Sowing Gospel Seeds Through Compassionate Care [Posted July 7, 2011]

by Dr. Melanie Blackburn

In March, 2011 my husband and I had the privilege of once again serving with GDMMissions to the Pacific Islands of Yap, Federated States of Micronesia. Our first trip to Yap with GDMMissions was in October 2009, and our hearts were touched by the need for medical care and access to the Gospel in these islands. On this trip, we were able to take our three children along with us, so that they could experience island life and have fun with the Zimmer family. [The Zimmer and Blackburn families are close friends. The Blackburn’s church actively supports the Zimmer’s ministry.] Anna (6), Ashlyn (6), and Ethan (3) had a blast and will never forget the experiences they had while in Yap! In the states, I practice as a pediatric hospitalist in a rural town in South Carolina. Throughout my undergraduate and medical training, I always had a strong desire to participate in medical missions. I have had many opportunities to serve in various ways, but never with a team of people through an organization like GDMMissions. It is amazing how God can bring together people from all over the world with different backgrounds and talents and form a successful team that honors and glorifies Him, all while providing great dental and medical care. This is one of the blessings of working with an organization like GDMMissions!

While on the main island of Yap, and its outer islands of Fais and Ulithi, we were able to take part in many medical clinics. In the clinics on the main island, we treated mostly infants and children and were able to appreciate the great routine care that the community health providers give to their villages. In the outer islands, we extended our scope of practice to people of all ages and also performed minor procedures. I was blessed to work with two team nurses, Sarah and Katrina, who were not only flexible in their medical responsibilities but also very sensitive to the spiritual needs of our patients. We were able to treat many physical diseases but most importantly introduce them to the Great Physician who will heal their spiritual needs.

More from Dr. Blackburn can be found in Sowing by Grace, Summer 2001 issue

A Testimony from Pastor Acedo — Hermosillo, Mexico [Posted March 17, 2011]

God is faithful!  We give thanks to God for the marvelous things He does.  God is pleased to use human instruments to accomplish His work.  Among those is Dr. Mitchell, his wife, and a fine team he has to assist him.  Thank the Lord for the past five years that the Lord has used them among us.  We see the enthusiasm the have in serving the Lord.  THEY SERVE THE KING OF KINGS:  JESUS CHRIST!!

In those years we have seen people come to the feet of Jesus Christ.  Now, our duty is to follow up with them so those souls become true followers of Christ.

In this past month of February [during a GDMMissons dental evangelism clinic] we saw approximately 26 souls saved.  Pray that this is fruit that lasts!  Please!

Thanks for each one of the participants in this group.  They were very enthusiastic.  May the Lord continue using them greatly among us, but first that God continues sending them to us each year in the month of February so that…God continues saving souls, and so His name is glorified!

The Living Hope Fundamental Baptist Church (formerly San Bosco) is supremely thankful for your help.  Continue forward!  Your labor “in the Lord is not in vain.”  Many thanks!!

Sincerely,

Pastor Manuel Acedo and Family
Psalm 39:7 - And now, Lord, what wait I for?  My hope is in thee.

[Translated by Michael Vetter, Latin American Representative — to see the Spanish letter with photos click here]

Encouraged by Brethren in Mexico [Posted March 14, 2011]

When I was asked to write a short testimony about what I was most touched by on my short-term mission trip to Hermosillo, Mexico, I didn’t have to think very long about what to say. 

Our brothers and sisters in Christ in Mexico have a love for the Lord and for each other that seems to be missing in the United States.  They show their love in how they act towards each other and in the way they reach out to their neighbors, friends and co-workers in an effort to see them come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  The other way their love of God is evident is in their service.  They work tirelessly throughout the day and will do anything to help you – and I mean anything!  When I see the heart attitude that the Mexican people have, I long to see that same zeal and love for the Lord among the brethren in our country. 

When you think of Mexico please think about these dear people who are full of love for the Lord and for others, not about what the news media tells you about Mexico.  If God wills, I will return to Mexico next year and try to bring some of their love and desire to serve back home with me again.  Maybe I can pass it on!

— Mary Chase, Associate Missionary (Dental Hygienist)

Katrina Caturan Welcomed as Associate Missionary [Posted February 22, 2011]

I was born and raised in the mission field of the Philippine Islands. Both my parents are medical missionaries involved in different mission hospitals/ clinics and pioneering evangelism. I believe because of this, the Lord broke my heart and gave me the desire to surrender my life to Him as a missionary nurse when I was a freshman at Bob Jones University (BJU). Growing up, helping the poor and needy with Christ as an example of compassion, the desire was implanted in my heart as I saw my parents doing God’s will in their lives as medical missionaries. Because of God’s working in my heart and the godly influence and legacy of my parents, I became a nurse. My family moved to the U.S. when I was almost 12 years old. It was in the U.S. that I found myself spiritually. It was all part of His divine plan. I was able to attend BJU along with my twin sister who is currently a missionary doctor in the southern part of the Philippines. After five years of nursing school, I went back to New Jersey to work in a teaching hospital as a floor nurse specializing in telemetry and medical-surgical patients. After five years at the hospital I moved to the operating room (OR).

I started going on medical mission trips with my dad in the Philippines during my college years. At first, I would help him with consultations and surgeries by taking blood pressure, or documenting the trip through videos and photos, or teaching the little kids, or being involved in singing during church. But my task then in the OR was limited since at that time I had no OR experience. I prayed for the Lord to allow me to be trained in OR practices. The Lord intervened and allowed me to transfer from floor nursing to the OR almost two years ago. This was a whole new world for me. But it was a stepping stone also in the mission field. Now, I was able to prepare instruments during our circumcision clinics in the Philippines and scrub in to help during minor surgeries. One of my favorite memories was when my dad (a doctor) was operating in the mission hospital. His assistants were my mom (a nurse) and my sister (a doctor). I was helping the anesthesiologist take vital signs and also take photos and videos of the surgery. The thought of my family serving together in those surgeries gave me great joy and contentment in the Lord. The Lord had given each of us an opportunity to serve Him and to top it off we worked together as a family! I am grateful to the Lord for giving me the desires of my heart. I always pictured myself working in clinics in a foreign land and being involved in a pioneering missionary work. 

Today, I serve as an Associate Missionary with GDMMissions with these same goals for the future. Again, this is all the Lord’s intervention in my life. I will go wherever the Lord calls me to go. Whether He wants me to serve Him during a short term mission trip to the Philippines, Yap in Micronesia, Cameroon in Africa, or to Mexico, Lord-willing I will go. By faith, I will

A Report on Ministry in a Restricted Access Country [Posted February 22, 2011]

by Dr. Jack Mitchell, President

Two weeks before the scheduled departure date for this ministry to a restricted access country, we were contacted by the local missionary with the news that the trip was in jeopardy. His local government contact person suddenly was changed and it was unclear what effect this would have, not only on our ministry, but on his ability to stay in the country as well. This was the second problem we had encountered as we made our plans for a third trip to this country. Several months earlier, on the eve of our first date of departure, my wife Jennifer ended up in the emergency room of a local hospital. Thankfully her illness was not serious and she has since made an almost complete recovery, yet this unexpected event resulted in at least a postponement, and almost a cancellation of the trip.

Ephesians Chapter 6 warns us about the wiles of the devil and the fact that we are in a spiritual battle. This battle becomes quite evident when we try to have a ministry in the “backyard” of the devil! For this trip, we were thankful that God intervened and the problems that came up at the last minute were worked out so our trip could be rescheduled for the 9th of December. In our previous two ministry trips to this country we had seen God open the door for verbal witness a bit wider each time. But it is very intimidating to be in a country where they take your passport as you check into a hotel and where you can get in serious trouble by mentioning the name of God in a taxi!

One advantage we had as our ministry went forward is the fact that there is a desperate need for dental care in this country and particularly among minority school children, the very population the government desires us to treat. So much so that the government officials were eager for us to come, even knowing we are missionaries and that our goal is to preach Christ to those in need. Armed with this fact, our local missionary host was able to give out gospel literature to a number of teachers, including the principal, in the school where our ministry took place. What a blessing it was to see how eagerly they received the material, many reporting back that they had read the entire pamphlet. All the while, the government officials were observing this scene. Only God knows what they were thinking!

We trust the door will remain open for us to return to this country again in 2011. On this trip we brought some portable dental equipment which our missionary contact had purchased and donated to the local government dental clinic. We did some training on the equipment with a local dentist and everyone seemed quite pleased. We know there will not be much improvement in the overall dental health here for many years but we trust that, as a result, the officials will continue to eagerly welcome our offer to return. That alone may be what it takes to keep the door open for a missionary dentist to have a future ministry in this country that officially restricts the presentation of the Gospel of God’s Grace.

Dental Evangelism in the Dominican Republic [Posted July 15, 2010]

A team of six from four different New England churches ministered recently with GDMMissions in the Dominican Republic with a series of dental evangelism clinics.  The trip was arranged through a group of fundamental Baptist pastors and resulted in five clinics in the towns of Bayaguana, Carolina, Monte Plata, Guerra, and San Pedro.  At two of the clinics Dr. Jack Mitchell was joined by a national dentist and at others by a dental student who cleaned teeth.   Patients in each of these towns hear the Gospel from pastors and national believers as they waited for free dental care.  The GDMMissions team participated in a special combined dental and medical clinic in the town of Quisqueya arranged by the Dominican group Misión Jesús Vino, Vive y Vuelve – MJV3 (Mission Jesus Came, Lives, and Comes Again) which conducts evangelistic clinics four times per year.  The MJV3 clinic was held in a small Baptist church in Quisqueya where the dental team was joined by two dentists, five doctors, two pharmacists, and a large number of believers from churches in Santo Domingo.  Many people received Christ as their Savior during these evangelistic meetings as the Word of God was shared with hundreds by faithful members of churches who volunteered to preach, teach, and witness during the day.  The GDMMissions team is thankful for the generous hospitality of our hosts while we ministered in the Dominican Republic.  We made many new friends and were encouraged to them living for Christ before their families and neighbors.