughter Ezmee in a tiny house near Simla Sanitarium and Hospital. Auntie Jeremiah and Ezmee have come to the hospital for their medical needs for years.

Then one day Ezmee brought Auntie Jeremiah to the hospital. She had found a mass growing in her abdomen. The tests confirmed their fears; the mass was a malignant growth. The options were simple: immediate surgery to remove the tumor or a few more months. Mother and daughter talked about their options. "I am too old to have surgery," Auntie Jeremiah said. "Give me something for the pain and I will accept my fate."

Auntie Jeremiah remained in the hospital for several days. The children's choir came to sing for her, then the adult singing group visited as well. Staff members stopped by to read from the Bible or pray with her.

The sparkle returned to Auntie Jeremiah's eyes, and smiles again creased her face. Soon she was making jokes and laughing with the doctors and staff. Then one day she told the nurse, "I want to go home now." Ezmee helped her dress, then checked her mother.

On Sabbath afternoons hospital staff members visit former patients who live in Shimla. They knocked at Auntie Jeremiah's door and heard a voice within say, "Andar Ao!" (Come in.) The group from the hospital gathered around Auntie Jeremiah's bed to sing songs.

Her visitors said their goodbyes, then walked down the street in silence, thinking about the miracle they have seen. It has been five years since Auntie Jeremiah found the mass in her abdomen. She should have died long ago. The tumor is still there, but Auntie Jeremiah learned to love God while visiting Simla Hospital. She gains strength from the Bible and loves to tell people that soon she will see Jesus and will live with Him in heaven, where there will be no more pain or sickness.

The Story Of Sandeep Kumar

Sandeep Kumar grew up in a village near Shimla. His father teaches people how to worship demons and use witchcraft.

One day Sandeep saw some people singing and reading from a black book. He wondered what made them so happy. He asked one man about the book they were reading, and the man offered to give him a copy. "If you believe the truth that this Book contains, your crazy".

Sandeep took the black Book home and began to read it. Immediately he felt a peace in his life that he had never known before. He talked to the man who had given it to him and learned more about the God of the black Book. He began attending church.

Sandeep is grateful that Adventists in his city were not afraid to worship God in public. For through them he found the Saviour.