Recently it was my privilege to visit the two Seventh-day Adventist hospitals in the Inca Union in South America—the one located at Juliaca, Peru, near Lake Titicaca, and the other at Chulumani, Bolivia, about eighty miles from La Paz. Both of these institutions are doing a fine medical work, which is creating good will and breaking down prejudice, not only among those who come to the hospitals, but also among an ever-widening circle of people in the surrounding communities.
The Juliaca Clinic, as it is called, is in the charge of Dr. C. R. Potts, who is ably assisted by his wife, a graduate nurse. The clinic has only a fifteen-bed capacity, but the per cent of occupancy is high. Patients are drawn from the Peruvian nationals and from the indigenous Indians. New plans are being studied now for enlarging the hospital by adding several new rooms, and new living quarters for some of the helpers are also in prospect. Through the work of this medical unit, interest in the message is increasing, so that a modest chapel is greatly needed in which to hold Sabbath and other services. The hospital patio is used for meetings now, but is not suitable in the wintertime or in inclement weather.
The Chulumani Sanitarium and Hospital is under the superintendency of Dr. R. C. Floren, who is assisted by his wife, also a graduate nurse. Mrs. W. W. Wheeler, one of the pioneer workers in South America, is superintendent of nurses, and matron. This forty-bed hospital is owned by the Bolivian government and has been leased to us for a twenty-five year period for a nominal sum. While I was visiting our work in Bolivia, Pastor Juan Plenc, director of the Bolivian Mission, gave me the following account of the Chulumani Hospital and its work:
A number of years ago the Catholics attempted to get control of the hospital we were operating at 'Chulumani, Bolivia, by offering the government an amount many times larger than we could pay. But in spite of this, it was leased to us for a twenty-five year period because of the good reputation our work enjoys in Bolivia, and the quality of the professional service rendered by those who pioneered the medical work in that field.
"This naturally angered the priests, who had already brought a foreign doctor to Chulumani to take charge of the hospital. When they failed, their doctor began to work in a small town in which he had no facilities. All went along fairly smoothly until the beginning of 5940, when our hospital began a year of unprecedented success. Then it was made the object of a definite defamation campaign.
"Anonymous articles appeared in the newspaper against our work. At first some of our workers felt that perhaps an answer should be published, but later it was decided to leave the matter in the hands of God. This they did, praying earnestly that God would overrule in their behalf. A few days later their attention was called to a 'joke' in the newspaper which mentioned the fact that the priest (who had been writing the articles against the hospital) had suffered an attack of appendicitis, but was afraid to be operated on in the Adventist hospital for fear the doctor would plant some seeds of adventism in the incision.
"It turned out that during this time the Catholic doctor was doing all in his power to effect a natural cure. He had not practiced his surgery for several years; so was afraid to attempt the operation himself; at the same time he had no desire to recommend the Adventist doctor. But when no improvement was seen, he finally advised the priest to go to the hospital. Here he was kindly received, and was offered the regular missionaries' discount for the operation, which greatly surprised him. Still he was afraid to undergo the operation at the hands of a Protestant, and so delayed going back as long as he dared.
"Finally he came, accompanied by his doctor, who stood by and watched while Doctor Floren performed the operation. This marked the end of the defamation of the hospital from this source, for the priest regained his health and left with an entirely different attitude toward the work we are doing.
"After the operation, another note appeared in the paper stating that the priest had been operated on, and that the Adventists had removed the appendix from Catholicism."
A number of Peruvian and Bolivian young women are taking the nurses' course at Chulurnani to prepare themselves for a larger place of service in medical and health lines in these needy fields. Let us remember at the throne of grace these faithful, hard-working medical evangelists who are holding the front lines in the mountain and highland areas of the Inca Union Mission.
