India support update

June 4, 2003

Dear Loved Ones:

Greetings to all of you. I am NOT writing you from India, as many of you might rightfully expect. About 2 weeks ago I finally decided that I could no longer wait for the visa to India, & have postponed my trip there to a later, not-yet-set date. Honestly, these last 2 weeks have been a whirlwind of franticness, embarrassment, disappointment, and difficulty trusting our very good & powerful God. I waited until now to write you because I wanted to be sure of the new changes, which weren’t confirmed until today.

I was even angry at God because of all of the arrangements that I had had to make in the last several months, and the coordination between my pediatric residency program, our hospital’s overall residency-oversight office, multiple travel agents, the Southern Baptist International Mission Board, Bangalore Baptist Hospital, and the Indian Consulate. “Why are you allowing this to happen?” I repeatedly asked our Lord. “Am I not trying to serve you in a way I thought You’d confirmed?” My pride was hurt when I had to contact all these different entities & let them know I couldn’t go.

Praise the Lord, for He is very, very good! Why can I say this? I don’t pretend to know all that I’m supposed to learn out of this, but one thing I learned a few years ago was that I must always view my circumstances against the backdrop of what He did for me at the cross. If He took care of my biggest need (dying in my place for my sin), I know He is trustworthy in all other areas of life.

So what am I going to do? I hope to be able to go to India some time in the next academic year in case the Indian consulate ever OK’s my visa to volunteer in a hospital (I discovered later that I shouldn’t have mentioned the hospital service). And I’ve made certain arrangements so that I’m now doing an Internal (ie: adult) Medicine Endocrinology rotation for June, a General Pediatrics rotation in Guam (a U.S. territory in the Pacific), & immediately visiting friends & relatives in New Zealand & Australia early August.

Of course there are some definite down-sides to this new arrangement: I’ll miss the rich experience of meeting, serving, and working alongside the people of India. I’ll miss learning its culture (language, foods, way of life & thought). I’ll also miss learning how to treat the diseases endemic to that area.

God has shown me some up-sides to the change, too: I’ll get to save a bundle of money (travel is not only cheaper to Guam but also paid for by the SDA Clinic there). I won’t miss having the vivid & strange Mefloquine (the medicine used as prophylaxis against malaria endemic to India & many underdeveloped parts of the world) dreams. Guam offers a lot of beach/water activities, which I’d love to learn in my time off work in the clinic. Perhaps most important is that I am sticking around for the month of June, during which I won’t have to miss several important functions, including my new nephew Nathan’s baby dedication service, a few end-of-the-year functions for friends completing residency, and a short-term mission trip to nearby Mexico.

Thank you for all of your loving support. Since the first letter, I’ve received a lot of encouragement & even unsolicited money (I returned it) from those I know don’t have much to give. Your hearts of loving generosity & encouragement stand as a fragrant offering to our God.

Will you please continue to pray for me in the following areas? (Believe me, I need it! And please let me know how I may pray for you):
- my heart (increasing love for & trust in our good God)
- trip to Guam, daily attitude toward work (isn’t missions primarily an attitude of daily life?)
- future trip to India?
- time with family & friends in Australia & New Zealand
- life beyond residency (God willing, to be completed June 2004)

Thankfully Yours,
Sid