Post Mission Conference Musings

Last night Jeneson and I returned from the Global Mission Health Conference. There is just something magical about being in a room with over a thousand other people who feel the call of medical missions in their lives and lifting up our voices to praise our God.

It was a fabulous time together listening to some great speakers and learning a TON of new information about fun stuff like vaccinations, TB, malaria, intestinal worms, etc... The main speakers had many encouraging words for us and we often felt that they were speaking directly to us!

One of the speakers was Charles Fielding, the author of Preach and Heal. During one of his talks in reference to medical missionaries he said that:

"It may not be safe or easy, but it is right."

This profound statement hit us like a ton of bricks! There are many out there who question our sanity and reason for going over to Sierra Leone with three small children. This statement sums it up. While there may not be any clearly logical reason for us going, this is what we have felt God lay on our hearts to do and where we feel that God is leading us.

And yes, it WILL NOT be easy. We will face many challenges both as a family and medically. There will be physical, emotional, and spiritual hardships.

And yes, it WILL NOT be safe. While there is not much violence in Sierra Leone, there are plenty of other dangers in terms of disease, snakes, and poor road conditions.

But it is RIGHT. This is where we are supposed to be going. This is what we are supposed to be doing.

But, we also need your help. It will be the prayers of the people that will help us during those rough times. Even if we don't know when or what you are praying, just knowing THAT you are praying will give us encouragement.