Hands that heal

Julia Darko reports on a Spanish Christian medical conference.

This year the Union Medica Evangelica, a Spanish association of Christian medical students and doctors put on their first ever nationwide student and doctor conference, which took place from 18-20 October in Madrid. Several members previously attended CMF's National Student Conference in England and had loved it so much they were determined to see a similar event take place in their own country. It was an absolute honour to be able to witness and share in such a wonderful occasion which ended up exceeding all of my expectations.

The weekend comprised of a mixture of worship, prayer, talks tackling the practice of medicine from a Christian perspective and workshops providing practical advice for the clinical setting. I learned a lot and it was refreshing to gain so much teaching as well as prayer, worship and fellowship in a different cultural setting to the UK. In all there were around 40 people in attendance, a lot more intimate than the near 400 at our National Student Conference. However, what they lacked in numbers they certainly made up for in spirit!

There was a palpable desire for seeking God's heart and sharing the gospel in Spain. Many of those taking part were facing incredibly difficult circumstances, living and working in areas where they were alone in the Christian faith, but showed great perseverance in being salt and light in their workplace and community. I have to be honest, their zeal for Christ and desire to share him in their working environment was absolutely contagious and somewhat reflective of the spirit of the early church - a small gathering of people equipped with a life-changing vision and a big calling, excited about the gospel and desperate to find ways of sharing its good news. I was blown away by the evidence of a God who is so wonderfully present in all corners of the world, and whose grace is so captivating it binds together people so varied in language, culture and social background. What an amazing God we serve! Our Spanish counterparts are deeply grateful for all the support provided by CMF towards making this event possible and ask that we keep them in our prayers as they keep us in theirs.