This session will explore the distinctive characteristics of Christian medical missions compared to humanitarian missions. It will look at biblical guidelines for ministering in Jesus’ name and examine practical applications for those engaged in Christian medical missions.
Resilient, balanced, resourceful, and culturally sensitive expatriates galvanize cross-cultural ventures. Mental health is the bedrock; yet, a surfeit of narrative disparages global enterprise because of misfortune provoked by psychological maladies. Expectations are realigned when the epidemiology of mental health disorders are considered in the context of complex cross-cultural transitions. Predisposing attributes, demands and awareness of risk foster a resolve to care. Evidence-based practice aligns expertise; care combines “best practice” with sensitivity to points of access on the substrate of the recipient’s worldview.
This session will give a brief overview of the problem of macronutrient malnutrition (protein-energy malnutrition), its pathophysiology as a “metabolic disorder,” its diagnosis, and best practices to ensure optimum outcomes highlighting the WHOs ten step approach.
This session addresses the difficult question: “If God is good and wants us to be healthy, why do we get sick and die?” I tell the story of my wife who went “safely home” in spite of medicine, much prayer, and inner healing, and the new lessons about life and disease I have learned from this.
Nutritional deficiencies continue to plague many children in resource-limited areas. Current knowledge in the “developed” world is not always adequate in determining how to care for affected children in “developing” countries, and fresh research can be useful in helping children all over the world. Using examples of studies of generalized malnutrition and of deficiencies of calcium, vitamin D, and thiamine, participants will gain an understanding of how low-cost investigations carried out in resource-limited areas can have high-yield in advancing science and in curing children.
