Window on the World

From Randal Dick
Superintendent of Missions

Whatever happened
to Bangladesh?

You may have wondered what happened to Bangladesh? We used to see articles and updates regularly, and wasn’t there even a notice about a potential WCG short-term mission opportunity? Whatever happened?

Yes to all of the above. Sept. 11, 2001, changed more than just New York or even the United States. The atmosphere in overwhelmingly Islamic Bangladesh changed decidedly as well. Incidents of violence against Christians increased. Several major Christian churches in the capital, Dhaka, were burned in anti-Christian riots. The Bangladesh constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but that is almost impossible to enforce in the face of the onslaught of fundamentalist Muslim forces at work in the country.

Rod Matthews, regional director, and I postponed returning to Bangladesh this past year not so much out of concern for our safety, but because our presence in the rural areas, where we stand out, and word travels at speed-of-mouth, can cause our brethren to be endangered by our presence. They become targets.

You can appreciate the added difficulty that our brethren face in openly sharing the good news of Christ’s kingdom. Even before 9-11 it was difficult. Several of our gospel workers were hospitalized in intensive care, and our main training center and largest building narrowly escaped being burned to the ground by Muslim extremists.

They came with gasoline in hand, and began to pour it around the foundation when the neighbors rose up and demanded that they leave that building alone! These people, they said, are hurting no one.

John Biswas, director of the Bengali Evangelical Association, and his team have had to be creative to look for effective avenues whereby they can bring Christ to their neighbors in a way that can be sustained. Plans have been developing for some time.

I decided to wait until they became a reality before announcing the initiative or recommending the project when people ask about investing effectively in the mission of the church. But now is the time, and in my opinion, it just doesn’t get much better than this.

The idea is to connect with Hindu and Muslim Bangladeshis in such a way that they can see for themselves the love of God at work in their midst. Let grace have its work, thereby enabling misinformed people, often hostile to the religion of Christianity, to turn from hostile to peaceful. It is then that the gospel can be heard and understood.

We had the goat program. Many of you participated and sponsored one or more goats.

That program was helpful and bore good fruit. But situations constantly change. The program had to be curtailed because it started to create jealousy in those who did not receive a goat, and sometimes from the local village headman, who felt that his influence was being diminished.

As the negative side began to build, John wisely decided to scale down the program so that the gospel benefit already accrued was not undone.

John sought a better way, and I think God helped him see it. John’s wife, Naomi, is a nurse. She realized that there was a huge gap that love could fill. Health care is minimal in rural Bangladesh, which has few hospitals. You either get well or you don’t. Statistically, when a sick person is given even basic health care, it increases the survival rate by nearly 30 percent.

John, with Naomi’s guidance, developed an outstanding manual on home health care in the Bengali language. It is detailed, simply but profusely illustrated, and professional in every way. John has been working on this manual for more than a year. We gave John the accumulated funds that many of you generously supplied to cover the costs of the initial printing.

John has set up a training program for home healthcare nurses. I waited until he had actually launched the program before sharing this with you. Check out the photos, if you haven’t already. Look at the faces—the joy and the determination. We could use a few of those folks over here! The fruits, obvious from the photos, are good.

The first group of trained workers is now fanning out across that part of the province, going into homes of Muslims and Hindus alike. They will supply initial home healthcare while training family members how to give healthcare to their invalids and infirm.

God has to be smiling on this. It is true religion at its best. In order to make the program truly a part of the fabric of the region, John accepts and trains Muslim, Hindu and Christian healthcare workers. No one can say that this is just a Christian ploy to convert you. In fact the Christian workers are the minority. However, the Christian workers also get help learning to share the gospel in a dignified and thorough manner.

Bangladesh suffers from oppressive poverty. While this would be considered a good works project in this country, it makes a profound impact in Bangladesh. The simple knowledge of how to change the bedding with someone in the bed, or how to bathe and clean a bedfast person, just isn’t available.

A friend of John’s, who happens to be a minister of Parliament in Bangladesh, saw a copy of the home healthcare manual. He was so overwhelmed by its contents that he wanted a copy to show in Parliament later that day. A government minister expressed the government’s interest in the program. John has the foresight to keep the program out of the limelight until it has a chance to bear more fruit.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, I am excited about this program. I guess that is because it marries the two critical components of true mission: first, I cannot think of a more quality way to express the true undefiled love of God than to go into the homes of those who revile you, and supply care for their elderly and infirm. That is pure religion, undefiled. Nothing is gained by the workers. Only Christ is glorified.

Second, by those acts of love, Isaiah 40 happens. Easy pathways are made to God. Chasms that could not be crossed, through lack of comprehension of the love of God, become visible in a family’s own home. The obstacles of bigotry and fanaticism are brought low by the humble presence and serving love of the caregiver. While this may still fall short of Mother Teresa, it is definitely in her league.

The work that John has done in Bangladesh has been, in my opinion, one of the most productive and cost-effective efforts that I know. Now, I would say that this gospel effort will possibly eclipse anything previously done. If any individuals or church areas are considering where to invest some of the funds that they have dedicated to the Great Commission, I would, especially at this time, ask that you consider directing them to this effort. It costs several dollars per manual.

We are trying to set up additional training centers to expand the program. They cost several thousand dollars each. A volunteer doctor from the Southern California area has donated her time to be the primary program instructor. John tells me that when it’s all said and done, it costs about $80 to train a nurse. That’s four movies with popcorn and drinks for two people.

You can see in the accompanying photos the first group of nurses in training. What a lovely, dedicated and competent-looking group of young women. I wish that we could ask for volunteers and send some of our own over to work beside them. Unfortunately, the presence of significant numbers of Westerners in the project would cause it to be held at arms length by the Muslim community.

I told John that I would tell the brethren about this incredible undertaking, and that I would solicit first and foremost focused prayer for the direction of the program and the protection of the participants. I also told him that I would let the brethren know that this undertaking could use some help getting started. We will keep you posted as this program of love is spread across the physically flooded but spiritually parched place called Bangladesh.

HOME HEALTH CARE MANUAL—
Developed by John Biswas and his wife, Naomi.

HOME HEALTH CARE WORKERS—Women learn
basic nursing care skills, which gives them a means
of employment and self-sufficiency.

HEALTH CARE TRAINING—Trainees learn to measure
blood pressure.

TRAINING MANUAL—Woman follows home
health care manual to learn medical skills.

Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 2002