Editor's note: Dr. Erin Meier is a missionary doctor at Kudjip Nazarene Hospital in Papua New Guinea, where patients are greeted by a sign reading, "We treat and Jesus heals." The following is a story of one such healing that extended beyond simply the physical body.
Roy wasn't much different than a mummy when I first met him. He was covered from almost head to toe in this horrible crusted skin lesions. It was so bad that his mom had abandoned him and was no longer caring for him.
Although he wasn't dead, he was being treated as such. After we had washed and cleaned his skin, we wrapped him up like a mummy. He made a good recovery in the hospital. Afterward, his grandma and her friend continued to care for him. He went home with them carrying medicines to help prevent his skin disease from coming back again.
I hadn't seen him in months, but was recently walking through the hospital campus when I saw this little kid I thought I recognized. I stared at him; he stared at me. I finally asked, "nem bilong em?" Yep, it was Roy! He was here for a checkup. He is doing well on his medication and hasn't had any major flare-ups of his skin disease.
The best part was that he was with his mom -- his mom who had abandoned him; who didn't want him because he was sick. She was now a part of his life again. I couldn't ask why or what happened, but was thankful for their renewed relationship. I was also thankful for his grandma, who had looked after him when others wouldn't.
I was reminded of Christ, who was willing to love, to associate, to dine with sinners, with lepers, and others who were unclean. He erased any barriers to love and asked us to do the same.
-- Reprinted with permission from Dr. Erin Meier's blog.