C M A N A THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER FOR THE STUDENT CHAPTER OF THE COPTIC MEDICAL ASSOCIATION SPRING 2019 • VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1
A Purpose-Driven Mission
Dr. Mina Sawires
It almost feels like these days that you could blink and an entire season would flash by. Soon, summer will be approaching and, with it, many service opportunities locally and abroad. If you have not gone on a mission trip yet, you probably know someone who has. Service opportunities are numerous, since there is always a need. We often have the best of intentions when we seek opportunities to offer our time, money, and efforts to helping others. That said, there are many factors that play a role in whether or not our intentions meet their full potential. Short-term mission trips have often been criticized for lack of true impact, sustainability and best utilization of resources. So, what can you do if you want to go on a mission trip and add value, but only have a few weeks off for the summer? Here are a few things to consider before you go on your next trip to maximize the impact for yourself, as well as for the community you will be serving.
List and purify your motives. “ I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” John 15:5. If I told you to seek God in prayer before you think about choosing to go on a mission trip, it might seem like the obvious thing to do; yet, it is often the most neglected aspect. We often pray after we have decided to go or while we are there, but not before we decide. God allows himself to participate only when we invite Him to.
The synergy between my choice and the work of the Holy Spirit will often make some choices much clearer. Grab a piece of paper and write down your motives to go on a trip. Is it to help? Is it because you can add it to your Grad school application? Is it because, “everyone else has done one, so I should too”? We all have selfish reasons, but only in prayer can we purify those motives. Be honest with God and present all your motives to Him and He will guide you. Having our motives purified in prayer is step one.
Seek to serve your Purpose before you Passion. Becoming like Christ is our purpose in life, and that holds true for all of us. Bringing others to Christ happens as we pursue our own walk in being like Him. Our passions can help us achieve our purpose, but they are not our purpose. If I am passionate about dentistry, that should not mean that I am going on a mission trip to just do dentistry. I am going on a mission trip to give Christ, and one of the ways I can do that is through my passion for my career. Don’t seek to hand a bag of medication to someone in need; hand them Christ, and with it a bag of medication.
Balance Mary and Martha. We are always tempted while on mission trips to run around and do as much as possible, but we can’t forget what Christ said to Martha when she got caught up in all the service. Find time to sit at God’s feet and listen before you work. Quiet time in the morning is what guides you throughout the day. It preserves your thoughts and guides your actions according to His will.
Be open to serve outside of your specialty or comfort zone. “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” Gal 5:25. Asking God to lead means that we give Him full control of how He wants to use us while abroad. I have seen surgeons spend their day helping in the kitchen because that is what was needed. God’s first purpose for you to be on a trip is to work on you. Allow Him to teach you about humility, about surrendering, and about balance. He has called us “Co-creators,” and with that comes unmatched potential in balancing the world around us. Mission trips open the door to restoring the ecosystem, poverty, sickness, and humanity in Christ. The opportunities are endless, so do not just focus on what you want to do, and be open to what God wants to do with and through you.
“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” Gal 5:25.
The impact has to last after you have been long gone. “As each one received a gift, minster it to one another, As good stewards of the manifold grace of God” 1Peter 4:10. Anytime you have a choice between doing something yourself or transferring a teachable skill to a local person, choose the latter. Empowerment is the single greatest tool that can lift someone’s confidence and restore dignity after a difficult crisis. We are not going in order to make these communities depend on us; rather, we are there to share with them in the blessings that God has given us. That is why He gave those blessings to us in the first place. Empowerment has ended wars, has brought communities out of poverty, and has broken many chains of mental paralysis. No skill is too small to teach.
Bring something back. Souvenirs, of course. But that’s not what I am talking about here. Don’t spend a week in a new community without seeking every opportunity to learn something from them. Learn from their spirit of thanksgiving, and from their reliance on God for their daily bread. Learn also from their skill set and how they problem-solve. Most likely, they will give you more than what you can give them. We are not there to undermine, but to cooperate, empower and love. When you come back, share your experiences with others. Write down how God worked throughout the trip so you do not forget how He stood by you and the service. Seek to apply what you learned here in every way possible. If God taught your heart to break for His children while away, do not let that heart get hardened here at home, just because society tells us that compassion is secondary to practicality. It is often very difficult to stay in touch with some of the people we’ve interacted with on mission trips, whether they were fellow servants or the communities that took us in. Remembrance in prayer for the people, by name when possible, is a new dimension we experience in fellowship with others whom we cannot see. It is a way to love and connect with them through God, when our hands can no longer reach. Keep in touch with a few people that you connected with. Send a text message, an email or a letter and let them know you are thinking of them and praying for them. God never visits you once and then disappears, then why don't we try and do the same as we are seeking to be more like Him?
Stay in touch.
Going on a mission trip this summer? Bring God, a notebook and a friend. Watch how He works all around you and through you, and then carefully watch how He works in you. After all, you are His ultimate and most sustainable mission.
MISSION TESTIMONIAL Dr. Mena Bakhit
"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms." 1 Peter 4:10
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hat is service to you and what gifts do you have to offer? For me, life in medicine is not easy: long hours, stressful situation, difficult patients and the list goes on. How can one handle the stress of medicine and continue to serve joyfully with love and be the light of Christ? I think part of the answer to this question is service in other countries. Medical Missions, including ones through CMANA, have opened my mind to a different type of service in medicine. My first medical mission was to St. Kitts, Nevis; this trip was the foundation to other medical missions that I have had the privilege to go on.
I spent most of my time at St Paul’s University Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; a teaching hospital for medical students and trainees. Many of the patients I saw were very sick including one that stands out the most.
At the time, I had no medical training but throughout the years God has given me many gifts beyond my expectations. Ethiopia was the first medical mission I went on where I used my training in Gastroenterology to teach and to learn. The experience in Ethiopia was by far the most eye-opening experiences I have ever been on. I spent most of my time at St Paul’s University Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; a teaching hospital for medical students and trainees. Many of the patients I saw were very sick including one that stands out the most.
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A young man and his friend walked into a small room where patients were being see in the hepatology (liver) clinic. I was sitting next to the resident and she was getting his history in Amharic (the spoken language in Ethiopia). He was very thin but dressed nicely. The resident told me he had advanced liver disease because of vertical transmission of hepatitis B virus from his mother; in other words, his mother gave him hepatitis B during the pregnancy. To my surprise, he was only 22 years old. In America, people with advanced liver disease are usually around 50 years old and RARELY do we see anyone younger than 30 years old. Unfortunately, his life expectancy is very poor and he may not live to see his 30s unless he gets a liver transplant. Regardless, the patient was very grateful and loving at the end of the appointment.
This medical mission allowed me to see disease processes that I will rarely, if ever, see in the states. It gave me the opportunity to build on the knowledge I already had. It allowed me to see a society that was always thankful and kind even though they were in poverty. But most of all, I met other Copts who had similar goals and desires and those relationships will be long lasting. I highly recommend everyone, regardless of your depth of knowledge or training, to attend a medical mission abroad because every single person has a gift that should be shared and it gives you the opportunity to see Christ even in people who are in poverty.
St. Basil the Great
St. Basil the Great was a man of many talents and services; his theology and writings provide a deeper and more thorough understanding of Orthodox dogma, and his liturgy is integral to the Orthodox rites. In addition to these contributions, as well as his service as the Bishop of Caesarea, he was also the first to establish orphanages, hospitals, and homes for the elderly. His many contributions were spoken of by his lifelong friend, St. Gregory Nazianzen, in his funeral oration. The following excerpt highlights St. Basil’s contribution to healthcare, and provides an ideal for all Christian healthcare providers to strive towards.
Funeral Oration on St. Basil by St. Gregory Nazaianzen What more? A noble thing is philanthropy, and the support of the poor, and the assistance of human weakness. Go forth a little way from the city, and behold the new city, the storehouse of piety, the common treasury of the wealthy, in which the superfluities of their wealth, aye, and even their necessaries, are stored, in consequence of his exhortations, freed from the power of the moth, Matthew 6:19 no longer gladdening the eyes of the thief, and escaping both the emulation of envy, and the corruption of time: where disease is regarded in a religious light, and disaster is thought a blessing, and sympathy is put to the test. Why should I compare with this work Thebes of the seen portals, and the Egyptian Thebes, and the walls of Babylon, and the Carian tomb of Mausolus, and the Pyramids, and the bronze without weight of the Colossus, or the size and beauty of shrines that are no more, and all the other objects of men's wonder, and historic record, from which their founders gained no advantage, except a slight meed of fame. My subject is the most wonderful of all, the short road to salvation, the easiest ascent to heaven. There is no longer before our eyes that terrible and piteous spectacle of men who are living corpses, the greater part of whose limbs have mortified, driven away from their cities and homes and public places and fountains, aye, and from their own dearest ones, recognizable by their names rather than by their features: they are no longer brought before us at our gatherings and meetings, in our common
intercourse and union, no longer the objects of hatred, instead of pity on account of their disease; composers of piteous songs, if any of them have their voice still left to them. Why should I try to express in tragic style all our experiences, when no language can be adequate to their hard lot? He however it was, who took the lead in pressing upon those who were men, that they ought not to despise their fellowmen, nor to dishonour Christ, the one Head of all, by their inhuman treatment of them; but to use the misfortunes of others as an opportunity of firmly establishing their own lot, and to lend to God that mercy of which they stand in need at His hands. He did not therefore disdain to honour with his lips this disease, noble and of noble ancestry and brilliant reputation though he was, but saluted them as brethren, not, as some might suppose, from vainglory, (for who was so far removed from this feeling?) but taking the lead in approaching to tend them, as a consequence of his philosophy, and so giving not only a speaking, but also a silent, instruction. The effect produced is to be seen not only in the city, but in the country and beyond, and even the leaders of society have vied with one another in their philanthropy and magnanimity towards them. Others have had their cooks, and splendid tables, and the devices and dainties of confectioners, and exquisite carriages, and soft, flowing robes; Basil's care was for the sick, and the relief of their wounds, and the imitation of Christ, by cleansing leprosy, not by a word, but in deed.
BOOK REVIEW
THE LIFE OF REPENTANCE AND PURITY BY POPE SHENOUDA III Miriam Saleh
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s Orthodox Christians, confession is deeply rooted in the tenets of our church. It’s something we hear about, practice often, and always improve. Since it is essential to our salvation, we tend to treat it as routine. In The Life of Repentance and Purity, Pope Shenouda offers a refreshing viewpoint by not treating confession as simply “routine”, per se, but rather a means to Return to Him. More than anything, this book describes the richness of our courtship with our Creator and treats repentance as the course to find the comfort we’re each been seeking.
For many of us, the incentive to repent come in different forms. Whether you are incentivized through leniency/compassion or harshness, The Life of Repentance and Purity addresses both. For some who experience repentance through compassion, you would appreciate Pope Shenouda’s description of God’s will and vigor in your repentance. It is, as he states, “enough that God is striving for you. Many saints raise up their prayers for your sake, along with the pleadings of angels”. He compassionately addresses the deep despair we’ve all experienced and explains exactly why we delay returning to His love. I for one, have never heard a more beautiful depiction between the Pursuer and the one being pursued than his’.
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“The worst and greatest sin, in comparison to God’s mercy, is like a speck of dirt we throw into the sea. It does not discolor the sea, but the sea takes it and spreads it into its depth and gives us pure water. God’s acceptance of repentance shows the depth of His divine love.” -Pope Shenouda
While reading this book it was so clear that Pope Shenouda’s main focus was to keep the reader away from overwhelming guilt but to relieve his/her suppressed shortcomings to their priest. The way he explained the church’s wisdom in making confession a sacrament was also a crucial element for any Orthodox Christian. The Church, in its infinite wisdom, knows the human heart cannot handle concealed guilt, which is why the book did an exceptional job in explaining why the Church cares considerably for the redemption of the heart. Pope Shenouda was deeply concerned that the reader knows confession is not a means to re-instill shame but rather to relieve it.
The most beautiful thing about Pope Shenouda’s writings here was the effort he made to instill comfort. If you’re experiencing fatigue and ache, even to the point where it’s debilitating, I highly recommend this book. Regardless of where the pain in your life is coming from, Pope Shenouda expands our notions of what God’s healing presence really is. He eloquently explains our fears associated with reproach, our fears associated with confession, and did an even better job explaining how to overcome and redeem them.
St. Luke’s Clinic in Nashville, Tennessee Diana Awad
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t. Luke was started in September of 2014 by the grace of God through a vision that a few individuals had for our community. The clinic was started literally from the ground up by hard work, dedication, and love of service. We wanted to be able to offer as many services, and help as many as possible, within our underserved community. When the clinic began it literally had a handful of volunteers, and one physician. And with everyone’s busy lives and crazy schedules sometimes
some where obliged to be there more than the others. Although it was just a few individuals is still made a huge impact within our community. When the clinic began it began very small in a very dainty office within the basement of the church. We were limited to how many patients we could take on, and how many we could see at a time, due to the fact that we had limited space. And although we only had one physician who specialized in spine and pain management, it still
brought on an abundance of patients. During all this beautiful chaos, we actually had a second physician coming on that was focused in internal medicine. Due to his field being so widespread we were actually able to take on a lot more patients and needed more space in order to fulfil our service. We rented a property from the church which we turned into a formal clinic and it flourished into something much bigger and we we’re able to take on more patients.
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When St. Luke began our vision of the service was to help and heal as many as possible within our community. Due to the fact that we have quite a bit of immigrants and refugees, we wanted to be able to reach out and help those who don’t have access to healthcare and are unable to afford healthcare. We wanted to provide something that’s affordable and convenient to the fact that most of our patients are non-English speakers. We also had an ophthalmologist come on and although for a short period of time he was quite a blessing for the clinic. He was later blessed with his own blessings of priesthood and is now a fulltime servant in the church.
We also have a pharmacy and a pharmacist, and were able to provide some medications at lower costs. St. Luke has been around for almost five years now and still going strong. We continue to stand strong within the community healing and helping those in need. We’re hoping in the near future that we would be able to bring on a few more physicians. With our community growing rapidly day by day we definitely want to be able to provide and cater to them. By the grace of God May we continue to grow and flourish, and serve those who are underserved.
Political Activism for Healthcare Professionals Nardin Derias
As healthcare professionals, it is not simply enough for us to work on healing the person, but we must confront the social determinants that have led the patient to us in the first place. Many minority patients are more likely to suffer from diabetes, hypertension, and are even more likely to be neglected in terms of screening for various diseases. For this reason, healthcare professionals need to be involved in policies that can better the lives of patients. Each healthcare professional group has an affiliated association that works on advocacy, in the field of medicine, the American Medical Association (AMA) does a lot of this. They advocate for “the social, economic, educational, and political changes that ameliorate suffering and contribute to human well-being.” Associations like this provide materials for members to distribute on various policies that they are advocating for; these flyers and social media events make connecting with like-minded individuals across the field of medicine so much easier. Students even have the ability to get involved in health policy at this level by submitting resolutions to be voted upon and incorporated into AMA policy. This can be done at the local and state level as well.
“Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Proverbs 31:8-9 Political activism comes not only from being involved in professional organizations such as the AMA, but can even be as simple as making sure we take the time to vote in elections, especially local elections. If you are unable to vote in person, then you can request an absentee ballot from the supervisor of elections in your area through his or her website . Local government goes underappreciated oftentimes, even though it is the policies passed at that level that have the most immediate effect on our lives and the lives of our patients. Regardless of political affiliation, doing research and voting on candidates whose policies align with your own views and who will work to better the community is incredibly important. Even the bible reminds us of the importance of serving others and being active. Proverbs 31:8-9 says, “Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.” This can be applied to our roles in being politically active and by making sure we do what we can to fight for those who do not have a voice and to make sure that their best interest are being represented. Healthcare professionals have a certain level of social influence and power and with that comes a certain level of responsibility. It is up to us to use that political capital to do good in the community and to help bring about tangible change around us.
THE ARMOR BENEATH THE WHITE COATÂ Karla Mishreky
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n Downtown Chicago, 200 healthcare professionals and students gathered to discuss how to bring to light the armor beneath the white coat in the name of Christ. The weekend included fruitful dialogue, social networking, and an ugly christmas sweater competition with a very bright winner. The topics lead by Dr. Gary Ferngren, HG Bishop Thomas, and Fr. James Mikhail shed light on the origin of our passion to provide care to others in need through the early Church and early Christian traditions, and through our Physician who calls us to minister others. We delved deeper into what our armor is and defined it as integrity; being whole and undivided, mirroring Christ. It's easy to get carried away in wanting to excel in our profession, however we touched on maintaining a balance in our lives and ensuring God is our fuel, because we can't continue to shine without God.
THE ARMOR BENEATH THE WHITE COAT CONTINUED
"LET US CAST OFF THE WORKS OF DARKNESS, AND LET US PUT ON THE ARMOR OF LIGHT" Romans 13:12
My favorite part of the conference is perfectly summarized by this quote from Martin Luther King Jr., "There is power in numbers and there is power in unity". Being in the midst of the group, I felt the energy and the passion during the workshops, the individual conversations, and during the praise and worship. It was extraordinary feeling the spirit of the Lord during the weekend, and the vision of CMANA, the "revelation of the living God, through providing compassionate healing worldwide", was truly displayed.
CMANA x Boston Verena Hanna
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n February 2nd, 2019, CMANA held its first local event of the year in the beautiful city of Boston. The topic of our day was “God, Me & My Career.” We heard from many different speakers such as, George Tadros, Dr. Hani Ashamalla, Dr. Mena Mesiha, and Dr. Mina Sawires. Contrary to what the world wants us to believe, Dr. Tadros explained to us about how interdependent and intermingled our relationship with our career and God truly is. After, we heard a debate about success between Dr. Ashamalla and Dr. Mesiha. Dr. Mesiha defended the thesis arguing that success is undoubtedly a great thing, while Dr. Ashamalla argued the antithesis, stating that sometimes it is important to fail our way to success. The day ended with Dr. Sawires talking about purpose and passion in missions. We learned about the depths of serving in a mission and how our passion can bring us through the week, but our purpose will have a lifelong impact. We learned that sometimes we have to “Love Until it Hurts” and our purpose can be the driving source of this love. After a wonderful day of spiritual reflection and soul searching to answer some difficult, but necessary questions, a group of us went out to explore Boston. We went to Faneuil Hall, walked through Christopher Columbus park, and stopped for some cannolis at the ever so famous Mike’s Pastry!
Spiritual Day
Future Events CMANA 7th ANNUAL CONFERENCE DATE: CITY:
December 20-22, 2019 Boston, MA
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