During this time, someone introduced them to Jesus and gave Alina a New Testament. As she looked through the book, Alina discovered a love greater than any she’d ever imagined. She wasted no time, embracing Christ’s gift as soon as she realized what He offered. If only she’d known His love sooner!
As she dug into the Scriptures, soaking up the words of the One who loved her enough to die for her, a burden grew in her heart for the many who still had never heard of this life-changing love. They waited, just as she once had, for someone to introduce them to Jesus.
She needed to go to them.
A Village in Need of Love
Alina’s calling to share the love of Christ brought her to Bible college and eventually led her to serve as a leader of Women’s Fellowship groups in her area. Women’s Fellowships host weekly women’s prayer and Bible study gatherings at the local church, visit families in the community to share the Good News and organize creative ways to tangibly show Christ’s compassion in their areas.
With her passion for others to know Christ’s love, Alina was the perfect fit to lead the women on her team as they oversaw the Women’s Fellowship groups in their area and organized activities to connect with people in their communities. One of these communities weighed particularly heavily on the women’s hearts. It was a small, rural village. For the people living there, poverty was a daily reality and education was nearly non-existent. A GFA pastor had been faithfully serving in this community for 20 years, yet there were still many needs. What if Alina and her team could come alongside this pastor and do something to support him as he served his community? It would need to be something tangible, something that would show Christ’s love in a way people could touch and feel.
As Alina and her team thought through their options, they doubtless considered the specific needs of the villagers. One need in particular caught their attention: Because of the prevalent poverty in the area, many of the villagers could not afford medicine and healthcare when they fell ill.
Tragically, the plight of this village is not isolated. Around the world, healthcare expenses often financially overwhelm families in poverty. According to the United Nations, even before the COVID-19 pandemic, 1 billion people faced health expenses greater than 10 percent of their total household budget.1 Of those people, 344 million at the time were “driven deeper into extreme poverty by health costs”.2 In many cases, the pandemic only compounded these issues. This means that millions of people are forced to choose between good health and other essentials, such as food and education. In the small village in Alina’s area, many families, mostly poor farmers, chose not to visit a doctor or hospital when they fell sick because they simply did not have the resources to do so.
What if Alina and her team could organize a medical camp where families from the community could come and get medicines for free? Christ healed the sick during His time on earth, so what better way to show His great love than to help heal the sicknesses of the precious people in this forgotten corner of the world?
Alina and the other women got to work. They would need professional medical help to make the camp a success, so they invited a local doctor to be part of the event. They would also need medicines to stock their free pharmacy—they could get those from a local hospital. And they’d need to set a date. They chose April 7, in honor of World Health Day. The camp would be a whole-church event, with the Women’s Fellowship team and GFA pastors from the surrounding area all participating.
Their prayer? That the villagers would receive healing from their ailments and experience the loving touch of God in new ways through medicine and practical help.
Good News for Those in Need
As the day for the camp drew closer, more and more villagers heard the news, and excitement grew. Forty-five-year-old Maren had been burdened by a breathing problem that made her work around the house difficult. Perhaps the worst part was that there was no end in sight for her suffering. Maren’s husband was a day laborer, working today for what he and his family needed to eat tomorrow. There was never enough money to spare for medicine. Three years had gone by already with no hope for any relief. Until now.
Others had similar stories. Liesa’s husband, a farmer, had been taking medication for blood cancer for the last 10 years. Somehow, their family had managed the financial burden—four of their five daughters were married and settled, and their youngest was studying at boarding school. But then Liesa fell ill. For eight months, she was weakened by knee pain and dizziness until she could barely manage to care for her family. Just like Maren, Liesa and her family had no money to spare for medicine to relieve her suffering.
Unfortunately, for families like Maren’s and Liesa’s, forgoing medical treatment due to poverty is only the beginning of their problems. In fact, remaining sick or otherwise disabled often makes their financial situation worse as they become less able to provide for themselves and their families.3 Millions are caught in this vicious cycle where poverty both exacerbates and is exacerbated by ill health. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Medical camps like the one planned for Liesa’s village are powerful tools—not just in the fight against ill health, but also in the fight to lift families out of poverty. These camps bring hope and healing, all in the name of Jesus. For Liesa, news of a free medical camp thrilled her weary heart. “Surely,” she thought, “I will get some medicines for me.”
When the big day arrived, Maren and Liesa joined more than 100 of their neighbors as they lined up in front of the medicine table. A local doctor, assisted by pastors and Women’s Fellowship sisters, listened to each attendee in turn, giving advice, determining which medicines or vitamins would best help each patient and even administering medicine where needed.
When Maren’s turn came, she received specific medication for her breathing struggles, as well as a good dose of love from the pastors. “When I attended the free medical camp, I saw that the [pastors] are so … loving, carefully talking and giving advice,” she said. “I understood that God is working through the church people.”
That great love touched Liesa, also, as she received medicine for her knee pain and dizziness. “[For the] first time, I saw a free medical camp in my village,” she shared. “Before, I had not seen any such medical camp. I really understood that the church has concern for the poor and needy people in the society. I thank God and the church people for taking such a good initiative for the society.”
Wholeness Restored
As Maren, Liesa and others went home after the medical camp, they went in joy. Now, at last, they had a chance to regain the wholeness they’d been missing for so long.
Thanks to the medicine she received, Maren’s health improved, and with it, her overall well-being. Previously, worry and discouragement had plagued her as she faced each day with no hope of relief, but this faded as she began to breathe more easily. Today, she can do all her household chores without any difficulty.
Liesa, also, is much improved. With her dizziness and pain under control, she is once again able to care for her husband and her home. Her husband still suffers from blood cancer, but the love his wife experienced through the medical camp seems to have touched his heart, too. He has been visiting the local church, where the GFA pastor and believers pray for his healing.
The medical camp lasted for only a day, but Alina and the other members of the Women’s Fellowship team understand that the camp’s impact on the community can continue into eternity. As families receive the help they need for their sicknesses and injuries, they experience the love of the Great Physician, too.
With more than half the world’s population lacking essential health services, many are still endangered or debilitated by preventable and treatable conditions.4 Medical camps are one of the best ways for brothers and sisters in these areas to bring Christ’s tangible love to people in need of healing and hope. GFA workers in Africa and Asia know that many wait, just like Alina and her family once did, for someone to bring them the news that Jesus died for them. With medical camps, they’re able to bring that great love to communities like Alina’s, offering crucial care and hope for both now and eternity. Will you partner with these brothers and sisters to make more of these lifesaving camps possible?
