The Man They Call Jesus 

“He replied, ‘The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.’” John 9:11 

It was ten years ago last month that I accepted Jesus Christ as Lord of my life; a choice that entirely changed the course and meaning my life.   

It was five years ago this month that I went on my first mission trip; a trip that changed my life and remains a firm marker of the Lord’s calling on my life. 

And it was one year ago in a few days that I began a career in medical mission work; a role that the Lord led me to with great clarity and purpose and a role in which I get to serve in and for the Name of Jesus every single day. 

With these milestones all passing around the same time, I have spent a lot of time reflecting on the journey of these past ten years. Put simply, the transformational work of Jesus Christ is undeniable. 

… 

Ten years ago, Jesus met me, a small-town, soccer loving, high school graduate, on the last night of a summer church camp. Having attended a youth group for a few months before this camp out of a desire to spend more time with my friends, the Lord was already stirring in my heart, but it wasn’t until that night, sitting beside my soccer teammate in the front row of our last worship service, that I ultimately made the decision to follow Jesus. That was in June of 2013. 

Throughout the next four years, I waded through the college years knowing that there was more to following Christ, but unsure of how to do so and lacking any type of discipleship. I went through seasons of praying, reading my Bible, and going to church, but there was no consistency and I was living with a foot in both worlds. My faith was stagnant and lukewarm at best, but I told God that I would give Him more time when I “got less busy”. From my human perspective, it would’ve been easy for God to walk away from me in that season and quite frankly, to find someone more committed and more qualified for the journey ahead, but He was patient with me and looking back now, I can see His hand upon the details of those college years even though I wasn’t seeking His guidance.

After graduating from college, passing my NCLEX and a quick trip to Europe, I relocated to North Carolina to begin my nursing career and I am thankful to report that the Lord held me to my promise. I can still remember exactly where I was driving when I said something like this, “Okay Lord. I don’t know anyone or anything here. Show me what life with you is all about.” God took that blank slate and ran. He started by placing me in a church that would build a foundation to my faith and friend group that would show me what it looked like to follow Jesus. 

A few months later, in July of 2018, God gave me the opportunity to go on my first mission trip as a female leader for the high school students. I didn’t fully know what to expect on this trip outside of making sure that the students were accounted for and at least somewhat behaving, and I certainly didn’t expect to contribute spiritually in any capacity due to my own lack of knowledge and understanding… but the Lord had other plans. It was on this trip that the Lord showed me that He had been preparing me for His work long before I even knew His Name and it was also on this trip that the Lord began to stir my heart for the nations. Not only did I not want to go home at the end of that week, but it also planted the seed of the same desire that I have today to immerse in cultures other than my own. 

At 23-years-old, I came home from Costa Rica with an unquenchable fire for the Lord and a brand new desire to serve Him with my life. 

In His perfect timing, the Lord provided me with a few spiritual mentors who have walked with me over these past few years. One of these mentors was the leader of the student trip, and the co-leader of my small group on that first trip to Costa Rica. For some reason that I will never understand, Jeff took me under his wing. He poured into my life spiritually and following that original trip, he gave me multiple opportunities to co-lead adult trips back to Costa Rica, freely offering all of the wisdom that he had gained through his 20+ years of leading teams. 

Another set of mentors that the Lord provided in that same year, is the couple who would go on to disciple me for the next four years. In the same way that I will never understand why Jeff chose to pour into my life, Donna and Roy did the same. Nearly every week for four years, from near and far, Donna, Roy, and I met via Zoom and throughout this time, they equipped me with the Word of God and they taught me how to utilize the Word of God throughout life. 

In the years between then and now, many others have come alongside me in this journey and God has moved in incredible ways through my life; ways far beyond I could have ever planned or imagined, and though it hard for me to skip over the details of those years as I type out this piece of my testimony, it’s probably necessary for the sake of length and time. 

Last year, in August of 2022, I began my role as the Program Manager of the Specialty Teams Program at World Medical Mission, Samaritan’s Purse. Through this program, we send out medical teams to our partner mission hospitals with a focus on coming alongside the national staff in serving the surrounding patient population. One of the branches of this program is focused on women who have suffered obstetric-related injuries, such as severe perianal tears and obstetric fistula. Both of these injuries are highly shame-inducing and have the potential to greatly impact the woman’s quality of life, as she is left incontinent of either stool and flatulence or urine. With the appropriate surgeons and medical equipment, these injuries can be repaired through surgery and proper peri-operative care, and the women can re-enter life as they knew it. 

As the manager of this program, I have the opportunity to watch the Lord weave together every detail of every trip. I get to watch Him lead where we are going and what to take. I watch Him bring together the right people to form the perfect team, medically and spiritually. On the ground, I get to watch our visiting team mesh with the team on the ground in a beautiful image of the body of Christ and I get to witness the patients that He brings to the doors of the hospital; the patients that we have been praying for far before we knew their names. And perhaps my favorite of all, I get to watch how the Lord utilizes the platform created by these physical afflictions for spiritual impact and ultimately for His glory. 

As I sat with each of the women who received surgery through one of the first of these campaigns last month and listened to their stories, I cannot put words to the feelings in my heart. These women painted pictures of the lives that they had endured with these injuries for 10, 20, 30, and even 52 years. Lives of embarrassment. Lives of sitting in the back at church or avoiding gatherings all together. Lives of monitoring the type food they ate or the amount water they drank. Lives of hiding and isolation. Lives of perseverance. 

And then, as though they had planned it, many of the women spoke the same words in their individual interviews. 

“Now, I am free.”

I hope that these words stick out to you as much as they did to my team and I no matter how many times we heard them. 

Freedom. Freedom from shame, embarrassment, and isolation. Freedom to sit in the front row of church or take part in gatherings. Freedom to eat what they want to eat and to drink as much as they want to drink. Freedom to come out of hiding and to be seen. Freedom to live out the fullness of life without fear and with a restored confidence. 

One of the last questions that we would ask the women was about which Bible story stood out to them the most from our devotions throughout their time in the ward.

A common answer was the man who was born blind from John 9. This is one of the first devotionals that we had shared amongst the women, and we specifically focused on how the man shared his testimony. Regardless of the doubt and questioning that he was met with, the man who had received his sight remained consistent in his testimony of what had happened and who had healed him. It was Jesus who had opened his eyes and the man never grew weary or wavered in his testimony.

Our challenge to the women was to take this lesson from the man born blind, especially as they were discharged from the hospital and returned to their homes. We encouraged them to share the testimony that the Lord had given them and to never tire in pointing to His work in their lives.

I will never forget one of the women in particular who stated that it was this story that had impacted her the most. She specifically told us that she hadn’t told anyone about her issue in the past, but now, she would go home and not only tell about her injury, but also tell about God’s faithfulness and provision for her through this campaign. “I’m not ashamed anymore”, she exclaimed. 

As I watched the first group of women leave the hospital, tears streamed down my face. 

There are no words that can describe what it is like to be a witness of these women, to hear their stories, to watch the community form among each of them, and to watch the joyful smile grow across their faces throughout our time together, but what I can say is that I am humbled for each opportunity that the Lord gives me to be a vessel of His light and His love in this world. 

Why God would take this small-town, soccer loving, high school graduate from church camp, radically transform her life, and allow her the opportunity to walk alongside these precious women on the other side of the world just ten years later is something that I will never fully comprehend, but what I do know is that it is all for His glory, and there is not a single detail that is wasted. 

So though I have shared the details of my testimony more than once on this blog, I am sharing parts of it again today in an effort to not grow weary in sharing my story on the platforms that the Lord has given me to do so. 

What about you? What’s your story? When’s the last time that you’ve shared your testimony with another person? Whether it’s been a week, a month, or a year, can I encourage you to ask the Lord for an opportunity to do so?

I find that I often get stuck in my day to day life. I forget to take the time to reflect on the fullness of my testimony and all that the Lord has done in the time that I have known His name and even before. But recently, with the passing of these milestones, the influence of these women, and the opportunity to share my testimony with a few new faces, I have been reminded of the beauty of our very own stories.

To be honest, the longer I walk with the Lord, the closer I get to tears in sharing my testimony, because it just doesn’t make sense without Jesus. The evidence of His hand on my life only becomes more evident and as I stated earlier, the transformational power of Christ is undeniable for me as I reflect on my story. My hope is that you can say the same as you take the time to share about His work in your life. 

In a world that’s cluttered with chaos and distractions, let us take a step back and be still with the stories that the Lord has given us, and when given the opportunity to do so, let us share those stories with boldness, consistency, and joy, that the Lord may be more greatly glorified through His work in our lives. 

With so much love, 

Your Sister in Christ