Originally posted by Elder Gus Harter
Upon arriving in the Philippines the obvious poverty is apparent on every hand. Betty Jo immediately began to look for works of mercy where she could help. She visited hospitals, orphanages, Midwife clinics, and shelters for the abandoned and poor, and she offered her assistance. The administrators of these institutions were amazed at this beautiful lady with thirteen children looking for service to others. I was amazed as she wrapped over a hundred presents for the street children for Christmas gifts and at least weekly would provide lunch for the extreme poor of our area. It is a wonderful example to our children and they enjoy helping her.
From a Biblical basis, this type of service is commanded of the Lord’s people. In the parable of the Good Samaritan. This kind Samaritan who gave of his own provision, time, and service to help one who had been left for dead. We are told to “Go, and do likewise” (Luke 10:37). The teaching of this parable is inescapable. As I studied the lesson I was brought under the conviction that my works of mercy were lacking. Mercy is not optional or an addition to being a Christian, rather a life poured out in deeds of mercy is the inevitable sign of true faith.
In Matthew 25, when our Lord will separate the sheep from the goats, the description of the sheep is not the soundness of their doctrines, but their works of mercy that shows that they are children of God.
Matthew 25: 34 – 40: “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungred, and fed thee? Or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me”.
Too many times we read this and only want to prove our theology that these works of mercy are not the cause of our being His children, only the evidence. Stop and look at your life. Are we giving these acts of mercy to those around us? Such teaching should stimulate us to action.
In James 2, this lesson is again brought to the attention of his people with absolute clarity;
“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled: notwithstanding ye give them not those things, which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou has faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble”.
I know all the excuses for not following this concrete instruction. “I barely have enough money for myself and family”. “Aren’t many of the poor simply irresponsible?” “Isn’t this the governments jobs?” I have used them myself. But if God said do it, we ought to be doing it. Let us repent of our not taking our responsibility to do what we can. These works of mercy are the evidence of true faith
Among many services that my wife helped, her favorite was the House of Joy, which extended a work of mercy to children that were dying mainly from malnourishment. It is the only service like this in the southern part of Mindanao. The service had to shut their doors because both internal troubles and lack of funding. After much prayer and the conviction that works of mercy were not optional with Christians but a Christian duty, we decided to continue this work of serving the children of Davao. We formed a Filipino Corporation called Beauty for Ashes, Isaiah 61:3 and secured a license to open a clinic to aid malnourished children. The hospital doctors as well as the social services of Davao rejoice in our involvement and were willing to help us.
The following is a published rationale for the House of Joy before they closed. It may help you better understand this work:
The Rationale
"It is estimated that 70% of the population of the Philippines is living below the poverty line, lacking the basic necessities to survive in life. Therefore, they have no finances for education, medical and basic nutritional needs. The lack of proper nutrition combined with lack of education leads to vicious cycle of malnutrition, and breakdown of the body’s immune system leading to disease.
Local newspapers have stated that a child under the age of 5 years dies every 5 minutes in the Philippines. The main causes of these deaths are the following: 1. Diarrhea 2. Pneumonia 3. Tuberculosis.
Often these children are severely malnourished and are treated only to return in 3-6 months with same recurring problem. Two of the major contributing factors are poor nutrition and lack of education (specially on primary health care issues such hygiene, family planning, breast feeding, immunization, coughs and colds, fevers, diarrhea and dehydration).
The objectives of the House of Joy are to save the lives of these children and to break these recurring cycles. We plan to achieve this by providing some of the finest medical care for these severely malnourished children. We believe that medical care goes far beyond the giving of medications and if the child feels cared for and secure, his healing capacity is far greater. At House of Joy, a family member accompanies the child during his or her stay. During this time, the guardian is educated regarding the child’s illness, cause and prevention.
The meal plan for the children during the recovery process focuses on the missing in elements in his or her diet (e.g. protein deficiency, lack of Vitamin C., lack of Vitamin A., and lack of Calcium). The accompanying parent or guardian is educated on these important nutritional factors that have been missing the child’s diet. Before the child and guardian are discharged, they are taught how to cook these foods needed for proper nutrition using ingredients that are available to them. Furthermore, literacy, livelihood and educational program are introduced to the families. There is also continuous follow up upon the index cases and their families in the community. Using this comprehensive approach, the children served by House of Joy and their families have greatly benefited.
Over the last two years, the House of Joy has cared for 119 children (10 died and 91 have discharged home) only 3 of the 109 children needed to return to House of Joy for another course of rehabilitation. One boy had severe diarrhea because mother did not follow up (element of neglect). Another child had cerebral palsy and was returned to House of Joy because grandparents did not take the time and effort to feed him while mother was at work. A girl had to be brought back to House of Joy by a neighbor because the father left town, and the mother was dying of TB. (This little girl was our four-year-old Angel)"
Eighty percent of the patient’s are received from the government hospitals. They cannot offer the proper care for three reasons. Extremely malnourished children are desperately in need of expensive antibiotics and the government will not purchase their medicines and the poor families do not have the means to do so. Secondly the nurses at government hospitals have a minimum of fifteen patients to tend do. These types of children need constant care similar to those in America under intensive care. The last reason is, the government hospitals only allow a patient two weeks in the hospital. The length of care to aid these malnourished children takes months. Therefore their only alternative is to send them home to die. As other work that needs doing, I first tried to get others to do these labors knowing the pressure of time I was already experiencing. However, none would take the ball, so we have.
We have put a rental contract on the same building that was used by the House of Joy. We are in the process of renovating the building and securing all necessary furniture, beds, refrigerator, stove, tables, desk, chairs, medical equipment and medicine. We open October 1, right before I get on the plane for America. We also secured the same medical staff of nurses used by the House of Joy and they are under the direct supervision of a team of doctors from the government hospital. They are the main source for us to receive the children we are serving. Please pray for this labor of love. We need wisdom, grace and strength.
Your Servant in Christ,
Gus Harter
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