Ministering to Patients with "Diabetes Emotiva"

Through CUDA, several members of our mission team have been able to work with a local clinic doing diabetes screening and follow-up. One thing we’ve encountered here is the common belief that Diabetes is caused by an emotional trauma or stressful situation. Many patients have expressed that they have emotional Diabetes, or “Diabetes Emotiva.” This is something I’d never heard of before. The idea is very pervasive and even some healthcare providers seem to be propagating it.

The best scientific research suggests that type 2 Diabetes is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors such as obesity and sugary diet. Ever since we’ve been at the clinic, we’ve been trying to dispel the rumor that Diabetes Emotiva exists. The regional doctor over preventative disease at the clinic we work at has also expressed his wishes to correct this misunderstanding. I have always imagined we’re doing people a great service by saying, “no, your Diabetes wasn’t caused by your sister’s death and the depression you felt afterwards.” To me, it would be a relief to know that I’m not responsible for giving myself a chronic illness, rather that it is something genetic that just happens sometimes. The funny thing is, some people fight to hold onto the Diabetes Emotiva belief.

In researching the roots of this old wive’s tale, I stumbled upon an article that theorized something about Diabetes Emotiva that seems to make some sense. What it says is that chronic illnesses like diabetes often are absorbed into someone’s personal narrative and in their mind can become linked to trauma they’ve experienced. Talking about the disease opens the door to talking about deep wounds in their lives that otherwise would have no voice. If this is true, no wonder people want to blame the Diabetes on domestic problems, trauma, stress, and grief and will fight to hold on to that explanation. You can’t just open a conversation with, “my husband died and it is still affecting my everyday life.” But, unconsciously, you may rearrange the story so that any time your physical ailments are talked about, there’s an open door to finally talk about what you’ve been bottling up.


What are the implications for ministering to Diabetes Emotiva patients if this theory is correct? Do we still need to dispel the false causation beliefs? Is Diabetes Emotiva a direct inroad to discussing deep heart issues that there is only one cure for – Jesus Christ? I don’t have any answers right now but this is a theory I will be investigating in the upcoming weeks and months.

If you're interested, here's a link to the article I mentioned: http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rebecca_Seligman/publication/44675221_Speaking_through_diabetes_Rethinking_the_significance_of_lay_discourses_on_diabetes/links/0912f50d09c6eb4ca1000000.pdf

Defining "Kingdom of God"

“The most misunderstood phrase in the whole Bible is ‘kingdom of God.’ ” I heard someone say that a few years ago. I decided that I didn’t really know exactly what the “kingdom of God” (KOG) was. The problem wasn’t that I didn’t have a definition, it was actually that I found two different definitions floating around in my head. Sometimes when I heard or read “KOG,” I thought of heaven. Other times, I would mentally insert “the church.” I think I’d done this for years without really recognizing it.

How would you answer the question? What is the kingdom of God?

    a. heaven

    b. the church

    c. an erroneous first-century idea about Jewish nationalism.

    d. some weird combination of the choices above

    e. none of the above

I set out to study this by doing a complete Bible search for this peculiar phrase. I looked at each occurrence and tried to substitute the word “church” and the word “heaven” to see which made more sense. Neither substitution fit the context of every passage. But, I discovered why I had these two competing definitions. In some places in the Bible it clearly talks about the KOG in terms of a future entity. For example:

And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell.
Mark 9:47 (NIV)

Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.
Mark 14:25 (NIV)

There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.
Luke 13:28 (NIV)

What’s more, Matthew sometimes uses the phrase “kingdom of heaven” interchangeably with “KOG.” This only complicates things and further contributes to the idea that it has something to do with life after death.

In other places, we see the KOG talked about like it is already present among us. This is why I had that other churchy definition in my mind. For example:

But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Luke 11:20 (NIV)

And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”
Mark 9:1 (NIV)

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.
Matthew 21:31 (NIV)

Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
Luke 17:20-21 (NIV)

It seems the Jews of Jesus’s day also had some confusion about what the messiah’s relation to this kingdom would be. As you read the gospels, you see that the disciples are constantly expecting Jesus to do something to overthrow Roman rule and restore Israel’s kingdom like back in the good old days of King David. Word even got around to the regional Roman governor,  Pilate, who asked Jesus about it directly. Jesus replied, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place” (John 18:36, NIV).

If the messiah was to usher in the KOG, how could he die at the hands of the Romans? The disciples were devastated. You see them asking themselves, “Did we back the wrong horse?” It was the rising from the dead thing that started to open up their minds to kingdom on a much larger scale. It wasn’t just victory over Rome, it was victory over sin and death – much more imposing oppressors of Israel, in fact, of all mankind. Yes, it’s bigger than just overthrowing the current regime. It’s what Daniel described as a kingdom that will never be destroyed, greater than all the world empires before it (Daniel 2:34).

Jesus corrects the disciples’ lingering misunderstanding of kingdom just before the ascension.

Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:6-8 (NIV)

Here Jesus doesn’t come right out and say to them, “that’s a bad question.” He gently redirects them with his answer, almost as if to say, “It’s not that Israel has nothing to do with it, but think bigger! This kingdom thing is going to go viral around the globe.” After all, that’s what God promised Abraham way back when. He told Abraham, “Through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed.” The mind-blowing thing about all of this is that Jesus commissioned his followers to participate in this world-changing blessing. Like a dad who asks for his son’s help building a treehouse, Jesus allows his clumsy disciples to help him build his kingdom! He promised to be with us the whole time and sure, he’ll come back and tighten up the bolts at the end, but in the meantime he wants his children to participate in his kingdom as it infiltrates all nations, social networks, and strongholds of darkness unto the ends of the earth.

The key, to me, to defining “KOG” is in the Lord’s Prayer. “May your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” There’s an obvious difference between how God’s will plays out in heaven and how it plays out currently on earth. We all know that heaven will be perfect. I think the reason we see some verses that talk about a present kingdom and other verses about a future kingdom is because it’s both. Jesus commands us to pray for and do things that bring the future heaven into the present brokenness. That’s what Jesus was doing the whole time he was here – giving us glimpses of the heavenly kingdom on earth. The kingdom began penetrating the darkness everywhere he went. Sick were healed. Blind received sight. Lame walked. And the good news – the news that the God himself had finally arrived to set things straight – was preached to the poor.

I love to ask people, “What will heaven be like?” because their answer can help clarify the kingdom mission. For example, there will be no starving children in heaven. Our mission: feed the hungry. There will be no sick people in heaven. Our mission: make people well. There will be no loneliness, suffering, or oppression in heaven. We have opportunities every day to fight against these things – sometimes in very small ways and sometimes in big ways. Perhaps most importantly, in heaven there won’t be anyone who doesn’t know the king and submit to his rule. There are plenty of people out there who still don’t know Jesus and he has asked us to make the introductions.

The KOG is wherever and whenever God’s will is done. That’s the working definition I have right now and it’s a call to good deeds, prayer, holiness, and speaking out about the king. It’s not just a future thing; it’s an eternal reality bleeding into the present age. It’s not just a restored national Israel; it’s the Abrahamic blessing coming to fruition for the benefit of all nations. As Christians, we’ve already received our naturalization papers to the future kingdom and as we walk about in this present shadow world there should be a shimmering wake of heavenly goodness behind us. Hospitals, clean water, adoption agencies, counseling centers, beautiful art, honest businesses, caring neighbors: the world is getting glimpses of heaven here and there in small pockets but when the king comes back, those glimpses will become a permanent reality.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Matthew 6:33 (NIV)

As you may already know, Jaclyn and I work with a Peruvian non-profit organization here in Arequipa called the Christian Urban Development Association (CUDA). We spend about half of our week involved in CUDA programs. It’s a Christian organization with a KOG mindset and goals. While CUDA is not a church, it is led by Christian people and it provides Christians with a platform to get involved in kingdom work and share the good news. It is recognized as a legitimate non-profit organization by both Peruvian and American governments and focuses on three areas of kingdom work: education, business, and health. The education branch is called “Living Libraries” and seeks to improve reading comprehension in Peruvian elementary schools and promotes the formation of school libraries (which many schools here lack). The business branch of CUDA promotes small business development by offering vocational training, savings and investment training, and Christian business ethics classes. CUDA’s health branch, called Pura Vida (Pure Life) works with preventative health and health education programs in local Peruvian clinics. All of this is designed to be a blessing to the world and show them how good our King really is.

If you would like to learn more about CUDA, you can visit their website at www.cudaperu.org.

Home

Hello everyone! We have been in Peru for officially three months now. I wanted to give you an overview of what our lives are like here. We have been in language school full time (minus the holidays) This consists of four hours a day with two Peruvian teachers: Rene and Chari. Jake and I both spend two hours one-on-one with each. Our Spanish teachers have been so great and have continually encouraged us even on the days when “hola” comes out wrong.

Jake, Chari, Claudia, Me, Rene, Paty, Alfredo

The first nine weeks we lived with the Ugarte family.They a Peruvian family that agreed to host Jake and me as a part of Passport Language School’s homestay program.The idea of this program is to enhance language learning. However, it turned into something much, much more. They have become like family to us here in Peru. From day one they have been extremely patient with us and have gone above and beyond what they needed to do. We have had many meals with extended family on both sides and we just can’t express enough gratitude to God for allowing us to meet this family. Most of our afternoons were spent with them hanging out with the kids, going to birthday parties of relatives, and once I even went to the dentist with them. We tried to participate in everything we could. It was an intense, hands-on way to learn language and culture.

Jake, Me, Rodrigo, Mijalko, Maria, Ana Paula

We recently moved into our new apartment! We are living in the district of Hunter. This is where we will be doing medical work in the near future. Moving in has been a full time job, but it is finally starting to feel like our home. The queen-sized bed frame was too big to fit up the stairwell so we had to lift it four flights up the side of the building onto the roof with ropes, with the help of random passers-by and Chari (our language teacher).

Right now we are in a transition period. With the New Year starting the McKenzie clan said their gooodbyes and made their way back to the states. In just a few short months the Smith family will be moving back too. And a few months after that our beloved Aussies head back to Australia. We just completed CONFIA, Conferecia del fin de año, which was a conference with the missionaries and the church here. The infamous Bill and Holly Richardson joined us for a three-day meeting with the church family. We planned for the future and prayed for God to be with us and guide us as a family. It was a beautiful time together.

This is Bill imparting his wisdom and leading a discussion about the cycle of vision.

It’s not always easy. We miss our families and the familiarity of home. Things take time here. I took for granted how easy it is to get into a car and drive through a fast food restaurant. Here there are a few American restaurants but no drive-throughs and going there requires catching a bus. When I make food I will look at recipes online and for some of the ingredients listed I have to look up a recipe to make that too. Some days are hard and it is frustrating that we can’t always communicate exactly what we want. This can make for some good stories. For example one time I took the trash literally onto the roof (techo) instead of the larger trashcan outside (tacho.) I will never forget the word “tacho” from now on after the look I got. And one time Jake asked “What age of pizza would be sufficient for us?” He meant size rather than age. We are learning to take everyday in stride.

We have had so much fun too! We got to go to the Peruvian circus, a bull fight (no bulls die), celebrate Jake’s 28^th birthday here, attend many school functions (with Rodrigo and Ana Paula), hiked at 19,100 foot mountain named Misti (some may debate the “funness” of this), attended an Arequipa vs. Lima soccer game, saw the most amazing 360 degree view of 1 million inhabitants creating their own fireworks show... twice (Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve).

Peruvian Circus

Me and Katie giving this bull a pre-match pep talk.

                                   

Happy Birthday Jake!

View from Misti.

Melgar (Arequipa) vs. Alianza (Lima)

Our tourist visas expired at the beginning of January so we had to bus across the border into Chile and return to renew them for another six months. Though only two hours were actually spent in Chile it was a breath of fresh sea air. We ate dinner in a restaurant overlooking the ocean. On the bus back I thought to myself “I’m glad we will be home tonight.” Home. We have a home in Peru. 

Year 1: As Wise as Snakes

I don’t think the first phase of our mission will be all that glamorous in terms of baptisms and bible studies. At the recommendation of previous missionaries, we are trying to take the first full year on the ground to be full-time learners of the language and the culture. One of the things we are doing as a team is collaborating on a study of religious customs, rituals, and rites of passage. Over the next several months we will be conducting surveys and compiling all the knowledge we can on Catholicism and its rituals and practice, weddings, funerals, birthdays, the rite of confirmation, infant baptisms, Andean animism, superstition, etc.  In every culture there are things that point towards Jesus, things that point away from Jesus, and things that are more or less neutral. We have to be well-acquainted with the underlying meaning of things as we approach church-planting as cultural outsiders.

In the field of missiology (the study of missions) the word “contextualization” is thrown around a lot. Contextualization is the craft of relating something in a way that is understandable to people from a different culture. In actuality, everyone participates in some contextualization because we all deal with subcultures within our own culture. For example, your parents and your children (if you have children) are members of different subcultures. There is a generation gap between you. You might have to explain something to them in a different way than you would with someone your own age. This same concept is amplified when it comes to communicating cross-culturally. Creative and judicious contextualization is of vital importance when communicating the most important thing in the world: the Gospel.

When contextualizing biblical truth, we must be aware of the cultural baggage we bring along with us to a new place. We are not commissioned to spread American culture to those who are lost, we are commissioned to spread the transformative Gospel of Jesus Christ. We must, therefore, critically analyze our own ways of doing things. Do we do the things we do because they point towards Jesus? If so, those practices can be shared. Many times American cultural practices are spiritually neutral but end up getting passed along to the natives because that’s just how the missionaries have always done it. The spiritually neutral things are often the things the sending churches back home get upset about when missionaries decide not to impose them on the natives. Thirdly, there are things in American culture that we bring along with us that actually point people away from Jesus. God forbid we infect other cultures with our sinful cultural baggage!

The other pitfall of contextualization is syncretism. Syncretism is what God constantly warned the Israelites of doing when they entered the land of Canaan where people were practicing false religions. It’s the mixing of the worship of God and his message of good news with the pagan religions of the world. There’s a fine line between contextualization and syncretism. Trying to spread the Gospel without first taking time to carefully analyze the culture often results in syncretistic churches.  I’m reminded of the words of Jesus as he sent out his disciples “be as wise as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Matt. 10:16). Our goal as newcomers to this culture is to become culturally savvy so that we can skillfully contextualize the Gospel and help the church make decisions about what’s good, what’s bad, and what’s neutral in Peruvian culture.

Our whole team is finally together in Arequipa!

Seven FAQs

Many people have asked about our mission plans in Peru. These are the seven most common questions we’ve fielded. Jaclyn also answers another FAQ, “are you ready?” in this month’s team newsletter which should be out in a few days. If you haven’t done so already, you can subscribe to the team newsletter at www.teamarequipa.net .

1.       Where will you live? In a mud hut?

No, not a mud hut or in the middle of the jungle. Arequipa is a city of almost a million people. That’s about the size of San Francisco or Indianapolis and it has a higher population density (people per square mile) than New York City. For about the first six weeks we are staying with a Peruvian family in their home. Home stays help immensely with the language and culture acquisition process. After that, we plan on renting a two bedroom apartment.

2.       What is it like there?

Arequipa is a city with one of the fastest growing economies in all of South America. People from the rural areas are moving to Arequipa for jobs and opportunities. It’s a major hub of culture and economics in southern Peru. The city is about 7,500 ft above sea level. Andean mountains dominate the skyline. There aren’t many buildings higher than four or five stories because of the periodic earthquakes. In Arequipa you can find malls, movie theaters, banks, and department stores downtown, but you can also find cinder block houses with no electricity and no running water on the outskirts of the city. It’s a dry, mild climate. Temperatures stay between 50-80 degrees year-round. There are really only two seasons, the dry season and the rainy season.

 

Arequipa skyline with "Misti" in full view. Misti's peak is 19,101 ft.

 

3.       What will you do on a day-to-day basis?

Once we get acclimated, we will be volunteering in a medical clinic in one of the lower-income districts of the city. Our main push is preventative medicine. Because there are so many patients to see each day, the providers don’t usually have time to educate people about how not to get sick in the future. That’s where we come in. We’re starting with diabetes screening and education. There are also opportunities to work with schools doing health education and eventually we would love to do follow-up home visits for patients who visit the clinics. Our plan is to offer our services as “expert volunteers” and use this as an avenue for sharing the good news about Jesus. Our goal is to love our neighbors by providing exceptional healthcare and make disciples of Jesus along the way. Jesus’s model of discipleship creates exponential growth of the church.

4.       Who supports you? You know, where do you get your dinero?

Several individual families and a couple small churches support us financially. My (Jake’s) home church in Bonne Terre, Missouri is our official “sending congregation” that collects the funds and provides accountability and spiritual oversight. A Christian grant program called Project MedSend is paying our student loan payments.

5.       Will you have a car, or will you ride llamas?

We do not plan on getting a car. Public transportation in Arequipa is cheap and easy. City buses, or “combis” travel through all the main districts and one out of every two cars on the street is a taxi. If you’re willing to cram into a combi, you can take it from one side of the city to the other for about $0.30. Riding in a taxi is about 4-10 Soles ($1.50-$3.50), depending on how far you need to go.

 

 

6.       Is it safe?

Pick-pockets are more common here than in the states, but violent crimes are less common. Crime tends to follow the illegal drug trade and, based on what we’ve heard, Arequipa is not part of their route. Peru’s government is historically one of the most stable in South America and is not opposed to missionaries coming here. Of course we don’t know what will happen, but we rest assured that God is in control and that He has led us here. Is following God safe? Probably not by most people’s definition of safe. Is NOT following God safe? Absolutely not!

7.       Are you scared? What is your biggest fear?

Of course uprooting and moving into a whole new culture is scary. It will be tough, but we know God will be with us. The most overwhelming thing here in the beginning is learning the language. Although we have some Spanish background, we have a long way to go. Our biggest fear is looking back at the end and not feeling like we accomplished what we came to do. We need the prayers of everyone reading this. Please make it a point to pray specifically for our cultural adjustment and for receptivity among the people of Arequipa.

 

Panoramic view of the Plaza de Armas including the cathedral in downtown Arequipa. The city was founded in 1540.

 

God's Hand in it

We boarded the plane at the airport in Arequipa and looked at each other as we buckled our seat belts. “Let’s just stay another week,” she said. I looked over at my wife and smiled, “You know, I’ve always been so ready to get home after trips like this, but I really wish we could stay too.”

If you know me, you know I’m not really the “feeling” type. But I felt something as we left Peru in January. I felt a strong sense of purpose that I believe God put there to confirm us. Jaclyn did too. We left there with a clear answer to our question, “Is this what God really wants?” Now it’s August and we’re slated to punch our one-way ticket to Peru in two short months. Looking back, we think we see what God has been up to for quite some time to get us to this point:

1.       We know that God was behind the scenes getting us to go on all of those short-term mission trips in college that got us all fired up to make a difference.

2.       Jeremy and Katie Daggett’s invitation to come meet with their prospective mission team in April 2012 was most definitely an answer to our prayer as newlyweds asking to be a part of God’s mission in the world.

3.       In 2013 we found out that our newly formed team has what the Team Dimensions Profile (a team-building workshop) calls an almost perfectly balanced mix of “creators”, “advancers”, “refiners”, and “executors.” It seems to me that the composition of this team was no accident. Besides being well-balanced, the Frouds, Morgans, and Daggetts have become our close friends through this process and we are excited to embark on this adventure with them.

4.       A big gift God gave our team is allowing us to skip the much of the hard stuff and jump right into a ready-made mission. The McKinzie and Smith families (we call them “Team Arequipa 1.0”) have been working diligently in Arequipa for six years and we (Team Arequipa 2.0) get to springboard off of the foundation they have laid there.

5.       As soon as we moved to Houston two years ago, God swept us up in the start of a home Bible study at Nathan and Lindy Ingram’s ranch. Strangely, it ended up being almost exactly what we picture our house churches in Peru being like in the future. We even had a token Latin American man named Jorge. Leading that bible study every week taught us some very valuable things. It’s like God was saying, “Here, I’ll let you practice this once before you go.”

6.       The confirmation Jaclyn and I felt when we visited Peru in January was due in large part to a young Australian couple’s hospitality. Andrew and Bethany Gray call themselves “missionary apprentices” and have been helping Team 1.0 for almost a year now. They housed us and spent every free minute they had showing us what life is like living in Arequipa. We would all do well to become “hospitality apprentices” under these two immensely Christ-like Aussies.

7.       There was a glitch in our budget plans in April of this year and we worried we wouldn’t be able to raise enough financial support to pay our student loan payments. God was way ahead of us. We had just enough time to apply for a grant program called Project MedSend, which pays medical missionaries’ student loans while they are on the field. MedSend approved our application in June and we literally danced for joy.

8.       Dr. Bill and Holly Richardson were a God-send when they came to our sending congregation in Bonne Terre, Missouri in June. They did a primer course for the leadership there on what to expect when sending missionaries to South America. This was really the icing on the cake! God has been so good to us.

9.       Most importantly, God gave us both parents who love Jesus. Their dedication to the scriptures and living example have been preparing us for 27 years to step out in faith. Ed, Carolyn, Jack, and Janet have been God’s most miraculous intervention in this whole process. Thank you God for these four pillars that we stand on.