The Prescription for Renewal Conference was A.Maze.Ing. We met a ton of amazing people who are about to be on the medical mission field, a ton of amazing people who have been there for a generation, and a ton of amazing people in between. We heard from the amazing pastor, Dr David Jeremiah, as well as Franklin Graham (Billy Graham's son and President/CEO of Samaritan's Purse), Will Graham (Franklin Graham's son) and Dr Paul Osteen (Pastor Joel Osteen's brother and who is, in my opinion, the better speaker).
The weekend, hosted by the World Medical Mission branch of Samaritan's Purse at The Cove, started off with 2 days of Continued Medical Education (CME) and a concurrent meeting for medical spouses. The medical conference heard from some of the greats in medical missions, while those of us upstairs heard from Kendra Graham (Will Graham's wife) and Cissie Graham Lynch (Franklin Graham's daughter). The spoke of obedience to the Lord and finding His calling for you.
Friday night we heard from Dr. Osteen as he spoke of the Good Samaritan and entreated us to "Go and do likewise."
Friday we heard from Dr Jeremiah, speaking of God's love and focusing on the simple phrase, "God loves you. He always has. He always will." We heard testimonies of several short term medical missionary couples and one who is about to go back on the field long term. We made a bunch of friends and are excited to hear about their journeys. We ate, we talked, we ate and talked more.
Saturday we heard from Dr. Jeremiah again, speaking on the seemingly simple, yet incredibly profound John 3:16., in between seminars, we took the 7 mile hike up to the top of the mountain with its beautiful lookout and, on the way back, swung by the chapel.
Sunday, we heard from Will Graham again as he spoke about what God has planned for us. We had a hard time saying good-bye and drove the 8 hours back to Maryland to get the kids from my parents, then the 3 hours back to Charlottesville to get home.
I hope to one day soon tell you about some of the people we met who are serving with World Medical Mission, specifically those in the Post Residency Program. It was refreshing to meet people who are doing the same crazy things we are.
If you're medical or dental and are interested in missions, we highly recommend you attend next year's conference. Next year will have Dr James Dobson and will be held at the Cove from
November 11-13, 2013.
Click here for registration details.
