Making Disciples In The Everyday Stuff Of Life: Here’s the reality; all of us are always making disciples. The questions are: Who or what are we making disciples of? And what would people believe about following Jesus if they were to follow our example in everyday life?

Gospel, Community, Mission & Summer: In my experience, there are a few things that will help a community thrive in a season where many fade away. Here are three ideas to consider implementing.

How Can I Get Better At Evangelism: How can I get better at evangelism? As a pastor I love this question. It comes from a heart that understands the priority of the great commission while also feeling the conviction for unfaithfulness to it. When I think through evangelism and the privileged responsibility to boast in Christ, there are two primary areas that I have had success focusing on...

Reflections From The Supreme Court Sidewalk: Let’s stand with the ancient truth of God’s word—about marriage and sexuality and everything else. And let’s stand with the truth of God’s word—that Jesus delights in saving sinners, any sinners who will come. Let’s speak that gospel to the men in the dresses and to the men with the megaphones, and everyone in between.

The Mean Muggin' Christians: And if you ever find yourself struggling to be Christ-like in this way, consider this: if Jesus had the “No New Friend” mentality, we Gentiles would all be doomed in our sin. Who can you be gracious to in this way this week?

No, Hanging Out With Your Friends Is Not The Church: Here are five ways these gatherings of friends fail short of what it means to be the church.

Each week, Redeemer is going to post 2 blog posts each week from a dear family who has been a part of the Redeemer Church family for years who moved to Africa to do medical education for 9 months. The Sund Family, Greg, Stephanie, Ella, Biniyam, and Mekdes have lived in Burundi for the last 8 months and we wanted you to be up-to-date on all that they are doing and all that is happening in Africa.

Below is the Sund's blog post in September from Africa called "Réanimation". You can find more blogs from there personal blog here > Beyond Our Backdoor

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Soon after we arrived in Burundi, I was informed by the dean of the medical school that I am a “Réanimationist”.  I am still not sure exactly what a Réanimationist is, but I have to admit, the title is pretty cool.  In fact, I am considering having business cards and T shirts made up.  Greg Sund,Réanimationist, MD.  

As to what the practice of reanimation involves, the answers I have received have been mixed.  As I now understand it, it does NOT involve copying cartoon characters.  And I am not in fact expected to bring dead people back to life.  And after some clarification, it turns out that I am not expected to give the power of vision to children who have gone blind from meningitis (yes, I was asked to consult on a patient for this very reason).  

From what I now understand, it involves a combination of anesthesia and critical care medicine, with an emphasis on resuscitation.  The reason my new title is important is because all medical students in Burundi are required to rotate through one month of “Reanimation”.  Given that the medical school here has no reanimationist, this requirement has gone unable to be fulfilled for many of the medical students (apparently, there are 3 or 4 “Reanimationists” in the country, but they do not have enough availability to get all of the medical students through this rotation).

So, I was asked if, during my time here, I would lead a monthly Reanimation rotation, with 6 students each month, in the hopes of getting 30 or 40 students through this requirement while I am in Burundi.  I said yes, and this past week, we began.  

Mercifully, they chose 6 of their best English speakers to ease me into this new role.  Our schedule involves 2 lectures each week, mornings in the O.R. learning about anesthesia, then spending 3 afternoons each week rounding on critically ill patients, which we are asked to consult on by various services (Peds, Internal Medicine, Surgery).  To be certain, this afternoon portion is a role I am far removed from back in the U.S.  I did 3 months of critical care rotations during my residency, but since then, the only time I am invited into the ICU is when someone needs to be intubated or needs an invasive line.  So, I am hitting the books, and trying to dredge up all those critical care memories that have been suppressed for years.

The first week has gone surprisingly well.  And I have actually found myself enjoying my time on rounds.  There are plenty of moments that involve me stepping out of my comfort zone (eg. rounding on a patient in isolation with multi-drug resistant tuberculosis).  But the students are wonderful.  They are diligent, and compassionate, and they are learning so much with so few resources (no ipads, no computers, and the only books they read are a handful of medical books in English which are kept at the hospital … then they are required to present all this information in French).  

So, the next time you are feeling less than animated … feel free to call me … Greg Sund, Réanimationist ….. MD.

Each week, Redeemer is going to post 2 blog posts each week from a dear family who has been a part of the Redeemer Church family for years who moved to Africa to do medical education for 9 months. The Sund Family, Greg, Stephanie, Ella, Biniyam, and Mekdes have lived in Burundi for the last 8 months and we wanted you to be up-to-date on all that they are doing and all that is happening in Africa.

Below is the Sund's blog post in September from Africa called "Slow Of Speech". You can find more blogs from there personal blog here > Beyond Our Backdoor

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There is a lot I could write about my work at the hospital, but I suppose I will start with an answer to the question, “what has been the most difficult thing about serving in Burundi?”.  For me, the answer has been language.  The language of Burundi is called Kirundi.  It is in the same group of languages as Swahili.  The language used in business and politics (and healthcare education) is French.  Very few people speak any English at all.  This was not a surprise to me, and I spent a considerable amount of time before we came here preparing for this by studying French independently.  However, while it was easy to find computer based resources for studying French, it proved very difficult to find any native French speakers in Bellingham to practice with.  Add to this my aging 40 year old brain, which is not nearly as spongy as it used to be.    

So, what is it like for me to teach anesthesia to medical students and anesthetists in French?  Imagine teaching a discipline which took 12 years of higher education to learn, but with the vocabulary of a 4 year old.  It is hard.  It is exhausting.  It is often painful.  It is probably even more painful for them to listen to me than it is for me to struggle with every word.  But they have been gracious.  And I am encouraged by the other missionaries I am working with, most of whom spoke little or no French 2 years ago, and now are able to converse with great fluency, using complex medical terminology.  

Compounding this difficulty is the fact that most of the patients speak no French at all, only Kirundi.  As it turns out, there are almost no resources to learn Kirundi outside of Burundi.  So, I came with a handful of greetings and basic words (eg. water, coffee, chicken), but other than that, I’ve got nothing.  Thankfully, we now have a Kirundi language tutor to meet with us once a week to help us get at least a basic framework for communicating with the locals. However, I had my first lesson today, and my tutor’s parting words of encouragement to me were, “with you, I don’t know if I will succeed”.  I am hoping something was lost in translation.

In all this, I am comforted by the biblical account of Moses, who was self-described as “slow of speech and tongue” (Exodus 4:10).  And God’s response?  “go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak”.  I know that I cannot succeed in this based on my own ability to learn French and Kirundi, so, I go with the hope that God is with me and can use me even with my stumbling tongue.

Each week, Redeemer is going to start posting weekly blog posts from a dear family who has been a part of the Redeemer Church family for years who moved to Africa to do medical education for 9 months. The Sund Family, Greg, Stephanie, Ella, Biniyam, and Mekdes moved to Burundi for the last 7 months and we the people of Redeemer to be up to date on all that they are doing and all that is happening in Africa.

Below is the Sund's latest blog post from Africa called "Why We Go".

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The excerpt below is from a book that has become very dear to me.  It is a book of puritan prayers, titled, The Valley of Vision.  Most of my mornings I start by reading over one of these short prayers.  These prayers are a daily reminder to me of the depth of my depravity at the same time reminding me of the grandeur of God's glory and goodness.  On my best day I am prone to forget these two great truths ... on my worst day I am prone to invert them.  

When Stephanie and I made the decision to take our family to Burundi to serve for 9 months, one question I thought I would often be posed with was, "Why are you going?".  As it turns out, very few people have actually asked me this question.  But I feel like it is an important one to answer, whether people are asking or not.  So, although our intention is to primarily use this blog to keep our family and friends updated on what we are doing while in Burundi and to share stories from there, I feel I need to start by trying to answer the question of why we are going.

The truth is that our motives are mixed, and some of these motives are entirely selfish.  Stephanie and I both love to travel, we love an adventure, we want our kids to gain a larger worldview.  But buried under all these selfish motives, is one motive that we hope is pure, and that really has very little to do with us, and that motive is our faith in a God who would love us enough to pursue us and reconcile us to Himself through the humble and sacrificial servanthood of His Son, Jesus. 

“You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you.  Instead, whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” - Mark 10:42-45

This is the paradox and the beauty of the Christian faith, that God Himself became meek and lowly to serve us, and to adopt us into His family.  That is why we go.  We go, because He came to us.  We serve, because He first served us. 

The Valley of Vision

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly,

Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,

where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;

hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.

 Let me learn by paradox

that the way down is the way up,

that to be low is to be high,

that the broken heart is the healed heart,

that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,

that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,

that to have nothing is to possess all,

that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,

that to give is to receive,

that the valley is the place of vision.

When Your Twenties Are Darker Than You Expected: Our twenties bring so many answers to that question — transition, failure, desperation, dependence, accusation, responsibility, moral failure, stagnation, unfulfillment. “Sting” isn’t sufficient. Our twenties can be a dark time.

Smartphone Addiction And Our Spiritual ADD: These are exciting times loaded with new potential. These are also anxious times requiring our most diligent reflection as we face perhaps the most challenging discipleship question of our generation. By the power of Christ, we will not be mastered by anything, even by phones that offer us many good benefits.

Talk Is Cheap: Our words cause a lot of pain and hurt because we're not hearing how the other person receives our words. That's one reason why James says we ought to be "slow to speak" (James 1:19). In your next conversation, be slow to speak and quick to consider how the other person might interpret what you have to say.

The Messy Christian Life: I believe there is some good and some bad in our seeing the Christian life as “messy.” The difference is why we are calling the Christian life messy.

15 Doctrines That Ought To Bring Comfort In Suffering: In what follows, I’d like to simply (and briefly) point out some of the many ways the main doctrines of the Christian faith provide a comfort to the believer in times of struggle, suffering, and pain.

8 Lies Christians Believe About Success: At some point in my life, Christianity had become a magic wand instead of a humble posture. Here are some lies we in the church often believe about success.

Check Your Investments: What we do here will have implications for generations to come.  Are we working to build that awe-inspiring, Christ-glorifying phenomenon in our own families, or are we too preoccupied investing in all of the stuff that doesn’t matter?  Today is the day to begin.

A Legacy With Leaving: The following is a letter my (Ray Ortlund's) dad wrote several years before his death, which he left in his desk, where he knew we would find it.

Faithfully Delivering The Gospel: Christians are to simply be minimum wage table servers, taking the masterpiece from the award winning chef and bringing it to the tables.

The Transgender Agenda: Rather, it might be sensible to recognise that the transgender agenda is causing us, among other things, to, as Brendan O’Neill puts it, experiment on our children in the most damaging way.

Two Wisdom's And The Good Life: Who among us is wise, living the good life of divine wisdom? Only those who God’s Spirit dwells within, those who have picked up their cross and sought to embody and proclaim its seemingly foolish message.

The No Feeling Zone: But the problem is we have been shamed into what I call “The No Feeling Zone”. In this zone, when singles express feelings about their hardship, and the desire for marriage, this automatically translates into them being discontent in their singleness, and idolizing marriage. We have cynically been shamed into a room in the corner where we are not allowed to express our struggles without being judged by those who are “content”.

photo credit: via photopin (license)