A New Dance

The initial steps for this dance began many years ago in my childhood. Perhaps one of my aunts put it best, when she commented at one of my bridal showers that she knew I had nursing in my future, when as a five year old at family gatherings, I would have my little nurse kit in hand and would walk up to aunts, uncles, and cousins, ask them to roll up their sleeves, and would give them a shot. I recall that some vocation in healthcare was always a part of my dreams. At times during my educational career it varied in its exact focus, but God orchestrated that it ended up being nursing.

Coming alongside this dance in my life, was a parallel choreography. This dance actually began with an acceptance of an invitation from the Great Lover of my soul, the God of the Universe, to trust Him with my very life, through what He had done for me through the gift of His Son Jesus Christ. I accepted that invitation when I was in elementary school, and the dance has continued since. It has been a life of abundance as Jesus promised in John 10:10 “I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.”

Throughout my childhood days, my home of origin was one of loving hospitality, and the denomination of the worshipping community my family was part of had a strong overseas mission thrust. Many a cross-cultural missionary spent time in our home, and I had numerous opportunities to hear of the ways in which medical missions could reach the hearts of people with the love of Jesus Christ. I was more than intrigued. I wondered if there would ever be a place for me in such a setting. Once I graduated college, I even went to a conference on the ministry at that denomination’s headquarters, and met with persons in the overseas mission department, exploring the possibilities of nursing in such a cross cultural context as Africa.

At nearly the same time, I met a young man preparing for ministry in the local church. We became friends, and often on our late night walks through our college town, would talk about the call we both felt to some kind of cross-cultural context, but joked that we would never serve together, because he felt called to Asia, I to Africa. God, the choreographer, had His plan though! That young man, John, asked me to be his wife, and join him in ministry to local churches in North America. What a thrilling dance that has been! Always though, in the back of my mind, has been that thought of another dance floor, on a different continent. Fast forward more than thirty-one years.

We have had the joy of being parents to two great young people. God allowed us the wonderful tools to give them roots, deeply grounded and established in Him, and wings to soar as eagles to the far reaches of wherever He calls them. Our son, Aaron, works in international community development, often on the African continent. Our daughter, Laura, is a registered nurse who is currently serving on Mercy Ship’s Africa Mercy anchored for this surgery season off the coast at Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa. With her getting firsthand experience seeing the incredible need for healthcare for some of the world’s most impoverished and needy, she has mentioned on more than one occasion the need for nurses in her setting. John and I prayed for days asking the Lord of the harvest to send workers for the harvest field, and for His will regarding my opportunity to serve.

He has answered. So I am currently preparing to leave our home in Idaho on Monday, August 25, to journey via Salt Lake City, Chicago, and Brussels, to Monrovia myself to serve through October 4 on Africa Mercy. I will be working specifically in the ward that ministers to women who are recovering from vesico-vaginal fistula repair surgery. These women have had traumatic childbirth experiences that have severely damaged the tissues surrounding their reproductive tracts. They have been ostracized by their villages and become outcasts of their culture. Mercy Ships brings them a literal “new beginning.” And God is allowing me to be a part of His healing hand extended to them, for them to also join Him in the dance.

I appreciate your prayers for me as I prepare to go. I am bringing many supplies at the suggestion of the nurses on Africa Mercy. May the packing and transporting go smoothly, and everything arrive in the condition it is packed. May my travel be without disruption, and may I experience restorative rest on the legs of the journey. May my health be protected from diseases that my body is not accustomed to by exposure. May I provide safe and compassionate nursing care to those entrusting that care to me, introducing Jesus through the healing hands I extend. May Laura and I have meaningful mother-daughter time as we share this calling together. May the ministry of Mercy Ships be protected by God’s mighty power from the attacks of Satan.

Because you have been an integral part of my dance experience to this point in my life, I invite you to take these steps of my dance alongside me through the entries I make on this blog. Please feel free to leave your comments.

Linda aka Mom Z