Medical Mission

The Medical and Educational Missionary Wing of the Church of God in Christ is working in interior villages and jungles from the year 1995. A team of volunteers under the leadership of Dr. Bevin G. Lawrence, a Medical doctor (Physician), started venturing into the deep jungles around Kodaikanal to give medical and educational assistance to the unreached, underprivileged, neglected and illiterate sections of the society who were living in interior forests. The inhabitants of these hamlets were hostile towards the outsiders and the team had to face a lot of hardships in approaching those people. After continuous and persistent interaction with the elders of these societies, we could win their confidence and now we have access to many of these villages. We feel the hands of God in this work. Many miracles have happened. Two of them are worth mentioning here.
One day about 5 years back the medical team went to a village called Poondi. We had only very limited medicines with us. An old man came running to us begging us to accompany him to his hut. He told us that his daughter was screaming with labor pain for about 20 hours. There were no body to assist her and the village ladies had tortured her throughout the night, trying to conduct delivery. When I went to that hut and saw the condition of that girl, tears rolled down from my eyes. The girl was lying on a mud ground with 20 illiterate village women sitting around her, pressing her abdomen. The hut was very dark and too narrow with only one room. I asked all the women to go out. When I examined the girl, she was in eclampsia. Her Blood Pressure was 240/160 mm. of Hg. She had continuous fits. I had no equipment in hand. I just prayed God to perform a miracle. I told the parents of the girl and the other people that the life of the girl and the baby were in danger and asked them to believe in Jesus and to pray. With much difficulty, sitting on the floor I conducted the delivery with a minor surgery without any sterile precautions because nothing was possible there. By God's grace the girl delivered a girl baby and her eclampsia settled down without any medicine. The next week when we went there, we found that the girl and her baby were normal and they named the child 'Yesamma' which means the 'child of Jesus', though they are Hindus.
Another time we went to a deep Jungle where a 12 year old girl was sick. The witch doctor in that village told that the girl would not survive. So, according to the superstition of that villagers, they kept the girl outside their village in a hut without food and medicine, hoping that the girl would die at any time. I got the permission of the elders to see the girl. When I saw her, she was emaciated and could not walk. I felt pity and was filled with compassion. She had a big mass (lump) in her right thigh, which according to medical science should only be removed by surgery. I had neither equipment nor medicine to treat this girl. But I gathered her parents and prayed for that girl. I also requested the parents to give her food because I felt that the girl would be starved to death. God healed her. When I went to that village next month, the girl was playing and she was completely healed. Now the words of the witch doctor is not attended by these villagers.
To extend this medical missionary work, we are planning to start the following:
1. A Mobile Medical Unit with medicines, equipment, vehicle and staff.
2. 5 Mini Health Centers in remote villages
3. A well-equipped Hospital.
Beneficiaries
1. 30 villages around Kodaikanal
2. Total Population of 85,000 people
3. 15 remote villages inside the jungles
4. Population of 10,000 people.
Mission Trips
Church of God in Christ encourages volunteers for Mission Trips. Applications are received throughout the year from volunteers of many countries. COGIC encourages mission volunteers in the field of Medicine and education. We encourage only committed Christian volunteers for these trips.

The volunteers are taken to tribal and remote villages to study about the lifestyle and basic needs of these communities. TEAM Vision encourages the volunteers to become missionaries to unreached regions around the world.
In the year 2003 Endre Medhaug from Norway stayed with us as a volunteer. He is a medical student in University of Norway.
He says, “This mission trip opened my eyes about missions. It was a different experience to visit the tribal villages and study about their culture and needs. I did a thesis on Malnutrition among Indian children. I had opportunity to examine 100 tribal children in the jungles, 100 tribal children who are cared in the Children’s Homes and 100 children who are in other villages and compare the malnutrition status. I thank Dr. Bevin Lawrence who guided me and taught me various strategies of missions”
In 2004 Margaret Wong from Vancouver, Canada stayed with us as a volunteer. She is working in a Medical Laboratory in Vancouver and she wants to become a Medical Doctor. Her passion for the remote villages in the third world countries brought her to TEAM Vision. Her special interest is working among widows and destitute women, especially suffering from Breast Cancer.

She says, “I had an amazing time with Dr. Bevin, Serena and their children. I spent almost 4 weeks there and God has shown me too many graces, journey mercies and joys to count! I hope one day that we may serve together in Kodaikanal, I already miss it. Thank you for encouraging me to go to India, it was one of the most unbelievable experiences I have ever had.”
In 2007 two medical volunteers named Lori and Christa from Canada involved themselves in the Medical Mission work.