Egypt #5: A Faithful God
A Faithful God
For the team, by Linda Bowman
University Place Presbyterian, Tacoma, Washington
After much needed rest and a gourmet breakfast, we were off again. Our day began at the German Mission Hospital in Aswan. Founded in 1913, it remains an important part of the healthcare network in the Aswan area. However, this hospital serves primarily the poor, regardless of race, religion or ethnic ancestry. Offering clinics, emergency care, ICU beds, in-patient care, and a surgery center, the hospital sees patients who travel up to 200 miles.
Each day around 250 patients are served in the 10 outpatient clinics. Beyond the medical care, the German Mission Hospital also includes a training program in general medicine, a daycare for disabled children, and a residential nurse training program in the very early development stage. In addition, the Community Development Services department teaches classes in diabetes education, financial management, substance abuse prevention, ESL, and vocational technology.
At the German Mission Hospital, we witnessed the heart of its mission - a desire to share God’s love with the community of Aswan. The work of the hospital isn’t always easy, yet they experience God’s faithfulness as God continues to provide doctors and nurses, along with the financial resources to meet the great needs of the community.
We then traveled to the city of New Aswan. This land has been provided to the Presbyterian church by the government for the development of a new church. Once granted the land, the church will have three years to start building or the land could be reallocated. Holding the dirt in our hands, we prayed that God would provide the vision and the funds for the future of the Presbyterian church in New Aswan. And we believe that God will be faithful in answering our prayers.
In the evening, we visited the Aswan Church, a 150-year-old church with quite the history. As recently as 12 years ago, the church asked the government for permission to tear down their decaying building. After being denied permission to tear it down, they began to pray that at least the building would not collapse with anyone in it. In answered prayers, the building collapsed in the middle of the night. Only then, with much time and energy, was the church able to start rebuilding. Today, there are several finished rooms, including a temporary worship space, and work on the sanctuary continues.
Though they are currently without a pastor, the church in Aswan believes that God will be faithful. They have experienced God’s faithfulness in the past, and trust that God will provide for their ministry in the future. They are building their new building with a vision that it will stand for at least another 150 years, so that they can reach more and more people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
