Reflections from our missionary doctor in Nepal

Have you read any product labels lately? I like reading them because they are funny sometimes. Like a scented soap I got, it says ‘in case you still need instruction: wet, lather & wash’.  Tonight I’m enjoying a cup of tea. The brand is “Tazo- the reincarnation of tea”, and this particular bag is called ‘Om’. This got me interested because I’m living in a Himalayan culture that believes in reincarnation. The label explains, the word ‘Om’ is frequently seen in prayer wheels, stones and flags as you walk through the Himalayas. To merely say it, releases a vibration of peace. Imagine what happens when you drink it.

Don’t you love advertising? I mean how absurd can that be? As a matter of fact, I’m a coffee drinker! Anyway, I have started steeping even before I read that so might as well see if drinking the tea will release a sense of peace in me.

We don’t go about wearing a tag that says we are Christians, the Apostle Paul says that ‘we are letters known and read by everybody’ (2 Cor 3.2). Wherever we are, whatever we do, we are being observed.  Here in Nepal we work in the name and Spirit of Christ. But is Christ seen in me?

We are very busy at the moment. The workload is disproportionate to the number of senior doctors. Monsoon season brings us vehicular accidents, meningitis, water- borne infectious diseases and it’s surgical complications. My days in the operating room have always been challenging, my goal is to finish all cases on the list before 7pm.

One afternoon an 11 year old girl came in with really bad pressure (bed) sores. I was to do debridement on all her wounds. Her name is Neeta. As she was wheeled- in, she was crying terrified of being in a room where everyone wears green suits with cap and mask. She begs for mercy as her mother has died 2 years prior. Few months after Neeta started suffering from ascending paralysis. Only her 4 yr old brother takes care of her because the father had to earn  a living. Naturally she developed ugly, infected pressure sore from all bony prominences. Suddenly, I wanted to stop and not be bothered by the list of cases I still need to do. As I was debriding all her wounds, I was asking God to pour out His healing grace for Neeta. The Tansen team and the churches are praying for her. She has started smiling and overall was feeling better. But then she developed pneumonia. The paralysis is progressing to affect her diaphragm so she is not able to expectorate.  She is deteriorating.

Please help us pray for Neeta. Pray for us- energy, joy, safety and health. May  Christ be seen in us all.

Elma T Jocson
United Mission to Nepal
PO Box 126
Kathmandu, Nepal
(977)- 075- 520489