"HEAL THE SICK" THE STORY OF THE MEDICAL MISSION AUXILIARY OF THE BAPTIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY By R. FLETCHER MOORSHEAD, M.B., F.R.C.S. Medical Secretary of the Society LONDON: THE CAREY PRESS 19 FURNIVAL STREET TO MY WIFE AUTHOR'S PREFACE Two years ago, upon the occasion of the celebration of the semi-jubilee of the Medical Mission Auxiliary, the desire was expressed that some permanent record of the twenty-five years should be compiled. The following pages, written as and when they could be in the scant leisure that it was possible to snatch from the demands of other work, are offered in the hope that their perusal may deepen interest in the work of B.M.S. Medical Missions. The very fact that the Auxiliary no longer exists as a specific branch of the Society may be held to constitute one reason why its inspiring story should be recorded ere the ceaseless march of events has caused it to be forgotten. A greater reason may be found in the character of the service which here stands revealed. No finer heroism is to be found anywhere than that exhibited by the lives of mission­ ary doctors and nurses, and for the sake of the younger generation in particular, it deserves to be told. A still further reason may be traced in the need, increasingly apparent, to safeguard the dis­ tinctive work of Medical Missions from being lost sight of in the more general presentation of the missionary enterprise which has become customary of recent years. In a very real sense the place and power of Medical Missions require to be defined afresh in vii viii PREFACE the days in which we live. There is considerable risk lest loose and inadequate views regarding this part of the work of God should lead to diminished service on its behalf. In the minds of too many Christian people the idea still prevails that medical work on the mission field finds its main purpose in the desire to secure an opening for the message of the gospel. The missionary doctor and nurse is thought to stand in a different category from that of the evangelistic missionary, and their ministry held to be principally concerned with the body. This leads to the emphasis being put in the wrong place both in the recruitment of medical workers for the mission field and in the advocacy of Medical Missions.. Because, quite rightly, the medical missionary is not required to undergo a theological training, or produce of necessity evidence pointing. to preaching gifts, confusion of thought creeps in concerning his function as a missionary, and this reacts to the detriment of the enterprise. The claim for his service becomes related to a passing phase of missionary effort, and an unwholesome · limitation is set upon the value of Medical Missions. What, then, do we need to regard as of pre­ eminent importance in any adequate conception of this part of the missionary work committed to our charge? First of all this, that the healing ministry of Christ's medical servants, like that of their Lord and Master, recognises the worth of a full human personality and seeks to benefit the whole man, even as it widens and exalts the mission of Christi­ anity. Christ came to reveal God as our Father, PREFACE IX and it is unthinkable that with so majestic an aim He should fail to be the healer of the suffering children of God's earthly family. In His hands the healing of the sick Wll;S " the goodness that revealed the glory." It was not a mere incident of His mission ; it was part of that reconquest of fallen human natur.e for which He had come. This has recently been brought out by Dr. D. S. Cairns­ " It is perfectly clear that Christ gloried in the work of healing the bodies as well as the souls of men, and that He regarded the overthrow of disease as an essential part of His mission and of His mani­ festation of the Kingdom."* What wonder then that Christ's followers were commissioned by Him to a similar ministry whereby His gospel was to be known as good news for every part of man's being ? Therein lies a loftier sphere for the exercise "of the healing gift than some have imagined. The wonder is that the Church of God has been so slow to discern this meaning in the combination of healing and preaching. There is, however, something more for which a place needs to be found in any proper view of Medical Missions, and that is the function of the healer as an interpreter of the Christian Message. When a doctor is appointed to a post on the mission field, when a place of healing is erected at his station, and when in ever so small a way the heavy load of unrelieved human suffering begins to be lifted, a swift, sure, and successful step has been taken to speak the. message of the gospel in the language of the human heart. In the words of • D. S. Cairns-" The Faith that Rebels," p. 77· X PREFACE Dr. Richard Glover-" It is the human life of love that renders credible the message of the infinite love of God." The mission station which possesses a hospital or dispensary, and also in­ cludes in its varied ministry a definite attempt to relieve suffering and to heal disease, is sending out such an interpretation of what Christianity means as may well prove of untold value in clearing away misunderstanding and setting forth the way of truth. Such a ministry is one whose permanent validity none can question. Yet this is not all that needs to be said. There is still another powerful reason why the association of healing with the presentation of the Christian gospel is so immensely important. We live in an age which boasts of its science. The scientific method is almost worshipped. At any rate not to follow it is to be thought out of date. ·Further­ more, whilst much of the old conflict between science and Christianity has abated, it is still true that science represents something material which may all too easily prove inimical to the spiritual. It is just here that Medical Missions can be turned to tremendous advantage in the work of the gospel, for, be it remembered, the scientific spirit has to be met ind dealt with amongst the peoples on the mission field as well as at home. " Medical Missions," to quote Dr. Weir, " form the natural point of contact between the spiritual and the material, for the essential element in the rising tide of secularism is science, and medicine is scientific."* The medical missionary, because he is a scientific • International Revkw of Miss~ons, April, 1929, PREFACE xi man, can reinforce the whole witness of the gospel, and by meeting science upon its own ground with­ stand the onrush of materialism. The presence of a modern and well-equipped mission hospital on the mission field can be a 'mighty apologetic for Christianity. Finally, there is the unquestioned fact that in Medical Missions we have a tremendous instru­ ment for personal evangelism. It may be doubted whether this has been realised as should be the case. The opportunities for quiet persuasive evan­ gelism presented by the wards of our mission hospitals are not to be numbered. The Church on the mission field in place after place can trace its converts to the evangelistic influence of Medical Missions. The plain fact is that if the mission­ aries had been able to concentrate their efforts upon following up the impressions created in the minds of the patients who leave the hospitals, a far wider ingathering would have resulted from the seed sown. The point to grasp is that this means adequate reinforcements, and, above all, such additions to the ranks of our doctors and nurses as shall mean intensifying the spiritual atmosphere of our hospitals. Every doctor and nurse must be a winner of souls. This, then, is the sort of work of which the following pages testify, and it may be hoped that the re~ord here unfolded will kindle a new flame of ardour on behalf of the enterprise. The work and the workers are worthy of the best that the Home Church can do for the cause, and we hope that the needs of our Medical Missions will be supplied, xii PREFACE and an advance made good. It was originally intended to include in the present volume a series of chapters giving the life history of the different hospitals written by those doctors who have laboured on the spot. The resolve had to be abandoned because it would have unduly extended the size of the book. It is hoped, however, to publish this additional and most interesting information in another form at a later date. The author would express his indebtedness to those missionaries who have so freely co-operated with him in the effort to set forth the story of our hospital ministry. He would wish further to acknowledge the help and encouragement which he has received from his colleagues in the Mission House. His friends, the Revs. C. M. Hardy and J. C. Keyte, have also rendered invaluable aid by their criticisms and counsel in the revision of the manuscript. R. F. M. LoNDoN, October, 1929. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. AT THE DAWN IS II. A FAULTY PERSPECTIVE 20 III, A NEW BEGINNING - 29 IV. GETTING TO WORK - 37 V. AFTER ELEVEN YEARS 48 VI.