Dr. and Mrs. McDonald have served in international ministry with over 30 years of experience. Offered an international career with the UN and World Bank, they took the path less traveled, and it has made all the difference…for eternity! With work experience in over 50 countries, together they have helped set up or empower scores of development projects that continue today. These include hospitals, clinics, medical training, orphanages, community centers, schools from preschool to graduate level, businesses, farms, plantations, factories, safe houses, all providing products and services for the local community and export. Trial and error have revealed ten important principles foundational to success in social enterprise. One of them of particular interest in ministry is the issue of multiple “bottom lines.” Profit, the usual bottom line, cannot stand alone. Their core value is that any effort must produce spiritual results, at least in opening doors. Results are God ordained, not man driven. For what profits a man to gain the whole world, and lose his soul? Other principles flow from this core foundational premise. How do you determine the most strategic set of needs when there are so many? And how do you prioritize? How do you find a competitive advantage? How do you diversify to minimize risk? How do you write a business plan to know viability? How do you find the “Champion” if you are not on the ground yourself? How do you avoid colonialism while creating accountability? How do you measure results? How do you avoid corruption? Be encouraged that there is nothing greater than empowering a people group sold out to Christ to become independent to leverage the gospel in their own community! The story of McDonald’s journey is there’s no greater joy than seeing men, women and children come to know the True and Living God while standing free and reaching their own through economic, social and spiritual empowerment! Phil holds a Ph.D. from Michigan State in international development and is the CEO of L.E.A.D. Inc. Rebecca is the Founder and CEO of Women At Risk, Int’l, addressing multiple risk issues in 56 countries and licensed in all 50 states to train medical professionals in anti-trafficking. As a family, they raised four children in the developing world and know the unique challenges of marriage, family, career, ministry, business, and social entrepreneurship in a cross-cultural environment. They never expected to be serial entrepreneurs. Last year Phil authored an Amazon bestselling book entitled, “unreal: Adventures of a Family’s Global Life.” Written in memoir form, the book recounts 90 stories that highlight 60 principles learned from more than 30 years of experience.

MedicalMissions.com Podcast

The Power of Social Enterprise in Medical Missions

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken it’s toll on every family, from frustration with being stuck at home, to job loss, to loneliness and social deprivation. But for many families, those three factors have been the perfect combination to provide an environment ripe for trauma. For children, we see that trauma has an impact on the development of the brain that effects learning, relationships, and emotional regulation. This seminar will give you a greater understanding of the developmental impact of trauma and tools to help children and adults grow in resilience rather than destruction through hard circumstances.

Trauma and the Developing Child: Unintended Tragedies of COVID-19

Already, vaccines prevent millions of premature deaths and avoid bothersome days of sickness each year. Now, during the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines have again risen to the level of headlines, conspiracy theories, and active research. During this session, we will discuss the mechanisms and means of appropriately vaccinating patients, review ethical and social concerns about vaccines, identify sources of appropriate vaccination information and administration for international travelers, and provide updated information about the development of COVID-19 vaccines.

Vaccines

Some mission experts estimate that up to 90% of young people who consider missions cease to pursue it because of various fears and obstacles, including the fear of fundraising. This session will help participants: 1. Identify various obstacles and fears relating to fundraising 2. Consider ways that God can help us overcome these barriers 3. Become aware of best resources and training materials used to help missionaries build and maintain a full and engaged prayer and financial support team 4. Know what questions to ask about support raising with possible mission agencies when evaluating where and how God will have you serve

Fighting the Fear of Fundraising

This session focuses on women in mission and will highlight the role of women in missions, challenges faced, and some practical ways to overcome those challenges.

Women in God's Mission

We tend to perceive our health by the physiological functionality of our bodies. The gospel message and the Kingdom perspective of the parables paint a wholistic picture of health that defines us as spiritual beings with specific roles to play in God’s Kingdom expansion around the world. The life-giving attributes of God’s Spirit seen in Jesus’s life and stories depict an intentionality worthy of deeper assessment so that we too can have a greater impact in and through our lives.

Integrating Wholistic Health - An Interactive Exercise

Advanced practice providers (APPs), such as nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, nurse practitioners, and physicians assistants, have and can continue to bridge gaps by increasing access and quality of health care in cost effective ways especially in underserved communities in low and middle income countries (LMICs). Interviews with APPs and other healthcare professionals, personal experience living and working as an APP in LMICs, and literature reviews reveal similar results: utilizing APPs provides cost-effective health care access, improves morbidity and mortality outcomes, and enhances patient satisfaction without compromising the quality of care given in underserved areas. Challenges to APPs in LMICs include lack of access and standardization of higher education programs, role and title variability, physician resistance, limited research, and inconsistent legislation and licensing restrictions. When these challenges are overcome, APPs improve health care access in difficult to reach locations, exhibit adaptability and flexibility in challenging circumstances, and fill in the gaps of physician shortages particularly in primary care and rural locations. APPs are a vital, but underused role in health care. Enhancing APP training programs, defining roles and titles, educating health care providers and legislature writers, and promoting research in LMICs can improve the availability and implementation of APPs in LMIC and thus bridge gaps in global heath care. This presentation will provide personal perspectives from APPs who have worked around the World as well as present research that addresses advantages, challenges, and the necessity of APPs worldwide in bridging healthcare gaps.

Advanced Practice Providers Bridging Gaps Overseas

When I arrived in Nigeria I thought my main role would be taking care of my 6-month-old daughter. When people asked before we left, “What are you going to do?” I almost apologetically said I would be a “homemaker.” Shortly after arriving I struggled to know my role as “an accompanying spouse.” I was not prepared for this undefined role and sometimes felt like a “second class missionary” because I was not in a specific ministry. It did not take long before the Lord opened up for me amazing opportunities for ministry, some in our home and others in our community. During this workshop I will share my journey, the many wonderful doors of significant opportunity God opened for me to serve using my past experiences, education and gifts to eventually serve many unreached women and children in our community and in Nigeria. We will also explore ways in which male “accompanying spouses” also got involved and had an impact in their own unique ways and the significance of culture on these decisions.

Accompanying a Spouse - Now What?

Fear, in its various manifestations, is one of the Enemy&#39;s most effective means of limiting our obedience. The Bible offers practical strategies for overcoming fear with faith--many of which are demonstrated in an Old Testament story of sex trafficking, racial hatred, and genocide.

Faith Over Fear

As a health care professional on the mission field, the task of language learning is both essential and complicated. We say that language learning is a high value and priority for ourselves as missionaries, and yet it often is the first thing to take a back seat in life and ministry. Why is that? How can we do better? With over 15 years of experience in educating, training, and coaching missionaries in language and culture learning, Dr. Mullen will cast a vision for what it takes to truly become “fluent” in your target host language. She will offer biblical, theoretical, and practical advice for missionaries and missions leaders alike on how to prepare, execute, and continually improve communicative competence in a second language and cross-cultural setting.

Language Learning Options

Sending organizations spend tens of millions of dollars each year sending clinicians and support staff overseas. They invest very little in comparison on the leaders who are essential to preventing their burnout. Competent and compassionate administrative leaders are not only essential for developing and sustaining resilient healthcare and ministry teams; they also shepherd the systems that optimize human, technological and financial resources and prevent waste of resources and harm to patients. Despite its necessity, health care leadership and management training often scarce in many of the world’s most marginalized places. In this presentation, Anderson makes a case for the necessity of building leadership capacity and introduces practical tools that help address this training gap while building vibrant, sustainable mission teams.

Hospital Administration

When we think of God&#39;s global mission, we cannot overlook the U.S. as a mission field. It is a nation in spiritual decline, and widening gaps between the church and groups that are becoming increasingly unreached. What works in international missions, works here. This session will focus on the medical missions movement here in the United States, how it relates to overseas medical work, and how the two go hand in hand. We will look at several case studies, and address challenges and bottlenecks in this growing movement.

Integration of Domestic Healthcare & International Missions

The idea that missions is about going and doing for people in other countries is being replaced by seeing missions as a relay race. We need to train indigenous Christ followers with skills their people need so they can meet real needs in their communities as a door opener to share the Gospel. This training must be focused, in-depth, and self sustaining so that we do not create dependency.

Training Indigenous Christ Followers for Long Term Sustainability

This session will present the need for healthcare workers to understand that their response to women who are being abused can make a crucial difference in whether the patient feels safe or shamed. Behavior that can incite fear will be identified: Physical gestures, facial expressions, distance, tone of voice, etc. This session will also discuss how showing skepticism, insensitive questioning, and telling the patient what to do can shut down the opportunity to help her . Helpful ways to communicate concern, respect, and autonomy to make her own decisions, will be identified.

Abuse Happens - Understanding the Issues Women Face & How to Help Them

A surgeon in training may be feeling called to and exploring a future career in medical missions or may simply be desiring a heart for God; to serve Jesus Christ unconditionally in a US based practice with or without short term missions service. This session will focus on the practical ways that students and residents pursuing a surgical sub-specialty, including general surgery, can fan the flame of God&#39;s gifting and calling in obedience to the Great Commission. What are the critical spiritual disciplines in a walk with Christ during training that protect and nurture such a mindset, even during a demanding and stressful surgical residency? What type of volunteering activities or short term missions service play a key role in maintaining a passion for missionary service? Are there resources available which will help develop a heart for and understanding of evangelism and disciple-making in the life of a short or long term missionary? Will share perspectives from several surgeons who are actively serving in missions today.

Cultivating a Missions Mindset in Surgical Residency

Resources for students, residents, and healthcare professionals who want to learn more about healthcare missions. Includes sessions from the Global Missions Health Conference.

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MedicalMissions.com Podcast

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