Trips Blog

by Rob Weingartner

Our final day in Pakistan (Wednesday) was a day of encouragement and rich experiences for Richard and me. We are deeply grateful for the hospitality and help that the Presbyterian Church of Pakistan Moderator, Rev. Dr. Majid Abel and his wife, Hina, provided to us during our entire stay.

Our first visit was to the new offices of the Presbyterian Education Board which is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the denationalization of primary and secondary schools. The church’s educational ministry had been very strong up until the time that the schools were nationalized. When the opportunity to build and run schools returned to the church, PEB stepped up to provide strong leadership. Currently, PEB educates about 6,000 children in 12 high schools and six village primary schools. PEB seeks to serve “the poorest of the poor,” and they serve both Muslim and Christian students. PEB also directs a number of Women’s Empowerment Projects.

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by Richard Paddon and Rob Weingartner

Tonight is our last full night in Lahore. We depart 3:35 am Thursday and, of course, must be at the airport two hours earlier! Each night since arriving at 2 am Wednesday, September 13, we have been overnight guests at Church House adjacent to the Naulakha Church where Rob preached. Half of the first floor is the home of Pastor Majid and his wife Hani and separate from the rest of the house. We have enjoyed simple breakfasts prepared in the house kitchen and served in the adjacent dining room. The living room beyond is available for informal gatherings of pastors or other meetings. The adjacent photo shows the two people, Nargis and Asid, who have looked after us with love and care throughout our stay.

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by Richard Paddon

Today, Saturday in Lahore, is our fourth full day here; this morning we were driven from there to Sialkot, now a thriving city and a long-time center for the production of surgical instruments. A web search will give you the backstory of that from 1905. We were there to see Memorial Christian Hospital, established 1886 by Maria White, M.D., a young American sent by the United Presbyterian Church of North America. She was the first of scores of medical missionaries called by the Lord to provide prenatal, maternal and pediatric health care. Evangelistic and medical mission by U.S.A. Presbyterians was later established in several more cities. A small dispensary for women and children, constructed in Sialkot on land deeded by a Muslim gentleman, soon grew to a 55-bed hospital.

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by Rob Weingartner

Arriving at our temporary home in Lahore, Pakistan, at 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday, we departed at 5:30 a.m. for the Christian Hospital at Taxila. Rev. Richard Paddon, my traveling companion and a retired pastor and school chaplain, quickly discovered that this trip would not be for the faint of heart. Our two days here have been long and intense. Our host for this time is the Rev. Dr. Majid Abel, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Pakistan and pastor of the Naukala Church whose guest quarters we are occupying.

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