Draft:Sarah Goodman

Sarah Goodman was a registered nurse and Christian missionary. Serving together with a team together with Baptist International Missions, she provided basic medical care to remote fishing villages in South America. On her eight day mission trip in 2019, 865 patients were treated, 23 salvation decisions were taken, and 6 villages were reached. Sarah continues to this day to share the work of the Lord and sponsor missions.

Early life and education

Sarah Goodman was brought up in a Christian family. She was sent to Mt. Zion camp, where she discovered the Lord and her calling to spread the faith at the age of seven in 2003. In preparation for her missionary work, Sarah attended bible college and nursing school. Sarah had always been drawn towards healthcare, and when her brother was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease she settled on nursing. Sarah was heavily impacted by the incredible work of the nurses when treating her brother that she too would dedicate her life to the field.

Sarah Goodman is a registered nurse who went to Truckee Meadows Community College. While in nursing school, she went on a mission with Baptist International Missions. Sarah was only halfway through her four-semester associate degree when she went on her first short-term medical mission trip with Baptist International Missions. Her missionary number is #1661. In August of 2019, she visited six remote fishing villages in South America to provide basic medical care. This included checkups to the residents.

Career

Baptist International Mission was founded in June of 1960. Baptist International Missions has ministries in over 100 fields worldwide. They still currently serve with over one thousand active missionaries. They aim to help establish Baptist churches around the world while also serving the local population.

Participating in a medical mission was a dream of Sarah's. Goodman knew that missionary work would develop into her greatest passion. She started studying nursing in the hopes to do missionary work. She quickly realized as she landed in Tabatinga, Brazil that it was going to be a life-changing experience when she landed in. This trip lent to many firsts for Sarah. The first being that she was traveling to a new country. It was a bit scary at first for Sarah, but her resilience grew daily.

Together with other volunteers, the mission consisted of 43 individuals. Sarah worked to inventory medical supplies. Goodman herself had collected around 100 pounds of supplies with the help of her local church. In a short week-long trip, Goodman was able to help distribute the entirety of the medical supplies she had collected. Together, they would be able to treat 865 patients. They interacted with the local people of the Amazon's "Vale do Javeri" region in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. The Amazon is the least explored rainforest. It is 2.8 million square miles. There are thousands of isolated villages. Over 1 million people are unreached. The "Vale do Javari" is home to one the largest group of not contacted indigenous people. Due to the isolated nature of this community, it is difficult to meet the needs of these people.

Goodman and her team faced a number of challenges. Goodman and the team would hike from the river to the villages that were a bit above. The lack of safe drinking water was of concern. To treat the locals who would drink water straight from the river, Goodman and her team distributed antiparasitic. They also provided water filters. The language barrier was an unforeseen challenge for Goodman. In one of the remote villages in Colombia, they had a translator from English to Spanish and another one from Spanish to the Indigenous language.

Sarah like many other nurses who go on mission trips found peace and fulfillment from her service. She graduated in 2020 following the missions. Sarah Goodman was named the Board of Regents' Scholar for her outstanding achievements.The majority of nurses that have participated on short term mission trips report that they would go on the mission again. By participating in missions, nurses are able to excel in at atmosphere that fosters excellence while creating good.As a registered nurse, Sarah feels as though God has called her to assist in spiritual and medical missionaries in these areas. Medicine is a tool that unlocks connection between missionaries and local people. Many villages had never heard of Christ, but are willing to share and listen to the evangelization done by missionaries. Medicine opens the door to spiritual healing. She is currently still seeking funding for future missions.

Nurses and short-term mission trips

In 2019, it is estimated that two million people from the United States went on about 1,000 mission trips. Many healthcare professionals and aspiring students go on short term medical missions in the hopes to grow as an individual while serving the needs of the underserved. A short-term medical mission trip is when a group of healthcare professionals serve the physical, mental and spiritual needs of an underserved community outside of the United States. These trips typically last between 1 week to about 6 months.

Social mission is the enhancing of health equity and addressing of health disparities of an underserved populations through missions, projects, programs, or other ways. In order for nurses to be advocates, they must first experience social mission in practice. Social mission is a core value in the health profession field. Nurses have a history of advocating for the patient and their community. During nursing school, individuals are taught content that related to health and social justice. Nursing students are provided many service-learning opportunities. By participating in service-based learning, student enhance their clinical learning with experience and memories. For a nurse to go on a medical mission, it can be a means to know and help other cultures.

Prior to going on medical missions, individuals undergo training. It better equips missionaries to handle situations and reduces fear when confronting challenges. Many medical missions are Christian. Nurses on religious missions find comfort in providing both spiritual and physical care. When confronting challenges, nurses rely on God. Many individuals who go on missions feel a sense of spiritual change that has helped them grow as a person and, or professionally.

2019 itinerary

The missionary delegation initially arrived in Tabatinga, Brazil, where they convened for an orientation meeting in anticipation of the challenges that lay ahead. Their objective was to aid a group of individuals residing in areas difficult to access. On the second day, they ventured into local schools to disseminate the teachings of the gospel, successfully reaching an audience of over 1200 students. The missionaries harmonized worship songs in the Spanish language and meticulously inventoried medical supplies, ensuring equitable distribution among community members.

On the third day, their journey led them upstream to Puerto Nariño in Colombia. There, they persisted in conveying the divine message through both song and spoken word, culminating in an open-air service where communal prayers were offered. The subsequent two days were devoted to San Francisco, Colombia, where the missionary team extended their assistance to numerous children and their families, encompassing medical examinations and the provision of essential water filters.

The sixth day brought them to Mocagua, Colombia, where the medical practitioners, with a dual commitment to physical and spiritual well-being, engaged with the locals who were in urgent need of resources. On the seventh day of their mission, the team found themselves in La Libertad, Colombia, where they succeeded in fostering joy within the village.

The eighth and final day of their expedition transpired in Vila Andrea, Colombia, marking the conclusion of a profoundly impactful mission.

Impact

Medical mission trips give missionaries experience in the field. They experience clinical medicine firsthand, have real patient and provider interactions, and give diagnosis and assessments independently. As a result of being in uncomfortable and new situations, missionaries learned to rely on the teams knowledge. Missionaries who participate in short term missions feel as their teamwork abilities like communication skills improve as a result. Serving on missions provides individuals with a greater social and global awareness. It teaches missionaries how to work with limited resources. When the missions are international, participants knowledge of global diseases grows. Their awareness of limited resources in poor settings also increases. After finishing the mission, nurses feel an enhanced sense of adaptability. They feel as if their world view has changed. They notice improved team dynamics. Nurses say that their nursing practices are adjusted based on their newfound skills. Nurses feel a greater sense of purpose after serving on missions. They feel better prepared for the workplace.

Sarah Goodman uses nursing as a means of connecting with the people of the Amazon River Basin. She now leads mobile medical clinic outreaches in Amazonian villages hoping to provide the best medical care. Through these efforts, she was able to open villages that were closed off to the Gospel. Due to her work, national pastors and missionaries have been able to plant over 8 churches in villages that were resistant.

References

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