The church in action

from w
The Fiji Sun certainly has some strange stories but here is one sensible one. This is the church in action - sending eye doctors to Fiji to alleviate the distress of eye disease and cataracts.
60 receive eye treatment

5/27/2009
More than 60 people have been treated at the Lautoka Hospital for eye problems by a visiting team of eye specialists from Australia.
The team’s annual visit is sponsored by the Uniting Church whose project director is Dr Christopher David.

Dr Chris is part of the team which consists of five doctors and six theatre nurses. “We have about two and a half more days to go and we hope to have treated about 90 patients during this visit,” he said.

Dr Chris said the most common eye problem they discovered in most of the patients they had treated was the growth of cataracts.

“Cataracts are caused by heat and could also be genetic. Five children between the ages of six and 16 were treated for cataracts and the rest were adults between forty and fifty years of age,” he said.

The team first visited Fiji in 2006 and based their treatment at the Ba Mission Hospital but since 2007, they have based their treatments at the Lautoka Hospital.

Dr Chris said they coordinated with the Ministry of Health every year.

“After our visit each year, the ministry officials visit other centres from Sigatoka to Rakiraki and identify people who come to the clinics that require treatment or surgery for their eyes. A couple of months before we make our visit, the list of names is given to us,” he said.
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Compare this with the page one story of the 50 member church in Tamavua where one lady called 'King David' rants against the churches that talk about 'soli' as if.... Her name is Marama Vada but she calls herself King David. Here is part of the article - and keep in mind, this is what the Fiji Sun editors chose to put on the front page!
"I want them to know that churches are not for money-making businesses - people go there to hear the word of God and receive blessings and healing from the Most High."

King David said she believed in purifying her life "every second of the day and every second of the night to glorify God".

"He is pure and clean and if all pastors and believers consider it their divine duty to believe in His healing power, they can pay their hands on the sick and afflicted and everyone shall be healed."

She added it was time all church leaders purify themselves and focus on the power of God.

The One World Healing Church has about 50 members who carry out pastoral duties daily and lay hands on the sick and troubled. They have only one meal a day and place restrictions on outside influences like watching television, reading the newspapers and listening to the radio because "they mess up our lives".

"We believe in the holiness of God and we believe in being pure in the presence of our Holy God," she added.
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So do you pray a lot, or do you get going and heal the sick with modern medicine? Or a bit of both? It disturbs me that some of the fringe church people in Fiji carry on a lot without using common sense. This isn't that much different from leading people to rivers with 'healing power' and magic. I like the bit though about not watching TV or listening to the radio as 'they mess up our lives'. How ironic!