February is usually cold, wet and rainy - a depressing month. In this self- pitying state of mind, we seldom realise the resources we have at our disposal in the UK for encouraging each other to grow spiritually, as well as clearly and confidently explaining the gospel to our friends and family. However, the annual CMF national students' conference on 13-15 February was an excellent antidote to this, and it was great to take a weekend out of hectic clinical studies to spend time listening to God's word and fellowshipping with other students.

339 of us gathered together at the Hayes Conference Centre in Derbyshire; this included groups from all over the UK and Ireland along with students from across Europe. Many of them represented countries where there is no established Christian medical students' organisation, so it was a delight and a challenge to have them with us: they increased our understanding of the challenges facing Christian medics overseas, but also reminded us how much we take for granted the resources available to us.

What did we do?

The Bible addresses

Nigel Lee was formerly Head of Student Ministries at UCCF (the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship) and is now an itinerant Bible teacher. He gave three excellent talks on the person of Jesus in the book of Hebrews. The first talk, covering the first two chapters, looked at Jesus as the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy. He went on from there to talk about Jesus as the 'great high priest' in his second talk, reminding us that Christ is our completely qualified representative before God: being fully man, understanding the nature of temptation and sin, but at the same time fully God - the only sacrifice able to take away the sins of the world (Heb 4:14-5:10).

The final session (Heb 9:11-10:25) built on the previous two passages but delved more into the significance of Christ's death. The price paid by Jesus on the cross, Nigel explained, was final and established a new covenant between God and us that, in contrast to that in the Old Testament, is able to work within us permanently to deal with our sin and bring us salvation.

The conference address

Dr Marjory Foyle currently works to support missionaries around the world and is author of the book, Honourably Wounded, which addresses the problems faced by Christian workers. She is a retired psychiatrist, who spent most of her career working in South Asia. Her talk, 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Face of Mission' looked honestly at some of the problems faced by missionaries, but also reflected on their many positive achievements. She surveyed the changes in mission work, such as an increase in short-termers and a greater dependence on national workers rather than expatriates. As Christian medics, we are all missionaries, whether we work in a UK general practice, or far from home. Her talk was excellent, not just because of its content, but also for her wealth of experience and the wonderful testimony of God's grace to her since her conversion over 60 years ago.

Seminars

There were 15 seminars to choose from, ranging from 'Living a godly lifestyle' to 'The global health crisis'; from 'Understanding Islam' to 'Medical mission'. Regardless of your stage in medical school, there was certainly a selection that would have been helpful to everyone. Churches and CUs don't normally cover topics like euthanasia and prenatal diagnosis, and it is vital for medical students to work through these issues before they arise clinically.

Time to relax

The conference was not all work - there was some free time to catch up with friends and mull over what we'd learnt. Saturday night featured an opportunity to pick the brains of some of the seminar leaders in a question and answer session addressing current hot topics from postmodernism to student fees whilst, for the less cerebrally inclined, there was the option of a barn dance (always a light-hearted but energetic option!), or a praise concert, organised by Andy Flannagan, a medically-qualified singer-songwriter who led the worship at the conference.

Prayer points

It was so encouraging to welcome such a large number of international students from countries such as Belarus, Georgia and Lithuania. We continue to give thanks that they were able to come, and pray for their desire to establish Christian medics' groups in their home countries. A number of them will be hosting CMF summer teams this year (see pp34,35), which need much prayer for organisation and effectiveness. We should also ask that God will enable us to put into practice what we heard, closer to home in our own medical schools.

Conclusion

Being a Christian medic can be a lonely experience, but you need not worry because you are not the only one. The conference is designed to help medical students deal with living as followers of Jesus in the medical world and to think through important issues before we encounter them in surgeries, clinics or on the wards. It is also a rare privilege to be part of a gathering that unites medical students from so many nations who share the same identity as God's precious redeemed children. If you haven't been to a CMF conference yet, make sure you get there in 2005!