Sunday, June 15, 2008

Hospital Evangelism

This morning the Radcliffes, Myers, Becky, Jethro (nurse), Joseph (nursing student), and I did hospital evangelism on the wards. We went to each ward, sang 2 songs, shared a testimony, shared the gospel using the PNG flag, and then prayed with the patients. It was a great time. I have talked with patients, individually, about the Lord both in the clinic and in the wards, but hadn't done something like this.


The PNG flag is a great way to share the gospel, here, because it is everywhere - on umbrellas, bilums, pencils, hats, erasers, etc. It is similar to a gospel bracelet that might be used in the US. It goes something like this - Yellow is the color of the Bird of Paradise (national bird) on the flag. Paradise is another name for heaven, and heaven has streets of gold. God loved us so much that He sent Jesus who died for us so we too can go to heaven (John 3:16). We can't get to heaven on our own because of the sin (black) in our lives. Sin has separated us from God, and because of sin we all deserve death (Rom 3:23, 6:23). But Jesus died on the cross for our sins (Rom 5:8). The Southern cross on the flag reminds us of the cross, and the 5th star reminds us of the spear that pierced Jesus's side. His blood (red) cleanses us and allows us to come out clean, like the stars (white). Jesus is ready and able to forgive us all (1 John 1:9).


In every ward, we prayed collectively with everyone, and then asked if there were others who wanted us to come and pray with them individually. After we finished in all the wards, we broke up into 2's and went to each ward for individual prayer. I got to go to C (medicine) ward and talk with those I have been caring for recently. Many of the folks I talked to were Christians, but may have sinned, or haven't been walking closely with the Lord. I tried to encourage them in their walks, to encourage them to read the Bible, and to get involved in a church, if they aren't already. One lady hadn't ever heard about the God's gift of salvation to us, so I got to reshare that with her and pray with her. This all stretched my Pidgin, but it was great. I hope we do it again soon.