Adventist Hospital Davao: A Beacon of Medical and Spiritual Healing in Baliok, Toril
Adventist Hospital Davao (AHD) in McArthur, Bangkal, Davao City, recently held a medical mission in Barangay Baliok, Toril District, benefiting 370 individuals. Additionally, they launched a week-long Health and Gospel Seminar on July 14 to provide comprehensive medical and spiritual education to the community.
Leading up to this significant event, the Upper Room Fellowship Center (URFC), where many AHD personnel worship, hosted a Week of Prayer. This included foot washing and communion services, fostering a deeper relationship with God and unity among participants.
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Dr. Jonathan Casio, President of AHD and an ordained pastor with a doctorate in administration, led a team of medical professionals and volunteers. They provided free medical, dental, and circumcision services, along with free medicines and prayers, at the barangay’s robust gymnasium.
The evening featured the beginning of the Health and Gospel evangelistic series, spearheaded by Pastor Jimmy Sabandal, AHD Chaplain, with the assistance of Pr. Handel Cabrera and Pr. Eliseo Remotigue. The hospital’s enthusiastic staff organized a Children’s Hour, engaging kids with Bible stories, action songs, and providing religious coloring books and crayons for their creative enjoyment.
Punong Barangay Hon. Ricky Liparanon and the barangay council supported the event by supplying high-quality steel and cushioned chairs for attendees. Throughout the series, the AHD URFC Youth Ensemble and various choral groups from nearby churches delivered soul-stirring songs and provided snacks. AHD personnel also prepared rice, groceries, and other prizes for a raffle draw to further support the community.
The mission underscored the Biblical call to care for the vulnerable, as highlighted in Matthew 25:35-37, 40: “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me…. whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”
Adventist Hospital Davao is part of a network of Adventist healthcare institutions across Mindanao, including Adventist Medical Center-Valencia City, Adventist Medical Center-Iligan City, and Gingoog Sanitarium and Hospital. In the Visayas, the Adventist Church operates Adventist Hospital-Cebu Inc., Adventist Medical Center-Bacolod City, and Adventist Hospital-Calbayog City, Inc. Luzon is served by Adventist Medical Center-Manila, Adventist Hospital-Santiago City, and Adventist Hospital Palawan.
Globally, the Adventist Church operates 229 hospitals and sanitariums, 129 nursing homes and retirement centers, 1,475 clinics and dispensaries, 128 dental clinics, and 15 orphanages and children’s homes.
Mrs. Ellen G. White, a visionary leader and advisor to the church, emphasized the importance of establishing hospitals and clinics. In her writings, she stated, “Nothing will help us more at this stage of our work than to understand and to fulfill the mission of the greatest Medical Missionary that ever trod the earth; nothing will help us more than to realize how sacred is this kind of work and how perfectly it corresponds with the lifework of the Great Missionary. The object of our mission is the same as the object of Christ’s mission. Why did God send His Son to the fallen world? To make known and to demonstrate to mankind His love for them. Christ came as a Redeemer. Throughout His ministry, He was to keep prominent His mission to save sinners.”—Medical Ministry, 24.
Photo credits: Pr. Jimmy Sabandal