Novembre 2011

Novembre 2011

Chers amis,

Cela peut paraître comme un bulletin très différent de moi parce que j'ai l'habitude de parler de la manière profonde de Dieu se sert de la mission à travers l'éducation Emanuel, soins de santé, des disciples, l'eau pure, etc. God is certainly doing those things through us. . . MAIS . . . ce qui est différent et pourtant les mêmes.

Ceci est une nécrologie . . .

The first time God called me to the Dominican Republic to learn how to run mission projects was thirty-two years ago. While there, Kent Keller et j'ai entendu parler d'une léproserie à proximité et nous étions curieux, so we went. We were given a tour through the little compound (qui venait d'être détruite par l'ouragan David) by Sister Mary Magnalena from Mother Teresa’s order. In the first little shack (sans toit), nous avons visité un petit homme très défiguré par des lunettes noires, une fedora, et pas de dents et un grand sourire. Ce fut Enrique, my first friend with leprosy. We instantly bonded even though we had no common language except the language of the soul.

Pour la prochaine 32 ans, J'ai développé une amitié avec Enrique chers. Géorgie Ana et je voudrais lui rendre visite quand nous vivions dans le DR, et a visité avec tous ses amis – Pedro Gordo, Pedro Flaco, Esta Thomis . . . and many more. Juliana loved to go there to be held, aimé sur, and passed around. She ministered to them through her fearlessness and love, que ses parents ont fait de même.

Au fil des ans, J'ai pris bien plus de 10,000 missionnaires à court terme à visiter et ministre d'Enrique et son compañeros. Each and every time we went and visited, chanté, et prié, chaque participant sont repartis plus chanceux que les bénédictions qu'ils estimaient donné les lépreux.

Facing leprosy for the first time broke down fears and brought plenty of tears. The question would come. . . comment peuvent-ils avoir de la joie quand ils n'ont rien, mais une horrible maladie, et j'ai tout? Well, ma réponse a été - Ils ont de Jésus! Jesus brings joy – lasting joy – which doesn’t always bring a smile but something much greater; a sense of confidence that God has things under control. Peace, courage, and confidence lead to faith which brings us hope which provides the spiritual muscle to love others and ourselves as Christ does. This is one of many lessons that I’ve learned from Enrique – he has discipled me!

Plusieurs fois, lorsque nos groupes visitez, Dr. Castro is there and welcomes us and shares about leprosy. Dr. Castro dit.

Il ya 3 principaux types de lèpre:

  1. Tuberculoid which manifests itself in major skin lesions and some loss of feeling.
  2. Lepromatus ,une forme plus grave, manifests itself in the loss of feeling of the extremities and in extreme disfigurement and blindness. Antibiotics put a stop to the progression of the disease.
  3. The third form of leprosy is most heinous and is leprosy of the soul. It manifests itself in self-centeredness, narcissisme, and the total lack of sensitivity to other’s needs or pain. The only cure is Christ filling that soul with Himself to the degree we let Him. Ultimately, il n'ya plus de place pour la maladie. "

Ten years ago I started experiencing loss of feeling in my feet and hands. It finally got to the point that I had to go to Mayo Clinic. This peripheral neuropathy is also experienced by all lepers. When a neurologist found out that I had spend considerable time at a leprosarium in the DR, il a dit ... "Aha! Now I know what’s causing this condition…you have leprosy!” I thought, «Oh, merde!! This could eliminate our mission groups visiting one of our favorite places.” I really wasn’t all that concerned for myself because the disease is now curable… so the doctor tested me.

Réponse: NO LEPROSY! Whew! But then I thought about my proclivity to desire and then acquire things of this world. Although it doesn’t show up on my medical tests, J'ai encore mener la bataille de dureté et de prier pour que Dieu va remplir mon âme de la compassion de Jésus.

Enrique, mon ami, conseiller, and pal recently went to Heaven and he leaves a glaring gap for me. He was the first leper I met and the last of all 45 of my original friends. They’re all reunited in Heaven. I’ll miss walking around the corner and seeing him almost jump out of his wheelchair as he saw me. I’ll miss his cackling call, "Jack, Jack, Jack…” and they he’d laugh. I have thousands of memories but only a short space to write of Enrique. "Je t'aime et tu vas me manquer, mon frère. Dites bonjour à Jésus et à tous mes amis ... "

À son service,

Jack

Directeur exécutif

Mission Emanuel