Global Health Missions Conference

This week we traveled north to Louisville, Kentucky, to attend the Global Health Missions Conference. We decided to use this opportunity to see a bit more of Alabama and enjoy the change of leaves which we have to miss in the south! On Wednesday we visited the Natural Bridge and hiked in the Sipsey Wilderness.

In the evening we visited with a family friend and the next morning we traveled further north on the Natchez Trace, where the trees were beautiful and Heleen was stopped by a state trooper who thought she was having trouble driving (the truth was that she was slowing down to let the vehicle staying so close behind her - which happened to be the trooper - pass). Thankfully he was very nice and told us he was soon going to be married into an (unrelated) Yoder-clan!
Thursday around 4 pm we checked in at the conference and immediately started a busy schedule in which we each attended seven workshops and four plenary meetings. Jon was able to attend a number of clinical sessions which were helpful for our future assignments, for example on the treatment of malaria, HIV, postpartum hemorrhage in the tropics, etc. He also attended a meeting on practicing medicine in a Muslim context. Heleen attended a range of classes, varying from Child Development to "Fostering a Culture of Peace" and Empowering Women. In the plenary sessions we heard about medical work among refugees and very much appreciated a Christian perspective on sexuality by Dr. Juli Slattery. Before we left on Saturday morning we were challenged by a sermon on the rich young ruler. He was given the opportunity of a lifetime. Jesus invited him to come and change the world, to live a life that mattered. When he said no, this young man gave us an unforgettable formula on how to waste our lives. Stan Key, the preacher, encouraged us to think about areas in our lives wherein we hold back and don't give Jesus 100%.

The Conference was held in a gigantic church, with an auditorium for about 9,000 people and several other worship halls, and an endless number of classrooms on five floors connected with escalators. In the downstairs hall was a big cafeteria and book store. It felt as if we were in a huge shopping mall.

The conference was visited by about 5,000 people, mostly students and professionals in the medical field, with either interest or experience in missions. We were happily surprised to meet Dr. Ron Baker and Dr. Richard Toupin with his wife Kathy, who all at some time worked at the hospital in Mattru! We loved hearing their stories which gave us a better picture of the place & people, and brought the hospital closer to our heart. Dr. Baker showed us the map he uses to show people the need for doctors in Africa. This map shows the size of the country/continent by the numbers of doctors per 100,000 people:

source: www.worldmapper.org

Quite convincing, isn't it? We are excited to continue the journey!

Jon & Heleen

Welcome!

Welcome to our blog! We are glad  you stopped by to follow us on our joined journey into missions! Most of you will probably know us, but here is a little bit more about us:

Jon was born and raised in Delaware, USA, did his medical training at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB) and moved with his family to Atmore, AL in 1989.  Jon and his first wife Dawn raised four children: Robert, Kristin, Amber and Stephen. They always had a heart for missions and took their first short-term mission trip in 2002 to Costa Rica. Life took a different turn when Dawn was struck by lightning and passed away in 2009. Jon continued working as a Family Physician, but in 2012 he sold his practice and started doing longer term missions. Between 2012 and 2014 he did medical mission work in Central and South America and West-Africa.

Heleen was born and raised in the Netherlands. After university she worked for about five years in Child Mental Health Care before getting a diploma in Biblical and Cultural Studies at All Nations Christian College in the UK. In 2003 she moved to Sierra Leone in West Africa. She thoroughly enjoyed life and work, and dreamed a lot about better mental health care for the country (sadly, the reality was a little harsher than her dreams, but there are glimmers of hope!).


In March 2014, Jon visited his daughter Kristin, also working as a missionary in Sierra Leone. The rest of the story still seems a fairy tale, but we know that God had a lot to do with it! In May 2015 we said "Yes" to each other, and together we said "Yes" to God's leading of our joined journey.

After our wedding we moved to Atmore, AL, where Heleen got introduced to Jon's 1000+ family members and friends J, quite a challenge for a person who thinks five people is a big group! But it was a very happy adjustment and Heleen has often felt overwhelmed by the warm welcome she was given.

To cut a long story short, in May 2016 we were accepted to work as missionaries under Eastern Mennonite Missions. In June we attended a week-long training, after which we started putting together a Missionary Support Team. We are very grateful for Jim & Ruth Weber, Steve & Treva Classen, Sarah Martin and Briana Halteman, who will be supporting our assignment by raising spiritual, relational and spiritual support. They are joined in the Netherlands by Mieke Stigter and Marion Verkuil (sadly no picture of them here!).

In the meantime we corresponded with various organizations and people about ministry possibilities in Sierra Leone (West-Africa), the country we both would love to return to. The following image explains our vision and ministries:

We have been invited to serve for an initial period of two years at a hospital in Mattru Jong. This hospital was established by missionaries of the  United Brethren in Christ (UBC) nearly seventy years ago. It was slowly being handed over to local administrators and physicians when the civil war broke out and the buildings were taken over by rebel forces. When it reopened 11 years later, it was but a pale reflection of the regional health center it had once been and has struggled since that time to gain momentum.  Global Ministries (the international arm of the UBC in North America) has committed to supporting the hospital towards increased sustainability over the next years. We are excited about the opportunity to help revive this important ministry in a severely under-served area of Sierra Leone.

Thank you for your interest! We hope to continue to share our/His story on this site. Please stop by again!

If you want to receive our newsletter and/or support EMM's ministry in Matrru-Jong, don't hesitate to contact our Missionary Support Team at yoders.mst@gmail.com.