John Hartman
The Tip of the Wedge
A few days ago, I was passing through the ACS level one trauma bay at Loma Linda University Health when I met two friends. My old friend from ten years ago had become a chaplain. My new friend was so new that I had to introduce myself. Ethan was a volunteer and wore a red shirt. I gave him my number and told him to ask me absolutely anything.
“How plausible,” he sent me, “do you think medical missions is?”
“It’s utterly implausible,” I sent back, “Nobody in their right mind does missions. We do it not because it’s plausible but because that’s who we are. Your question makes me smile.”
I began writing down a few of the following ideas in the blackness of night after a long shift, not because they’re plausible, but because this is who we are. Every opportunity to share about God is a small taste of heaven.
What were some difficulties you encountered during your time in Chad?
“Events belong to God, and his servants will meet with difficulties and opposition; for these are his chosen methods of discipline, and his appointed conditions of sure progress and success. In spite of trials, do your God-given work in sincerity and faith, that your character may be formed after the divine pattern.”—Ellen G. White, Special Testimonies, April 1, 1897.
My ten months in Chad were made harder because of cold water bucket showers, malaria, and being misunderstood.
For much of my time there, I lived off-compound with a local family in the village, and I bathed with well-water drawn by hand. The cool water was nice in summer, but as winter drew on and the temperature dipped down, it became easier and easier to procrastinate the bathing routine. Eventually I learned to shrug off the freezing air (63F or so) and focus instead on the feeling of being clean.
Getting bitten by malaria-ridden mosquitos was probably not as inevitable as I came to feel it was, but feelings do tend to shape reality. I got bitten often, and I eventually got sick. The only changes I made for malaria were to sleep under a mosquito net and to take atovaquone empirically when I felt feverish or felt like laying down and taking a nap in the middle of the day. Others had it worse.
What were some of the highlights of your work in Chad?
Before landing in N’Djamena, my goal was to reach the highest levels of Duolingo by doing rapid paced French drills. However, if you do not know any French to begin with, doing rapid paced drills only yields sub-basic vocabulary. I remember pulling out my phone and typing in,
“I want to learn French.”
“Je veux apprendre le français,” Google Translate spat back.
What a mouthful, I thought. I approached the customs agent and blurted out my new phrase. He laughed and stamped my passport.
I enjoy languages, and learning French was definitely a highlight. I remember the first time I rediscovered my French audio Bible after a few months in Chad and listening to John chapter one. I was impressed by how the words tied the old, familiar ideas with the new feelings and experiences of Chad. At the same time, learning French was a survival strategy. I either spoke French or I had no way to communicate with the people with whom I lived and worked.
What French I did have became second nature. On my way out of Chad, a shopkeeper spoke some Chinese, and I tried to remember some Chinese for him. Every Chinese word got blocked by the French word. This is how I realized that fluency is situation-specific. My French was not fluent, but I had become fluent in using French for the specific things I needed to do. These specific things included morning rounds on up to thirty patients, helping out in surgeries during the day, and filling in as the stockroom manager when the head pharmacist had to travel for certification exams. This situational fluency reminds me of ministering to others as a medical professional. Doctors will not have the fluency of pastors, but we will be given words to speak when we recognize our need.
I loved coming in every morning and asking the night nurses how things had gone. Mama Fatima* in particular often amazed me with her words. Patients would eat when Fatima was around. I can forget to be hopeful, but I once heard myself saying to a patient in Fatima’s presence, “Do you remember when you couldn’t feel your wound at all? That was when your wound was getting much worse. Now that you are hurting, that means the wound is getting better. You’re doing really well! Do you have any pain medication? We can provide you with more if you need.” The patient smiled and laughed, and after that, all the other patients wanted us to tell them how they were doing. We prayed with several who were open to it. Fatima knew how to use prayer and faith to her advantage.
One day or so after Gabriel Franca performed an operation to repair a rectal prolapse, the patient didn’t get enough nausea medication to keep them from vomiting. Under pressure, the repair failed spectacularly. Complications are nobody’s favorite experience, but Gabriel was not flustered.
“Who wants the hard job?” he asked. I volunteered. After we washed the bowels and returned them to the abdomen, I put my hand through the laparotomy incision and held my fingers and thumb together as a stopper in the drain while Gabriel stitched around my fingers to repair the rectal prolapse for the second time. After such a complication, it impressed me that Gabriel calmly asked me to trust that he would not stitch my fingers to the patient. When that patient passed stool without pain, we all celebrated. Gabriel stayed for forty days before returning to Brazil. I was sad to see him go and wished the days could have lasted longer.
Every evening after the work day had ended, Gabriel and his father walked through the ward, greeting each patient and praying with those who were willing. Few would have been offended if they went home to eat dinner and sleep. I had never seen anything like it before.
What lessons did you take home from Chad? What are the needs you see in Chad?
Though Paul recognized healing as a fifth-tier spiritual gift (1 Corinthians 12:28), our inadequacies as physicians can knit us to the rest of Christ’s body instead of burning us out. I was amazed at the variety of talent that came together in Chad. Though I was mainly focused on patient care while I was there, I estimate medical professionals to have done less than one fifth of the people-work that was accomplished. Yet without the hospital, other opportunities would have been gravely diminished.
In addition to medical professionals, Chad needs apostles who will train Chadian workers to preach and distribute literature; educators who can uplift Chad’s young people, their biggest demographic; and administrators who can lay wise plans and work together to advance the cause. If you have these gifts, please reach out. More than anything, Chad needs your prayers and financial support. Additionally, there are many other countries that need you as the tip of the wedge. It may not be obvious, but this is what God has made us to be.
*Local names changed.
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