Another kind of Malnutrition

Our Pathfinder Club

For over half a century, the Pan American Health Service has been devoted entirely to the physical and spiritual care of children in Honduras. Our physical focus is specifically for children afflicted with malnutrition. This disease is a pathological condition that is the result of a lack of food intake and excess metabolic expenditure. The end result is the physical consequence of starvation.

Our goal is also to address their spiritual malnutrition. We have to feed the spiritual needs of these children nurturing them as if they were a part of our own family members. Our goal is to instill in them the importance of giving their lives to Christ and trusting Him with their burdens. As Christian believers, we have witnessed many miracles to the glory of God.I have become aware of a book entitled, "At Jesus' Feet: The Gospel According to Mary Magdalene,” written by Pastor Doug Batchelor. In this book, he makes some statements that there is an ignorance of the young people concerning the Scriptures in our churches, Christian church schools, and other institutions. I do not believe that his research stated in the book is totally accurate.

His conclusion was that many of the children surveyed were not well instructed on basic essentials of the Bible. His claims are that the church leaders at our institutions are not teaching our SDA doctrinal teachings adequately to future generations. His conclusions are based on some illogical answers given by some students with overactive imaginations in the research surveys. The point I would like to emphasize is that, with God’s help and much time and effort, these young people have been taught spiritual concepts and devotion to their Creator. I believe that most of them do have the knowledge and the ability to answer the questions correctly.

Unfortunately, many of the children living in these institutions have suffered misfortune, and traumatic experiences at a young age. But, praise God! Many of them have experienced positive changes in their lives after accepting Jesus into their hearts. It is very rewarding to see these children of God recover from their spiritual malnutrition.It is a blessing to see many of these young people enlist in service to God and become active members of our spiritual clubs such as Conquerors, and Adventurers and some even become leaders as Master Guides to help others. It is our hope that soon the spiritual malnutrition found in many members of our churches around the world can be healed. The formula is simple for spiritual health is to study the Word of God (spiritual manna), and communicate with God in prayer. Let us each one be able to, like the prophet Jeremiah say, "Thy words were found, and I ate."