Our Journey into Medical Missions

From a very young age, my husband, Eric, and I both had a desire and sensed a call to serve in medical missions.

But we just didn’t know how to go.

I would literally just Google “medical missions” from time to time to see if I could find any potential leads.

But, eventually, someone recommended we attend the Global Missions Health Conference (GMHC).

I never could have imagined what a huge impact the conference would have on our journey towards medical missions.

The first time we went, it completely blew my mind to find so many people with a similar passion and sense of calling!

We got to see how many opportunities and organizations are out there, how many people are involved and want to be involved.

I had often felt like an oddity in my desire to pursue medical missions, but not here. There was an army of us!

Soon after that, my husband and I finished our residency training, and we both started working in medical education.

During our second time at the conference, the Lord really impressed on us the importance of medical education in missions and affirmed to us that our time working at the university was not wasted time.

By the time we made it to our third time at the conference, we really had a sense of urgency that it was time to go.

Our eyes were wide open, but we were desperate for God to show us the next step – a place, a sending organization, some sort of hint!

And wouldn’t you know, at this conference, they were having a breakout session on “How to Choose a Sending Organization.”

At the breakout session, we heard Dr. Eric McLaughlin talk about how he and his wife, Dr. Rachel McLaughlin, began serving with Serge, a missions organization with medical missionaries in many regions around the world. We talked with them after the session to learn more.

After the conference, we started communicating with a few different organizations. We spoke to as many people as we could and tried to narrow down our list to just a few options. But it did not take long for us to sense God’s peace and pleasure for us to go with Serge.

After attending the conference three times, God connected us with Serge, and eventually, our field in Kenya.

We are forever thankful for the Global Missions Health Conference and for the community of co-laborers that come together from so many different backgrounds, denominations, and places to lift up the name of Jesus and to go out in His name, bringing compassionate and excellent healthcare all over the world

We were so encouraged and envisioned a potential future in medical missions every time we went and each conference played a significant and distinct role along the way.

It is truly beautiful and impacted us greatly.