MMN Mar 2022 Mag - online - Flipbook - Page 26
every two months throughout
the year, focussing on specialist
training for doctors or targeting specific patient groups. For
example, over the previous 12
months they have run sessions
about stoma care for medical professionals, team building for all
those who work at the clinic, and
breastfeeding, childcare, women’s
health, and healthy living, for different patient groups. These groups
are held in the more intimate staff
room in the clinic, using a white
board, projector, and various handouts. Occasionally they might visit
residential settings such as homes
for the elderly or orphanages, to
deliver more specialised training to staff and residents. These
sessions are organised by personal
invitation, notices or advertisements on social media. The
format of the group includes reading
Bible verses to find out what God’s
advice might be about subjects,
such as healthy living or healthy
relationships and comparing them
to modern approaches, which
often provides the evidence of why
the biblical wisdom is relevant. This
is followed by the presentation of
the specialist subject, including a
practical element where appropriate, and leaving plenty of time for
discussion and questions.
25
Impact
Emanual Clinic have had an
increasing impact on their local
community and have gained trust
and respect over the years from
fellow medical professionals, as
well as their patients. The Clinic
was founded only a year after Moldova became independent from
the Soviet Union. Prior to this,
people were very sceptical about
churches, other than the Orthodox
Church, as they did not really know
much about them. Most employees of EC are either Baptists or
they attend the Lord’s Army, which
is the more recently established
evangelical wing of the Orthodox
Church. When they first opened,
they received no encouragement
or recommendations from their
peers across the city.
Today, they have an excellent
reputation, and it is common for
doctors from other clinics and
hospitals to approach EC for their
advice, and recommend them to
patients for treatment. People
choose to go there because they
know they will be listened to, treated respectfully and made to feel
that their lives are of worth. This
alone makes them more likely to be
open to the gospel.
