![The Road To Mali
It all starts with Steven matching [the process of obtaining post-doctoral training] in an
emergency medicine residency in Toledo, Ohio. God knew what he was doing as this
was revealed, at least in part, to us 7 years later. While in Toledo we made friends with
the pediatric emergency medicine director, Dr. Joe Dobson and his wife Elliot. Toledo兵s
pediatric program wasn兵t what Heather was looking for in terms of pediatric training, so
we made several gallant attempts to match Heather into another pediatric program, and
for Steve to transfer as a second year emergency medicine resident. We found that
programs were eager to take Heather, but either had a spot for Steve and no money, or
money for training but no allowable position. We had even discussed Heather training in
another city, but we know that this was not Gods ideal plan for marriage.
A few days before Heather had to submit her 鍖nal match list on the computer (as
Heather was a year behind in training) she came to the realization that if God brought
us to Toledo, He was going to have to use the program as-is to train her adequately.
The next day we received a call from the ER program director at Akron General Medical
Center in Akron ohio. His news was tragic. Dr. Bill Meyer, one of the 鍖rst year residents
at AGMC was killed that morning in a car crash. Akron Children兵s Hospital was eager to
have Heather as part of their residency, so when they heard of the tragedy wanted to
see if we were still interested in moving to Akron. Heather laid her Isaac (her pride) on
the alter, and it seems that God honored her decision to place her marriage 鍖rst.
In Akron God blessed us by placing us in fellowship with the body at Vesper Lake Bible
Fellowship. We were taught richly and wonderfully, and the fellowship was and remains
sweet. During Heather兵s last year of general pediatrics we spent a month in Honduras
with World Medical Missions, Samaritan兵s Purse. WMM taught us the focus of success
in missions, prayer. They contacted us regularly to let us know they were praying that
we would be used mightily by God for His glory. We can not recommend them highly
enough for short term medical missions. That month con鍖rmed to us that we are
evangelists at heart, and that the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-19) is a command
not a suggestion. We spent countless hours with Dr. Fernando, a non believer during
our visit, discussing things of God and the Truths contained in His Word. Dr. Fernando
then received a new life in Christ a few months after we left!
As Heather 鍖nished general pediatrics she felt led to continue with a three year
fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine (thanks to Dr Joe Dobson). Joe had been
Heather兵s mentor and our good friend back in Toledo as mentioned above. He and
Elliott had since relocated to Charleston, South Carolina. Joe knew that we weren兵t
keen on the snow and cold, and had planned all the while to have us move to
Charleston to join him in the practice there, and we were equally eager of this prospect
as well.
In November of 2006 we attended the Global Health Missions Conference in Kentucky.
The 鍖nal plenary session was given by Dr David Thompson. He wept as he described
how his parents were martyred as missionaries in South East Asia, yet he continued](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/the-road-to-mali-1280151688-phpapp02/85/The-Road-To-Mali-1-320.jpg)
The Road To Mali
- 1. The Road To Mali It all starts with Steven matching [the process of obtaining post-doctoral training] in an emergency medicine residency in Toledo, Ohio. God knew what he was doing as this was revealed, at least in part, to us 7 years later. While in Toledo we made friends with the pediatric emergency medicine director, Dr. Joe Dobson and his wife Elliot. Toledo兵s pediatric program wasn兵t what Heather was looking for in terms of pediatric training, so we made several gallant attempts to match Heather into another pediatric program, and for Steve to transfer as a second year emergency medicine resident. We found that programs were eager to take Heather, but either had a spot for Steve and no money, or money for training but no allowable position. We had even discussed Heather training in another city, but we know that this was not Gods ideal plan for marriage. A few days before Heather had to submit her 鍖nal match list on the computer (as Heather was a year behind in training) she came to the realization that if God brought us to Toledo, He was going to have to use the program as-is to train her adequately. The next day we received a call from the ER program director at Akron General Medical Center in Akron ohio. His news was tragic. Dr. Bill Meyer, one of the 鍖rst year residents at AGMC was killed that morning in a car crash. Akron Children兵s Hospital was eager to have Heather as part of their residency, so when they heard of the tragedy wanted to see if we were still interested in moving to Akron. Heather laid her Isaac (her pride) on the alter, and it seems that God honored her decision to place her marriage 鍖rst. In Akron God blessed us by placing us in fellowship with the body at Vesper Lake Bible Fellowship. We were taught richly and wonderfully, and the fellowship was and remains sweet. During Heather兵s last year of general pediatrics we spent a month in Honduras with World Medical Missions, Samaritan兵s Purse. WMM taught us the focus of success in missions, prayer. They contacted us regularly to let us know they were praying that we would be used mightily by God for His glory. We can not recommend them highly enough for short term medical missions. That month con鍖rmed to us that we are evangelists at heart, and that the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-19) is a command not a suggestion. We spent countless hours with Dr. Fernando, a non believer during our visit, discussing things of God and the Truths contained in His Word. Dr. Fernando then received a new life in Christ a few months after we left! As Heather 鍖nished general pediatrics she felt led to continue with a three year fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine (thanks to Dr Joe Dobson). Joe had been Heather兵s mentor and our good friend back in Toledo as mentioned above. He and Elliott had since relocated to Charleston, South Carolina. Joe knew that we weren兵t keen on the snow and cold, and had planned all the while to have us move to Charleston to join him in the practice there, and we were equally eager of this prospect as well. In November of 2006 we attended the Global Health Missions Conference in Kentucky. The 鍖nal plenary session was given by Dr David Thompson. He wept as he described how his parents were martyred as missionaries in South East Asia, yet he continued
- 2. with his training and leading to serve Christ full-time as a surgeon in Africa. Dr. Thompson兵s message was titled Give it Away. It compelled us to do exactly that. Since Christ has given us eternal life by His death on the cross while on this earth, we owe Him no less than our lives while here on earth ourselves. We formed an accountability group with two physicians, who for security reasons cannot be named, who are now full-time missionaries serving in China. This alliance was and still is an invaluable source of prayer and encouragement. Six months later, Spring 2007, we spent a week in Ouanaminthe, Haiti as adult leaders and physicians with a high school class from Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy in Ohio. There was a new clinic built by the local Christian school, but no permanent medical staff for ~ 300,000 Haitians. It became fairly evident that all the building needed was two doctors to get it up and running. We were two doctors, we had a desire to pursue our call to serve Him in missions, it seemed a good 鍖t. We started planning for the move to Haiti, and had a meeting scheduled with the board of directors at the GHMC conference in Kentucky 2007. We walked out of the meeting deeply saddened as our focus for evangelism was not shared with the same intensity. Five months of planning seemed wasted at the time, but in hindsight it helped to solidify our priorities in missions. God used this to His glory as it allowed us to spend time with missionaries from ABWE, SIM, AIM, HCJB, and TEAM that were already assembled at the conference. Each organization played key unique roles in shaping our future as international missionaries. We immediately began to pursue what else God might have for us as missionaries. Over the course of the next year we investigated HCJB in Ecuador, Association of Baptists for World Evangelism (ABWE) in Togo, Serving in Missions, and the Christian and Missionary Alliance. God used all but a neon sign, as spelled out above and below, to bring us to the C&MA. At about this time Dr. Joe called Heather from South Carolina (remember him?). It was time for us to get down there for interviews, as Joe now needed Heather more than ever. One of Joe兵s pediatric ER doctors was leaving in the next few months to be a missionary in Mali, west-Africa! Joe tried to appease the staff by ensuring them that they would be getting two doctors just as fun as Brett, the one that was leaving. In fact, Steve was just like Brett. They both wear 鍖ip 鍖ops and Birkenstocks, both have goatees, and both wear Hawaiian shirts just to name a few similarities. Heather had to then inform Joe that Brett and Steve were more alike than he had ever imagined, as we too were following God兵s call into international missions! We could imagine the look on Joe兵s face. He wished us well, and thought that since we were so alike already, he should forward us Brett and Sheri Maclain兵s newsletter. We didn兵t know much about the Maclains so we started email correspondence and it turned out that they were missionaries with the C&MA, and indeed kindred spirits.
- 3. A year passed, then while were in North Carolina visiting SIM headquarters, we had the opportunity to meet the Maclains兵 while on furlough to deliver their son Silas. The friendship we had started with Brett and Sheri over email became something very tangible, and they shared with us what God was doing in Mali. We were hooked. So here we were. We had responded to the call to international missions to make disciples of all the nations. God had used our move to Toledo to meet Joe, who then 5 years later introduced us to the Maclains with whom we will be serving in Mali Africa! The missions agencies mentioned earlier are all very solid, and we are certain that God could have used us in those organizations as well, but this 7 year history of cooincidences is a clear path that only God could have put together. We applied to the C&MA in April of 2009, and were accepted as missionary associates in May of that same year. Our eyes are set on Koutiala, Mali. A population of ~ 400,000, 90% or whom are Muslim in their faith. If you are unfortunate enough to be a woman or a child in Mali, you are highly likely to either die in childbirth or by the time you are 5 years old. Local medical care is either non-existent or insuf鍖cient to meet the needs of the severely ill or laboring mother and the severely ill or premature infants. Through this compassionate ministry at the Hospital for Women and Children God is allowing the message of Christ to penetrate the darkness and bring Christ to His children.