Called to Serve: Introducing MedSend's March 2011 Class
God’s call to Suja Brane came on a mission trip in the form of an eight-year-old boy named Hugo.
“Hugo had that orange tint to his hair that's common among malnourished kids and a constant runny nose,” she recalls. “I remember staring into his eyes and wondering whether or not he had adequate access to basic medical care and whether he knew how deeply and passionately he was loved by His Heavenly Father. I realized that I was growing up in a country where opportunities were endless, while many in the world lived in conditions that truly offered them dismal hope for a better tomorrow or more importantly, any hope for eternity.”
In that moment, Suja’s life changed. “God planted a vision and dream with in my heart to serve Him as a medical doctor overseas”
Like Dr. Brane, the other 18 healthcare professionals whose MedSend grants were approved or renewed in March have a deep sense of God’s call on their lives. Once their grants are funded they will eagerly forego many of life’s comforts to serve in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the U.S. and the Caribbean - four in areas that are closed to traditional forms of evangelism.
“Although the total cost of funding these grants is high – upwards of one million dollars – we are glad to roll up our sleeves and begin raising the funds to enable the service of these remarkable men and women,” said MedSend President Rick Allen.
MEET THE CLASS OF MARCH 2011
We are pleased to present 19 healthcare professionals whose grants and renewal
grants were recently approved, but are not yet funded. The following are new grants:
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Alison Atwood, ASN, RN Location: Guatemala Assignment: Will conduct medical clinics, build water sanitation systems, provide food and clothing and preach and teach God's Word. Call: “My main motivation as a missionary is to be a servant to the unreached peoples and provide them with the truth of Christ, while helping to meet their physical needs.” |
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J.B., BSN, RN* Location: Central Asia Assignment: Will help establish holistic outreaches that integrate basic treatment and community health education with evangelism and discipleship. Call: “In the last few years the Lord has given me a fresh calling and a new understanding of His heart in relation to the lost and my role in international ministry.” * Name withheld for security reasons. |
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Suja Brane, MD Location: Burkina Faso Assignment: Will provide curative medical care along with public health teaching and community health evangelism. Call: “I want to be an extension of God's grace and mercy to a group of people who do not know Him... Medicine has the ability to blow open doors to relationships that could otherwise take months to build." |
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Townsend Cooper, MD Location: Peru Assignment: Will be part of a ministry that will deliver healthcare via mobile clinics and at a center for disabled children, and he will help develop community health education programs. Call: “Evangelism is intrinsically integrated as we are fulfilling the call to heal the sick... We will serve as a demonstration of Christ's love as we evangelize alongside the church.” |
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Tracey Herrera, ASN, RN Location: Haiti Assignment: Directs a community health clinic that includes mobile clinics and training for local nurses. Also oversees an orphanage. Call: “My husband and I are where we believe is the center of God's will for us, living in an orphanage in Haiti, sharing the gospel of Christ." |
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Joanna McClure, BSN, RN Location: Dominican Republic Assignment: Will serve in a medical clinic, focusing on women's health education. Call: "The Lord commands us to go and share the gospel and my husband and I feel the Lord has called us to go to the Dominican Republic to do His work." |
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Venessa Rodriguez, BSN, RN Location: Chicago, IL Assignment: As Maternal Child Health Nurse, she provides care coordination and health education for high-risk prenatal patients. Call: “What a lot of our patients have in common is hopelessness ... and I want my patients to know about a Savior who can return hope to their lives.” |
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Nicole Roloff, MD, MPH & Russell Roloff, MD Location: Mozambique Assignment: He will serve in a hospital and clinics and she will develop an HIV/AIDS ministry to women and children. Nicole's Call: “The Great Commission and Paul's zeal to bring the gospel to the Gentiles are both an inspiration to me.” Russell's Call: "Christ has brought me to a place where I am willing and wanting to give up a potential life of ease and wealth to move overseas and serve Him in a different culture." |
Grant Renewals
(approved, but not funded)
With our focus on enabling the service of career healthcare missionaries, we are especially pleased to approve renewal grants for the following group of seasoned healthcare missionaries:
Tim Bartholomew, MD - Surgeon serving in Mali
Susanna Chang, MD - Physician serving in Chicago clinic
James Courter, MPT - Physical therapist serving in Haiti
B.H., DO* - Physician serving in Asia
E.H., MD* - Physician serving in Asia
Meredith Jones, BSN - Nurse serving in Honduras
Renee Kusler, MD - Physician serving in Honduras
Sheree Lynch, MD - Physician serving in Honduras
C.P., MD* - Physician serving in Asia
Todd Woods, BSN, RN - Nurse serving multinationally
*Name withheld for security reasons