Missions Blog @ Covenant UMC, Dothan

Jack” Jackson (54): Jack is joining in the yearly mission to Panama for the fifth time. He comes to Panama, year

after year, out of his sense of God’s calling upon his life. He says, “I can’t preach, and I’ve never been much of a teacher, but I know medicine, and I want to come and apply it.” As a gastroenterologist, Jack believes that his talents can be used to serve others, whether applying his specialization in the Dothan area or taking his trade to a remote part of Panama.

Jack’s family shares his love of mission, and his wife and children have also participated in other trips to Africa and Venezuela. After working for several years in Panama, Jack has developed a passion for addressing the poverty and cares to address systemic problems that have plagued the Ngobe people. He acknowledges that, while there are many needs in Alabama that Christians must address, he notes that the needs among the Ngobe in Panama far outweigh what we might normally see in Alabama. “God calls us to go,” and address these problems, he says. Jack, a member of Covenant UMC, encourages others who have not experienced an international mission trip to give it a try, and a mission to Panama would be a good first trip as the culture and conveniences the mission team experiences are relatively close to the American standard.

Cara Blondheim (19): Cara is joining the mission to Panama for the first time, and this is the first time that she has

traveled outside of the United States. Cara is a nursing student at Troy University, and she is using her nursing skills to assist doctors in the clinic throughout the week.

Cara came to Panama as the result of an answered prayer. She shared that God had started placing the idea of missions on her heart. Then, she recalled, “I was praying one time and God said, ‘Go.’” Shortly after her prayer, she heard about the mission to Panama and she knew that she was supposed to go. Cara was nervous about traveling outside of the country for the first time, but after serving for several days, the trip is going better than she expected. She shared that she has been touched by working with the Ngobe children and the fact that all of those being helped seem so appreciative. She hopes to participate in many more mission trips in the future and, perhaps, she hopes to create a mission trip among members of her home church, Carmel UMC in Echo, AL.

Billy Woods (62): Billy is joining the mission to Panama for the first time, though he has enjoyed serving in Brazil

several times in the past. Billy, a Safety Director and former Mayor of Headland, is compelled to serve as a result of his sense of God’s blessings on his life. He noted, “God has enriched us and blessed us, and God expects and demands us to go to others.” Yet, serving the Ngobe is not a great sacrifice for Billy as these wonderful people are “part of God’s great creation.”

Billy noted that some might critique the fact that missionaries travel so far when there are needs right in the Dothan area. “There is a lot of mission that can be done locally and state-wide for sure,” he said, “but the people here are now receiving things that they would never have an opportunity to receive.”

Billy has helped on this mission with any work that needs to be done, and he has spent much time helping to paint a guest house for visiting missionaries and other workers. “It’s tiring work but not exhausting. There is a great difference,” he said. It is tiring work that is very fulfilling.

Erica Fowler (25): Erica is joining the Panama mission for the first time, and this is the first time that she has traveled outside of the United States. The biggest sacrifice that Erica had to make is leaving behind her husband and

two young children. Yet, while leaving her family is difficult, Erica knew that she needed to come.

Since Erica was 14 years old, she believed that God was calling her into mission. She was inspired by missionaries who visited her church as a child. Through the years, “life” seemed to prevent her from getting involved personally in mission. Then, when she considered what career to pursue, she chose nursing because she knew that her skills could be used on the mission field. Therefore, she shared that coming to Panama is the fulfillment of a lifetime goal.

Working in the clinic has been a profound experience for Erica. With tears in her eyes, she said, “It’s changed my perspective as a Christian, but it has also changed my perspective as a mother. I am so thankful to be a mother, and the fact that these mothers can have health for their children is a great blessing.” She notes that other mothers may be hesitant to join in mission but, she said, “God will make a way” if a person is called by God. Erica, a member of Shiloh Baptist Church in Hartford, AL, hopes to participate in many more mission trips in the future.

Tags: alabama, Billy Woods, Cara Blondheim, dothan, echo, Erica Fowler, heartford, Jack Jackson, medical, methodist, mission, missionaries, Panama Mission 2009

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