The Courage of Detroit

Three months since my last post and I still don't have much to say. But Mitch Albom does, and he does it in a eloquent way. So, for all of you don't know about Detroit or hate on Detroit, read on.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/the_bonus/01/07/detroit/1.html

How to prevent malnutrition one child at a time...

Today I went to hear John Patrick, MD www.johnpatrick.ca speak. What I learned from him was something that I already knew. But was afraid to say... until now.

What makes my blood run hot is medical missions. It makes me remember that no cushy radiology/ dermatology paycheck and no house in the 90210 will ever make me as happy as touching a human life and soul. Those things cannot compare to the reward of answering God's call by serving those in need. By going on missions, I have felt so many deep, deep things in my heart. These are things that God has given to me, and only me, to help keep my heart soft.

For example, when I went to Yunnan, China this summer, I was moved to tears by the random assortment of English letters that were inscribed on a church wall. Apparently, the Lisu tribe had a written language because a missionary, James O. Fraser, gave them phonetic English letters. Though his sermons probably only touched his immediate population, his gift of language helped sustain the tribe's identity in this rapidly advancing world. He personally transcribed the people's oral language into one with written English letters, now known as the Lisu/ Fraser alphabet. So, in the Yunnan mountains where I was, I saw more English letters than I saw Mandarin characters. Isn't that amazing? I know for a fact that people all around the world are the same-- looking for community, for love, and for purpose. And some of us are lucky enough to find those.

Anyways, back to John Patrick. Years ago, he was asked by missionaries and doctors in Nairobi to work with the widespread problem of protein- energy malnutrition in children. So he, with his 80 publications and wealth of medical knowledge, set out to create a protocol to feed the children. Yet within nine months of working there, he knew that he was unable to solve the starvation problem, on the condition that there would be no permanent foreign expatriate help. (He did mention that the researchers and doctors now are close to finding a solution.)

While in Africa, he was invited to give sermons to graduate students, tribal councils, and eventually, entire tribes. One (or many) of the tribes had customs where the men would eat first, and then the women and children would eat the leftovers. Since the women made meals in one big pot, the men would pick out what was the best and then after they dispersed, the women and children would all scramble and grab what was left in the pot. Dr. Patrick described that there were younger or weaker children who never even got close to the pot... and it was those that died from malnutrition.

In one of Dr. Patrick's sermons to the African tribes, he preached about the Jewish customs of families eating together. He talked about the importance of gathering around a table and having the father passing down customs and stories to the children that way. Dr. Patrick did not even understand the implications of his sermon; he was just trying to preach as he always did. Yet, something surprising happened. One of the tribal men told Dr. Patrick that because of that sermon, he had started to have his family eat and talk together at mealtimes. The man said that he noticed that he had a child who was a much slower eater than the rest of the family. The child could never eat his fill because the pot of food was gone too quickly. Consequently, the man said that he gave that child a plate of his own.

That was one less child dying of malnutrition in Africa, said Dr. Patrick.

And I believe it. This story does not mean that all medical and health solutions can be found in religious customs. But this anecdote shows the importance of tradition and ethics in the home. It is the core of a good family. God created the concept of a family; he knows how to best run one. If people only listened to these rules, there would be a lot less emotional and physical brokenness in both the family and the world.