LOMA LINDA - Dr. Gillian Seton and Dr. James Appel, Adventist Health International missionary doctors to West Africa, told stories and gave recommendations concerning the Ebola crisis to an overflowing audience at Loma Linda University's Frank Damazo Amphitheater Friday evening. Loma Linda University's Global Health Institute hosted the vespers program as part of its 2014 Global Healthcare Conference.
Is he willing to risk his other son’s life? Or will the remaining family stay in the states? If there is no curative treatment for the disease, what would he be doing that the natives cannot do? If there is insufficient protective gear as has been reported, what then?
heroes are made not born. I grew up on William Cary and Hudson Talyor. That kind of courage and dedication we see today. May these heroes be honoredThe Lord be praised, and LLU supported to continue to Make Man Whole. Tom Z
Yeah this is really tough. I have no idea how this is going to be dealt with. 3 days ago the UN said:
The UN has warned the world has just 60 days to get Ebola under control, or face an “unprecedented situation for which we don’t have a plan”.
I read this stat once on how many times our church fasted (corporately) in the early days (say over Ellen Whites life time), compared to now. And we, today, are not doing so good in that department. One time our church decided to fast so that God would bring a quick end to the civil war, it ended, I forget how many weeks after. But fairly short period. Corporate prayer and fasting seem to be powerful. I wonder if the same thing should be done with this.
The surviving Appel twin is a daughter. Mother and daughter reside in the States while the doctor has been on special missions in behalf of the Adventist Health International (AHI). Drs Seton and Appel reportedly left Monrovia shortly after Cooper Hospital was forced to shut down following the death of two staff members who contracted the Ebola virus infection.
Dr Hart stated in his introduction that prior to Dr Seton’s arrival in Monrovia back in February AHI has been unable to recruit expat physicians from the west to staff the two Adventist West African mission hospitals. Drs Seton and Appel offered some recommendations for someone in the audience who may happen to have a direct contact with the WHO and CDC (Center for Disease Control). Any suggestions for LLUMC, the AHI and the GC regarding their respective roles in dealing with the Ebola crisis here and abroad? It appears that neither doctor will be returning to Monrovia anytime soon.
WebAdmin/ Moderator - The video seems to have been pulled - it cannot be watched. Are there any issues that can be resolved? Thanks.
The story itself is deeply moving.
The risk of a pandemic is severely downplayed, it seems. (I talked to a specialized hygiene nurse recently, to better understand what is happening). Certainly panic is the wrong answer, yet brave doctors and medical personal need support - including, but not limited to prayer.
Now we know what ended the Civil War: it was prayer. That’s no different than saying the war ended because the side that prayed more and longer won. There is absolutely no documented evidence that prayer has caused great changes, healing, or minds changed simply and only on the reliance on prayer. There are too many other possible reasons. This is NOT an argument against prayer, only that it is always a personal and very subjective
assessment. Where is the evidence that prayer ended the Civil War? Do you know ANYONE who was praying then?
Wheres your faith Elaine, you shouldnt mock it. My main point wasnt that fasting and prayer ended the war, but rather, that the church back then did corporate prayer/fasting much more than what we do today. And it couldnt hurt for us to do the same with this Ebola outbreak. Thats all I was saying.
About year or so ago doing some research on prayer and fasting I came across this article written by Madeline S. Johnston. Its where I first heard about this.
The Ellen G. White Estate has a thick file on the subject of fasting in Adventist history. Along with quotations of Ellen White, the file includes research papers and letters from church leaders. In 1865 Review and Herald editor James White mentioned that certain days were dedicated to fasting and prayer for the end of the Civil War after which it did end speedily. The General Conference Committee endorsed Sabbath, February 11, as a day of fasting and prayer. In March of that year members ob served four days of humiliation, fasting, and prayer during which they had a minimum food intake; some ab stained altogether as health permitted and convictions prompted. James White testified that he had never seen such intensity and feeling, nor better times in Battle Creek or the whole world field. Many prayers were answered. (James White, in Review and Herald editorial, Apr. 25, 1865; articles, Jan. 31, 1865, and
Feb.21,) https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/1995/01/fasting-with-balance
“What can the angels of heaven think of poor helpless human beings, who are subject to temptation, when God’s heart of infinite love yearns toward them, ready to give them more than they can ask or think, and yet they pray so little and have so little faith?” SC pg, 94
On fasting…It is my observation that fasting intensives devotion, heart searching and renewed desires to live a believers life. During fasting, bitterness, blaming others for their failures is cleared away and other spiritual maladies are removed. It makes no sense to me that God is moved by our denial of food, however when we press together in spiritual unity God answers prayer, not due to our fasting but due to our sweetened repentant hearts (not our theology).
Our churches so divided over silly issues such as ordination of women and other liberal VS conservative viewpoints we all languish is spiritual doldrums. Frankly healing miracles are rare events in most NA SDA churches. Agree? Would Amazing Facts let me join their fasting prayer group if I ate hamburgers, believed in woman ministers, and that EGW’s advice was often culture influenced? Probably if I could not be convinced, I would be excluded.
As far as LLU and the Adventist Health International (AHI) are concerned, being “on the front lines of the Ebola war” means screening out suspected Ebola virus infected patients and sending them away to an overcrowded treatment facility where patients might have a chance to get admitted before they die.
How might non-Ebola patients best be protected? Within six weeks of Dr Appel’s stint in Monrovia, two of Cooper hospital’s employees contracted the Ebola virus and died. Consequently, the decision was made to shut down the hospital and let the two expat doctors go home.
The issue is similar to medics in war. Although the families were not a risk The dead and wounded among the medics were higher by three fold over that of the infantry… When a medic would come to the aid of a fallen infantry, the spot was already spotted in… in one episode I recall the three medics were more seriously wounded than the infantryman they went in harms way to aid. it became so serious that the War Department gave orders that no one under the age of 20 could serve as a medic in the front lines. I was with 3 months away from 20 so was assigned to a clearing company. That is how I came to be with 5 months of 89.