When Medical Workers Go to the Ends of the Earth [December Prayer Focus]

TEAM – The Evangelical Alliance Mission • Dec 01, 2017

There’s an old saying that “people don’t care what you know until they know that you care.” If anyone understands that, it’s Jesus. During His ministry on Earth, He often healed people’s physical ailments before tending to their spiritual needs.

Being the hands and feet of Christ means that we are called to bring hope and healing. For this reason, medicfal missionaries go into the most remote, and often most diseased, parts of the globe.

This December, will you pray with us for medicine and healthcare ministries around the world?

Click here to get a printable version of these requests, and sign up here to get the new prayer focus in your inbox each month.

1. Pray for sick people in isolated areas.

Millions of people live in rural areas with very little access to healthcare. For many, a trip to the hospital is a long, expensive journey.

One TEAM missionary to South Asia says, “In general, people in this remote area of the mountains have to walk two or three days to get to a hospital. The clinic [where I serve] provides compassionate care that opens doors to share the Gospel.”

This December, ask God to meet people in remote areas in unique and miraculous ways. Pray that they will come to faith as they witness God’s provision.

2. Pray for medical workers who face foreign epidemics.

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Proper hand washing routines is a crucial lesson Eric Kroner shares with the residents of Chad. This simple practice can be life-saving. Photo by TEAM

Low-quality drinking water, unhygienic living conditions and lack of medical resources create breeding grounds for rare infections and viruses in developing countries.

In Chad , TEAM missionaries Eric and Mollie Kroner are fighting an endemic disease called Schistosomiasis, which causes digestive problems and the urination of blood.

Since discovering the existence of the disease in Chad about two years ago, the Kroners have treated over 5,000 children in 25 villages.

Please pray that medical missionaries will have the knowledge to diagnose these illnesses and the tools to defeat them. Pray for healing and an end to widespread epidemics everywhere.

3. Pray for opportunities to share Christ amid busy days.

Medical professionals often work long, demanding hours. For medical missionaries, this can make sharing the Gospel difficult, which makes their days even more taxing.

Take TEAM missionary Amie Bockstahler, for example. She works full time in two Guatemalan clinics. She and her ministry team typically see between 30 and 60 patients every day, which means opportunities for sharing Christ are often sliced out of hectic schedules.

Pray for renewal as medical missionaries around the world are challenged with the demands of their profession. Pray for ample time to share Christ with their patients and colleagues.

4. Pray for friendships between medical missionaries and local colleagues.

Because so many staff members are needed to run a successful hospital or clinic, medical missionaries often get to work alongside local physicians and doctors. While this helps missionaries with language and navigational skills, cultural barriers sometimes complicate budding friendships.

Pray for fruitful and enjoyable friendships with local coworkers. Pray that medical missionaries will be able to work smoothly and easily alongside their colleagues.

5. Pray for protection of workers’ health.

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Medical missionaries are always at risk of contracting the very illnesses they treat. Pray for their safety and protection. Photo by TEAM

Even though God uses them to perform modern-day miracles, medical missionaries are still human beings with susceptible bodies. Treating the life-threatening illnesses of others often puts medical professionals in danger of contraction, no matter how careful they are.

Ask God to protect workers in the medical field. Pray for wisdom as they follow safety protocols, and pray for rest. Pray they will remain healthy enough to continue caring for the broken and sharing Christ’s love.

6. Pray for unhealthy cultural traditions to be overturned.

Oppression of various people groups has created toxic beliefs and practices in many cultures.

For example, many of the Chadian women Eric and Mollie Kroner work with are too afraid to eat in front of men due to cultural stigmas. The Kroners first realized this when they gave some female patients a handful of peanuts to eat in order to curb the ugly side effects of certain medications.

“The women feel so ashamed to eat in front of men that they will not even eat the peanuts,” said Eric.

Ask God to use medical missionaries to reverse unhealthy mindsets. Pray that cultures everywhere will embrace His message of freedom.

7. Pray for effective education strategies.

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Many medical issues stem from a lack of public awareness. Missionaries like Scott Downing are committed to educating communities on collective health and safety. Photo by TEAM

Public health requires public education. Many healthcare missionaries have launched public awareness campaigns and educate communities about healthy lifestyle practices. In fact, Chadian village elders asked TEAM missionary Scott Downing to consider building a center for the sole purpose of public health education.

Even though Scott and his team are still praying and planning, Scott says, “We envision teaching some of their people in basic community health to be the go-to people for health needs — treating what can be treated locally and referring to the government’s clinics/hospitals ailments that need to be referred.”

Pray that education strategies like the one Scott is considering will be successful. Pray for innovation and creativity for missionaries in public healthcare fields.

Thank you for partnering with us in prayer! Click the image below to get a printable version of these requests to remember how to pray all month long.

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By Suzanne Pearson 08 Mar, 2024
Through God-ordained partnerships and creative connections, TEAM worker Keith Moore sees the global Church advancing in amazing ways. In the global missions landscape, a phrase that comes up often is “from everywhere, to everywhere.” God is calling His global Church in literal new directions, as He raises up cross-cultural workers to be sent from places that were once on the receiving end of missions work. We call this movement “polycentric sending.” TEAM workers Dawn and Keith Moore have seen first-hand this transition taking place. Their story involves the unlikely but beautiful intersection of Charlotte, North Carolina; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; and Memphis, Tennessee...and beyond. The Path to Honduras Keith and Dawn joined TEAM in 1991 and served as church planters for nine years in Bogota, Colombia. After safety concerns precipitated their return to the States in 1999, they knew they wanted to continue serving in Latin America. The Moores felt called to Honduras but wanted to connect with a strong missional church to help send them. The Lord orchestrated a collaboration with Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. “Some people asked, ‘Why Honduras? Missionaries have been there for 100 years. It’s already reached,’” Keith says. “But there’s a whole section of Latin America that had not been reached - the upper crust.” Keith goes on to explain that he and Dawn felt called to reach college-educated professionals in Honduras – a ministry vision that resonated with the missional goals of Bellevue Baptist. Impact and Growth With the support of this new church partnership as well as another sending church in Birmingham, Alabama, the Moores embarked on their next adventure. Keith and Dawn started Impacto Honduras Church from scratch, and in less than 20 years, the church grew into four locations with 1600 total members. The Moores and other TEAM workers also created a “Bible school” type training program to help professionals who feel a call to ministry to make that transition. Throughout this period of explosive growth, church partnerships played an integral role. “It’s such a different vision when you have a church that says, ‘OK, this is our deal, we want to make this happen,’” Keith explains. “They helped us with everything. They took away every single obstacle to growth. Every time we needed something, they were there.” In 2017, the Moores once again found themselves on the verge of another decision. Was it time to leave Honduras? “I had no desire to leave,” Keith recalls. “People were coming to Christ every week! It was just so amazing.” However, back in the U.S., Keith and Dawn’s parents were in their 80s and would soon be in need of more care. “We realized that either we would leave in a crisis, or we would leave strategically,” says Keith. The couple began to implement a careful succession plan. By the time they left, the four churches were established with strong, Honduran leadership ready to carry on the work of the Gospel.
By Suzanne Pearson 23 Feb, 2024
Justin Burkholder, pictured here with his wife Jenny and their daughters Isabella, Olivia, and Zoey, has recently been named as TEAM’s next International Director. On February 19, 2024, with much excitement and gratitude to the Lord, TEAM announced that Justin Burkholder will become our organization’s new International Director, effective July 1, 2024. Justin, who is currently TEAM’s Executive Director of Global Ministry, will assume his new role upon the retirement of the current International Director, Dave Hall. ( Read the full press release here. ) We sat down recently with Justin to learn a little more about his background, his family, and the journey that has led him to TEAM. Q: Tell us a little bit about your “origin story” - Where did you grow up? What was your family like? A: I grew up in Mexico City as a missionary kid. My parents were focused on church planting. We were very close as a family. Both of my parents are still alive, and my dad serves as a pastor in southern Florida. I have one brother who is a pastor in Wisconsin, and the most special individual in my family is my sister, Amber. She was born with a very severe case of cerebral palsy and is entirely dependent on my mother...who is extraordinary! The three most impactful forces that have shaped who I am (outside of God’s grace) are growing up in Mexico, having parents who loved and planted churches, and sharing life with someone with a severe disability. My parents belonged at the time to a church and denomination that came with quite a bit of legalism and performance-oriented Christianity. Grace was a challenging concept to grasp. While I had an awareness of my sin and need for redemption, it wasn’t until I attended Moody Bible Institute that I began to grasp the fullness of God’s grace and His delight in His children. I have continued learning and trusting in the Gospel through formal education, like completing my M.Div., and through spiritual practices in community. Learning the Gospel and believing the Gospel has been a daily exercise. The Gospel is as beautiful and multi-faceted as a diamond! At an individual level, it is simple enough for us to live convinced that “Jesus loves me, this I know.” At a corporate level, it becomes the foundation that forms and informs our life as a spiritual family. At a cosmic level, it is redemption that reaches as far as the curse is found. It is hard to even grasp the multiplicity of goodness found in the Good News. Q: Share a little bit about your family life now. What does a typical day look like in the Burkholder household? A: My wife Jenny is my high-school sweetheart! She brings joy and kindness wherever she goes. She’s the best listener I’ve ever met, and we love spending time together. We have three daughters. Isabella is ten, Olivia is seven, and Zoey is four. Each of the girls is unique and has taught us a lot in our process of following Jesus together. We like to go out on walks and go to the park together. Once a month I try to get some alone time with each of my daughters which usually includes bowling or trampolines. A typical day in the Burkholder house starts around 5:00am. Because of traffic here in Guatemala City, we have to leave early for school. After school, the girls come home to different activities - sometimes swimming class, sometimes piano lessons. Four or five nights a week we have dinner together where we usually talk about our high and low moments of the day. On weekends, we enjoy time together, playing outside, or watching sports together. Go Cubs and Go Buckeyes! Q: What are your interests and hobbies? If you have the day off, what are you likely to be up to? A: I enjoy physical activity, running, strength-training and following sports. I also love music and, truth be told, am a bit snobby about my taste in music! I also am a very curious person and love reading just about anything that passes through my hands. A day off is usually an opportunity for time with family. Jenny and I like to cook something interesting together on our days off. Often there is time for some reading and watching some type of athletic event. Q: How did God lead you to TEAM? A: My wife and I were working in the Chicago suburbs. I was a youth pastor and she was a Spanish teacher. When we got married, we had already sensed God’s direction to serve cross-culturally, but it was a matter of discerning when and where. There was a driving desire in me to see a church deeply love the Scriptures and at the same time, be deeply engaged in loving and serving their city and the most vulnerable among them. As God directed our paths, we visited a variety of places and made some friends in Guatemala who opened up the path for us to serve here. While we were exploring, we knew that the International Director of an organization called TEAM happened to go to our church, so I decided I should probably invite him out for breakfast - his name was Charlie Davis. Charlie was extremely thoughtful, passionate about disciple-making, and very gracious in creating space for us as we stepped into this endeavor. Charlie connected me with Steve Dresselhaus, a fellow TEAM global worker who was at that time serving as the Senior Director for the Americas. I cannot express the debt that I owe Steve. He walked closely with me in the transition, encouraged courageous thinking about the church and her role in society, and blasted open the doors for us to serve in Guatemala. After meeting Steve, we spent some days praying about joining TEAM. One thing I will never forget – one night during the process, I found myself wide awake in the middle of the night. A peace like I have seldom experienced passed over me confirming that we should join TEAM. There is no doubt in my mind that God tied all of these pieces together to bring us into the TEAM family and community. Q: What roles have you held in TEAM? What have been the milestones in those roles? A: The most important role I have held in TEAM is that of a global worker. God in His grace has allowed us to help plant two churches here in Guatemala, serve in leadership development, counseling, and discipleship. Our greatest joy has been found walking with those who are learning to follow Christ more deeply. I served as the Ministry Area Leader in Guatemala from 2016 to 2019. We helped to establish and lead this ministry area as it grew from just four global workers to over 15. I then served as Senior Director for Mexico and Central America from 2019 to 2021, Regional Executive Director for the Americas in 2021 and 2022, and then transitioned to the role of Executive Director of Global Ministry which I’ll continue in until the end of June. Q: What do you love most about being a part of TEAM? Why TEAM rather than other organizations or job opportunities? A: The TEAM community is full of people who have faithfully served God’s mission and have given up a lot to do so. It is a privilege to know many of our global workers and be counted among them. I am also fascinated by the fact that TEAM has existed now for more than 130 years! There is something to be said about the resilience and faithfulness of an organization that has continued to impact the world for so long. The rest of our conversation with Justin will be coming soon on blog! We’ll hear more about how God called Justin to the role of International Director, and what Justin sees for the next chapter in TEAM’s work in the global Church.
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