The ones who go

In 2013 our daughter was 17 years old and had been begging us to let her go to Africa on a mission's trip. As we began to look at how to make that happen for her, God was working a plan that was much bigger than we could have imagined. A plan that was not only about her, but about Bill and I.

We decided to accompany her (hello overprotective parents!) and partnered with an organization called Children of the Nations to go with a medical team to Malawi. My husband, Bill, is a Physician's Assistant so a medical team was a good fit. Our kids had grown up surrounded by medicine, so nothing phased them when approaching medical environments. Maggie and I and our bonus daughter Maia assisted with clinic operations not requiring medical training.

We did things like taking vitals, record keeping, etc. That year I ended up completely running our small pharmacy and falling in love with it. Perhaps its my inner organizational nerd. We spent two weeks there that summer. To say it was life changing would be an understatement. The day we left Malawi, as I was walking up the steps into the small plane for the first leg of our long journey home, I looked back over the landscape.

I couldn't see much because of the tears in my eyes. I took a deep breath, not wanting to forget even the smell of the Malawian soil. As I stood there for a moment, I heard the Lord gently whisper to my heart. "You will be back. I have planted these people and this place in your heart for a reason." I have never lost my love for Malawi, for the people, the children, and the mission there.

We returned with our daughter and our son in 2015, again with a medical team. During that trip, one afternoon on a long bus ride, one of the directors at COTN shared that they really needed a medical team annually...not just every 2-3 years. We discussed the possibility with the nurse who had led our team that year. Neither of us felt we could come annually, but my husband and I offered to lead a team ourselves and attempt to trade off years with her, each coming every other year. But, that meant one of us needed to return the following year. We volunteered, wondering what it would look like and how God would provide. We knew it was a huge leap of faith for us, but we felt God calling us to do it. By God's grace we led our first team the summer of 2016, but by the time we went that year the nurse who led our team previously had some life changes that would prevent her from going back to Malawi for a long time. (We continue to pray God will allow her to return with us some day soon!) That summer my husband and I felt the call to continue to try to lead a team annually, trusting God to provide for the years He wanted us to go. So, in 2017 we returned again, leading yet another team.

God provided in ways we could not have imagined. That year I even went ahead of the medical team with anther team and stayed for a month. In 2018, our family was walking through a difficult season. We were grieving the loss of my father at the end of 2017 and the arrival of our twin grandchildren 10 weeks prematurely. So, with complete peace, we stayed home that year. We returned in 2019 with another team and were making plans to return again in 2020 when the world seemed to come to a screeching halt with the arrival of the pandemic. We canceled our trip in March of 2020. We were heartbroken and wondered when we would be able to return. We never dreamed it would be three years!!

After 3 years, we are finally retuning to Malawi in just a few weeks. This team is the smallest we've ever taken. There are just 5 of us. However, we are incredibly confident that it is exactly the team God ordained for this summer. We have my husband who is a PA, 3 nurses, and myself. I am the only non-medical team member. Over the years, I have become our team leader, organizer, supply officer, and pharmacist. I am now an "expert" in the few medications we take. I say few...but it usually amounts to 6-10 suitcases depending on how many team members we take. At 50lbs apiece, that means we will take around 400-500 lbs. of supplies this year. In my next post I will share how God has provided those supplies.

The mission of our team is to assist the one nurse who cares for the children in COTN's program in Malawi with well-child exams. We also do some acute care and often have time to see other people in the villages who are not registered in the program but need assistance. COTN cares for over 1,000 children in 3 different villages and one children's home. These children have sponsors who give monthly to help aid in the care of the child. The sponsorship provides things like food, clothing, education, and access to health care. As a HEAL team with COTN, we are focused on increasing the access to health care. Please check out www.cotni.org for more information about this amazing organization.

This blog will be our story. At times, I will share things from past years, and also things from our current trip. My son will be helping me by posting things I write while I am in Africa.

This will also be the story of the many people who give to this mission so that we can be the ones who go. We could never do it on our own! I am continually brought to my knees by the fact that I get to be the one to GO. I don't understand why God has chosen us, but I am forever grateful. Our church and our families give and give and give so that the gospel of Jesus can go out. To you who are part of the support team that gives, prays and stays behind, we are thankful for you and in your debt! Your trust in us is humbling and we do not take it for granted. It's actually the catalyst for this blog....to keep you informed of the impact you're having in the kingdom!