Pray for East Timor on Sunday, March 18, 2012

Pray for East Timor on Sunday, March 18, 2012

Sorry, we got the wrong link in our weekly update for the March 25th prayer & mission moment for Zimbabwe. Click here to go to the correct page for March 25th: Zimbabwe

Prayers for East Timor: John 3:14-21

God we are awestruck by your love for this world that you’ve created!  We are amazed at your steadfast commitment, solidarity and promises to your creation!  What a simple yet beautiful summary of the Good News made known in Jesus Christ:

-God loves the world!
-God is saving the world!
-Life eternal, life abundant!
-Light has come into the world!

Holy One, we pray that you would make us bold to proclaim this Word of hope in all the world.  We especially pray this Word would be known in East Timor where presidential and parliamentary elections are just around the corner.  People are anxious about the process and outcome.  May your comfort and steadfast presence be known during this time, Lord. 

Our partners in the Protestant Church are also holding elections in the near future.  We pray for your guidance and wisdom.  We ask that you would bless all those who participate and those who are elected with a spirit of servant hood, humility and love for the people.  Help us renew this church, O God of grace and newness.  Help us see the face of Christ in all.

In the name of Jesus,

Amen

Mission Moment from Clinic Immanuel Lospalos, East Timor

It is 9AM on Monday morning at Clinic Immanuel.  The clinic is a health ministry of the Protestant Church in East Timor, our Global Ministries partners.  Some 80-or-so patients are waiting outside to register.  Inside, five Timorese staff, all women, are already at work.  Olinda is cooking mung bean porridge, which she will serve to undernourished children who come each day to our feeding program.  Amena D. is changing the dressing on a patient’s foot: an accidental machete wound that was left unattended for three days before the patient sought treatment.  Amena C. is dispensing a daily dose of medicine to a patient with tuberculosis, following the national “Directly Observed Treatment” protocol.  Esther is delivering a report to the local hospital so the district health services can keep tabs on diseases like diarrhea, dysentery and dengue fever.  Rita is in the reception, where she pulls charts, takes temperatures and weighs each patient.  It’s another day at Clinic Immanuel in Lospalos.

During the day, patients will wait their turn for a very brief consultation.  On busy days, people wait two to four hours to be seen.  No one speaks English, so although I am well-versed in Tetum, the national language, one of the clinic staff assists with translation for one of the other three local languages commonly spoken.  Patients are given malaria and TB tests in the clinic lab.  Pregnant women are referred to the local hospital for HIV testing—a new development in Lospalos, and one in which we hope the government midwives will soon catch on to. 

Each patient at Clinic Immanuel receives treatment free of charge.  While the limitations are immense regarding what we can offer, this little clinic on the other side of the world is doing the best it can to reach out to the people, to serve selflessly, to provide food, referrals, and medicine to the patients we serve.  And for those who we can do nothing more for, we continue to lift the neediest up each morning with our prayers.  Thanks for your continued support!         

(Prayer and Mission Moment by Monica & Tom Liddle)

Video Resources on East Timor:

· Interview with Tom and Monica Liddle: http://globalministries.org/resources/multimedia-resources/videos/video-mission-moments/east-timor-liddle.html

· Interview with John Campbell-Nelson: http://globalministries.org/resources/multimedia-resources/videos/video-mission-moments/eastern-indonesia-pastoral.html

Global Ministries Partners in East Timor: 

The Protestant Church of East Timor (IPTL): represents the Reformed Church presence in a predominantly Roman Catholic country in Southeast Asia.

For more info on East Timor: http://globalministries.org/sasia/countries/east-timor/

Global Ministries Missionaries in East Timor:

· Tom Liddle, a member of Peace United Church of Christ, Duluth, Minnesota, serves with the Protestant Church of East Timor (IPTL). He works as a facilitator in the IPTL’s program for strengthening congregations and continuing education of pastors.

· Monica Liddle, a member of Peace United Church of Christ, Duluth, Minnesota, serves with the Protestant Church of East Timor (IPTL). She works as a naturopathic doctor in the clinic in Lospalos, which is run by FUSONA, the relief and development wing of the IPTL. Monica’s appointment is supported by One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS).

· Carlos Madrazo, a member of Bethany United Church of Christ, Seattle, Washington, serves the Protestant Church of East Timor (IPTL). He works as an adviser on institutional capacity building, resources and curriculum development with ITPL and its two related foundations – Foundasaun Didache (for the Lisa Dila Vocational High School) and Foundation Social Naroman (engaged in relief and development).