In 2004 before going to Bangladesh for the first time I wrote ‘this could be life changing’. After spending two years of time there during the past seven years, I can see how true this has been. What started as an opportunity to serve through giving advice on finances became much more of a pastoral outreach role through which I could share about God’s love.
LAMB is a community health project with a hospital, serving poor people in rural Bangladesh, for more see www.lambproject.org. LAMB’s vision is that people will experience the love of Christ and be helped to understand what they experienced. This is done through healthcare for the whole person, among predominantly Muslim people. My part was to spend time with patients, staff and village people seeking encounters in which I could speak about Jesus and pray with people.
So how did my life change?
The most important lesson has been that God brings me into encounters with people who do not know about Jesus. And the Holy Spirit enables me to share some good news of God’s love, sharing from the Bible and through prayer. This became an everyday experience, for which I thank God, and now I am trying to find the same in life at home.
I understood the challenges to helping poor people improve their livelihoods and gain a voice in an overcrowded and less developed country. It may be nice to have connections with specific projects but I think it is better to give support through established organisations who know the reality on the ground.
I experienced being a mission partner, in a different culture, learning a new language, growing in trust and thanks to God day by day. How I support others in mission has become more relational and prayerful for the purpose of their service.
If you want to hear more about how I encountered people while at LAMB there is a fifteen minute interview.
I could not have imagined at the outset just how faithful the Lord would be throughout the many visits I made to Bangladesh. My journey has been under his direction and care, and I have many stories of how God was changing me and was using me. Now this service has ended, I thank God that he did this, Jesus name has been made known, and many lives have been touched.
The prayer support of friends and Highfield church members has been a firm foundation for all this. I hope you can join me as I thank God for changing my life, and the lives of others, as I walked with Jesus day by day. As life moves on my prayer is that this will not change, and that my experience of the love of Christ will continue to be life changing. This prayer is for me and for those with whom I seek to share it..
