I grew up hearing many exciting stories of my family’s mission time in Africa and Asia, but I never dreamed I would one day move to Africa as a missionary myself. But God works in wonderful and interesting ways, and here I am serving as a dental missionary at Malamulo Adventist Hospital in southern Malawi with my husband and two children.
I spent a year as a student missionary in Peru, and this experience changed my life in three major ways. First, I met my future husband, Brent. Second, I chose dentistry as my career goal. Third, I became very interested in international missions. Brent and I spent a lot of time together, along with several other student missionaries, providing basic medical and dental care in the jungle villages. It was eye-opening to experience these rural villagers’ needs firsthand. Oral pain was a very common issue, and I could see having dental skills would be a tangible way to help others. Not only that, but dentistry would provide opportunities to share the love of Christ with patients.
I returned to Southern Adventist University, and Brent and I started dating long-distance. I took several science classes, along with my business administration courses I had already been taking. I found the science classes challenging, and at times I doubted God’s prompting to go to dental school. But through each course and at critical times throughout the remainder of my college experience, God continued to open the doors for me, making it clear that dentistry was the career path for me.
God paved the way for my family and me to be here.
By God’s grace, we were both accepted into Loma Linda University. We got married and started seriously discussing long-term medical missions.
Brent and I survived and even thrived in medical school and dental school, respectively. We applied to be part of the Deferred Mission Appointee (DMA) program that gives physicians/dentists from Loma Linda University the opportunity to serve at certain Seventh-day Adventist hospital sites around the world, with some financial assistance for loan repayment. It was the only way to make our long-term medical missions goal a reality after residency.
Brent finished his general surgery residency, and when we didn’t leave right away for overseas mission service because of work permit issues, it was a spiritually and mentally challenging time. But God carried us through, allowing us time to practice patience and flexibility. It was a surreal moment when we finally flew out to Malawi on our tenth wedding anniversary with our 18-month-old son.
My journey to becoming a dental missionary was not straightforward. There were moments of self-doubt and discouragement along the way. But I am very blessed and honored to serve here in Malawi, knowing God paved the way for my family and me to be here.
