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| Moving
I'm staring at all my clothes, books, and other belongings strewn across my room. How am I going to pack all my things into three luggage bags in three days as I prepare to make a trans-atlantic move? I've lived in eight different places in the past nine years, so you'd think that moving should come easy for me. However the thought of packing itself makes me shudder and that's why I'm procrastinating and typing a xanga entry instead. I do not collect alot of clutter, but I definitely cannot live out of a suitcase like what Kevin has been doing for the past five months. Anyway, meditating on packing has made me appreciate and respect church planters more and more. My pastors, Pastor Jojo and Ida Henson, from the Eaglepoint Covenant Fellowship church moved their whole family, including their five children, to Penang from the Phillipines last year. They've moved seven times in the past ten years, and they've always lived in rented homes because they know they're called to be church planters. Each time they move, they had to sell their furnitures and give most of their belongings away. I am sure it must have cost them alot of money (and not to mention stress) to move each time, but they have found something that is more worthwhile and have invested their life in something more lasting than worldly things. Even though they still do not yet own a car right now, they are believing God for a permanent building for the church. Is this what it means to "Finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready; after that, build your house"? Proverbs 24:27 I hope that I too, one day, would be willing to obey and ready to move when God calls me. | | |
| I started my Psychiatry rotation this week. We've met some pretty interesting patients and it's sad how deceived/deluded some people are. I really feel like telling them, "Jesus can set you free from this!" I believe that some psychiatric illnesses are due to genetics/chemical imbalance because of sin in the world and need medication, but I do think the devil has deceived some of these patients too. My Psychiatry lecturer doesn't believe in a spirit world. She thinks that all these mental illnesses can be thoroughly explained biologically. Anyway, the ward is really terrible- all the patients, whether they're manic, schizophrenic or depressed, are thrown and locked together in the same ward. The male psychiatry ward is really scary too and none of us would dare to step into it alone. There are 43 patients living together in a ward about 6x the size of my apartment. If I wasn't depressed when I was admitted, I would be!! | | |
| After months of waiting, Pastor Jojo Henson and his family finally arrived in Penang! We had our first Every Nation Penang Sunday service last Sunday. It was held in a hotel suite and there were 20 of us. We're so blessed to have Pastor Jojo and his family here with us. We're so blessed to have such a strong man of God who has planted 4 churches in the Philippines, to lead the church plant here. God has given them a huge vision and faith for this island.
Looking back, I'm so amazed at how God orchestrated everything. 2 years ago, Pastor Ray from Every Nation Ireland first had a vision of a church plant in Penang. I'm so humbled & privileged to be a part of what God is doing in Penang. I'm so thankful for my spiritual family in Penang and Ireland, and I love all of them so much. God works in amazing ways. He is so faithful - He puts a vision in our hearts, allows us to pray, and enables us to see the fruit of our prayer. When we know that God is able to work all things for the good of those who love Him, the waiting also becomes joyous! Prayer gives us the privilege of taking part in the working of His plans and purposes. Isn't that exciting?! God is able and always willing to grant us what we ask for in accordance to His will, so let our faith rise up to meet Him.
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| Today we had a session on cultural influences on health. In Asia, culture and traditions have such a huge impact on the society's views of health. Malaysia is such a unique place cause it has so many races, hence the society is influenced by the Malay, Indian, Chinese & Aborigine cultures. For eg. in Chinese culture, after giving birth the woman has to be confined in a room without a fan/air-conditioning & she's not allowed to bathe for a month. In Indian culture, the first menstruation of a woman is a huge event and there will be a huge celebration for all her friends & relatives. There're so many traditional healers around & many people would rather go to a traditional healer first before going to a clinic, even highly educated people. Sadly, some do more harm than good - for eg. claiming to be able to cure cancer. I think the use of alternative medicine, such as homeopathy is also a rising trend in the West.
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| Family Medicine/General Practice(GP) has been an interesting rotation so far. Most universities in the UK/Ireland only have 2 weeks of GP but my school has 8 weeks. As one of my friends put it "we learn alot of relevant things out of the medical school curriculum".
A few weeks ago we visited a home for children with cerebral palsy. It's really an eye-opening experience. Recently we had a session on breaking bad news and handling difficult questions. I'm so glad we went through that. I remember observing a senior doctor breaking bad news & grimacing. One of my friends relate that he was asked by a doctor to translate to a Chinese patient that he has cancer. While he was trying to break the news gently, the doctor cut in and yelled "What's taking you so long? Just tell him that he has cancer and asks if he wants chemo or radiotherapy!" Why is it so difficult to break bad news? Is it a lack of time, refusing to admit our failures as doctors, or having to come face to face with our own vulnerabilities? I wonder how I will handle breaking bad news to patients next time. I pray in future I will never be leached of emotions or empathy in spite of all the busyness. | | |
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