Comments About MedSend

GHWNA Survey

Respondents’ Comments About MedSend

The following selection of comments regarding MedSend’s ministry are from survey respondents who are current and former MedSend grant recipients. Please note that this selection represents only a portion of the total comments, all of which were entered by self-choice and also note that not all respondents provided comments. Therefore, the comments may or may not be representative of the group. In addition, wherever necessary, the comments have been edited to protect the identity of the respondents. Substituted words and phrases are indicated by brackets and omitted words and phrases are indicated by ellipses.

Question 48: Which of these MedSend services has been important in helping you to commit to long-term service. Please explain.

Currently Serving:

“The pre-field training is helpful in the work, but the commitment was already there.  Having help with the loans is part of why I can commit to serving long term.”

My wife and I were married before medical school and used MedSend’s financial stewardship counseling to help us navigate our finances early in our marriage as we prepared for long term service overseas… We could not be in [Africa] now without the grant.”

“{Without a MedSend grant I don’t believe I would of gone into long-term missions. My loans were too outstanding after my medical education to pay off quickly, and even though I deeply desired to serve overseas, my loans were too much of a hindrance.”

“My husband and I would be struggling to make ends meet had we not received an answer to prayer through MedSend. My school loans were a huge factor in when we could leave for the field.”

“Every month, I get a statement from my loan holder saying that my payment has been made, and at that moment, I am so thankful for MedSend and the people that give to make that possible.  Having that grant takes a lot of financial pressure off.”

“I would still be at home paying off my student loans for at least another ten years if Medsend had not been available.”

“MedSend covering my educational loan expenses allowed me to not have to extend fund-raising in order to raise more funds for my education. If it were not for MedSend I probably would not have gotten the training that I did because I was not wanting to have to leave the field for so long for fund-raising – but the education that MedSend is paying for has had an incredible impact on my ministry and the quality of teaching and program development that I am involved in. Also, due to my education I am now being resourced on a continental level for my agency’s healthcare strategies, so the impact is much broader.”

“I would not have been able to come to [Africa] to be a missionary surgeon without MedSend.  The blessing of the MedSend grant has been far reaching and has impacted me and my family and my patients and the residents that I train.  I believe that it is possible that I would have never made it to the field if I had had to work long enough to pay back my loans.  I am so very grateful for MedSend.”

“The loan payments that MedSend makes for me are equal to a number of monthly pledges that I’d have to otherwise raise from individuals and churches during my fund-raising cycle.”

“Because of MedSend, I was able to serve 11 years on the field. Praise God!”

“Without a MedSend grant I would not be able to pay my student loan while I do missions work and so forth would not be able to respond to this calling in my life.”

“As I indicated above, MedSend’s support is the sole thing that has made my work possible. If I had not had this support, my loans would have required that I take a high-paying secular job.”

“I wouldn’t have been able to take any steps towards long-term overseas service without the existence of MedSend to cover educational loan payments.”

“The grant helped to accomplish the vision that God has given me.”

“The Medsend grant helped us leave one year earlier, which was good timing for our family, and, obviously, was a part of God’s plan for us to go at the right time, neither too soon nor too late.”

“Not having to worry about paying for student loans has relieved a big burden from our shoulders.  It is already difficult to raise as much support as we need for salary and health insurance, so to have to raise support to cover loans would have been even more difficult.”

“Simply put, I would never have considered international ministries had I never had met [a MedSend staff member] at a conference… The loan grant is a blessing to us so we can be a blessing to others. ECHO training has not been so relevant to us. The training can be utilized but there are so many areas of need that one cannot address them all. We try and stay focus on what we can do best by providing education and empowerment to health care workers.”

“Having a $40,000 loan was a bit overwhelming but MedSend has been faithfully paying this off as I serve.”

“My organization would not have accepted me with my educational loan debt unless MedSend had given me a grant.  And being overseas makes future employment in my passport country more challenging. I am grateful for the freedom that the grant has given me to work overseas when I otherwise would have had to continue in my passport country for several more years in order to pay off my loans first.”

“Not only having the grant to cover the educational loan payments while overseas has helped my long-term service, but also MedSend making payments for me during the pre-field language and cultural training helped immensely. While preparing to go to field it certainly helped that MedSend already started paying back on the loans which freed me up to take pre-field course work which I believe was one of the KEYS to my long term service!!!”

Question 49: Is there anything else you want to tell us at MedSend?

Currently Serving:

“Thank you for your generosity–you were a true answer to prayer!

“Until I am no longer able, I will support the efforts of MedSend.  I have seen the impact it has had in my life and in the lives of other grant recipients.  I have personally witnessed thousands of people who were touched by healthcare in the name of Jesus because MedSend was obedient to The Call to support healthcare workers in the field.”

“THANK YOU!!!  seven times seventy times, gracias!”

“You are a blessing to us!!!!”

“Thank you for all that you do.  You are a continual blessing to us…  Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

“I am IMMENSELY thankful for MedSend. It is an honor and privilege to serve where I do. I am blessed.”

“We are so very thankful for your prayers, Vision, and support!”

“I am very grateful for the support and encouragement I receive from MedSend.”

“We are so thankful for MedSend’s partnership with us in our ministry here.  Without MedSend, it is hard to imagine how we would be on the field.  With God, all things are possible, but we definitely believe that God has made our work here possible thanks to MedSend.”

“We are very thankful for your generosity and hard work directed ultimately towards God, but on our behalf.  We are blessed!  Thank you!”

“I am extremely grateful to all that MedSend offers not only to me but to all the people that I am able to touch through the efforts of those at MedSend.”

“Because of MedSend’s vision God has “solidified” something that God placed in my heart to see happen among the people God was going to call me to. Because God “transformed” me SO MUCH this is what God placed in my heart to see wherever He placed me. Through MedSend’s recommendation to take one of the courses they endorsed I learned about CHE and have started to see this move forward in a creative access nation bringing healing to the whole person.”

“I can’t thank you enough for what you do. Being able to get the education that I needed to do the work I do has had a huge impact. Thank you so much!”

“Great idea, great service.”

“Thank you.  And now thank you for making it possible for national doctors to be sponsored by MedSend.”

“Thanks for caring about us by conducting this survey!”

“THANK YOU THANK YOU for the financial help you gave me.  I never once worried about my loans getting paid off.”

“The questions you asked in this survey were very good, I hope that MedSend can be a help to health care workers on the field in other areas beside monetary help.”

“Just THANK YOU!!!!”

“We greatly appreciate your organization!”

“I thank The Lord for MedSend and pray that He may always provide all that is needed for this ministry to continue to serve the way they do!”

“MedSend is truly a godsend.  I could not be in the mission field today if not for MedSend.”

“You are superb. I mean it. None of this would be happening if it weren’t for you.”.

“Do I believe that my work will transform lives? As He provides and accomplishes, yes. But I believe that will most sustainably happen when local lives are being transformed through the Lord’s work in the local church. For that reason, I’m committed to partnering with locals in all that I do–both spiritually and medically. This will take more time, but I believe will be much longer lasting and more honoring to local individuals, communities, and cultures.”

“Keep on the good work. Thank you.”

“You have truly been a blessing.  I would encourage thinking about increasing investment in training national staff.  Post-doctoral training programs, like PAACS are the way forward in medical missions.”

“I thank God for MedSend and how they helped us with financial obligations we had after completing residency.”

“THANK YOU for your amazing support of us!”

“I have always had such wonderful support and encouragement from MedSend.  I don’t think I would be on the field now without their help.”

“MedSend got us to the field 5 years earlier than we planned.”

“Thank you!  Your partnership with us makes it possible for us to serve long-term.”

“THANK YOU!!  You have made this possible for us to follow where we feel the Lord leading us as a family in this season!”

“Thank you so much”

“I really love you guys and the way you have been a friend to me for so many years. I was told during the years I was studying and working that MedSend was behind me and they have proven that to be true for the past 10 years. Thank you!”

“THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! Thank you for paying the debt I owed!!! MedSend will forever be a living example of Christ to me. Jesus paid my debt for my sin on the cross, and MedSend paid my financial debt for me!! With deep appreciation!”

Post-Field:

“Thank you for all you do!  You are a blessing to many!”

“I remain eternally grateful for the opportunity MedSend afforded me to fulfill my calling to medical missions as the primary reason for my entering medicine.

“I am so thankful for your assisting us. While we are home for a season, it is not the end of our cross cultural ministry… praying for God to open the door to return.”

“Thank you so much for your support of medical missionaries!!!  What an incredible blessing.”

“I will be forever grateful to Dr. Fountain and his wife for the fund they set up for nurses who desired to serve in Africa. I know the Lord used them in allowing me to get on the field sooner than expected. And I so appreciate MedSend’s support even in the months after I returned home!! Thank you to everyone there. You are always a part of my story.”

“I really appreciate the financial support that MedSend provided while on the field. They went above my expectations by starting payments while I was on my first home leave!”

“So very thankful for what you have done for me and a few of my friends! Your organization is truly used of The Lord to do Hs work!”

“MedSend was more than just a grant which generously covered my school loans.  Members of the administrative office would regularly comment on my newsletters and send me encouraging emails.  I felt that the organization truly cared about me and was paying attention to what happened while I was on the field.  The financial coverage of my loans while I was in language training and after returning home before finding work was further confirmation.  Thank you so much for your kindness and love, my experience was very positive.”

“Med Send was major support and encouragement for us to get to field soon after residency and to help sustain us on the field during our years of service.”

“I did appreciate your help, it was a hard year, but I learned so much and God definitely used all of the good and bad to make me a better practitioner.”

“I had already committed to service and was on the field by faith when I found out about MedSend and then supported by them.  So I never had any ‘pre-field’ training.  I would have had to leave after one year, instead of nine if Medsend hadn’t taken over my loan payments.”

“I appreciate the organization greatly. I am extremely grateful for the nearly six years of mission I experienced through the generosity of MedSend… I hope the vision continues. Healing hearts, minds and bodies is the holistic approach of Christ. There is no doubt He will continue to call healthcare workers to the nations to speak truth lovingly and loudly with both words and actions. God willing, I will be back to serve when I finish my schooling.”

“Thank you for the experience with Dr. Fountain’s program. Thank you for paying for my loans while I was overseas! My experience there wouldn’t have been the same without MedSend.”

“I am very thankful for the MedSend grant and continue to support and speak about the organization.”

“You guys were great.  I truly appreciated MedSend.”

“For the most part of my language and cultural training I was not a MedSend grant recipient and so I was trying to pay off my educational loans, pay for language school, meet everyday expenses, etc.. on a missionary salary which definitely increased my faith and dependence on God however often found myself walking long distances or skipping meals because I just couldn’t afford it.  As my time as a language/culture learner drew to an end, I vowed that I wouldn’t commit to a long-term assignment until I went back to the US and paid off my educational loans because I wouldn’t be able to continue living/ministering in such a tight and struggling financial situation.  I knew it would probably delay me for many years.  Then MedSend fell into place like an angel sent from Heaven!  I was able to finish my studies and immediately go on to a long-term ministry assignment!  I knew that the Lord had heard my prayers and He met my need so that I could move forward in His will.”

“Thank you for your valuable service to the Lord in allowing his servants to serve!”

“God bless you! Whatever good was accomplished during my years [on the field], was made possible by MedSend. I would not have been able to serve those years without you.”