Dispensary Work in Darkest Chicago
By M. Clair Hinds
DURING the last two years of our course at the American Medical Missionary College, much time was spent in dispensary work. This work brings the students in close touch with the sick and suffering. One does not need to go to China or India to find a needy missionary field. We have one here in Chicago. Into our dispensaries come many who need healing, and need Christ. One night a man came in complaining of a severe headache. Examination revealed the fact that his headache was all on the left side of his head, also that his right arm and leg were becoming numb. One eye was losing its sight. As these signs pointed to some serious brain trouble, the man was taken to an “older doctor” at clinic the next day. Here he was carefully examined again, and appropriate treatment was prescribed. The effect was marvelous. Almost from the first day of treatment, the man began to improve. His headache disappeared, the feeling gradually returned to his right side, and in two weeks he was strong and well. Another man came about the same time. He was well dressed, and gave evidence of culture and education, but he was drunk. He was not so far gone but that he realized his condition, however, and was in deep despair and discouragement on account of having fallen so many times. Careful examination showed his physical condition to be good. This man needed Christ. All his trouble was from drink; this he knew without being told, so we told him of the Son of man, who came to seek and to save that which was lost, who is able to save unto the uttermost, and who is able not only to save, but to keep. Tears stood in this poor man’s eyes as he listened to the simple word of God. Finally he consented to ask God for help, and if ever a man prayed in earnest, this man did. Then he was taken to the bath rooms and given thorough treatment. He left the dispensary feeling like a new man, and the hand clasp he gave on parting was enough to reward us for a week’s work. Thank God, the full gospel means salvation for both body and soul. Christ is our great leader in medical missionary work, and he is a leader who is right on the field with his soldiers; not afar off. Before opening the dispensary, I asked God’s guidance in conducting it that evening; and each time this course has been pursued, prayer has been answered. At the Halstead Street Dispensary, the bell rang one morning at half-past four. A man staggered in, his pain being so severe that he caught the door casing for support. But hot fomentations were wonderfully efficacious in relieving his suffering. In less than an hour this patient was able to go away well, saying that the treatment was worth fifty dollars to him. One great advantage of this medical missionary work is the access it gives to men’s hearts. A great point in canvassing is to gain a hearing. When you succeed in interesting your hearer, your object is attained. So in the medical office, we are sure of an interested hearing, because the patient is there to hear something that will make him well; and having the truth as it is in Christ, we have something that will heal him if he accepts it; for Jesus came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly. A patient who came recently was a young man, slender, weak, with narrow chest, a bad stomach, and symptoms of a tobacco heart. He had used tobacco ten years, beginning at the age of twelve. When shown that tobacco was the cause of his trouble, he willingly gave it up. Two weeks later he called on us again. He had used no tobacco since his previous17visit, and his eyes were brighter, he felt stronger, and looked better in every way. One week we were not satisfied with the results of the dispensary work, and hence earnestly sought the Lord for his special blessing. The results of the following week were better than of any previous week in the history of the dispensary. God causes us to work with him; but praise his name, he has also promised to work with us.