Tag Archives: missionary nurse

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My flight is booked but for one week later than previously announced. It turns out the CEO of the mission I am visiting will be visiting the US on the same dates I had planned to be in Uganda, so I shifted my itinerary a week to allow us to meet there. I will depart Jacksonville April 29th and return June 13th.

Photo courtesy of Qatar Airways

I will depart Jacksonville April 29th and return June 13th.

Dr. Colby Cessnun, the medical director of the mission hospital, contacted me and seems eager to put me to work alongside the nurses there in the hospital. I cannot begin to describe what a privilege I count this and how excited I am at the prospect of being there and getting to know these precious people.

Pray all goes well and that God is glorified in every process and detail. I will be sure to keep updates coming.

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Seven years ago, Cindy and I responded to the call to become foreign missionaries and made a seven-year plan that would see us finally on the ground in Uganda, East Africa. The seventh year is here! Seven years ago we made our intentions public. We called things that are not as though they are, and now the seeds we cultivated are budding and will be in full bloom very soon. 

Three days ago I tendered my resignation from the hospital that has been my second home since July 17, 2017. My last day in the E.R. will be April 14th, exactly seven years since we prepared to board a plane for Uganda the first time. Since I notified my coworkers of  intentions, I’ve had to answer a lot of questions, the answers to some of which are still up in the air. 

"I tendered my resignation from the hospital"

Since I count on those of you who read this to be in prayer for us, I will fill you in on our human plans so far. In keeping with the teaching of James, I will not be so vain as to say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there…” (James 4:13-15*). We are responsible, however, to plot our course for the Lord to direct our steps (Proverbs 16:9*), and here I will articulate the general course we have set. 

God willing… I will travel alone to Uganda April 24th, spend six weeks at a mission in Karuma, helping where I can, and assessing where Cindy and I can best be used in that mission. I will return June 5th, and spend the next several months in resource development, recruiting the mission sending partners we need to make our ministry a reality. Then, if it suits the Lord and the mission in question, the long-term deployment will begin in September. It is that close! It’s practically here!

"I will travel alone to Uganda April 24th"

Now the bad news. Cindy will be staying behind in Florida, taking care of her aging parents for a time, and will join me at a later date. We understand this takes a toll on a marriage, but believe we are divinely equipped to make even a long-distance relationship work. We recognize the importance of honoring parents and not deserting them in the name of ministry (Matthew 15:4-6, Mark 7:10-13*). While Cindy has a duty to her parents in their unexpectedly changing circumstances, I am reminded of Jesus’ words:

“No one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.” (Luke 18:29, NIV*, emphasis mine; see also Matthew 19:29 and Mark 10:29*). 

I am not sacrificing merely to receive what these verses promise, but I do see Jesus’ teaching as approving of a missionary’s deployment, even without his precious bride when necessary, for the sake of the Kingdom. Please pray with us that all will go according to God’s will and that our every thought, word, and action will bring Him glory through Christ Jesus, in whose name we do all. 

*Scripture references

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Last night I worked the third of three 12-hour shifts in a row in the ER for the week. At about 1:00 am I took report from an off-going mid-shift nurse and took responsibility for her patients. One was a terminally ill cancer patient with only a few weeks or months left to live. I met him for the first time to give him some comfort medications, a list of prescriptions, and discharge him home. I addressed him as I do all my patients, with care and respect, honoring him and the God who created him with the intent for his abundant life. As I took out his IV catheter, I inquired whether he was prepared for his death, and whether he and I would meet again before our Creator. He assured me he was secure in his eternal home, and I told him how relieved I was that we would have eternity to catch up. Before he left, he told me that in the brief ten or fifteen minutes he had known me, I had treated him with more loving compassion than anyone in his many visits to any hospital or care center he had visited in his extensive cancer treatment. 

I hope the light this man saw in me was the reflection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and not just Todd Lemmon’s glowing personality. I hope that the feedback I got from this man well-seasoned in his exposure to healthcare was an accurate assessment of the care I give all my patients. I hope I continue to have the opportunity to love the hurting, minister to the sick and dying, and prepare the souls of all I meet for a glorious life after this earthly one. I hope in my sharing this anecdote, you are encouraged to love the people you meet today as if it is the last chance you get. I hope we all get to gather around our Lord’s table one day and share stories of how some stranger made a difference in our lives. I hope your crown of glory shines like the noonday. I hope mine does too.