MedSend

Just a few weeks ago I was blessed to learn I had been awarded a MedSend Grant. This puts me one step closer toward leaving for Indonesia.

First, let me tell you a bit about MedSend. They were founded 20 years ago by a group of mission organizations and several individuals (many doctors and medical missionaries themselves) to address the decreasing number of medical missionaries. First they spent time trying to figure out why there were fewer doctors and nurses going to the mission field. They realized that many were graduating from school with large debts from their many years of school. They realized that while these young doctors and nurses were being required to pay back those debts first and by the time they had paid off the debts there were settled in the United States. The founders realized that many more would be able to go if there were an organization that would make the payments on those education loans after they graduated and while they were serving and so MedSend was founded.

Over the last 20 years MedSend has supported medical and veterinarian missionaries in over 80 countries around the world and at several clinics here in the United States. They do this by simply paying the monthly amount due on the educational loans of the grant recipients. This means having to raise less support and to leave more quickly for their area of service. For many years MedSend had more money than they had grant recipients. In the last five years however that trend has been reversed and they now have more applicants than funds.

MedSend will be helping to make the payments on my loans from grad school, which is a huge blessing and allows me to raise less support, which hopefully means I can leave sooner. A workshop led by one of their founders, Dan Fountain, was the reason I went to Florida two weeks ago. You can read more about that workshop and see pictures here on my other blog.

If you would like more information about MedSend you can click here to view their web page or in celebration of their 20th Birthday they put together this video.

As MedSend turns 20, we take a look back at the ways God has blessed this ministry with inspired leaders, faithful donors and committed grant recipients. We also reflect on the remarkable ways God is using MedSend grant recipients to bring transformative change in our world today.

(For those reading this in your email or RSS feeders you might need to click on the link to the blog to view the video.)

Celebrating a Milestone

I'm turning you over to God, our marvelous God whose gracious Word can make you into what He wants you to be and give you everything you could possibly need in this community of holy friends. Acts 20:32

This was the verse a friend sent me in response to my email newsletter last Friday asking for prayer about raising the support I need so I can leave for Indonesia this summer. It is always so encouraging to hear from friends who are praying!

God is answering those prayers already and I have reached a major milestone in my support-raising. I am officially 50% supported!

It is so encouraging to see the work the Lord is doing! I am also enjoying and learning a lot this week in Florida at a Health, Agriculture, Culture, and Community Workshop. I am surrounded by 17 people who have dedicated their life to serving people around the world. I will share more about this workshop next week on my other blog. Please pray for safe travel home to Washington tomorrow!

A Lofty Goal

I finished working at Providence last weekend and am changing my focus to full-time partnership development and training. I am so excited to be getting closer to leaving for Indonesia! So here is an idea of what the next few months will hold and a lofty goal for you.

For several reasons my goal is to leave for Indonesia this summer. For example, it works best with the language school schedule, which will be my first priority upon arriving in Indonesia.  I have been spending a lot of time in the last several days praying and contemplating about this goal of leaving for Indonesia this summer and I keep coming back to this verse:

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16

I am asking that you pray with me and for my ministry. That you pray boldly and confidently. I know God has great things planned and I can't wait to share with you what He is doing.

To reach this goal in the next three months, I need to raise the rest of my needed monthly support and outgoing expenses. I currently have commitments for 49% of the $3,500 I need for my monthly support. Thank you so much to those who have already made commitments and are giving faithfully! That means I need commitments for just $1,785/month. To break that down even further that is:

18 people to give $100/month

or 

36 people to give $50/month

or even 

51 people to give $35/month

I need your help to connect with those interested in helping save the lives of the people of Indonesia through medical care and/or with those passionate about helping spreading the gospel to the unreached of Indonesia. Would you be willing to host a small group (maybe from your church or work) at your house that would be willing to meet with me to hear my story and about my ministry? This could be over dinner or dessert or whatever time/date works best for you and your group. I will be spending the next 4-6 weeks in the Everett area and then moving back to live with my parents in Hood River, Oregon.

While at times this feels like a lofty goal, especially considering how long it has taken me to get this far but I know this is something God can do. I have confidence that He has a plan and the timing all worked out so I am setting this lofty goal in anticipation of seeing God do some amazing things. 

If you have any questions or want more information you can check out the links at the top of the blog with information on "Partnership" and "Frequently Asked Questions" or you can send me an email. 

Please also be praying as I leave this Sunday for a week in Florida to attend a Health, Agriculture, Culture and Community Workshop.

A Big Transition

I am going to miss friends like these at work!

For the past five years I have been blessed to work as a nurse at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett in their Family Maternity Center. Due to a number of factors, I feel the Lord is leading me to take the next step and quit my job. My final night at Providence will be this Saturday. Returning to serve in Indonesia, has always been part of the plan but that doesn't make saying goodbye any easier.

When I returned from Indonesia back in November 2006 I knew for sure I wanted to make the transition from practicing pediatrics to obstetrics here in the US. So I sought the council of some wise friends and one of them, an OB nurse herself, told me to go to a big hospital, one where I would get lots of experience and see just about every complication possible. This she said, would better prepare me for whatever and wherever the future led.

So I searched for jobs in the Pacific Northwest and found an orientation program starting at the Providence Hospital in Everett. The hospital in my hometown was a Providence hospital and I knew and respected their values. I applied but didn't hear anything for several weeks. Then when I was at WorldVenture's Renewal Conference in late January of 2007 I got a call from the manager. I told her I was in Colorado for the week, so we did a phone interview. The next day I got a call saying she had checked my references and I was hired. The job was starting in early March, so I needed to figure out all the details including moving to Everett quickly, but the Lord opened the doors and with the help of my family (best moving crew around!) I found a place and got settled.

Those first days were a huge adjustment back to American medicine routines including computerized charting, technology and transitioning to a new specialty. I had done OB nursing in Indonesia but my experiences there were obviously very different from the US.

Thankfully, I was warmly welcomed and had a fabulous preceptor, Cid. When I finished my orientation period she gave me a bouquet filled with the things we used on a daily basis like amniohooks, fetal scalp electrodes and of course some beautiful flowers. Over the next five years I was blessed to get to know a fabulous group of 200+ staff, some I hope will remain friends for life, like Becky Epperson and several others. Together we survived the ups and downs of being short-staffed, then over-staffed and now short-staffed again. We struggled together to save the lives of critically-ill patients and found joy in the simple normal births. They cheered me on, quizzed me, and proof-read papers as I went to graduate school. They supported me on the days when I struggled with my health. 

I learned so much during my time there and I am thankful for all that we shared. I will take what I have learned there and the best of those moments with me. Now however it is time for one of the many transitions that will happen in the coming days. Time to leave a group where I am known and comfortable for places that while not new are different. It is time to say goodbye and I have to admit that is hard. So while I am excited about the future I am also grieving the loss of the relationships and comfort of the place I am leaving. 

The plan right now is to stay here in the Everett area for the next 4-6 weeks and then move to Oregon to live with my parents. During my remaining time here in Everett I will be attending a week-long training in Florida and then focusing full-time on partnership development and support-raising. One of the support raising events will be a Mary Kay Giving is Beautiful party next Tuesday, April 10th. 40% of all profits will go toward my outgoing expenses to go to Indonesia. If you didn't get an invite and want to come just send me an email. Can't come but still want to buy for a good cause, just click over to www.marykay.com/angeladebell and put my name in the notes section of your order.