Post-Residency Program

Begin Your Career in Medical Missions Post-Residency Program W o r l d M e d i c a l M i s s i o n A M i n i s t r y o f S a m a r i t a n s P u r s e From the Field 2 BANGLADESH: One family s step of faith 3 NIGER: Answering His call 4 PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Following God without excuses 6 KENYA & GABON: The blind receive sight 7 HONDURAS & MACAU: Wherever He wants us to go

The Post-Residency Program Is God calling you to international service? Samaritan s Purse offers physicians and dentists a unique opportunity to follow in the footsteps of the Great Physician through our World Medical Mission Post-Residency Program. This two-year program enables Christian physicians and their families to serve overseas immediately following their residency or fellowship. We provide logistical and financial support while you serve alongside career medical missionaries, sharing the love and compassion of Jesus Christ with a hurting world. The goal of the Post-Residency Program is to help encourage young doctors in all specialties to become full-time medical missionaries. Learn more about the Post-Residency Program and apply online at www.samaritanspurse.org/prp. You can also call 828-262-1980 or send an e-mail to postresidencyprogram@samaritan.org. (Applications are made available in January and are due by June 1, prior to your last year of training) How are candidates selected? A committee of World Medical Mission senior staff members will review applications and interview qualified individuals for approval for the Post-Residency Program. The committee will consider your medical specialty, testimony, references, the leading of the Lord in your life, and your longterm career goals. Second-language skills are helpful but not required. What kind of preparation will I receive? The Post- Residency Program staff will work with you and your family from the time your application is approved, through your two years of service. We will assist you with all ministry-related travel and country-specific field requirements. Prior to serving, you will be brought to the Samaritan s Purse international headquarters in Boone, North Carolina, for orientation. F A Q Where could I be assigned? Typical assignments will be in established mission hospitals in Africa, Asia, the South Pacific, and Latin America. Service locations are based on where your specialty is needed within World Medical Mission s network of mission hospitals. What about my school loans? World Medical Mission is prepared to help you raise support or find assistance for repaying student loans while you serve overseas. Who pays my expenses and arranges housing? World Medical Mission will pay a modest stipend and provide airfare, insurance, immunizations, and all ministry-related travel and country-specific licensure for the physician. We also provide housing and food allowances for you and your family, and will help you raise support for your family s airfare and related expenses. World Medical Mission Roots As brothers and fellow physicians, Drs. Lowell and Richard Furman had a lot in common, including their love for the Lord, a heart for evangelism, and a desire to provide trained medical support for under-staffed mission hospitals and clinics overseas. With the help of a young college student named Franklin Graham, the Furmans established World Medical Mission in 1977 to help arrange short-term mission trips for physicians and dentists who wanted to volunteer their time and medical skills. As the medical arm of Samaritan s Purse, World Medical Mission has placed nearly 6,000 physicians and dentists in 180 mission hospitals in 76 nations. Lowell Furman passed away in 2006, but Richard Furman continues to serve as a consultant in mission settings around the world, cherishing the bush doctor credentials he and his brother earned over the years. It s all part of following in the footsteps of the Great Physician. n i g e r Answering His call The Megills plan to serve as career medical missionaries at Galmi Hospital in Niger Isolated on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert, Galmi Hospital in Niger is not an easy place to reach or an easy place for a physician to practice medicine. The 120 beds at the 60-year-old mission hospital are usually filled beyond capacity, and 120 F heat is not uncommon. But Dr. Matthew Megill and his family were certain that Galmi Hospital was exactly where the Lord wanted them to be. As Matt and Tara Megill started thinking about medical missions, they compiled a list. They wanted to serve among Muslims, in a place where there was a great physical and spiritual need. Dr. Megill had an interest in HIV care. Tara had a zeal for Bible translation. Galmi had it all. More than 90 percent of Niger s 15 million people are Muslims. Niger is also one of the poorest nations in the world, with more than 60 percent of the population living on less than a dollar a day. To come to a country where only one in a thousand persons is an evangelical Christian, just being here we have a tremendous opportunity to share the Gospel and be a light, and we are often sharing with people who are hearing the Gospel for the first time, Dr. Megill said. From a fiscal perspective, I also feel a compelling need to help people who are desperately poor. The medical needs are also overwhelming. Niger only has five hospitals. Nationwide, there is only one physician for every 30,000 people. A lot of things go through your mind when you see children who are malnourished, dehydrated, and living in a country where 25 percent of children don t make it to their fifth birthday, Dr. Megill said. One of the kids that gripped me a couple months ago was one of our HIV-positive kids who was 18 months old and wasting away. We were able to start him on TB treatment and admit him into our HIV program to help him have a much longer life expectancy. But even with HIV medications, pediatric cases often don t make it to their tenth birthday. I distinctly remember looking into this child s eyes and wondering, if he makes it to the age of ten, will he be able to hear the Gospel? That s a very real life question in a country like this that has so much darkness and so little opportunity to hear the Gospel. Matthew 25 talks about giving a drink of water to someone in Christ s Name. It s not just giving the cup of water, but giving it in Christ s Name. And I think we do that. The Post-Residency Program helped us overcome some of the obstacles that get in the way of going to the mission field, Dr. Megill said. It s been a great incubator for us as young missionaries. It helped us get the jump-start we needed to get going. World Medical Mission helped us with the logistical challenges as well. It enabled us to get on the field and get started. Dr. Matthew & Tara Megill Internal Medicine Warren, Pennsylvania Niger Galmi Hospital The Megill s two-year assignment through the Post-Residency Program recently ended, but they have decided to return to Galmi Hospital as longterm medical missionaries. Drs. Jason & Anna Lattin General Surgery Portland, Oregon Bangladesh Memorial Christian Hospital B a n g l a d e s h Take a step of faith Drs. Jason and Anna Lattin embarked on a family mission with their three children to serve at Memorial Christian Hospital in Bangladesh. e re here to treat the ones God has put in our path and to teach them the hope W of the Gospel, Jason said. At the hospital, there are abundant opportunities to share grace and truth with those who come for physical healing. Compassionate Christian care is delivered to patients regardless of religion, ethnicity, or income. I ve had the privilege to really expand my professional skills in a way that probably wouldn t have happened in the United States. My time with the career missionary doctors confirmed for me the goal to spend my career serving the Lord, using the gifts of medicine to reach people for Christ. In this hospital s heyday, there were 20 or 30 missionary staff here, and now we re down to a handful of doctors and a handful of nurses. God is calling the next generation of doctors to the mission field. I would encourage all who are considering medical missions to take a step of faith, to challenge yourself, to leap out and trust in the goodness of God, because this is an adventure of a lifetime. I distinctly remember looking into this child s eyes and wondering, if he makes it to the age of ten, will he be able to hear the Gospel? He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the Good News to all creation. Mark 16:15, NIV 2 3

Dr. Erin Meier Erin went to Papua New Guinea in answer to God s call and recently felt the Lord tug on her heart again. Through ways only the Lord can work, He has revealed to me that I am to continue to be a missionary doctor, Erin said. It is exciting to think about where and how God will use me, but it is also painful, knowing it will take me away from my family again. Contemplating the future, Erin was encouraged by a study she did on the life of Moses. I was really challenged by Exodus 3 where Moses initially responds, Here I am, but then comes up with many reasons why God should find someone else, Erin said. I pray that as I continue to pray and seek Him for my future, that I will be obedient to Him and not find excuses. Harlingen, Texas Papua New Guinea Kudjip Nazarene Hospital pa p u a n e w g u i n e a Following God Without Excuses Dr. Erin Meier served at Kudjip Nazarene Hospital in Papua New Guinea through the Post-Residency Program and has stayed on as a full-time medical missionary. One of the first things Dr. Erin Meier did when she arrived in Papua New Guinea was start to learn Pidgin, the local language. As the new physician at Kudjip Nazarene Hospital, she needed to be able to communicate with her patients about their medical concerns, but just as important, she wanted to be able to share the Gospel. With the help of my language tutor and her son, Marvin, I have been learning how to share Jesus in Pidgin, Erin wrote in one of the first online blogs she posted after arriving at Kudjip in 2007. She is now fluent in the language. Erin s twin passions for medicine and evangelism made her a perfect candidate for the Post-Residency Program. She helped fill a critical need for a family practice physician in Papua New Guinea, and discovered a rich mission field among her patients. I believe that medicine and evangelism go hand in hand, Erin said. As a physician, not only do I care about my patients physical health, but I also take care of their spiritual health, too. It s part of the whole person. Whenever Erin treats a patient for a physical need, she also makes sure she gives them a spiritual check-up as well. As a physician, not only do I care about patients physical health, but I also take care of their spiritual health, too. If I don t talk with a patient about Jesus or pray with a patient, it can be considered medical malpractice because I m withholding something that could really help a patient, Erin said with conviction. I m not going to be able to treat and cure everyone s physical ailments, but spiritually, if they believe in Christ, we know where they re going. Sadly, many patients arrive at the hospital with diseases in advanced stages that require emergency attention. Some conditions are beyond treatment, but there are also many victories. Almost every day here at the hospital someone dies, Erin shared. At times, the amount of death and disease is overwhelming. While on call yesterday, two babies, one child, and one adult passed away. So, amidst all that, it was good to have a bright spot. Baby Abraham Lincoln filled that spot recently. His parents had already lost two babies, Erin continued. When the baby initially came out he looked like he might have a syndrome of some sort. Praise God, he now looks great! His mom, Lydia, is a teacher who once read a book about Abraham Lincoln, so she decided to name her son Abraham. < Dr. Erin Meier learned to speak fluent Pidgin so she could communicate with her patients about their physical and spiritual needs. > A love for children and the Lord compels Erin to provide compassionate care to little ones who face lifethreatening diseases. 4 5

g a b o n The blind receive sight and find Jesus Dr. Wendy Hofman and her husband, Eric, are serving at Bongolo Hospital in Gabon. As an ophthalmologist, Wendy often treats patients who have been blind for years because of cataracts. In response to successful surgery and the evangelical witness at the hospital, Wendy often sees the blind receive both physical and spiritual sight, as patients embrace Jesus Christ as Savior. Wendy: Now that we ve survived in Africa for a full three weeks, we figured it is time to send out an update, Wendy posted in one of their first blogs from the mission field. At various times, both of us have had the thought, Are you crazy? Do you really want to spend two years in the rainforest of Africa? Well, to be honest, those thoughts still run through our heads at times. But being in Africa, seeing patients sing and dance when they can see for the first time after surgery, and knowing that God wants us to share the hope that He provides with those we encounter these things help us know that yes, we will in fact be in Africa for at least two more years, God willing. Dr. Wendy & Eric Hofman Ophthalmology Mukilteo, Washington Gabon Bongolo Hospital Eric: Eric worked for 10 years as an actuarial consultant for health insurance companies, and now helps manage finances at Bongolo Hospital. Here at Bongolo Hospital in Gabon, I have mainly been helping out with the accounting of the hospital and the mission, Eric said. Basically, I keep track of all money that comes into the mission hospital, along with all of the money that is spent by the hospital. It s a great fit for my skill set, and it s a job that most other folks here are quite happy to hand off. It s great how God gives us each our own unique skills and talents so that all of the necessary work can be completed. And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. 1 Peter 2:24, NASB H o n d u r a s Following Jesus wherever He wants us to go Dr. Joel Tumlison served at Hospital Loma de La Luz in Honduras with his wife, Cinthya, and their daughters, Linda and Lisa. They plan to return to Honduras to serve as career medical missionaries. We live in Honduras and work at Hospital Loma de La Luz. During Joel s family practice residency training, we applied to the Post-Residency Program from Samaritan s Purse. This is a two-year program that allows doctors right out of their residency program the opportunity to live and serve at a mission hospital and gives them a taste of what medical missions looks like. We were denied the grant. So, we came to Honduras anyway, to visit and see what our possibilities of coming back were. The very day we returned to the U.S. from our visit, we received a call from Samaritan s Purse that someone had just donated enough money to send one more doctor overseas. We gladly accepted! Now our two years are almost over. We are looking forward to going back to the U.S. for about six months to visit our friends and family. We really believe that two years is not enough, so we are looking forward to returning to work at Loma de La Luz. Our next term is indefinite; we may grow old in Honduras. All we want to do is follow Jesus wherever He wants us to go. We do sincerely thank World Medical Mission for giving us the privilege of serving here. And we also thank God so much for all of you who have prayed and supported us financially. We could not be here without you! Your gifts and prayers not only provide for our family needs but also provide for the physical and spiritual care of the many precious Hondurans that came to receive care at the hospital. Thank you so much! He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3, NIV Dr. Joel & Cinthya Tumlison Conway, Arkansas Honduras Hospital Loma de La Luz k e n ya m a c a u Life among the Pokot Dr. Kyle Jones and his wife, Vanessa, are serving with their children at Kapsowar Hospital in Kenya. In addition to working at the hospital as a family practice physician, Kyle also leads mobile teams to remote villages where people need medical care. Vanessa: Pokot land, here we come again! Kyle led another trip to the valley to minister to the Pokot people. We had a team of 18 go this time and we stayed the night. We had a full day of clinic, and later that night beside the fire, Kyle was able to encourage the elders of the Pokot church with the Word. He did an amazing job. We have located some more Bibles in their language to distribute to them the next time we come. The translation was just completed last September. We definitely feel the Lord moving there and in our hearts to continue to serve this underserved community. Dr. Kyle & Vanessa Jones Broken Arrow, Oklahoma Kenya Kapsowar Hospital Kyle: We enhanced our clinic with a time of singing, preaching and prayer. I gave a Gospel presentation, along with the other chaplain that came with me, and we had quite a few raise their hands to accept Christ. Praise the Lord! We conducted the clinic at the little church where the missionary pastor serves, so he will be able to do follow-up ministry. Vanessa and the boys had a good time as well. They enjoyed playing and visiting with the other moms and kids during the clinic. I really enjoyed having them there with me and I think when we go the next time we will stay longer. Please pray for the Pokot people and our ministry to them. God is doing wonderful things among them. A willing instrument for Him God obviously prepared Dr. Linda Gadd since childhood for kingdom service with an international calling. Linda was born in Burma, raised in Hong Kong, went to medical school in England, and did her residency in the United States. Her husband, Daniel, is an engineer from New Zealand. od opened my eyes to the physical and spiritual needs of the people. G I knelt down and said, Lord, I give it all to you; my life, my hopes, my fear, my dreams. All He asks is for me to be a willing instrument in the Master s hands. Linda was accepted into the Post-Residency Program to serve as a family practice physician at Hope Medical Clinic in Macau. She had just arrived in Macau when Cyclone Nargis slammed into neighboring Myanmar, killing and injuring thousands. Linda joined an emergency medical team to offer help to cyclone victims. From Myanmar, the team went to China to help people injured in a 7.9 earthquake that shook Sichuan Province. It was a tremendous blessing to be able to share the message of hope and love that Christ brings, Linda said. Wherever we went, we were overjoyed to witness the openness of those we served to receive prayer and to learn about Jesus. After completing the two-year Post-Residency Program, the Gadds elected to stay in Macau, where Linda is now the medical director of the clinic. Through the joy and challenges, we count it a privilege to walk along this path with our Father, Linda said. Praise God! When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick. Matthew 14:14, NASB Dr. Linda & Daniel Gadd Jenks, Oklahoma Macau Hope Medical Clinic It was a tremendous blessing to be able to share the message of hope and love that Christ brings. 6 7

Dear Friend: The Lord is seeking Christian doctors who have a heart for service and evangelism, and the need for trained medical professionals in developing nations has never been greater. As you complete your residency and make decisions about your future, I hope you will prayerfully consider our Post- Residency Program. I love missionary medicine because it works. We see thousands of people give their lives to Christ every year as God works through mission hospitals and medical relief projects to help bring physical and spiritual healing to people in need. We want to help you follow the example of Jesus, who went about all the cities and villages preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people (Matthew 9:35, NIV). If you sense God is calling you to serve overseas, our Post-Residency Program can provide a foundation for a lifetime of ministry. May God bless you as you seek His will and follow in the footsteps of the Great Physician. Sincerely, Franklin Graham, President World Medical Mission is a ministry of Samaritan s Purse, a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world. Since 1970, Samaritan s Purse has helped meet needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disaster, disease, and famine with the purpose of sharing God s love through His Son, Jesus Christ. The organization serves the Church worldwide to promote the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Franklin Graham in Darfur, Sudan The Post-Residency Program Around the World Sixty-two physicians have entered the program since 2004, serving in 18 nations. Learn more about the Post-Residency Program and apply online at www.samaritanspurse.org/prp. You can also call 828-262-1980 or send an e-mail to postresidencyprogram@samaritan.org.