Yale Univ. and Yale UBF Medical Mission Report by P. Abraham Lincoln

I. The Jubilee
The hundred year jubilee anniversary (Dec 15-17, 2006) of AONOKPU BAPTIST CHURCH in Nagaland was attended by more than 2000 people. The reading of the Scriptures and prayer was the main emphasis of the program. The theme of the jubilee was "Jesus Christ, the Lord of all ages." Rev. Dr. Frederick S. Downs, who presently lives in Massachusetts but was born in India, was the main speaker. Dr. Downs spoke on the theme 3 times, carefully following the scriptures. He emphasized the fact that the gospel of Jesus Christ delivered the Nagas from the religion of animism. They were liberated from the empty traditional ways of life and were made from headhunters to soul hunters. This salvation we owe it all to Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. The American Baptist mission was responsible for bringing the gospel message. But salvation grace was wrought into the human soul by the work of the Holy Spirit. Rev. Downs challenged all the jubilee attendants to not go back to the old Naga headhunting culture; to be yoked again with their old ways of life. Instead the Nagas must arm themselves with the gospel of Jesus Christ and go forward to carry the torch of the gospel to the world. Dr. Edward Clarke and a band of American Baptist missionaries brought the gospel to "a corner in India." 100 years after, it is their turn to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth.

Aonokpu Baptist Church was one of the earliest Christian churches in Nagaland. On the second day of the jubilee a monolith was unveiled. On the monolith there were nineteen names written. They were the first converts who received water baptism from the church. The 20 foot tall stone which was erected in a prominent place in the village was to declare the faithfulness of our God to the future generations to come. This Ebenezer stone (1Sam 7:12) stands as a witness that God who has been faithful for the last 100 years to this church will be faithful to their children if they obey his word. This blessed gospel came in twofold: Firstly, the church grew to send pastors to neighboring villages and beyond. There were 4 young pastors who have gone out from Aonokpu Baptist church, including Pastor Abraham Lincoln in the USA. They were the grandchildren of one of the first converts, Makenshilu, who eventually became the first pastor from that church in 1906. Secondly, there was at least one college graduate from each household in the village. This new found faith in Christ Jesus give us a very contrasting picture from the headhunting culture for the glory of God.

On the last day of the jubilee, I spoke for 15 minutes on two subjects. Firstly, Mark 13:10 "And the gospel must first be preached to all nations." In this ever increasing busy world, the followers of Jesus Christ must have priority. Our priority must be first to preach the gospel. If He comes to Aonokpu village today, what would Jesus do first? Secondly, we must actively engage to improve the quality of education. While I emphasized to acquire a university degree, just getting a degree does not automatically qualify us to be an educated person. Quality education changes a person’s outlook and world view. I took full advantage of the jubilee celebration to emphasize the need of quality education for the entire society.

II. The medical mission
The US medical team was lead by Dr. Liz Lincoln. Four medical students, an assistant professor from Public Health, and a registered nurse (Audrey Luchayco) formed the Yale University team. Dr. Marc Brodsky from UCLA, Dr. Sam Yoon from LA, and Dr. Augustine Sohn from the University of Illinois, in Chicago, were the other team members. Along with the US team there were 12 local translators. These local translators’ excellent support was vitally important for the successful running of the clinic. Dr. Temsu, the WHO representative from Northeast India and his wife Dr. Amenla were also there for one day and supported our team. In two and a half days of clinic, the team treated 412 patients. There were several serious cases. A 43 year old man suffering from malaria and an elderly woman from a kidney infection were lives threatening. Dr. Liz Lincoln personally attended them and they were saved. The medical student assisting Dr. Lincoln was thrilled to see a malaria patient for the first time in his life. Nagaland has the second highest rate of AIDS/HIV infection in India. Dr. A. Sohn gave a special lecture on AIDS/HIV. About 30 young people attended Dr. Sohn’s lecture. Dr. Annette Molinaro, assistant professor of Public Health, a certified pharmacy techinician, dispensed all the medication. Dr. Marc Brodsky, assistant professor, east-west medicine, UCLA, was very popular to treat all kinds of pain with acupuncture medicine. Dr. Sam Yoon from LA, specialist in family medicine, brought a huge amount of medication for children from his own practice in LA. He treated children with good care. We brought 70 eye glasses that were donated. Louvonia Boone, a 4th year medical student, was thrilled to see that the eyeglasses fit so perfectly for many of the patients. My children Susanna, Sarah, Sharon and Samuel Lincoln collected over 100 pieces of stuffed animals and toy cars by making a little money by doing chores around the house and gave them out to the sick children. Those children were so pleased to receive their medication plus a toy. All those who came to clinic were given 2 weeks supply of multi-vitamins and a complete supply of their medication. They were so moved by the medical care they received that they thought the reason for the success of the jubilee celebration was due to the US medical team. The team members worked so hard. Every minute of our time was put to use while we were there.

The Yale student team proved to be excellent. Alex Diaz De Villalvilla, a 5th year student (research) said the cases he handled were so interesting that his five years of medical school studies equaled his two and a half day clinical experience during this trip. For him every minute was a learning experience. All other students’ experience was the same.

In the end, Jonathan Chen, a 3rd year medical student realized that the American Baptist missionaries who came to this remote corner in India must have had a very important message to tell to the people. Indeed, the gospel message was the most important message for the Nagas. One of the students was playing "Monster" game with my 4 year old son who was annoying at times. My son said, "I don’t believe in monster or anything, only JESUS." We did not make any deliberate attempt, but my hyper-active son delivered the message. Four medical students were not necessarily Bible students. But we prayed for them that somehow they may see God’s work and turn their heart to God and embrace his love for them personally. Through this trip we wanted to make a relationship with each one of them one by one. Jill Garland (PA student) was moved by how well we and the Aonokpu Church cared for them.

We are thankful for the support of Mother Barry and Missionary David Baik, Yale University Health Service physicians and clinicians led by Dr Daniel Geisser, and the YUHS pharmacy director Peter Steere, who contributed all necessary medicines and supplies.

The journey to Nagaland was an adventurous one. On December 13, our team was in two different locations. My family was in Kolkota airport, and the rest of the team members were in Delhi airport. About midnight, we learned that all flights to Dimapur in Nagaland on December 14 (the day we were supposed to fly) were cancelled. That day Indian Airline workers went on strike. For about five hours we were at a loss. By God’s providence we bought fresh tickets for another small airline and took off at 5:00 Am just to return back to Kolkota. Due to heavy fog in Gawahati airport, the plane could not land there. However, three parties managed to land in Gawahati airport at 1:00 Pm and were rushed to the train station and we were heading for Dimapur. After 8 hours of train ride we arrived in Dimapur at 9:00 Pm; and were welcomed by the church people. The next morning we were on our way to Aonokpu village, another 8 hours bus ride. At 5:30 pm, just at the neck of time, we arrived at the jubilee hall. Jimmy Lee in Delhi, and India UBF leader Robert stayed with the team through the night when the team members were stranded at the Delhi airport and had nowhere to go. When we were in Delhi, Dr. Joseph, one of the leaders of India UBF took care of our hotel accommodations and the sightseeing tour with their own resources. In the end I feel like India UBF was part of this medical mission. All the US team members were very appreciative of Jimmy Lee and India UBF support. Aonokpu Baptist Church provided a mini bus for the medical team. They also provided a guest house for us. The hosts and all the servers were kind; they made every effort to make our stay comfortable. On the whole, this trip was a memorable one, and a life time experience for all of us. We encountered some hardship in Kolkota on our return journey, but this time it was nothing compared to the earlier one. Now we are back home and safe. My feeling is it is good to be back at home. Throughout the journey, Apostle Paul was my Bible teacher when he said, "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God."

III. Observation
1. Rev. Dr. Takatemjen, principal of Clarke Theological College in Aolichen, senior advisor to the Jubilee planning committee; Imyulangba Longchar, Chairman, Imkongsangba Longkumer, Secretary, and Longri Imsong, Treasurer, were lay workers along with many others whose names are not mentioned here that poured out their lives, money, time and all their resources for jubilee planning for the last five years. Their hard work and "labor in the Lord" is appreciated. Now they must balance lay leadership with the spiritual leadership. The leadership must have vision beyond the Jubilee celebration. God has been faithful for 100 years. They must find what God wants them to do after the Jubilee.
2. The US medical team found that the need for medical service is acute in that part of the world. To provide medical service in such a place we don’t need a sophisticated American style of clinical setting. A simple touch by a clinician or a pain reliever will perform a modern day miracle with the people we are dealing with! In this context, a warm heart with a smile is proved to be good medicine.
3. "And the gospel must first be preached to all nations." Our jubilee was the celebration of the gospel. The gospel is the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. "Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name." May God’s name be praised and honored. Amen!