Posts
Subject: Tambukeni mwane (Greetings)!
Date: 01-Apr-00 at 00:05
From: Luampa Hospital, 1106104
written 31 March 00
Thank you to those who have written. As stated before, mail may be sent to luampahospital@compuserve.com with "Sidney Wu" in the subject line. Also, if at all possible, please do not include attachments or a copy of my own letter to you in your mailings; this increases satellite phone transmission costs. Thanks!
Hello, Everyone!
Praise the Lord for this past week! God's really been helping me to get quite a bit more accustomed to life out here. I've been able to learn a bit (a tiny bit) more of the predominant native language Mbunda, a lot more about the prevalent tropical diseases & their treatment, & also quite a bit abt. the lives of medical missionaries. Thank you so much for your prayers.
Indeed it's only been ~1.5 weeks since I arrived here, & of course I'm being stretched in various ways. Some of you may know that I felt quite overwhelmed just days ago -- to the point of strongly wanting inside to go home, even -- so I really thank God for His help. I'm thankful also that I've been allowed more responsibility (I'm covering 6 beds in the female/pediatric ward), as I asked for it. Pls. pray for God's continued guidance, wisdom, compassion, humility, & strength as I'm in line for even more responsibility (eg: taking call, helping to cover more beds). I can get quite flustered when I feel I'm in over my head. Praise the Lord there's always help when I need it.
Anyway, the past week has been quite the experience, as you can imagine. I thought I might report some of the more interesting stories & thoughts running through my head.
I might as well tell you the sad-but-all-too-true one 1st. Just 2 days ago, we had just started rounds on the female/pediatric ward when we went into one of the smaller rooms to see a newly arrived patient, a 15-day-old child, as cute as a button. On exam we noted that he was grunting & mildly cyanotic (bluish @ the lips). He was in respiratory distress. We ordered the oxygen-concentrator be brought, & since he was getting cold, we had his mother get onto the bed to cuddle him as his incubator. Not 5 minutes later, as we put on the O2 & started broad spectrum antibiotics, his heart stopped beating, & he was dead. Needless to say, his mother was bawling hysterically, & my eyes began to water @ the scene. How many high-powered interventions (pulse-oximeter, cardiac monitoring, endotracheal intubation, mechanical ventilation, heating lamps, chest radiology, etc. etc.) would have been put to use had we been in a richer country!!! Yes the needs are so great. Please pray for several things: comfort & care for the baby's family, increase non-technology-dependent physical diagnosis skills among workers here (incl. myself), right economic prioritization of health care & education by local & international governments, & that God would move more of His people to
help relieve some of the gross regional disparity in health care. As yet I too am uncertain of where God wants me in the future.
The following stories aren't quite so heartbreaking...
Falaulo is a 4y/o boy who has the cutest big grin; we grin @ each other each time we see each other. I'm tickled to know at least one child who isn't scared of my non-African face getting close to him to look into his ears or listen to his lungs & heart. He's been with us a little >1wk, admitted for the beginnings of Kwashiorkor (protein malnutrition) & malaria. His weight & spirits have picked up quite a bit already, so he'll prob'ly go home in the next few days. It's too bad that
pediatricians have to say goodbye to thier patients when they're finally well enough to smile & play. Praise the Lord, though; he's well. The afternoon of the day that 1st infant died, I was given the chance to tour the area called "Civalio" behind the hospital. It's a small, compact village, of sorts, for patients too well to be admitted yet too sick to be too far from the hospital. (Transportation around here is mainly by foot; there are no paved roads within 30km of us.) As we toured Civalio, one toddler saw me, pointed, & and started saying loudly while smiling &
following us, "Muna yo musweu! Muna yo musweu!" People were laughing at his words, so I asked my guides, who were also laughing, what the kid said. They translated the Lozi words as, "White man! Look at the white man!" I laughed aloud it was so funny; I'd never been called a "white man" before! Anyways, it was later clarified to me that the words translated "white man" actually refers to any non-black person. It reminded me of how most any culture can be pretty self-centered, whether
it be merely naivete, malicious prejudice, or both, for eg: "colored" vs. "non-colored" in early to mid-20th century US, or /Zhongguo/ vs. /waiguo/, the Mandarin Chinese words for "China" and any other country (literally "Central country" & "outer country," respectively). I guess it's true I'm much paler-skinned than most here.
One last interesting thing that I'll share with you was quite a surprising blessing. Since not too long ago I was learning Spanish @ LLU, now as I'm trying to learn Mbunda & am having a hard time communicating, I find myself blurting out Spanish when I'm trying to get something across to a patient (you might have had this experience with languages). Of course I feel silly when I realize what I've done. Anyway, believe it or not, the Spanish I've learned has come to good use even here in Zambia! Some patients here are actually native to neighboring Angola, which was colonized by Portugal, so some patients speak some Portuguese, which has some similarity to Spanish. Some words (eg: "suficiente," "fiebre") are close enough to allow some communication! It amazes me to think how God prepares His people for what they go through. I even think abt. past experiences in Mexico & China, without which I prob'ly would not have been ready to see what I see here. God knows exactly what He's doing with us, doesn't He?
I pray this letter finds each of you well. Thank you so much for your much-needed prayers. I've almost finished going througha workbook called "Experiencing God: Knowing & Doing the Will of God," which lately has been helping me realize the necessity of involvement in the lives of fellow believers..... If you haven't already, please let me know how I may also pray for you.
"Yeeeeeeeehaaaaaawwww!!!" [a strickly AMERICAN expreshun fer y'all back home, seein' how sevr'l missionaries 'round these parts talk funny -- British, Kiwi (New Zealander), Canadian, & Australian English can vary quite a bit from "Standard American"!] God is good!
Your Brother in Zambia,
Sid/Steve
Tito: thanks again for the snowboarding trip; it was a lot of fun. I'm glad all of us made it down safely.
Aunt Sandy: I dunno about "having to" go through all of this. I also feel it's pretty hard sometimes. I even talked to some missionary couples, who also recognize that it's also a sacrifice made on the part of one's family, not just the missionaries themselves.....
Dr. Elder: Praise the Lord for the recovery! I pray also that you'll heed some of your kids' (& Derek's) admonitions to take things slowly. Thanks so much for your writing...
Anneta: Wowsers; it really seems like S's family is going through a lot. Please know that I'm keeping you & the situation close in my prayers.
David: will be praying for the English group & your surgery call. You're doing it @ the VA, right? I did it there, & call wasn't too bad, although it's still intern-dependent.
Johnny: you'd LOVE the photography opportunities here!!! They say that "There's no sky like the African sky," & it's true. Somehow it seems much BIGGER and THICKER with the cloud formations. Also, I've seen some wildlife that's pretty cool...
Friday, March 31, 2000
Saturday, March 25, 2000
Tambukeni Mwane 1
Subject: from Zambia
Date: 25-Mar-00 at 02:11
From: Luampa Hospital, 1106104
REMEMBER, ALL EMAIL TO SIDNEY WU SHOULD BE SENT TO luampahospital@compuserve.com
WITH 'FOR SIDNEY WU' IN THE SUBJECT LINE. THANKS!!!
Tambukeni Mwane (Greetings) from Zambia!
How are all of you doing? Thank you so much for all your prayers on my behalf. Life out here, as you may well imagine, is quite different from what I'm used to, but it also turns out that life is quite different from what I expected, too.
The hospital, despite its real staffing needs, gets along just fine without me. In fact, in some ways I feel like more of a hindrance than a help, mostly because of my gross unfamiliarity with the health problems of this area. I have seen so many different diseases resulting indirectly from poor economy that I have wished several times that I could fall asleep, wake up in my comfortable American bed, and forget that this place with its problems, even exists. Malaria, bilharzia/schistosomiasis, HIV, absesses everywhere imaginable, malnutrition, and tuberculosis are seen at alarmingly high rates. The hospital operates in such a high conservationalist mode, it would be inconceivable to the regular US hospital-worker: dirty gloves, sponges, and linens are washed and reused. I wish I'd thought to bring more medical supplies with me. I've even seen a renal cell carcinoma/nephrectomy, and a massive rectal prolapse. (Nonmedical types may look these things up if you dare.)
Anyways, I'm learning a lot, & I'm hoping that God'll allow me more and more responsibility as the short 2 months elapse.
Coming here to Luampa for only these last few days so far has caused me to think & pray more abt. how blessed a life I've had. I think about my parents and the type of life they lived just one generation ago in just barely-industrializing Taiwan, let along my grandparents in their own time. I've come to respect even more (as I sit in a place where there are safe, large living structures, clean running water, electricity for a few hours a day, and biweekly access to satellite phone/email), the early missionaries like David Livingstone to Africa, Hudson Taylor to China, and George L. MacKay to Taiwan. What they had to deal with for the sake of the cross!!! How can I sit here complaining about what I have to deal with, while they keenly understood both the great honor of being God's ambassadors and the great sacrifices of relationships and comfort needed for their specific callings? I thank God for His faithfulness in calling those men and their families, that I can see even some of my own ancestors in the Kingdom one day. I've also been thanking God for the world I'm living in, that should He call me to international missions as a career, the miracles of modern transportation and communication have made the world effectively a much "smaller" place.
Spiritually speaking (just as with the medical side of things as I described above), I am learning much more than I could ever help any other. Cultural and linguistic barriers are very real, although some do speak fair English. I'm trying to learn some Bunda -- the language probably most widely spoken (60+% of the people nearby) and the language I used at the start of this letter -- though I've already made the fool of myself when I called the language "Bandu." Additionally, Zambia is officially a "Christian nation," though like in the US and many other western nations, Christianity for many here is merely a cultural construct without the Biblical relationship God desires. There are certainly many opportunities for the Gospe; pray for wisdom and boldness to share it in love. Pray also for more laborers (perhaps yourselves!) as there are great spiritual needs here and worldwide, as you know.
Again, I want to thank you (Njakandelelako mwane!) for your prayers on my behalf. I trust you may glean from this letter how else you may pray for me (compassion, diligence, humility). Also, please pray for my health (asthma), which has started up again and has been very mild. Please, please, please let me know how I may pray for you also.
In His Great Hands, Sidney Stephen Wu
PS:
Dad & Mom: how are you doing? I hope Dad is home safely. Mom, did you give that envelope to Mrs. Wu @ church for me?
Men's group: Please pray also for the thinking associated with being home alone, and also for my housing arrangements when I return to the States.
EFC: I'm praying for the convalescent home visits.
Anneta: Thanks so much for taking care of the album, and for the email help.
Luke: there's a PT here!!!
Dr. Elder: Hope & pray you are doing well!
Johnny: thanks for writing. You may tell your parents I'm alive and well. Did you know I'm staying at Loma Linda U for the next 4 years for my residency training problem?
Cory & Tom: Where'd you match, Tom? Have you guys been able to talk lately?
GOD BLESS!!!!!
Date: 25-Mar-00 at 02:11
From: Luampa Hospital, 1106104
REMEMBER, ALL EMAIL TO SIDNEY WU SHOULD BE SENT TO luampahospital@compuserve.com
WITH 'FOR SIDNEY WU' IN THE SUBJECT LINE. THANKS!!!
Tambukeni Mwane (Greetings) from Zambia!
How are all of you doing? Thank you so much for all your prayers on my behalf. Life out here, as you may well imagine, is quite different from what I'm used to, but it also turns out that life is quite different from what I expected, too.
The hospital, despite its real staffing needs, gets along just fine without me. In fact, in some ways I feel like more of a hindrance than a help, mostly because of my gross unfamiliarity with the health problems of this area. I have seen so many different diseases resulting indirectly from poor economy that I have wished several times that I could fall asleep, wake up in my comfortable American bed, and forget that this place with its problems, even exists. Malaria, bilharzia/schistosomiasis, HIV, absesses everywhere imaginable, malnutrition, and tuberculosis are seen at alarmingly high rates. The hospital operates in such a high conservationalist mode, it would be inconceivable to the regular US hospital-worker: dirty gloves, sponges, and linens are washed and reused. I wish I'd thought to bring more medical supplies with me. I've even seen a renal cell carcinoma/nephrectomy, and a massive rectal prolapse. (Nonmedical types may look these things up if you dare.)
Anyways, I'm learning a lot, & I'm hoping that God'll allow me more and more responsibility as the short 2 months elapse.
Coming here to Luampa for only these last few days so far has caused me to think & pray more abt. how blessed a life I've had. I think about my parents and the type of life they lived just one generation ago in just barely-industrializing Taiwan, let along my grandparents in their own time. I've come to respect even more (as I sit in a place where there are safe, large living structures, clean running water, electricity for a few hours a day, and biweekly access to satellite phone/email), the early missionaries like David Livingstone to Africa, Hudson Taylor to China, and George L. MacKay to Taiwan. What they had to deal with for the sake of the cross!!! How can I sit here complaining about what I have to deal with, while they keenly understood both the great honor of being God's ambassadors and the great sacrifices of relationships and comfort needed for their specific callings? I thank God for His faithfulness in calling those men and their families, that I can see even some of my own ancestors in the Kingdom one day. I've also been thanking God for the world I'm living in, that should He call me to international missions as a career, the miracles of modern transportation and communication have made the world effectively a much "smaller" place.
Spiritually speaking (just as with the medical side of things as I described above), I am learning much more than I could ever help any other. Cultural and linguistic barriers are very real, although some do speak fair English. I'm trying to learn some Bunda -- the language probably most widely spoken (60+% of the people nearby) and the language I used at the start of this letter -- though I've already made the fool of myself when I called the language "Bandu." Additionally, Zambia is officially a "Christian nation," though like in the US and many other western nations, Christianity for many here is merely a cultural construct without the Biblical relationship God desires. There are certainly many opportunities for the Gospe; pray for wisdom and boldness to share it in love. Pray also for more laborers (perhaps yourselves!) as there are great spiritual needs here and worldwide, as you know.
Again, I want to thank you (Njakandelelako mwane!) for your prayers on my behalf. I trust you may glean from this letter how else you may pray for me (compassion, diligence, humility). Also, please pray for my health (asthma), which has started up again and has been very mild. Please, please, please let me know how I may pray for you also.
In His Great Hands, Sidney Stephen Wu
PS:
Dad & Mom: how are you doing? I hope Dad is home safely. Mom, did you give that envelope to Mrs. Wu @ church for me?
Men's group: Please pray also for the thinking associated with being home alone, and also for my housing arrangements when I return to the States.
EFC: I'm praying for the convalescent home visits.
Anneta: Thanks so much for taking care of the album, and for the email help.
Luke: there's a PT here!!!
Dr. Elder: Hope & pray you are doing well!
Johnny: thanks for writing. You may tell your parents I'm alive and well. Did you know I'm staying at Loma Linda U for the next 4 years for my residency training problem?
Cory & Tom: Where'd you match, Tom? Have you guys been able to talk lately?
GOD BLESS!!!!!
Monday, March 20, 2000
Zambia arrival
--- echzgo wrote:
> STARTING IMMEDIATELY, ALL MAIL FOR SIDNEY WU SHOULD
> BE SENT TO...
> luampahospital@compuserve.com
> with "for Sidney Wu" in the 'SUBJECT' line
>
> Greetings, everybody! I wanted to let you know that
> I've arrived safely in Zambia and am now at the
> church (Evangelical Church of Zambia) headquarters
> in Lusaka (the capital of Zambia). Praise the
> Lord for His faithfulness! Tomorrow morning, I'll
> be riding along with the ECZ personnel director &
> his wife to Luampa, which is about 7-8 hours away by
> car. I hear that the road there is quite
> bumpy, and I believe it since the road from the
> airport to here was already quite "pot-holey!"
> Again and again I find myself praying, "God, am I
> really here? Am I really in Africa? What am I
> doing here?", but I haven't even started working
> yet! God has been reminding me that He will enable
> me to do what He has called me to do. So many
> memories from past experiences in Malaysia, Taiwan,
> Mexico, and China have come to mind already,
> particularly with regard to the way God has
> "stretched"
> me in the past. All of those memories have been
> dear and sweet. Certainly this will be quite a
> different experience, as I've been hearing that
> Luampa Hospital is "still the classic bush mission
> hospital" of the past. Also, as the medical
> superintendent is on furlough in "Gillsville"
> (Oregon),
> there are only 2 doctors working there in the 70+
> bed hospital, and one of them is supposed to go
> off-service since her children are returning from
> boarding school for a bit, which leaves the acting
> superintendent (a German-Belgian short-termer now
> the acting medical superintendent) and myself as
> the "doctor-types" (one real doctor and myself the
> quack-type) along with the ancillary
> nursing/physiotherapy staff. As I may have told you
> before I left, I am a bit anxious about the
> whole thing. I'm sure God will be merciful to me &
> let me start getting the hang of things in....
> say..... 2 months or so! (My time here is up in 2
> months. =) I've asked repeatedly that God would
> give me His heart of compassion, and also strength
> and wisdom to do His work. He has never ever
> been less than perfectly faithful, so I have Him to
> thank for that.
>
> "How may I pray for you, Sid?" Well, I'm so glad
> you asked! First, please pray for increased faith
> in the power of God to work in me (yes, me!) and
> through me. Pray for opportunities to share the
> Gospel and the sensitivity & wisdom to do so in a
> culturally acceptable manner. Pray for humility
> to say "I don't know" when I don't know something,
> and to work well under & with the staff at
> Luampa. Pray for diligence, strength, & efficiency
> that I would meet the needs God wants me to care
> for. You could pray for safety and health, too;
> it'd be nice to make it back for graduation
> although I'm not exactly looking forward to
> residency! =)
>
> I trust that each of you are doing well in the Lord.
> I've been using some of my extra time (eg:
> during the long trip here) to pray for each of you
> by name, either that God would bring you into a
> relationship with Himself, or cause that
> relationship to deepen. I've also been praying for
> specific needs as you've shared them with me.
> Please feel free to let me know (update me) how I
> may
> continue to pray for you. Remember, though, that
> although I'll have email (only as sent to
> luampahospital@compuserve.com), I'll probably only
> access it once a week since it's only expensively
> accessible by satellite phone. Also, as I'll
> probably write all my outgoing email first, then
> connect to the server to quickly send and receive
> mail, please don't be offended if I don't answer
> specific questions until up to 2 weeks after you
> wrote the question. Sorry!!!
>
> Yes, I am actually IN AFRICA! It's not a dream.
> May God do with this trip as He wills.
>
> Sincerely Yours, Sid ("Stephen" to Mom)
> ps: please feel free to forward this to whomever
> you think would be interested. I don't have all
> my email addresses handy.
>
> Again, just in case you missed it the 1st time:
> STARTING IMMEDIATELY, ALL MAIL FOR SIDNEY WU SHOULD
> BE SENT TO...
> luampahospital@compuserve.com
> with "for Sidney Wu" in the 'SUBJECT' line
> STARTING IMMEDIATELY, ALL MAIL FOR SIDNEY WU SHOULD
> BE SENT TO...
> luampahospital@compuserve.com
> with "for Sidney Wu" in the 'SUBJECT' line
>
> Greetings, everybody! I wanted to let you know that
> I've arrived safely in Zambia and am now at the
> church (Evangelical Church of Zambia) headquarters
> in Lusaka (the capital of Zambia). Praise the
> Lord for His faithfulness! Tomorrow morning, I'll
> be riding along with the ECZ personnel director &
> his wife to Luampa, which is about 7-8 hours away by
> car. I hear that the road there is quite
> bumpy, and I believe it since the road from the
> airport to here was already quite "pot-holey!"
> Again and again I find myself praying, "God, am I
> really here? Am I really in Africa? What am I
> doing here?", but I haven't even started working
> yet! God has been reminding me that He will enable
> me to do what He has called me to do. So many
> memories from past experiences in Malaysia, Taiwan,
> Mexico, and China have come to mind already,
> particularly with regard to the way God has
> "stretched"
> me in the past. All of those memories have been
> dear and sweet. Certainly this will be quite a
> different experience, as I've been hearing that
> Luampa Hospital is "still the classic bush mission
> hospital" of the past. Also, as the medical
> superintendent is on furlough in "Gillsville"
> (Oregon),
> there are only 2 doctors working there in the 70+
> bed hospital, and one of them is supposed to go
> off-service since her children are returning from
> boarding school for a bit, which leaves the acting
> superintendent (a German-Belgian short-termer now
> the acting medical superintendent) and myself as
> the "doctor-types" (one real doctor and myself the
> quack-type) along with the ancillary
> nursing/physiotherapy staff. As I may have told you
> before I left, I am a bit anxious about the
> whole thing. I'm sure God will be merciful to me &
> let me start getting the hang of things in....
> say..... 2 months or so! (My time here is up in 2
> months. =) I've asked repeatedly that God would
> give me His heart of compassion, and also strength
> and wisdom to do His work. He has never ever
> been less than perfectly faithful, so I have Him to
> thank for that.
>
> "How may I pray for you, Sid?" Well, I'm so glad
> you asked! First, please pray for increased faith
> in the power of God to work in me (yes, me!) and
> through me. Pray for opportunities to share the
> Gospel and the sensitivity & wisdom to do so in a
> culturally acceptable manner. Pray for humility
> to say "I don't know" when I don't know something,
> and to work well under & with the staff at
> Luampa. Pray for diligence, strength, & efficiency
> that I would meet the needs God wants me to care
> for. You could pray for safety and health, too;
> it'd be nice to make it back for graduation
> although I'm not exactly looking forward to
> residency! =)
>
> I trust that each of you are doing well in the Lord.
> I've been using some of my extra time (eg:
> during the long trip here) to pray for each of you
> by name, either that God would bring you into a
> relationship with Himself, or cause that
> relationship to deepen. I've also been praying for
> specific needs as you've shared them with me.
> Please feel free to let me know (update me) how I
> may
> continue to pray for you. Remember, though, that
> although I'll have email (only as sent to
> luampahospital@compuserve.com), I'll probably only
> access it once a week since it's only expensively
> accessible by satellite phone. Also, as I'll
> probably write all my outgoing email first, then
> connect to the server to quickly send and receive
> mail, please don't be offended if I don't answer
> specific questions until up to 2 weeks after you
> wrote the question. Sorry!!!
>
> Yes, I am actually IN AFRICA! It's not a dream.
> May God do with this trip as He wills.
>
> Sincerely Yours, Sid ("Stephen" to Mom)
> ps: please feel free to forward this to whomever
> you think would be interested. I don't have all
> my email addresses handy.
>
> Again, just in case you missed it the 1st time:
> STARTING IMMEDIATELY, ALL MAIL FOR SIDNEY WU SHOULD
> BE SENT TO...
> luampahospital@compuserve.com
> with "for Sidney Wu" in the 'SUBJECT' line
Thursday, February 10, 2000
pre-Zambia prayer requests
February 10, 2000
My Dearest Brothers & Sisters in Christ:
Praise the Lord for His never-ending faithfulness to His children! I pray that all of you are doing well, particularly among your circle of friends and family, and with our Lord. As some of you may already know, I am in my last year of medical school at Loma Linda University, but before I graduate this late May, I wanted to take the great opportunity that God has given me in this Christian university to go on a senior missions elective. I will be leaving March 18 to spend eight weeks at the Luampa Christian Hospital in Zambia, a country in south central Africa. As I believe the Lord has given us to each other for mutual support, I'd like to use this letter to let you know a little more about my trip.
God has somehow put missions on my heart for several years now, and I now feel a strong desire to go into career medical missions as soon as I can after medical training, to use medicine as a model of and vehicle for sharing the Gospel. Since the beginning of this school year, I have explored different possibilities with regard to Christian hospitals in Africa, and Luampa Hospital has all of the ingredients that I felt were important: a strong commitment to evangelism as well as medicine, English-speaking peoples (although there are many other languages spoken in this former British colony), and openings for medical students. This hospital is under the Evangelical Church of Zambia, which works with missionaries from the Society for International Ministries (SIM), under whose leadership I will be serving. At Luampa, I will likely be rotating as a student-doctor through their female/pediatric, maternity, male, and surgical services.
SIM is an interdenominational mission organization whose ministries began in 1893, and whose main focus is to glorify God by evangelizing the unreached, ministering to human needs, discipling believers, and establishing national churches that fulfill the Great Commission.
My main purpose in writing this letter to you is to recruit your help in praying for this missions trip, both now as I prepare to go and also while I am there. I would greatly appreciate your prayers in the following specific areas:
- the next 4 ½ weeks of heart preparation before I go, not just for my service abroad, but for a lifetime of service to our Lord, that I would be free of selfish and worldly pursuits, and that I would always seek opportunities to share the Gospel.
- daily time with the Lord, that I would look to Him for guidance and strength, and that I would realize that He is the One who accomplishes any significant work in and through me.
- deep compassion for those with spiritual and physical needs around me (many Zambians, as do Americans, claim to be Christians but do not have life-changing personal relationships with Jesus; the HIV/AIDS epidemic is running rampant in Zambia, affecting more than 15% of the adult population!)
- time with my family, that I would honor, respect, and serve them while I’m with them. Shortly after graduation, I will likely be leaving the state for residency training, and God has been putting it on my heart to spend more meaningful time with them while I can.
- sensitivity to cultural differences, that I would be willing to give up my “rights” for the sake of the Gospel, as God gave up even His own Son for our sakes.
- humility in the midst of different leaders, that I would graciously contribute what I can to our mission team without bickering or complaint.
I’ve asked for quite a bit of prayer support already, and I’m a little embarrassed to have done so, since I stated earlier that we have been joined in Christ’s body for mutual support. Please let me know how I may pray for you also. I would be very honored to do so.
Thank you very much for joining with me in God’s wonderful work.
Sincerely,
Sidney Wu
My Dearest Brothers & Sisters in Christ:
Praise the Lord for His never-ending faithfulness to His children! I pray that all of you are doing well, particularly among your circle of friends and family, and with our Lord. As some of you may already know, I am in my last year of medical school at Loma Linda University, but before I graduate this late May, I wanted to take the great opportunity that God has given me in this Christian university to go on a senior missions elective. I will be leaving March 18 to spend eight weeks at the Luampa Christian Hospital in Zambia, a country in south central Africa. As I believe the Lord has given us to each other for mutual support, I'd like to use this letter to let you know a little more about my trip.
God has somehow put missions on my heart for several years now, and I now feel a strong desire to go into career medical missions as soon as I can after medical training, to use medicine as a model of and vehicle for sharing the Gospel. Since the beginning of this school year, I have explored different possibilities with regard to Christian hospitals in Africa, and Luampa Hospital has all of the ingredients that I felt were important: a strong commitment to evangelism as well as medicine, English-speaking peoples (although there are many other languages spoken in this former British colony), and openings for medical students. This hospital is under the Evangelical Church of Zambia, which works with missionaries from the Society for International Ministries (SIM), under whose leadership I will be serving. At Luampa, I will likely be rotating as a student-doctor through their female/pediatric, maternity, male, and surgical services.
SIM is an interdenominational mission organization whose ministries began in 1893, and whose main focus is to glorify God by evangelizing the unreached, ministering to human needs, discipling believers, and establishing national churches that fulfill the Great Commission.
My main purpose in writing this letter to you is to recruit your help in praying for this missions trip, both now as I prepare to go and also while I am there. I would greatly appreciate your prayers in the following specific areas:
- the next 4 ½ weeks of heart preparation before I go, not just for my service abroad, but for a lifetime of service to our Lord, that I would be free of selfish and worldly pursuits, and that I would always seek opportunities to share the Gospel.
- daily time with the Lord, that I would look to Him for guidance and strength, and that I would realize that He is the One who accomplishes any significant work in and through me.
- deep compassion for those with spiritual and physical needs around me (many Zambians, as do Americans, claim to be Christians but do not have life-changing personal relationships with Jesus; the HIV/AIDS epidemic is running rampant in Zambia, affecting more than 15% of the adult population!)
- time with my family, that I would honor, respect, and serve them while I’m with them. Shortly after graduation, I will likely be leaving the state for residency training, and God has been putting it on my heart to spend more meaningful time with them while I can.
- sensitivity to cultural differences, that I would be willing to give up my “rights” for the sake of the Gospel, as God gave up even His own Son for our sakes.
- humility in the midst of different leaders, that I would graciously contribute what I can to our mission team without bickering or complaint.
I’ve asked for quite a bit of prayer support already, and I’m a little embarrassed to have done so, since I stated earlier that we have been joined in Christ’s body for mutual support. Please let me know how I may pray for you also. I would be very honored to do so.
Thank you very much for joining with me in God’s wonderful work.
Sincerely,
Sidney Wu
Tuesday, August 19, 1997
Friday, June 20, 1997
Thursday, July 25, 1996
Wednesday, July 24, 1996
Sunday, July 14, 1996
Wednesday, September 13, 1995
post-China thanks
September 13, 1995
Dearest Brothers and Sisters:
Greetings to you again in Christ our Lord!
It’s hard to believe that it was only about four months since I last wrote you, and it’s even harder to believe that it has already been almost a month since I returned to the United States from China. How time flies!
I hope you will forgive me for the lateness of this letter. When I last wrote you in the letter dated May 15th, I was in the UCR/UCLA seven‑year Biomedical Sciences program. This summer I discovered that I wasn’t accepted into the fourth year. Thus, before my senior year at UC Riverside begins, I’m trying to complete as many medical school applications as possible. God willing, I will be attending med‑school next fall.
Just as I wrote to you before, God has been good! I feel that I can especially say so for His faithfulness to His own this summer. It was a blessedly awesome experience I’ll never forget!
I had entered into this summer’s adventure rather naively. When I thought that I would be a missionary in China, I was shown that I would more accurately be an ambassador for Christ, what some people call a “tentmaker.” The organization I worked with, Educational Services International (ESI), in dealing with the Communist Chinese government, identifies itself as a blatantly Christian ‑‑ but not missions ‑‑ organization. My job in China was to teach English and teach it well, and in so doing I was to show who Christ is and be ready to answer questions about Him.
We had to deal with the reality of China. Not only is atheism promoted as the official “religion” of China, but missions, particularly Christian missions, are also seen as a remnant of the nation’s humiliating eras of imperialism and colonialism, and as a possible threat to China’s sovereign government. Thus one of our goals was to be sure that our Christian faith is separate from our culture. Certainly we know that “Christian” doesn’t mean “American” nor vice‑versa, but this is what we had to show the Chinese people. They didn’t have to become American if they wanted to become a Christian. Christianity could be just as much a part of China as tofu or chopsticks!
This summer for a month‑and‑a‑half, nine other teachers and I each taught three classes, our own homeroom and two others, at the Hubei College of Education in Wuhan. (Wuhan is the capital of Hubei province, located in the central region of China along the Yangtze River.) Each of our classes consisted of sixteen students who were primarily middle‑school English teachers themselves, and on the average they were older than I. What a privilege it was for me to be their teacher and to become their friends. They were particularly impressed with our teamwork, diligence, and patience. Knowing that we were Christians, some of them had the boldness to ask about it. Some went to church for the first time with us; for some we were the first Christians they had ever met; we gave some of them the Bibles we had brought. Near the end of the experience in response to many compliments they had lavished upon us (as it seems the Chinese do unto their teachers), I stated, “Please do not think that I am the way I am because of my own efforts. It’s not even because of my parents ‑‑ I do have good parents ‑‑ or because I’m American, but it’s because of God.” I pray that they took that to heart.
From God’s word in the third chapter of First Corinthians we know that in the “field” of lost souls, some workers are assigned to sow into people’s hearts the seed of His word. Others are called to nurture the ensuing plant. Still others are to reap the fruit of salvation. Though we did experience some sowing and reaping, much of our work instead dealt with the even earlier work of “breaking rocks,” the tearing down of obstacles blocking out God’s word, so that the “soil” of their hearts would be prepared and ready for the next step in God’s plan for them.
Our work is not yet over. I pray that our commitment did not end when we left Wuhan. As with any friendship, communication is essential, and our team is dedicated to continued correspondence with our students and friends. The Chinese have a saying: “A teacher for a day, a teacher forever.” We are still in a position through letters to plant seeds and nurture plants. May God bless us with being able to someday even reap fruits. It would be greatly appreciated if you could also pray for our continued commitment to loving the lost.
I suppose the main point of this letter is not only to tell you about my summer adventures but also to thank you for being so integral a part in what I believe to be God’s plan for me.
THANK YOU!
“I thank my God every time I remember you.” I don’t think I’d ever felt this sentiment for anyone to the same degree as the apostle Paul felt for the Philippian church (1:3) until I was in China. Every day during my quiet time I thanked the Lord for providing so much support, particularly in the form of brothers and sisters thousands of miles away ‑‑ YOU! ‑‑ who had provided financially and were committed to praying for our ministry.
I reread that last letter which asked for your support, and what awed me was the realization that every single thing that I had asked you to pray for was answered in a positive way! Wisdom and humility were constantly on my mind, and God gave me a team to keep me accountable in this area. I found that it was unusually easy for me to work with others and be flexible in the expectations I had of my teammates and of our accommodations. God showed me more and more how to love my students no matter how lovable they were. And lastly, God had provided enough funds for me to go to China in the first place. At last count, financial support had come in at over $3000!!! You’d better believe it: God is truly faithful!
I feel that it’s my obligation to tell you that since the funds raised exceeded the need, the church has designated the surplus money for future missions trips. If you have any questions or comments about this, please ask me.
Again, I thank you so much for making this summer possible! I hope you are encouraged by this letter. Perhaps you’d like to know more about the organization I worked with or details of the program and/or ministry. If you have any questions, please feel free to write or call. I’d love to hear how you are doing. I’d especially like to know how I may support you in prayer or perhaps even financially for your own endeavors for God.
May God continue to bless you abundantly with His grace.
Another witness to His faithfulness,
Sid Steve Wu
Dearest Brothers and Sisters:
Greetings to you again in Christ our Lord!
It’s hard to believe that it was only about four months since I last wrote you, and it’s even harder to believe that it has already been almost a month since I returned to the United States from China. How time flies!
I hope you will forgive me for the lateness of this letter. When I last wrote you in the letter dated May 15th, I was in the UCR/UCLA seven‑year Biomedical Sciences program. This summer I discovered that I wasn’t accepted into the fourth year. Thus, before my senior year at UC Riverside begins, I’m trying to complete as many medical school applications as possible. God willing, I will be attending med‑school next fall.
Just as I wrote to you before, God has been good! I feel that I can especially say so for His faithfulness to His own this summer. It was a blessedly awesome experience I’ll never forget!
I had entered into this summer’s adventure rather naively. When I thought that I would be a missionary in China, I was shown that I would more accurately be an ambassador for Christ, what some people call a “tentmaker.” The organization I worked with, Educational Services International (ESI), in dealing with the Communist Chinese government, identifies itself as a blatantly Christian ‑‑ but not missions ‑‑ organization. My job in China was to teach English and teach it well, and in so doing I was to show who Christ is and be ready to answer questions about Him.
We had to deal with the reality of China. Not only is atheism promoted as the official “religion” of China, but missions, particularly Christian missions, are also seen as a remnant of the nation’s humiliating eras of imperialism and colonialism, and as a possible threat to China’s sovereign government. Thus one of our goals was to be sure that our Christian faith is separate from our culture. Certainly we know that “Christian” doesn’t mean “American” nor vice‑versa, but this is what we had to show the Chinese people. They didn’t have to become American if they wanted to become a Christian. Christianity could be just as much a part of China as tofu or chopsticks!
This summer for a month‑and‑a‑half, nine other teachers and I each taught three classes, our own homeroom and two others, at the Hubei College of Education in Wuhan. (Wuhan is the capital of Hubei province, located in the central region of China along the Yangtze River.) Each of our classes consisted of sixteen students who were primarily middle‑school English teachers themselves, and on the average they were older than I. What a privilege it was for me to be their teacher and to become their friends. They were particularly impressed with our teamwork, diligence, and patience. Knowing that we were Christians, some of them had the boldness to ask about it. Some went to church for the first time with us; for some we were the first Christians they had ever met; we gave some of them the Bibles we had brought. Near the end of the experience in response to many compliments they had lavished upon us (as it seems the Chinese do unto their teachers), I stated, “Please do not think that I am the way I am because of my own efforts. It’s not even because of my parents ‑‑ I do have good parents ‑‑ or because I’m American, but it’s because of God.” I pray that they took that to heart.
From God’s word in the third chapter of First Corinthians we know that in the “field” of lost souls, some workers are assigned to sow into people’s hearts the seed of His word. Others are called to nurture the ensuing plant. Still others are to reap the fruit of salvation. Though we did experience some sowing and reaping, much of our work instead dealt with the even earlier work of “breaking rocks,” the tearing down of obstacles blocking out God’s word, so that the “soil” of their hearts would be prepared and ready for the next step in God’s plan for them.
Our work is not yet over. I pray that our commitment did not end when we left Wuhan. As with any friendship, communication is essential, and our team is dedicated to continued correspondence with our students and friends. The Chinese have a saying: “A teacher for a day, a teacher forever.” We are still in a position through letters to plant seeds and nurture plants. May God bless us with being able to someday even reap fruits. It would be greatly appreciated if you could also pray for our continued commitment to loving the lost.
I suppose the main point of this letter is not only to tell you about my summer adventures but also to thank you for being so integral a part in what I believe to be God’s plan for me.
THANK YOU!
“I thank my God every time I remember you.” I don’t think I’d ever felt this sentiment for anyone to the same degree as the apostle Paul felt for the Philippian church (1:3) until I was in China. Every day during my quiet time I thanked the Lord for providing so much support, particularly in the form of brothers and sisters thousands of miles away ‑‑ YOU! ‑‑ who had provided financially and were committed to praying for our ministry.
I reread that last letter which asked for your support, and what awed me was the realization that every single thing that I had asked you to pray for was answered in a positive way! Wisdom and humility were constantly on my mind, and God gave me a team to keep me accountable in this area. I found that it was unusually easy for me to work with others and be flexible in the expectations I had of my teammates and of our accommodations. God showed me more and more how to love my students no matter how lovable they were. And lastly, God had provided enough funds for me to go to China in the first place. At last count, financial support had come in at over $3000!!! You’d better believe it: God is truly faithful!
I feel that it’s my obligation to tell you that since the funds raised exceeded the need, the church has designated the surplus money for future missions trips. If you have any questions or comments about this, please ask me.
Again, I thank you so much for making this summer possible! I hope you are encouraged by this letter. Perhaps you’d like to know more about the organization I worked with or details of the program and/or ministry. If you have any questions, please feel free to write or call. I’d love to hear how you are doing. I’d especially like to know how I may support you in prayer or perhaps even financially for your own endeavors for God.
May God continue to bless you abundantly with His grace.
Another witness to His faithfulness,
Sid Steve Wu
Sunday, November 13, 1994
...for EFCtIE's 3rd anniversary publication...
Mexico Missions 1994
"Queremos invitarles a un programa de payasos, dramas, titeres, y musica para todos empieza a la una a el Templo de Monte Carmelo."
That was the sentence (if I remember correctly) each missionary in our group had to say as we walked around the dirt roads of the poor colonias in Mexico to invite people to our miniature evangelical services. Continue reading, and you'll find out soon what the phrase means.....
Just last summer (1994) our local church of the Inland Empire sent eight people from our youth group on the EFC summer Mexico Missions, and even though the experience was a very short ten days, we were all very intimately blessed by being used as God's instruments in the missions field surrounding Tijuana, Mexico. We are especially thankful to God for His faithfulness, for the way He ministered in us, to us, and through us.
Perhaps you're thinking, "why did this guy italicize the words 'in', 'to', and 'through'?" It's because God ministered to us in different ways. I think you'll get my drift if you'll just read on.
Praise God for His ministry in us! Before we even set foot across the border, we went to the Youth With A Mission (YWAM) base in Sunland, California. There He gave us time to meditate on why exactly we were going on missions. He taught us that since "God so loved the world" (John 3:16) and not just us, we need to follow His commission to "go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19). There is still desperate need for the Gospel in what the YWAM staff called the 10/40 Window (portions of Asia & Africa between the 10th and 40th parallel, which happens to include Taiwan). At that base and even while we were in Mexico, He taught us how we should always depend on Him through prayer. On a personal level, I learned that in our evangelism we need to be humble, being careful of the attitude that "we Americans are coming in to tell you about our Gospel, so you poor, ignorant people just listen and accept it." God showed us that we could learn a whole lot from the people we ministered to; yes, we Americans, for example, could stand to be more content with little and hospitable with others. Indeed, God is faithful in ministering in us!
Praise God for His ministry to us! You must have heard stories about the conditions in Mexico. Some of those stories are true, especially in the poorer sections which we visited. Sanitation in food preparation, drinking water, and bathrooms is pretty bad. Housing conditions are pitifully meager and inadequate. Many streets are still unpaved and uneven, which makes for plenty of dust (and fun rides in our church vans!). Despite all of this, God kept us safe and secure. We did have some gastrointestinal abnormalities (some were fairly severe), but nothing was truly unbearable. Perhaps this is another case of God's ministry in us, in that He was showing us one of the hardships of missions to help us decide if we could handle long-term missions. (Besides, through our experience we added new meaning to the words related to "missions"!) Other stories include His fixing our van troubles and helping us get past language barriers--I'll let you ask the team to tell you about them; writing about them here would make this article too long. But let this be said: God is faithful in ministering to us!
Praise God for His ministry through us! Most people think of missions as merely an exercise of evangelism. And our focus was on evangelism: We held miniature services in parks and in churches. The services included translated testimonies, and presentations of the various non-language-based ministries we learned from YWAM. All of us were involved at least one of the following: dramas, music, clowns, and puppets. One time at el Templo de Monte Carmelo (a church we visited several times), at least twenty grade-school-aged children responded to the minister's altar call to receive Christ! Jesus truly loves the little children! In all of our services, we believe that God planted seeds, to which He will be faithful to cause to bear fruit according to His will and timing (I Thessalonians 5:24). Sharing the Gospel of love implies that we not only tell people about Christ but also show them what His love is all about. Within the short time we stayed in Mexico, we were able to build a small house for a family and help in the construction of a church. Now, we may finally declare: God is faithful in ministering through us!
So what have you learned from reading this article? I hope by now you'll at least know that GOD IS FAITHFUL (I Corinthians 1:9)!!! And though our faithfulness to Him could never match up to His faithfulness to us, let us always strive to be faithful in serving our Lord, particularly in the area of evangelism. By the way, the sentence at the beginning of this article means, "We invite you to a program of clowns, dramas, puppets, and music for everyone at one o'clock at el Templo de Monte Carmelo." Basically, we were inviting people to meet God. It is our prayer that you do the same, for we should all be missionaries, sharing the Gospel with everybody we know, wherever we are.
"Queremos invitarles a un programa de payasos, dramas, titeres, y musica para todos empieza a la una a el Templo de Monte Carmelo."
That was the sentence (if I remember correctly) each missionary in our group had to say as we walked around the dirt roads of the poor colonias in Mexico to invite people to our miniature evangelical services. Continue reading, and you'll find out soon what the phrase means.....
Just last summer (1994) our local church of the Inland Empire sent eight people from our youth group on the EFC summer Mexico Missions, and even though the experience was a very short ten days, we were all very intimately blessed by being used as God's instruments in the missions field surrounding Tijuana, Mexico. We are especially thankful to God for His faithfulness, for the way He ministered in us, to us, and through us.
Perhaps you're thinking, "why did this guy italicize the words 'in', 'to', and 'through'?" It's because God ministered to us in different ways. I think you'll get my drift if you'll just read on.
Praise God for His ministry in us! Before we even set foot across the border, we went to the Youth With A Mission (YWAM) base in Sunland, California. There He gave us time to meditate on why exactly we were going on missions. He taught us that since "God so loved the world" (John 3:16) and not just us, we need to follow His commission to "go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19). There is still desperate need for the Gospel in what the YWAM staff called the 10/40 Window (portions of Asia & Africa between the 10th and 40th parallel, which happens to include Taiwan). At that base and even while we were in Mexico, He taught us how we should always depend on Him through prayer. On a personal level, I learned that in our evangelism we need to be humble, being careful of the attitude that "we Americans are coming in to tell you about our Gospel, so you poor, ignorant people just listen and accept it." God showed us that we could learn a whole lot from the people we ministered to; yes, we Americans, for example, could stand to be more content with little and hospitable with others. Indeed, God is faithful in ministering in us!
Praise God for His ministry to us! You must have heard stories about the conditions in Mexico. Some of those stories are true, especially in the poorer sections which we visited. Sanitation in food preparation, drinking water, and bathrooms is pretty bad. Housing conditions are pitifully meager and inadequate. Many streets are still unpaved and uneven, which makes for plenty of dust (and fun rides in our church vans!). Despite all of this, God kept us safe and secure. We did have some gastrointestinal abnormalities (some were fairly severe), but nothing was truly unbearable. Perhaps this is another case of God's ministry in us, in that He was showing us one of the hardships of missions to help us decide if we could handle long-term missions. (Besides, through our experience we added new meaning to the words related to "missions"!) Other stories include His fixing our van troubles and helping us get past language barriers--I'll let you ask the team to tell you about them; writing about them here would make this article too long. But let this be said: God is faithful in ministering to us!
Praise God for His ministry through us! Most people think of missions as merely an exercise of evangelism. And our focus was on evangelism: We held miniature services in parks and in churches. The services included translated testimonies, and presentations of the various non-language-based ministries we learned from YWAM. All of us were involved at least one of the following: dramas, music, clowns, and puppets. One time at el Templo de Monte Carmelo (a church we visited several times), at least twenty grade-school-aged children responded to the minister's altar call to receive Christ! Jesus truly loves the little children! In all of our services, we believe that God planted seeds, to which He will be faithful to cause to bear fruit according to His will and timing (I Thessalonians 5:24). Sharing the Gospel of love implies that we not only tell people about Christ but also show them what His love is all about. Within the short time we stayed in Mexico, we were able to build a small house for a family and help in the construction of a church. Now, we may finally declare: God is faithful in ministering through us!
So what have you learned from reading this article? I hope by now you'll at least know that GOD IS FAITHFUL (I Corinthians 1:9)!!! And though our faithfulness to Him could never match up to His faithfulness to us, let us always strive to be faithful in serving our Lord, particularly in the area of evangelism. By the way, the sentence at the beginning of this article means, "We invite you to a program of clowns, dramas, puppets, and music for everyone at one o'clock at el Templo de Monte Carmelo." Basically, we were inviting people to meet God. It is our prayer that you do the same, for we should all be missionaries, sharing the Gospel with everybody we know, wherever we are.
Monday, June 20, 1994
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