Dave & Dr. Suzie Snyder - Afghanistan Report 2002
Special Report on Afghanistan
Q: “You went to a place we’ve been hearing a lot about in the news lately.
What was it like there?”
A: “It was an incredible experience… I think the best way to describe it is to show you both in words and pictures.”
First, we started with a great team gathered by a church in Louisville, Kentucky. We met in the city of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, then flew into Kabul – the capital city of Afghanistan. Altogether, we were a group of nine people; six healthcare professionals and three leaders from the church’s missions department.
We went to Kabul to partner with an organization which has worked in Afghanistan for many years. Our group worked in Maywand Hospital and in two rural clinics at Istalif and Tangai Sidan. With our family’s experience in rural health care in a developing country, I was invited join this two-week medical outreach trip in July. We were privileged to be medical consultants to a cabinet minister and the Pakistani ambassador in our first days. We participated in a one-day relief distribution and multiple networking meetings with organizations such as WHO, USAID, and the Afghanistan Ministry of Health. By the end of the two weeks, we had accomplished our goals of evaluating the facilities, developing recommendations for re-establishing health care and community health education, and outlining our group’s future involvement.
As a visiting doctor, I was welcomed to work alongside Afghan physicians at Maywand Hospital in Kabul. I was even invited to present a lecture on pediatric vaccine preventable diseases to the medical staff and students. There is a great need for women physicians in Afghanistan since cultural beliefs prohibit women from being treated by male doctors.
Our team’s activities also included four days of primary medical care in two rural clinics during which time we treated over 1700 patients. As the pediatrician in the group, I saw most of the children who came to our clinics. I immediately felt right at home in the rural clinics. Everywhere we went, we were welcomed warmly and offered generous hospitality. At lunchtime, village elders prepared a banquet of rice and eggplant, offering their best to us.
Evidence that Afghanistan is truly a “war torn” country is everywhere. One of the buildings in which we held clinic was a bombed out hotel. The Taliban may have been forced to flee but evidence of the fear they inspired in women remains. Many women will only venture out in public wearing burkas which cover them from head-to-toe.
One of our biggest surprises came when we cautiously asked our translators if we could pray with our patients. They hesitantly agreed, so I concluded each visit asking the mothers and grandmothers who came with their children if I could pray for them. Every one of them responded with a big smile. Far from being despised as Christians, we discovered that we actually gained respect for being “people of the Book.” One of the highlights of the trip occurred when our group joined village elders standing in a large circle praying that God would bless the land and people of Afghanistan.
On Friday, the Muslim holy day, an international group of Christians quietly gathered for worship in a building marked only by the sign of a fish. Songs were either spoken or sung softly after the windows were shut in order to avoid drawing attention on the gathering. Afghan believers must keep a very low profile, unable to gather together for fear of being discovered.
The lack of Christian influence was striking, and yet God is present and active in Afghanistan. We particularly saw evidence of His power in the lives of two patients:
At 5 pm when we were packing up for the day, a young boy was carried in, lethargic with high fever and trouble breathing. We struggled to prepare two shots for malaria and pneumonia. With the pharmacy already closed, we begged the mother to bring him back the next day for further treatment. At 10am the following morning, she quietly sat down on the bench in front of me as the next patient in line. The boy squirmed in her lap, playful and smiling. She brought him back because we asked her to “but really he’s all better now.” I could not believe the improvement after only a single dose of medicines.
The second was a lady brought to the clinic by car, a certain sign of influence. Already treated at many Kabul hospitals, she was suffering from severe heart failure. With an irregular heartbeat and paralysis on one side from a stroke, she was wasted and weak with fluid in her lungs and belly. Realizing any medicine might cause more harm, we cautiously gave antibiotics, fluid pills, meds to regulate her heart rate, and aspirin to help prevent further strokes. With a helpless situation and our feeling of inadequacy, we offered to pray with her. Surprisingly, she agreed and seemed grateful. The next week, a man walked into a village meeting asking for more medicine “for the lady we saw” the previous week. Having seen over four hundred women, we were baffled at first, then I took a guess, “Do you mean the lady in the car?” He smiled saying, “Yes, she’s much better. She’s strong now. Can she have more medicine?” With a whispered, “Praise God!” I opened my
black box and gave him every tablet I had of the medicines she was taking.
Medical science cannot fully explain these two cases. I can only attribute their healing to the power and grace of God at work in their lives.
So, what did I find in Afghanistan? A land ravaged by centuries of fighting…people in great need… a spark of hope that something better lies in their future… a land in desperate need of the light and life we have in our Lord… and an open door to return and help rebuild a healthcare system. Afghanistan is no longer just a dot on the map for me. It is a place with names and faces of people I now care about… people I pray for daily.
Please join me in praying for…
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The people of Afghanistan – for their health and safety
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The country of Afghanistan - as they attempt to rebuild their nation
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Hearts which are receptive to the love of Christ
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Our family as we travel to Kabul October 5-20 – for wisdom as we apply lessons learned in Maasai medical ministry
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Additional workers who are willing to join the effort of rebuilding this war-torn country as a witness of God’s love and compassion
“And when he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew 9:36 NIV
