joyancejames

Tag: #mission

  • Life update: End of an era

    June 2008 I left home to pursue my undergraduate studies in medicine and now I’m back home, it’s end of July 2022. 14 years away from home, MBBS and MS, wife and a baby. God has blessed and multiplied me.

    After completing MS Orthopedics from CMC Ludhiana, I worked in mission hospitals under EHA. I got an opportunity to work in the following hospitals as an Orthopedic surgeon in the last 3 years: 1. Jiwan Jyoti Christian Hospital, Robertsganj, UP
    2. Kachhwa Christian Hospital, Mirzapur, UP
    3. Herbertpur Christian Hospital, Herbertpur, Uttrakhand.
    4. Landour Community Hospital, Mussoorie, Uttrakhand
    5. Duncan Hospital, Raxaul, Bihar.
    I was posted primarily in Robertsganj and worked there the maximum, rest were deputation, ranging from a few days to weeks/months.

    Last surgery in Herbertpur Christian Hospital (30.07.2022)

    I have seen first hand the legacy of the medical missionaries and contributed my little bit to their huge contribution towards nation building. I’ve learnt not only to bridge broken bones and crooked limbs but also gained a deeper understanding of the word of God. Last 20 months I’ve been away from Shalom and Faith, but God has been with us and we’ve seen the goodness of God.

    “You have led me through the fire
    In the darkest night
    You are close like no other
    I’ve known You as a Father
    I’ve known You as a Friend
    And I have lived in the goodness of God”. – Goodness of God by Bethel Music

    But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
    1 Peter 2:9 NLT
    ( https://bible.com/bible/116/1pe.2.9.NLT ). So here I am testifying the goodness of God, He is a Father who never leaves us nor abandons us.

    What’s next? We’ll find jobs in Ahmedabad, school for Faith, church community where we’ll thrive and flourish. As someone rightly said, “I don’t know what tomorrow holds but I know the One who holds tomorrow”. So even with the uncertainties surrounding me I am certain of the goodness of God and His favour which lasts a lifetime.

    God bless you.

  • Never alone!

    All His promises saying “I will never leave you…” came alive in a new dimension when my work commitments as a Doctor took me to a mission hospital in a remote, nondescript village (read jungle): Jagdishpur in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. The remoteness of this place can be gauged by the fact that this place even baffles Google when you inquire about it! On reaching my destination on the first day my mobile network betrayed me leaving me disconnected with the world outside the hospital and it took me a couple of days to establish connection.

    It is in this solitude that I realized that Christ is enough and I learnt that “Whatever I have and wherever I am I can make it thorough anything in the One who makes me who I am” (Philippians 4 The Message). I realized as the lyrics of the song by Hillsongs says, “Christ is enough for me, and everything I need is in you.”

    When we stare at the sun for a moment, all else around us fades, similarly when we focus on the Son (Jesus), everything else fades into oblivion. As the lyrics of the famous song, “When all things surround me become shadows in the light of you…” I experienced the solitude & social seclusion fade away when I fixed my eyes on Jesus.

    Then there were night calls from the hospital which I’d to attend and walk the distance from my room to the hospital in the dead of night sleep-walking on paths carpeted by autumn leaves. Every rustle of the leaves would quicken the senses fearing some creeping or crawling fiend would jump out with my next step. In those eerie moments He filled me with a fuller measure of His love and reminded me of this beautiful song:

    “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
    Your perfect love is casting out fear
    I will fear no evil for my God is with me and if my God is with me whom then shall I fear?” You never let go by Matt Redman

    Another song that I’m reminded of as I now muse over my experiences is:

    “You were singing in the dark
    whispering Your promise
    even when I could not hear
    I was held in Your arms
    Carried for a thousand miles to show
    Not for a moment did You forsake me” Not for a moment (after all) Meredith Andrews

    Indeed when His loves fills our hearts to overflowing it also fills us with the assurance of the surety of His promises. As John puts it best, “Perfect loves casts out fear”.

    Certainly once in Christ, we’re never alone!

    IMG_20160228_172050
    The lake at Jagdishpur