ABWE - Association of Baptists for World Evangelism

When a five-year-old Buddhist boy named Mong was brought to ABWE’s hospital in Bangladesh he weighed less than thirty pounds, and both of his legs were extremely swollen. As he sat there quietly, unsmiling, he looked as though he was storing half-liter water bottles in his thighs.

Doctors quickly began treating six abscesses throughout Mong’s body, brought on by malnutrition and a poor immune system. While the medical staff operated they began to pray for the weak little boy. The team continued to pray over the next month as Mong spiked temperatures up to 103–104 degrees and struggled to eat. Fortunately, by the staff’s diligence and God’s grace, Mong survived and was soon smiling again.

The local church leaders who had brought him to the Christian hospital returned to their village the share the great story of God’s deliverance in Mong’s life.

This story can be multiplied hundreds of times over, says Dr. K*, lead physician and ABWE missionary at the hospital where Mong was treated.

Christian Care in a Muslim Nation

Since this ABWE hospital was built in 1966, the population of Bangladesh has more than tripled. This has placed a tremendous strain on the 66-bed facility. In addition, newly paved roads in the country mean faster drivers and more cataclysmic accidents. The country’s high poverty rate means that patients wait until they are extremely ill to seek help.

“All of this adds up to hundreds of sick and injured people filling the triage area of the hospital every day,” Dr. K explains. “We are forced to choose whom we can help and whom we must turn away.” Meanwhile, a brand-new 250-bed hospital built by the government nearby, sits mostly empty.

“Why? Because of our reputation,” Dr. K says. “People want to come to our hospital because they know they will get exceptional care.”

Through generous donations, the hospital has been able to incorporate trailing-edge technology, including laparoscopic surgery, into its facility. This draws people from the entire country and beyond.

Even greater is the spiritual impact of this hospital. Of the approximately 200 staff members, almost half are now believers. Outside the hospital walls, Dr. K counts the church plants and cell groups that have sprung up among the Muslim, Hindu, and tribal populations. He spouts off the numbers, “Six to eight cell groups among the Muslims, 17 church plants and 2,500 believers among Hindus, 220 churches and 15,000 believers in the tribal groups—almost all of this can be traced back to the hospital,” Dr. K says.

Time to Expand

After many years of prayer and many more years of affirmation, Dr. K and the hospital staff are preparing to renovate the old, crumbling building.  “How can we as healthcare providers say no, when so many people are in desperate need? It is always a dilemma. And now we also face the added stress of a building that has remained static for 42 years,” he says.

Dr. K hopes to break ground on a new hospital location, which will expand upon the old building, as soon as the funds are raised. Once completed, the hospital facility will have a 100-bed capacity, a 10-bed ICU, and six operating rooms. Currently, there is no ICU for critically ill patients and major surgeries, Dr. K explains.

“If we do not speak up on behalf of the sick and dying who will benefit from this hospital, few people will ever know of their plight,” Dr. K recently wrote.

By God’s grace, Dr. K and ABWE hope to use the new facility to proclaim God’s Word through creative access ministries and to continue spreading the gospel in Bangladesh.

*Name omitted due to security concerns.

Gifts can be sent to—
ABWE Missionary Finance
P. O. Box 8585
Harrisburg, PA 17105-8585
(717) 774-7000

Write “Renewal Project 0771551” on memo line of check. For other gift-giving options or ready-to-mail forms, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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