Indy NMI Blog

A patient came in today complaining of swelling of her abdomen.  I have seen 100s of patients with liver cancer here and expected it to be the same thing.  When I took her to ultrasound, I was greeted by something I had never seen before.   Not only did the swelling look much different than other liver masses I had seen, it also seemed to be smiling at me.  I don’t know why the mass was smiling, but it made me smile seeing it smile.  Hopefully the smile is a good thing, maybe it is telling us it isn’t cancer and this women has a good chance to make it, or maybe it is saying that even when things are bad, we can still smile. I see a lot of bad things each day; cancer, abortions, AIDS, TB, infections so bad people won’t walk again, car accidents injuries, head injuries from falls, depression, domestic violence and death, lots of death.  Hoping I can remember to smile through it all and help the patients smile too despite their pain and hurting.
Source: Smiling at us from Erin Meier – Asia Pacific

I wrote a devotional the other day on the concept of taking sacred downtime, and I wanted to share it with you.  If you’re like me, you are probably in serious need of some sacred downtime.  And if you’re not like me, but you live in the modern world, or better yet you are in full-time ministry in the modern world or serving in a cross-cultural context in this modern world, chances are you are in need of some sacred downtime, so I hope this connects with you… Lately I’ve been noticing that when I get so busy, I don’t drink enough water.  What reminds me of this is that I get thirsty.  You know, “they” say that when you’re thirsty, you are already dehydrated.  So, by the time I gulp down a big glass of water, I’m doing something good for my body, but it is sort of out of desperation, and my body is still thirsty shortly after.  I’m behind.  I should be drinking so that I don’t get thirsty.  Taking any kind of downtime, let alone sacred downtime, is sort of like this for me.  I feel by the time I finally take that time, I’m in a place where I have already desperately needed it, and my thirst is not quite quenched.  Some of you have gotten better at this the longer you’ve served or the longer you’ve been in ministry.  Or maybe you’ve gone in phases where you’ve had some seasons where you are regularly taking the…
Source: Sacred downtime from Scotts – Eurasia

Our first congregation in Morondava and their building. From April 10-13, Ronald took a quick trip to Morondava, which is south of the capital of Antananarivo by about 14 hours’ drive. In terms of distance, it is only about 800 kilometers, or 500 miles, but our roads aren’t the greatest, so it takes quite long to drive there. Having said that, Ronald assured me that the roads are “not that bad” getting there. Hmmm…For many years, we have had 1 church in Morondava and in recent years a second one was planted. Both of these churches are pastored by women. Pst. Baku was one of our first ordained elders on the district and she has a very strong presence and is leading the first congregation in Morondava. Many years ago–around 2005–volunteers came from the USA and helped to build the church in Morondava on a very large piece of property that we bought. Conditions are harsh in Morondava with sweltering heat, oppressive humidity and, of course, the pounding sun that we get almost every single day of the year here in Madagascar. The church, while built well, is now starting to show signs of wear and tear 15 years down the road. Paint is peeling, concrete floors are in need of attention, etc. A view from the car window–baobab treeHowever, Ronald did not just go down there to look at the old building. The congregations there have been expressing a desire to continue with a media project they have started…
Source: Ronald's Trip to Morondava from Ronald & Shelly Miller