My Story

Most people consider missionaries to be those people called by God to go to other countries to preach the Gospel.  I think that view is a little short-sighted.  I think God wants to use people from all walks of life, and with many different skill sets, to demonstrate his love and compassion to those who are living without hope.

I am currently a virtual ecological missionary.  What does that mean?  It means I have a mission to help solve ecological or environmental problems virtually by advising and training passionate people in another country who might not have all of the knowledge or expertise or resources that I have access to.  This training is completed online using platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Powerpoint, and a host of other apps.  It is one of the marvels of our present time that we can share information across the entire planet with just a phone or computer.  Amazing!

There are two reasons for doing my work virtually.  The first is that it is better for the planet which I believe belongs to the Creator God.  Airline travel generates a lot of carbon dioxide emissions which contribute to the warming of our atmosphere and oceans, resulting in global climate change.  It is prudent to reduce the amount I travel if i can provide adequate guidance from here in the US.

Secondly, because of some serious health issues, I am not presently able to travel.  But God has made a way for me to use my knowledge and expertise to help organizations in East Africa tackle conservation and environmental health problems that affect the lives of human beings and other life forms.  Let me tell you my story.

I first began to consider the idea of ecological missions while doing short-term missions trips to Romania in the summers between 1996-2004.  I took environmental students from Eastern Nazarene College to work with high school students from Sighisoara, Romania on monitoring water quality in the rivers of their community.  We set up a small laboratory with testing equipment and trained the students how to use it.  

In 1998, during one of these missions, I had my first heart attack at age 35 while hiking in Romania.  By the grace of God I survived, was medically evacuated to Switzerland, and returned home after several weeks of recovery.  Then I had a second heart attack in 2004 while I was teaching middle school in Franklin, Massachusetts.  After this second heart attack, my heart had suffered a lot of damage.  Nevertheless, I went on to teach ecology and environmental science for Eastern Nazarene College for 18 years (full time), during which time I was quite active and even led travel courses to Hawaii and Costa Rica.  

In September 2021, I began working with the Upendo Conservation Area in western Kenya (Bungoma County).  It all began with my students raising the money to give the community a drinking water well, and then the financial support to start a tree nursery.  Later we began to educate communities about snakebite prevention and it was clear that God was blessing this ministry.  We were saving lives.  And then God told me that Satan had asked to sift me like wheat ...

Two days after my 60th birthday, my heart went into ventricular tachycardia storm, and were it not for the implanted cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) in my chest, I would have died.  Because the defibrillator could not get my heart to stop racing out of control, I was shocked by my ICD 32 times before the emergency room doctors could get my arrhythmia under control.  I went on to have two more bouts of ventricular tachycardia in October 2022 and January 2023.  

My heart failure doctor said it would be prudent to start the evaluation process for a heart transplant.  They thought I was a good candidate because I was young and in relatively good condition.  In the spring of 2023, I was added to the heart transplant list for Tufts Medical Center in Boston.  As a condition of being on this list, I was not allowed to travel more than two hours away from the hospital so I could get there in time if a heart should become available.  

The experience of being shocked 32 times left me with severe anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  I have been in counseling for over a year now, and life is just getting to a place where I am starting to feel normal again, physically and mentally.  I thank God for the many ways he has healed me, and for the wonderful team of medical and mental health professionals that continue to walk me through this process.  I continue waiting for my heart.

One day, I read Genesis 50:20, and it all clicked for me. I realized that Satan "intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, THE SAVING OF MANY LIVES".  Oh how meaningful that was for me, to realize that God had thwarted Satan's plans and allowed me to live so I could make a difference in the lives of many people.  I am so glad that God gave me that opportunity!

Despite my medical conditions, God has used me to bring hope and healing and compassion to people who are threatened by or suffer as a result of snakebite envenomation.  I thank him for showing me how I can make a difference even with my limitations; I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.