Cameron Guild, a sophomore nursing major at Southern Adventist University, has pursued two long-standing interests: athletics and mission work. At 11 years old he knew that God wanted him to be a medical missionary. In high school he got involved with athletics. With an intense training routine, he completed several half-marathons and one half-Ironman. He had also started training for the Boston Marathon when he realized that God wanted him to run a different race—one of strengthening his faith, which prepared him for unexpected health challenges and his goal to become a missionary.
Surrendering to God
Cameron was marathon training when he went on a medical mission trip to Bolivia in 2021. On New Year’s Eve during the trip he went to a chapel and prayed, “Lord, is there anything You want me to surrender? I’m willing to surrender anything to You.” As he was praying, still wearing his running shoes after finishing several miles, he heard God asking him to give up running and devote that time to Him. “It was almost like an arrow hit my heart,” Cameron says. He remembers thinking, I can’t do that. It’s too hard.
“I was sitting there shaking, but I knew I had just told God I would give Him anything. So I took off my running shoes, laced them up, and handed them to God. It was that moment I realized God had something more for me than I could have planned myself,” he says.
The next morning, instead of going for a run, Cameron dedicated his time to studying the Bible. “All this time I was seeking a deeper faith experience because I knew that God needed to grow in me a stronger reliance in Him and not in myself,” he says. “I realized that when I surrender, God empowers me to live a life of faith and power I never knew I could live.” Little did he realize how important this would become during the following year.
Relying on God
In the summer of 2022 Cameron decided to work as a colporteur, canvassing neighborhoods with books to introduce people to God. Halfway through the summer he was praying and again surrendered everything to God. Only 15 minutes later he had a medical emergency, became paralyzed, and was rushed to the emergency room.
“I was laid on the CT scanner thinking, OK, is this the end?” he recalls. Then he felt something hit him in the heart, similar to the feeling of an arrow back when he had surrendered running to God. After feeling those pangs, he was able to walk again and released from the hospital.
Later that weekend he had three strokes and three seizures, becoming paralyzed once more. “I was in very critical condition, and we didn’t know what was happening,” Cameron says. Thankfully, he improved and regained control of his body, though he has had ongoing care for medical concerns.
Cameron credits his recovery to a miracle of God and faith in God. “If I hadn’t given up running back then, I wouldn’t have been able to accept those feelings of helplessness,” he shares, believing his faith has helped him deal with precarious health.
Growing With God
“God continues to convict me to remove things from my life and replace them with ministry opportunities and people who will help me grow into a godly man,” Cameron says. His passion for evangelism and desire to be a missionary led him to the Soul-winning and Leadership Training (SALT) program, a collaboration between Southern and It Is Written.
“It was a launchpad for me, both academically and spiritually,” he shares. “Southern has inspired and equipped me with experiences, opportunities, and mentors who have led me closer to God. I’ve grown so much mentally, spiritually, and physically by studying here. When I graduate from Southern, I know I will be confident, competent, and at my full potential.”
With the experiences and life lessons he has learned, Guild now feels that he is running the race God wants him to complete. “The reward at the end of this marathon is so much greater than a trophy or a medal,” he says. “It will be a heavenly crown.”
The original version of this story was posted on the Southern Adventist University news site.
