Keep Hoping and Pray

That hospital and Dr. Norvell Christie changed the way cataract surgery was done around the world. He helped us all and gave sight back to thousands of Pakistanis. And he trained Pakistani Christian doctors to follow in his footsteps as they work in the largest eye hospital in the world.

I’ve watched and marveled at their work there. I’ve worshiped in the chapel and walked out past the nurses, some of whom are among the victims of the attack. And I stayed in a Pakistani home when I was sick — the only time I was sick while overseas. I’ve been to our other hospitals and schools and to a General Assembly in Lahore.

I love the Christians in Pakistan. My heart bleeds for them. For days after the attack I was in complete despair. Then I came across this picture taken last year when I went to China for the Presbyterian Outreach Foundation and visited several seminaries. The memories it brought back gave me real hope.

For years we were also devastated by developments in China — missionaries beheaded, burned alive, taken into captivity or forced out of the country. But now Christianity is growing in China. When the photo was taken the young men and women at the seminary were singing “Onward, Christian Soldiers,” a favorite of mine, as it speaks to the battle against evil.

God’s in charge of the timing. And the miracles that are happening in China today give me hope for Christians everywhere, even in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Indonesia, Nigeria, Sudan, Rwanda, Pakistan — and yes, even Afghanistan.

Keep hoping and pray. The church built on the faith of Jesus Christ is still the hope of the world.