Posts
[Sorry about the mass-mailing again; I really won't mind if you just dump the letter in case you didn't want to be on the mailing list. In the same light,feel free to pass it along to those for whom I don't have their email address.]
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2 December 2002
Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ:
I'm writing (by hand 1st) to you on the "warp machine"we call an "airplane," the contraption that transports me from one world to another, in this case fromAmsterdam, Holland to Los Angeles, USA. I'd never set foot in Europe before this trip, so I took advantage of the layover in Amsterdam to see what I could in under 3 hours. Unfortunately since I got out to the city about 7AM, not much was open -- indeed the skies were still completely dark.
How strange it was to think that just a few hours earlier, I was standing on Nigerian soil and feeling hot & sticky, and now there I was walking about the wet streets of Amsterdam feeling underdressed in my khaki pants and sweatshirt. First my fingertips went numb, then my ears. I wish I had more time to see things, esp. during normal open hours, but I did have a good time & even walked over to see (the outside of) Anne Frank's (the Jewish girl famous for her diary)old house. What I saw of the city was quite picturesque.
I thought I might write you all again to update you on the rest of my time in Nigeria, but before I go anyfurther, let's continue in the spirit of the last letter as I invite you to take another........
POP QUIZ!!! (true or false)
Since Sid/Steve last wrote about 2 weeks ago, he...
a) treated over 20 victims from the riots over the Miss World Pageant fiasco.
b) took a shower directly from a showerhead/faucetf or the 1st time since coming to Nigeria.
c) repeatedly yelled "REPENT!!" when delivering a sermon at a village church last weekend.
d) ate a delicious turkey dinner on Thanksgiving Day.
e) saw another car crash occur right in front of his eyes.
f) single-handedly provided for the survival of 100'sand their families.
PRAISE THE LORD!
Praise the Lord, for He is good! I'm thankful to Him for the time in Nigeria, not because it was perpetual fun or because I felt I made any huge impact. I'm thankful for the past month b/c I was stretched,l earned a lot of medicine I'd never known, learned a lot about socio-economic dynamics of running a Christian hospital, & learned quite a bit about raising & nurturing a family on the mission field.
Indeed, there is still SO MUCH to learn about everything! To be quite honest, I wondered several times in the last 2 wks (esp after a particularly tiring & depressing call night) whether I'm ready to be a missionary/doctor, which is NOT to say I wonder about my specific calling to missions or to say that I'm puttin off going to the mission field. What I mean is that I've realized that my dependence on our loving Father, & also my surrender to the day-to-day process of His preparing me for my future, have GOT to be SCALED UPWARD. He will be faithful to carry me through His calling for me, & I thank Him for that.
...As I try to formulate my thoughts on paper, I struggle with what stories to share with you. I find myself getting worked up as I think & write about each particular experience, and I find myself starting to include a lot of detail that I feel that I don't have the time (we're to land @ LAX in less than 15 minutes) or energy to give. Perhaps in the next few weeks I'll be better able to organize my thoughts & pass them onto you then. Also, let me know if you'd like to hear such detail.
PRAYER REQUESTS
Until then, may I recruit your continued prayer support for the following concerns?
1) my re-entry. I'm returning to the busy life of a resident on a busy rotation (cardiac care unit). Other responsibilities of life (bills, etc.) are awaiting me, in addition to my desire to spend time with my family, particularly my grandfather who lives in a nearby nursing home. Please pray that I'd re-adjust quickly while remembering all that I've learned in the last month.
2) my long-term plans. This is a repeat-request from the last letter. I need God's wisdom & guidance regarding family issues, mission board selection,f ield selection, and mission team.
3) the hospital @ Ile-Ife. The hospital, as with many Christian mission hospitals around the world, is struggling financially, especially in an age of increasing health costs. Ile-Ife is even finding it difficult to pay its staff a competitive salary in a timely manner. Its role in the town of ~30,000 amidst other hospitals (including a larger, government teaching hospital) is still being worked out, as there has recently been a major shift in its administrative structure. Please pray for wisdom & compassion in their decision making.
4) the students at the SDA School of Nursing @Ile-Ife. I shared with them my own story of how Jesus has changed my life, and about why & how we should share Christ in the medical setting. Several seemedi nterested in the whole idea & process. Please pray that they would follow through in continued study and application of what we discussed.
5) the missionary families @ Ile-Ife. They all work quite hard & long hours (both with the hospital & @church), yet exude a joy about them that is quite beautiful. I know it's a REAL joy, for they have opened their homes to me, & I experienced & absorbed their joy as I spent time with them. There are the Moons, a retired couple from California who recently returned to Nigeria (they were there >30 years ago) to run the School of Nursing; their smiles are quite contagious. Dr. Giebel (a family practicioner who wears a lot of other "hats") & his wife are themselvesf rom long-term missionary families. They have 2 girls, Melissa & Tami, along with Rusty the donkey,P tolemy the chameleon, Chubby the civet (when he doesn't run away), & Slinky the genet. Dr. Saunders (a general surgeon) & his wife (a nutritionist) have 4 children -- Andrew & Seth are the ones still living at home with them. The Saunders just returned from furlough in Oregon. Denise Ellson (a short-termer --~9 months by Jan 2003) is a physiotherapist from Australia who's started a rehab program for those with motor disabilities.
6) your own involvement in missions. As long aswe're talking about it, may I invite you to prayerfully ask yourself the following questions?
-- What about you & your involvement in cross-cultural evangelism & helping the poor?
-- Since God calls all of His people to involvement in missions, how is He specifically calling you?
-- How is God using you now where you are?
-- What new, stretching experiences might God becalling you to? (Ile-Ife can use a physiotherapist, an internist, an obstetrician/gynecologist, & a pediatrician immediately, & I'd be happy to get you connected with them.)
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3 December 2002
IN A DAZE
Even after a warm reception by family @ the Los Angeles Int'l Airport, a nice Taiwanese meal (& shaved ice dessert, yum-yum), a badly needed haircut, a quick shave (even after a month, most of you apart from my sister & mother prob'ly wouldn't have noticed the mustache), a brief visit to my grandfather, along-&-sorely-needed death-state night's sleep, a pile of (mostly junk) mail, a short jog with Big Daddy (my sister & brother-in-law's dog), a time in prayer & Bible-reading, and a comfortable ride in my luxurious car back to my apartment, I feel like I'm still in a daze. Was I really in Africa just 2 short days ago? What a different world I find myself in!
Perhaps part of my daze is jetlag. Maybe it's partly indigestion. Maybe it's something to do with the Mefloquine I continue to take for prophylaxis against malaria. Or perhaps it's a kind of "homesickness," for when I'm here I feel the hankering to be there (where I'm more needed -- where people need physical help and the hope of Jesus), & when I'm there I feel the hankering to be here. For sure, it's a different world I'm in now; in fact, tomorrow I start largely treating what is primarily a disease of the rich: coronary artery disease. Still though, things will be the same here in that there are still physical needs & the same dire need to hear of the truth & love of our Lord Jesus.
Thankfully, our home is not on this earth @ all, butin heaven. I sure look forward to being there oneday. Thank you so much for your prayers. I hope we can seeeach other soon. Please let me know how I can pray for you, too.
Because of His Love,
Sid
QUIZ KEY
I didn't hear of anyone who got everything right on the last quiz; let's see how you did on this one:
a) FALSE. We were nowhere near the rioting over the Miss World Pageant. In fact, when I got some of your email asking about the riots, I thought to myself, "What riots?" Not until a few days later did I get the scoop from people who read the papers. Thanks foryour concern!
b) FALSE. Actually, I'd taken my 1st of about 5 showers from a showerhead/faucet earlier in Lagos (the city I flew into) when I arrived in Nigeria. All the other showers were with a bucket & my tennis ball can. I think I got down to using less than 4 tennis ballcans per shower!
c) FALSE. It'd be interesting to know which among you thought this was true. Actually, last weekend I DID preach, but I preached on how the church is the body of Christ, regarding the need for continuous fellowship with Christ our Head, & unity with our siblings the other parts of the body.
d) FALSE. I certainly had a delicious Thanksgiving meal, but there was no turkey there, as I ate with vegetarian brothers & sisters. It was very nice to spend time with some other Americans (& some Nigerians & an Australian) to celebrate the holiday over a meal & some games. I had turkey the night before when Henry (a Nigerian resident physician at the hospital) & I went to a local eatery.
e) FALSE. No, we didn't see the accident HAPPEN, just the cloud of dust & shattered vehicle as we were just behind the accident when it happened on our way back from the Thanksgiving meal some way away from Ife. So we again stopped to help out, & we broughtb ack with us 2 men with broken bones. Thankfully there were no life-threatening injuries.
f) This one is TRUE, lest you think I'm just a pack of lies! I single-handedly fed >100 INSECTS(hee-hee!) and their families during this trip (that's a conservative number; on my arms alone I currently have 28 bites). I got at least 20 mosquito bites --some even through my socks! -- in just one night whenwe traveled to a smaller community clinic. Bzzzzz--bzzzzzz---- OUCH!
God bless, all!
Monday, December 02, 2002
Thursday, November 14, 2002
Wu's News
[Please feel free to forward to or print out for whomever you think might want this letter. Thanks.]
November 14, 2002
Dearest Brothers & Sisters:
Warmest greetings from Nigeria! I thought it might be nice to send an email mid-monthprayer/newsletter. For some of you, this may be the1st time finding out that I was coming to Nigeria, & for those people, I'm sorry. I tried my best to get the initial prayer letters out to everyone beforeleaving the States.
POP QUIZ!!!
Before I continue, let me invite you take a silly one-question multiple-choice Pop Quiz. From the following choices, choose the correct answer(s):
--Since Sid Wu arrived in Nigeria, he has....
A: stood under a 70-plus foot tall waterfall
B: dreamt that he was at the San Bernardino International Airport when the space shuttle landedthere.
C: watched a minivan full of people flip twice & crash right in front of his eyes.
D: played the board game Risk with 3 guys from NorthDakota.
E: been called "white man" over 100 times.
F: sewed up a torn ear and a forehead, & popped apus-filled boil.
G: thrown a tennis ball into a boy's large abdominalwound.
H: run (in his sandals & no socks) 100 yards cross afield that was swarming with billions of African fireants.(Answers will be found at the end of this letter.)
"SO WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN NIGERIA, SID?"
Well, thanks for asking! (hee hee) Some of you mightbe interested in my day-to-day life, so let me tell you my typical schedule. (I'll leave the exhaustive detail to those who are gracious enough to hear me out when I return.) Weekday mornings begin ~7AM when I clean up & eat breakfast with one of the missionary families fromAmerica, then go to the doctors' conference @ 8AM (the hospital has a Family/General Practice residency currently with 3 residents in addition to 2 other Nigerian doctors working there while trying to secure a residency position elsewhere). I informally led one of the AM reports on bacterial meningitis since I had a 2-month-old patient die of it last week. @ 9AM after the AM report, we split up & do rounds onthe wards. Mon-Wed-Fri I've been assinged to the Internal Medicine service. Tue-Thu I'm with the pediatrics team. This mix has been good since I'mable to see just about every non-surgical patient @some point in their hospitalization. Plus, I'm abel to interact with more of the residents here & engage in a lot of mutual teaching & learning. Depending onthe number of paitents & how anal I am, we finish rounds anywhere between 11AM & 2PM. Lunch is ~1:30PM. Usually around lunch I'll do some reading. Afternoons are a mixed bag. In addition to following up on things from the morning, some afternoons are spent giving lectures to the School of Nursing on the compound, reading, or in clinic. Additionally, I'm taking overnight call each Monday night along with another resident. Dinners are around 7PM. All the meals are a good timeof chatting with the missionary families & their guests. Weekends I've been worshipping with the local body of believers in the Seventh Day Adventist church here on the compound.
"SO WHAT ARE YOU LEARNING THERE, SID?"
Wow, that's a good question! (hoo-hoo) I think the1st thing that jumps out at me in answer to that question is the medical part of my experience. Inf act, as I was traveling to Ife from Lagos, I began to remember the sights, sounds, smells, & feelings I experienced as a medical student in Zambia 2.5 yearsago. I was getting SCARED b/c I felt inadequate & powerless to meet all the serious medical needs I felt I was about to see. Praise the Lord! Indeed I am indadequate in taking care of these precious patients, and already I have seen deaths occur right before my eyes (including an 8y/o daughter of a widow this AM not 30 minutes after arriving in the casualty/emergency department of our hospital), but I'm thankful now for the rigors of residency already under my belt, which have given me a lot more know-how in patient care. And although it's scary to think that I'm often thought of as the senior since there are no internists or pediatricians here (& the attendings are weighed down with other patient care & administrative work), I get great benefit outof rounding with the Nigerian FP resident. I find myself learning a lot about diseases unique to this area, how medicine is practiced with severly limited resources, & how social factors in Ife interact with dissease. I find myself sharing my own knowledge & experience, particularly on large areas of medicine that are not practically available in Nigeria although they're responsible to know about them for their boarde xams. It's quite stimulating, & I've been reading a lot about things like malaria, typhoid fever, & even rabies which I've never seen outside this continent. I'm also getting good experience outside my own field, esp. with trauma, as traffic is horrendously unsafe in this university town of about 30,000. I'm also learning about the importance of unity amidst the diversity of brothers & sisters in Christ. I'm having a great time fellowshiping here with the SDA missionaries & staff. Last Saturday I was tempted to just read & pray in my room instead of attending the nearby church service; I thought, "Well, I don't quitefit in there, & b/c of the accent I don't understand everything they're saying." A few moments later I was reminded of a recent lesson our Sunday School class went over: "You'd better get used to them (other believers) b/c you'll be spending eternity with them." It turned out to be a blessed time, I was encouraged, & (I believe) God was pleased. These lessons have been particularly important to me b/c of issues of disharmony in my own local church back home. I've strangely also come across a book I found on a missionary's shelf here: Philip Yancey's "Church: Why Bother? My Personal Pilgrimage" that's quite down-to-earth & thoughtful. You might like it.
"SO HOW CAN i PRAY FOR YOU, SID?"
I'm so glad you asked!!! (ha-ha) You can pray as follows:
1) my attitude. This has already gotten better some, but I still find myself often concentrating on differences between resources available to me here & Stateside. Please pray that instead I'd focos on the positives --what I CAN do with what I DO have.
2) a unique opportunity for multiplication. I plan to use @ least 2 of the 1.5 hour sessions with the nursing school for training on incorporating evangelism with medicine. Thankfully I've gotten a lot of training in this regard, but please pray for desperately needed wisdom to recall the info, re-package it as appropriate to the available timeslots & this culture, & present it clearly to this group. The great majority of people here on thec ompound & indeed in this whole region of Nigeria are culturally Christian.
3) planning for the future. I see more & more how important it is to have a good team while overseas. Please pray for wisdom regarding mission field,mission board, & co-workers for my fast-approachingfuture career.
4) humility & compassion for the here & now. I'm just here in Nigeria for a short month, so please pray that I'd be an encouragement to the long-term missionaries & staff who carry on the work year byyear (& PRAY FOR THE THEM TOO!).
THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRAYERS, EVERYONE! Please let me know how I can pray for you, too.
Only B/C of God's Love,
Sid
PS: Oh yeah!
ANSWERS TO THE POP-QUIZ: If you picked.....
A: ...you're right! Last Sunday we took a trip to awaterfall ~1h away & it was beautiful!!! It felt great to have all that water (from a natural spring) slam onto my body! I don't remember ever doing that before.
B: ...you're right! Psychosis is one of the rare side effects of mefloquine, the medicine I'm taking as prophylaxis against malaria. I don't think I'm getting psychotic, but as with my last trip to Africa, I'm getting very vivid dreams, CRAZY ones! The spaceshuttle one is the only one I care to share! Ha!
C: ...you're right! On our way back from the waterfall, about 200 yards ahead of us I saw a minivan blow a tire, lose control, flip at least once, & end up 1/2 way off the road. So this Land Cruiser filled with doctors & med students pulls up right behind them, & we storm out, stabilize them, & bring several back to the hospital where a few went to surgery for severe hand injuries. Thankfully there were no life-threatening injuries, & it was a good chance to pray with patients.
D: ...you're right! We had 3 senior med students from North Dakota come for an overseas elective. Theywere a fun bunch, & their month finished up just yesterday.
E: ...you're right! Ile-Ife is the birthplace of the Yoruba tribe, & also the reported origin of all humanity. "Oyibo" is their word for "white man." Here I am, a white man, & I didn't even know it!
F: ...you're right! With car accidents & all kinds of infections so common, I've done a few minor surgeries.
G: ...you're right! It was purely an accident! Dolapo is a school-aged boy who had serious complications to typhoid fever requiring multiple surgeries to his abdomen, which has not been healing well. He's also quite malnourished, which makes thisboy's situation quite grim. I gave him one of the tennis balls you sent with me (THANKS!) in order to tkae his mind off his body problems, & once while we were playing toss, I threw it into (well, actually,ONto) his wound which was covered with bandages. Needless to say, the impact was painful, & despite my profuse apologies, he didn't want to talk to me forover a day, until I suggested we protect his belly with a wash basin before started playing catch again.
H: ...you're WRONG! Do you think I'm crazy???!!!
God bless, all!
November 14, 2002
Dearest Brothers & Sisters:
Warmest greetings from Nigeria! I thought it might be nice to send an email mid-monthprayer/newsletter. For some of you, this may be the1st time finding out that I was coming to Nigeria, & for those people, I'm sorry. I tried my best to get the initial prayer letters out to everyone beforeleaving the States.
POP QUIZ!!!
Before I continue, let me invite you take a silly one-question multiple-choice Pop Quiz. From the following choices, choose the correct answer(s):
--Since Sid Wu arrived in Nigeria, he has....
A: stood under a 70-plus foot tall waterfall
B: dreamt that he was at the San Bernardino International Airport when the space shuttle landedthere.
C: watched a minivan full of people flip twice & crash right in front of his eyes.
D: played the board game Risk with 3 guys from NorthDakota.
E: been called "white man" over 100 times.
F: sewed up a torn ear and a forehead, & popped apus-filled boil.
G: thrown a tennis ball into a boy's large abdominalwound.
H: run (in his sandals & no socks) 100 yards cross afield that was swarming with billions of African fireants.(Answers will be found at the end of this letter.)
"SO WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN NIGERIA, SID?"
Well, thanks for asking! (hee hee) Some of you mightbe interested in my day-to-day life, so let me tell you my typical schedule. (I'll leave the exhaustive detail to those who are gracious enough to hear me out when I return.) Weekday mornings begin ~7AM when I clean up & eat breakfast with one of the missionary families fromAmerica, then go to the doctors' conference @ 8AM (the hospital has a Family/General Practice residency currently with 3 residents in addition to 2 other Nigerian doctors working there while trying to secure a residency position elsewhere). I informally led one of the AM reports on bacterial meningitis since I had a 2-month-old patient die of it last week. @ 9AM after the AM report, we split up & do rounds onthe wards. Mon-Wed-Fri I've been assinged to the Internal Medicine service. Tue-Thu I'm with the pediatrics team. This mix has been good since I'mable to see just about every non-surgical patient @some point in their hospitalization. Plus, I'm abel to interact with more of the residents here & engage in a lot of mutual teaching & learning. Depending onthe number of paitents & how anal I am, we finish rounds anywhere between 11AM & 2PM. Lunch is ~1:30PM. Usually around lunch I'll do some reading. Afternoons are a mixed bag. In addition to following up on things from the morning, some afternoons are spent giving lectures to the School of Nursing on the compound, reading, or in clinic. Additionally, I'm taking overnight call each Monday night along with another resident. Dinners are around 7PM. All the meals are a good timeof chatting with the missionary families & their guests. Weekends I've been worshipping with the local body of believers in the Seventh Day Adventist church here on the compound.
"SO WHAT ARE YOU LEARNING THERE, SID?"
Wow, that's a good question! (hoo-hoo) I think the1st thing that jumps out at me in answer to that question is the medical part of my experience. Inf act, as I was traveling to Ife from Lagos, I began to remember the sights, sounds, smells, & feelings I experienced as a medical student in Zambia 2.5 yearsago. I was getting SCARED b/c I felt inadequate & powerless to meet all the serious medical needs I felt I was about to see. Praise the Lord! Indeed I am indadequate in taking care of these precious patients, and already I have seen deaths occur right before my eyes (including an 8y/o daughter of a widow this AM not 30 minutes after arriving in the casualty/emergency department of our hospital), but I'm thankful now for the rigors of residency already under my belt, which have given me a lot more know-how in patient care. And although it's scary to think that I'm often thought of as the senior since there are no internists or pediatricians here (& the attendings are weighed down with other patient care & administrative work), I get great benefit outof rounding with the Nigerian FP resident. I find myself learning a lot about diseases unique to this area, how medicine is practiced with severly limited resources, & how social factors in Ife interact with dissease. I find myself sharing my own knowledge & experience, particularly on large areas of medicine that are not practically available in Nigeria although they're responsible to know about them for their boarde xams. It's quite stimulating, & I've been reading a lot about things like malaria, typhoid fever, & even rabies which I've never seen outside this continent. I'm also getting good experience outside my own field, esp. with trauma, as traffic is horrendously unsafe in this university town of about 30,000. I'm also learning about the importance of unity amidst the diversity of brothers & sisters in Christ. I'm having a great time fellowshiping here with the SDA missionaries & staff. Last Saturday I was tempted to just read & pray in my room instead of attending the nearby church service; I thought, "Well, I don't quitefit in there, & b/c of the accent I don't understand everything they're saying." A few moments later I was reminded of a recent lesson our Sunday School class went over: "You'd better get used to them (other believers) b/c you'll be spending eternity with them." It turned out to be a blessed time, I was encouraged, & (I believe) God was pleased. These lessons have been particularly important to me b/c of issues of disharmony in my own local church back home. I've strangely also come across a book I found on a missionary's shelf here: Philip Yancey's "Church: Why Bother? My Personal Pilgrimage" that's quite down-to-earth & thoughtful. You might like it.
"SO HOW CAN i PRAY FOR YOU, SID?"
I'm so glad you asked!!! (ha-ha) You can pray as follows:
1) my attitude. This has already gotten better some, but I still find myself often concentrating on differences between resources available to me here & Stateside. Please pray that instead I'd focos on the positives --what I CAN do with what I DO have.
2) a unique opportunity for multiplication. I plan to use @ least 2 of the 1.5 hour sessions with the nursing school for training on incorporating evangelism with medicine. Thankfully I've gotten a lot of training in this regard, but please pray for desperately needed wisdom to recall the info, re-package it as appropriate to the available timeslots & this culture, & present it clearly to this group. The great majority of people here on thec ompound & indeed in this whole region of Nigeria are culturally Christian.
3) planning for the future. I see more & more how important it is to have a good team while overseas. Please pray for wisdom regarding mission field,mission board, & co-workers for my fast-approachingfuture career.
4) humility & compassion for the here & now. I'm just here in Nigeria for a short month, so please pray that I'd be an encouragement to the long-term missionaries & staff who carry on the work year byyear (& PRAY FOR THE THEM TOO!).
THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRAYERS, EVERYONE! Please let me know how I can pray for you, too.
Only B/C of God's Love,
Sid
PS: Oh yeah!
ANSWERS TO THE POP-QUIZ: If you picked.....
A: ...you're right! Last Sunday we took a trip to awaterfall ~1h away & it was beautiful!!! It felt great to have all that water (from a natural spring) slam onto my body! I don't remember ever doing that before.
B: ...you're right! Psychosis is one of the rare side effects of mefloquine, the medicine I'm taking as prophylaxis against malaria. I don't think I'm getting psychotic, but as with my last trip to Africa, I'm getting very vivid dreams, CRAZY ones! The spaceshuttle one is the only one I care to share! Ha!
C: ...you're right! On our way back from the waterfall, about 200 yards ahead of us I saw a minivan blow a tire, lose control, flip at least once, & end up 1/2 way off the road. So this Land Cruiser filled with doctors & med students pulls up right behind them, & we storm out, stabilize them, & bring several back to the hospital where a few went to surgery for severe hand injuries. Thankfully there were no life-threatening injuries, & it was a good chance to pray with patients.
D: ...you're right! We had 3 senior med students from North Dakota come for an overseas elective. Theywere a fun bunch, & their month finished up just yesterday.
E: ...you're right! Ile-Ife is the birthplace of the Yoruba tribe, & also the reported origin of all humanity. "Oyibo" is their word for "white man." Here I am, a white man, & I didn't even know it!
F: ...you're right! With car accidents & all kinds of infections so common, I've done a few minor surgeries.
G: ...you're right! It was purely an accident! Dolapo is a school-aged boy who had serious complications to typhoid fever requiring multiple surgeries to his abdomen, which has not been healing well. He's also quite malnourished, which makes thisboy's situation quite grim. I gave him one of the tennis balls you sent with me (THANKS!) in order to tkae his mind off his body problems, & once while we were playing toss, I threw it into (well, actually,ONto) his wound which was covered with bandages. Needless to say, the impact was painful, & despite my profuse apologies, he didn't want to talk to me forover a day, until I suggested we protect his belly with a wash basin before started playing catch again.
H: ...you're WRONG! Do you think I'm crazy???!!!
God bless, all!
Saturday, October 19, 2002
Nigerian Sheep (minus Nigerian map & silly Sid-the-Sheep picture)
Dear Fellow Sheep, (October 19, 2002)
Recently I was reminded of the greatness of God’s love for me when I read Luke 15:4-6, “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’” How glad I am that He found me! What amazing love!
Fellow sheep, our Good Shepherd has given me the opportunity to go in His Name to Nigeria as part of my residency program. For the month of November (I leave October 29 and return December 2), I’ll be working at the Ile-Ife Seventh-Day Adventist Hospital in Ife. My duties will include working with other doctors and hospital staff to help adults and children with their physical illnesses, but I also hope to bring spiritual healing through living and sharing the truth of Jesus Christ.
Would you please join me in prayer for this special month?
With Deepest Gratitude from Your Fellow Sheep,
Sidney Stephen Chiayee Wu
NIGERIA FACTS
Area: ~356,000 square miles (~2x the size of California)
Population: ~123 million
Languages: English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo, Fulani, and more
Literacy: 57% (male 67%, female 47%)
Religions: Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, Traditional 10%
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita: $970 (vs. United States $33,900)
HELP!!! PRAY FOR…
- perpetual fellowship with God (some of my loneliest times have been overseas)
- humility & openness to learning (especially the culture, & new ways of ministry)
- boldness to share the Good News of Jesus Christ
- sensitivity to other believers and to non-believers (especially Muslims)
- wisdom to pick up & use medical knowledge
- camaraderie with the colleagues at Ile-Ife
- travel safety & health
- guidance to know where God wants me in the future, and with which mission board)
Please contact me (before or after the trip) so that I’ll know how to pray for you, too!
sidneywu@yahoo.com.
Recently I was reminded of the greatness of God’s love for me when I read Luke 15:4-6, “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’” How glad I am that He found me! What amazing love!
Fellow sheep, our Good Shepherd has given me the opportunity to go in His Name to Nigeria as part of my residency program. For the month of November (I leave October 29 and return December 2), I’ll be working at the Ile-Ife Seventh-Day Adventist Hospital in Ife. My duties will include working with other doctors and hospital staff to help adults and children with their physical illnesses, but I also hope to bring spiritual healing through living and sharing the truth of Jesus Christ.
Would you please join me in prayer for this special month?
With Deepest Gratitude from Your Fellow Sheep,
Sidney Stephen Chiayee Wu
NIGERIA FACTS
Area: ~356,000 square miles (~2x the size of California)
Population: ~123 million
Languages: English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo, Fulani, and more
Literacy: 57% (male 67%, female 47%)
Religions: Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, Traditional 10%
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita: $970 (vs. United States $33,900)
HELP!!! PRAY FOR…
- perpetual fellowship with God (some of my loneliest times have been overseas)
- humility & openness to learning (especially the culture, & new ways of ministry)
- boldness to share the Good News of Jesus Christ
- sensitivity to other believers and to non-believers (especially Muslims)
- wisdom to pick up & use medical knowledge
- camaraderie with the colleagues at Ile-Ife
- travel safety & health
- guidance to know where God wants me in the future, and with which mission board)
Please contact me (before or after the trip) so that I’ll know how to pray for you, too!
sidneywu@yahoo.com.
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