For 13 years, I worked as a family physician in Greenville, SC, assuming that was what I’d be doing for the rest of my life. Instead, the Lord caught my attention by sending me on a couple of mission trips to Micronesia and called me to the mission field in 1996. It seemed like God was reaching out his hand to me and asking me if I would join him in reaching the 60,000 people in Chuuk, Micronesia. It felt like a scary proposition at the time and seemed like a monumental task. But, I knew that whom the Lord calls, He also enables, and I trusted that his plan was best for me.

God continued to show me that his plans are better than mine as my plan to participate in medical missions in Guam didn’t work out. It now seemed like I didn’t have much direction, but God had a plan and that plan kept evolving. I continued to study the language of Chuuk and regularly led a Bible study for teenage girls while also taking them to church. Their spiritual needs were great, and I loved helping them apply the truths of God’s Word to their difficult lives.

"Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you." 1 Samuel 12:24

After serving as a teacher at the Harvest Baptist Bible Institute in Micronesia, I led a medical team of stateside volunteers to conduct global village clinics. We traveled by plane, boat, van, and truck to reach some very remote villages. Our boat began to sink on one particular boat-traveling excursion, and I wasn’t a confident swimmer! I had to wade in the water and use someone’s backpack to stay afloat until one of the other boats turned around to help. God looked out for me in the midst of traveling back and forth between islands. Even with episodes like this one, I absolutely loved the island life and what God allowed me to do, but that wasn’t all he had in store for me. After five years of leading the medical team in Guam, God brought me back home, where I was asked to be the Medical Director for Baptist Mid Missions (BMM) in Cleveland, Ohio. With time and prayer, I accepted the position and continued trusting God’s plan.

My primary responsibility allowed me to serve several hundred missionaries supported by BMM and their healthcare decisions with the goal of helping them serve for as long as possible in their field of service. It’s a great way to serve those on the front lines of gospel ministry. If you’ve prayed, encouraged, or helped support me financially, you have been an equal part of this ministry and my personal journey. Continue to pray for God’s wisdom in advising missionaries with significant health challenges and for God’s direction in planning future medical mission trips. God is continuing to raise leaders to further the mission of reaching his people, but there is always a need for more laborers who are willing to serve. If the Holy Spirit nudges you to consider missions as his plan for your life, regardless of your age, I can tell you from experience that his plan is best. In fact, his plan is ALWAYS the best.