Bible Society’s holistic hospital ministry comforts the sick

Taken from A Biblia No Brasil, the quarterly magazine of the Bible Society of Brazil.

SÃO PAULO, Brazil — Gelson Eleotério was 13 years old when he was infected with HIV through a blood transfusion. Now aged 34, his failing health has cost him his job and his family, and the Emílio Ribas Infectious Diseases Institute (ERIDI) has become his second home.

Despite his tragic circumstances, Mr Eleotério has managed to remain positive – an attitude which he attributes to the practical and spiritual support he receives from a team of volunteers from the Bible Society of Brazil (BSB).

“I have a lot to thank the chaplainry team for – they never let me want for anything,” he said. “I lost everything…but, thanks to these people, I discovered Jesus and found the strength to face life and cope with the prospect of death.”

Mr Eleotério is one of thousands of hospital patients across the country who benefit from the BSB’s Social Action in Hospitals program, which is run together with the Evangelical Chaplaincy Association (ECA). More than 100 Bible Society volunteers carry out the work in 45 institutions across 14 states.

The volunteers are retired people, students, missionaries or professionals, and are trained by the ECA to provide all-round care for patients. They undertake bedside and pre- and post-surgery visits, distribute Bible Society literature, such as the Scripture Portion, Nothing Can Separate Us From the Love of God, and hold worship services. They also hand out essential items such as food and clothing.

“The material comfort brings patients transitory relief but the knowledge of God in Christ brings them peace and joy even in the midst of their pain and suffering,” said Professor Eleny Vassão de Paula Aitken, General Co-ordinator of the ECA and a member of the BSB’s board of directors.

“Some people stay in hospital for months and we seek, through the Word of God, to provide a better quality of life for them,” she continued. “We have to know their needs and fears and to do this we need to know how to listen. Then, through the Bible, we can show them God’s love and interest in all the details of their lives.”

Professor de Paula Aitken, who has devoted herself to hospital ministry for 18 years, has seen the effects of the BSB’s holistic program on countless patients.

“Thanks to the hope offered by God, many patients…have faced death in the certainty of forgiveness and eternal life, or have had their strength renewed and are able to face their treatment more serenely,” she said. “Some have even recovered faster.”

As well as providing material and spiritual support, the BSB program is also designed to engage patients, who often feel afraid and alone in their illness, in positive activities. Bible Society volunteers organise entertainment, such as fun days in children’s wards and parties on special occasions, and run educational courses for patients.

Oneida Green de Almeida, 71, is a BSB volunteer working among patients with HIV. She teaches handcrafts to children and adult patients, as well as to members of their families.

“This activity, as well as helping supplement the patients’ income, also helps them to recover their self-esteem,” she said.

Education

Anita Oyaizu, 41, shares Bible stories with sick children in the ERIDI by using puppets and pictures. Bible Society literature, such as the Illustrated Bible for Children, the Studying with the Bible series, Adventures with the Bible and The Bible with Art, is also used by volunteers to help sick children continue with their education.

The work done by the ECA and the Bible Society volunteers has won the full support of health professionals.

“The work of the Chaplaincy is very well regarded because it meets needs not served by the conventional medical approach,” said Dr Marcelo Cruz Lopes, Medical Assistant of the Hospital das Clínicas at the University of São Paulo’s Faculty of Medicine.

Dr Lopes believes that although medical science has made significant progress in the last 50 years, the structure of the health service itself leaves little room for health carers to interact closely with the people they are treating. This, he says, is where the work of the chaplainry is so essential.

“I am pleased to collaborate with this work because I am fully aware that, in addition to spreading the Gospel and bearing Christian witness, I am helping to fight a major problem that affects us all – stress,” he explained. “There can be no doubt that this work can change lives.”

The ECA and the BSB also provide support for healthcare professionals, distributing Scriptures and running courses to help them cope with the demands of their work.

Courses

“Doctors and nurses find it difficult to deal with death, and the courses organised by the chaplainry are very important in learning to come to terms with this subject,” said Dr Guido Carlos Levi, Director of the ERIDI.

Dr Levi also says that the work of the chaplainry and the Bible Society volunteers makes patients’ stays in hospital less traumatic, and improves the atmosphere in hospitals.