Connections Conference in Tennessee, Global Health Missions Conference in Kentucky, Regional Director’s Retreat in North Carolina, Cannon Beach Winter Conference in Oregon, and Remedy23: HealthCare on Mission in Southern California kept me busy, to say the least.
October 2-6, Connections Conference in Tennessee
Field staff from all over the country converged on CMDA’s headquarters in Bristol, TN for a few days, as is annual tradition. Dr. Matthew Sleeth was our main speaker & discussed suicide and the need for the Church to discuss and deal with it. He also shared about Sabbath & rest.
Pictured with me is Grant Hewitt (Southern Regional Director), Connor Ham (MidWest RD), CHIMA A. ONOKA, the President of CMDA Nigeria, and Bill Reichert, VP of Campus/Community Ministries at CMDA.
October 7-12, Oregon & Washington Tour
with Dr. Rick Donlon & Michael McLaughlin
Venturing with Rick and Michael was a hoot. From Portland to Eugene, back to Portland, to Cannon Beach, to Vancouver, WA, then Tacoma, Seattle, Wenatchee, Yakima, and finally Spokane! Whew.
We met with over 100 people in total at those 8 stops where Rick spoke. Being home in time to celebrate our girls’ sweet sixteen was a high priority, so I missed out on the last stop in Wasco.
Rick shared about God’s call on his life through Urban Medical Ministry, which included giving up the typical “American Dream” and entering in to a “Samaria,” as one might compare. What rings most true of that trip is Jesus’ words:
And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9:23-27
November 9-13, 2022 GMHC in Louisville, KY
The Global Health Missions Conference in Louisville, KY is one of the largest medical missions conferences in the world. It meets each year at Southeast Christian Church.
I joined the other Regional Director’s and many others at CMDA, including Dr. Doug Lindberg, the Director for the Center for Advancing Healthcare Missions. He and I posed together in this photo. Turns out my brother-in-law’s wife is his second cousin, which makes us … not related at all, but we both consider ourselves cuzins.
My goal, in addition to networking, was to see what I could take from this to implement at our Remedy Conference in February.
November 27-December 1, Regional Director’s Retreat
in Nags Head, NC
Just after Thanksgiving the four Regional Directors headed to the beach in Nags Head where we stayed at the VP of Dental Ministries’ home, Bill Griffin, along with his wife Linda, Pam Smythe, the brains of Community Ministries, Janie Waldecker, the brains of Campus Ministries, Debbie Griswold, brains of state representatives and sections, and our Captain, VP of Campus and Community Ministries, Bill Reichart. We had great conversation, played games, and witnessed beauty I missed – I hadn’t seen a sunrise on the east coast in over a decade, at least!
We talked a bit about the Working Genius, something I had done with our team at Western Seminary a few years ago. It’s a great tool for teams & was insightful & helpful in many ways.
I think our main takeaway was just how important Campus Advisors are to our ministry. What has followed is a major shift in focus toward empowering them on the horizon.
January 18-22, West Coast Winter Conference
in Cannon Beach, OR
The West Coast Winter Conference was beautiful & rich. Hours and hours of lecture on Transgender Ideology with Dr. Andre Van Mol was overwhelming but beneficial and eye-opening in so many ways.
A gaggle of med students showing up was the highlight for many. Students came from Fresno, Yakima, and even Honolulu! Walking on the beach and pickle ball filled my free time.
February 19-26, Remedy: Healthcare on Mission Conference at Cal Baptist University Campus, Riverside, CA
(& Southern California tour the week before that)
It was a great week in SoCal. It began with meeting with the San Diego Community of healthcare professionals at Drs. Leonard’s home. This followed by a lunch with UCSD students, a meeting with a doc I’ve heard so many great things about, and then a dinner with PA students from Point Loma’s new program.
A trip to Biola, connecting with a psychiatrist in Orange County, and heading to visit great friends in Upland rounded out the first half of the week. Meeting with a physician and campus advisor in Riverside, student leaders at UCLA, a recently-out-of-residency hospitalist, and students at CalMed and Loma Linda rounded out the pre-Remedy activities.
Remedy was great! Amazing workshop leaders, plenary speakers, and high registrations (220+) made it promising, but the downpour and cold in SoCal seemed to dissuade some of the students from attending. While disappointing to some degree, it was a remarkable event and trip.
