When we arrived on the mission in 2013 there was only one location where anyone could get a cell signal… under a cluster of mango trees by the mission school. We spent countless evenings there calling and texting our friends and family back home. For every patient emergency we had to go under the mango tree to communicate with the receiving hospital. Eventually, we went under the mango tree to post on Facebook and download our emails. We went under the mango tree to get BBC news updates. As smart phones became more accessible to our staff and neighbors, you’d find dozens of people sitting under the mango tree as their internet hub. Under the Mango Tree became the place where we stayed connected.
It all started with an idea for a medical clinic…
and turned into a life following Jesus.
Liberia
Our Story Begins
Before jumping into a life of overseas missions work we were perfectly content NOT doing missions. We both had stable jobs that we really enjoyed. We were living a double-income-no-kids life. We were completely comfortable.
Jen was a pediatric nurse practitioner who had worked in a neonatal and pediatric ICU in central Jersey. Steve was an engineer/account executive working for large global company with a focus on the NYC construction market. Steve filled his down-time with multiple hobbies: running marathons, triathlons, road-cycling, mountain biking. Jen enjoyed shopping, movies, hanging with friends, and event planning. Life was not boring, but something was still missing. We go to work, come home, eat, sleep and repeat. Was that really all there is?
At the same time, we were diving deeper into Bible study. We attended Zarephath Christian Church and had a wonderful church family that pushed us to seek more of Him every day. In addition to our extra-curriculars, we were very involved in our church. One of the ways we were able to put our hobbies to work and do some good was through Freedom Ride, a week-long cycling event that our church missions team put on every year. The event raised funds for missions projects around the world. Steve cycled, Jen sagged. It was a blast!
In December 2011 we met with the Freedom Ride team to discuss project ideas we could support with the upcoming 2012 ride. There was a Pillar mission in Liberia asking for a clinic to serve an area of remote communities. We could raise the funds to build the building, but what happens after the building is built? Who runs the clinic? Who funds it?
That’s when it happened… the pull to do something different. We prayed together and knew exactly what God was calling us to do in that moment… let go and give Him everything. Since then, God has taken care of all the details. He has thrown the doors wide-open with support, connections, dreams and answered prayers. Each day we are affirmed that this is the plan for us. We joke around that neither of us know the exact date that we were saved through faith… but we do know the day we both together surrendered it all to God… December 12, 2011. If Liberia needed a clinic, why couldn’t we be the ones to help make it happen?
In January 2013 we landed in Liberia where we launched and ran the Po River Medical Clinic in an extremely remote district for 11 and a half years. We were 8 miles from the nearest road and 8 hours from the nearest grocery store. But we were living the abundant life.
The Po River Medical Clinic continues to provide quality medical care to one of the worlds most disadvantaged and remote communities. With a catchment population of approximately 5,800, the clinic is vital in serving those living in the Yarnee District of Rivercess County, Liberia. Our staff of local, Liberian healthcare workers strive to provide hope and healing to every patient that steps into our waiting room, from birth to death.
In 2024, Steve and Jen officially transitioned the clinic over to capable and professional local leadership.
Guinea
What’s Next?
The Sacre Coeur Pediatric Center was opened in 2023 by Hope Ignited and is the first dedicated pediatric health facility in the country of Guinea. Of the 13 million people living in Guinea, half are under the age of 15. There is a huge need for specialized pediatric care!
As a pediatric nurse practitioner with critical care experience, Jen has been asked to step in and help the team at Sacre Coeur grow the level of services and the quality of pediatric care, especially in the critical care and emergency departments. She will move to Guinea in June to be a care provider in the emergency department through the rainy season- their busiest time of year.
Steve will step in to serve on the administration team and to assist with the management of future building projects, including the construction of a new inpatient hospital.
The hospital compound is home to a satellite school of the well regarded Dakar Academy, an international Christian school. Maylynn will have a great educational environment going forward, learning alongside the other missionary kids living on the compound. We are looking forward to starting our next season of missions with the team at Sacre Coeur!
French Language Acquisition
Guinea is a French-speaking country, and we are not French speakers... yet. With advice from Sacre Coeur’s founders, we have enrolled in a full-time, 11- month program of French Language immersion training in Albertville, France. The language school (cef-france.org) has been training missionaries headed for French speaking countries for the past 55 years. We love that the school is family-focused and integrated with Maylynn’s education. She is already enrolled in the local public school for the 2024-25 academic year. All 3 of us start classes the first week of September, and will finish July 2025. Then we will fly south and begin our Guinea adventure.
