My consultant was not much older than me (I was a mature student) and very pleasant. During one of our informal conversations, I asked him why he gave me the job. He informed me that the other interviewee had seemed a bit 'freaked out' during the interview. I explained that it was probably due to my preaching of the Gospel to him just before he went in(!) My consultant's reply was, 'Well, please don't freak me out by preaching to me'.
As yet I have found no close Christian friend with whom to pray and have fellowship. The other junior doctors seem more concerned about getting drunk and I pray that the Lord will give me a love for their souls. I have started going to St. Michael Le Belfrey where David Watson was once the minister and I am trusting that God will use me in the short time I am here to serve the Church.
There is no Christian Union in the hospital, so I was pleased after praying to meet a Christian nurse on my first Sunday at church. When I heard she worked in the same hospital I said 'Good, now there are two of us. We can start a CU'. She said she was also thinking of starting a CU and was going to put up a poster. We met a week later, and put up posters everywhere to invite people to a prayer meting. So far we have had one or two more nurses turn up and I have been able to help out with some expository teaching.
The chaplain, who happens to be born again (Praise God!), is keen to support the work spiritually and practically. Please pray that the CU will be firmly established, and that other Christians will join us in evangelism within the hospital. Pray for me that I should be kept from falling, and be given zeal, perseverance, humility and wisdom. We have arranged (with permission of the Chaplain) to have Christian tracts and portions of the Gospels to be made available in the Chapel. This is in a very strategic location as many visit in search of God. Pray that these tracts will get into the right hands.
We have also been able to get the Gideons to deliver a Bible to every room in the accommodation block for the doctors and nurses, in all about 300 Bibles. Praise God for his Word! They were so encouraged by this opportunity, and are now praying for the best method of placing the Scriptures in every flat.
Many tourists as well as many homeless come to York, which is the second-most-visited city in the UK after London. I am contemplating going out into the streets and handing out Christian literature - or even preaching. Recently I was able to make contact with a homeless girl called 'TJ' from Hackney, an ex-heroin addict who has lived on the streets for years. She cannot read or write, so under a friend's advice, I gave her the Gospel of John on tape, for which she was most grateful. There are many such street people in this city who need our prayers.
York is also home to the cults. The Christadelphians held a 'Bible Week' here recently and I spent over four hours debating (largely fruitlessly) with the speaker at the event. I've also had opportunities to share the Gospel with a spiritualist, a Bahai and a Christian Scientist. I was saddened by the state of some churches, whose people seem more concerned about the religious buildings and their outward adornment, than men's and women's souls.
I am not sure where I am going after I finish my job at York on February 6th but I am trusting that God will guide me.
