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God’s call brings couple to mission clinic
Written: 9/23/2009 By Susan Cooper Lynn is the son of a Kansas West Conference pastor, lived in several locations in the state during his childhood and went to the University of Kansas School of Medicine. Sharon grew up in Iowa and attended medical school at the University of Iowa. Yet, the couple has been serving as a medical missionary team for 12 years at Red Bird Mission in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky. Red Bird is a ministry of the United Methodist Church. It provides mission services in five areas: education, health and wellness, community outreach, economic opportunities and community housing improvement. The Foglemans traveled to Kansas in early September to give presentations at United Methodist churches about their experiences at Red Bird Mission and talk about the vital ministries of the mission center. The couple met on a two-week, medical-mission trip to the Dominican Republic in 1979. Their lives continued to be directed to doing missionary work, and they married in 1985. “We both felt a call to missions after that trip and especially after we decided that God wanted us to be married and serve together,” Sharon said. A pastor told her when she was 12 years old that she would grow up to be a medical missionary. But she never thought she would be a missionary. The couple became medical missionaries through the General Board of Global Ministries in 1986. “[We] did training in England at Selly Oaks Colleges in Birmingham, prior to going to Kenya,” Sharon said. “We served at Maua Methodist Hospital in Maua, Kenya, from 1987 to 1997.” “When we were scheduled to return to the United States in 1997, we knew of Red Bird and applied to interview for a doctor’s position; however, there was no need for d
But when the Foglemans and their three children actually came to the United States in May 1997, one of the doctors at Red Bird had resigned, and the Foglemans applied for the position. “God seemed to open the way for our service here,” Sharon said. During their presentation Sept. 5 at East Heights UMC in Wichita, Lynn said Red Bird was established in 1921 in Daniel Boone National Forest. The first hospital was built there in 1928. A new hospital building was constructed in 1959 but was closed in 1986 due to financial constraints. But the clinic remains. “Poverty is certainly very great [in the region]. We’re in the backyard of three counties,” Lynn said. One of the three counties, Clay, is the fifth poorest county in the country, with a per-capita income of less than $10,000. The Red Bird clinic is a small, family-like clinic that provides more personal care and individual attention than typical medical clinics. The Foglemans, who job-share the physician’s position, see an average of 20-25 patients per day. “Many of our patients have heart disease, diabetes, history of stroke and cancer, especially associated with high tobacco use. Many are undereducated, with little direct contact with the outside world besides TV exposure,” Sharon said. “We spend time with them, counsel them and pray with them. We do home visits as well,” Lynn said. He shared a story about a man who came to the clinic with renal failure and had had several heart attacks. “He’d been in prison for drug charges, and things were really bad for him,” Lynn said. “I believe the power of God’s hand is on people. I prayed over him. A few weeks later, he and his girlfriend started going to church. He’s a changed man. He [recently] told me, ‘Doc, I just want to tell you I love you.’ He offered to pray for me.” In addition to the clinic, Red Bird has a kindergarten through 12th grade school. The school building was constructed in 1984—in the shape of a cross. It also has residential dormitories. “The dorms aren’t used as much as they used to be since transportation in the area has improved,” Lynn said. “They currently house 10 girls and five boys. It’s usually used only for kids who live far away and want to be involved in after-school activities or who live in chaotic, dysfunctional homes and need a better place to stay.” Red Bird also has ministries for all ages, including a congregate meal for seniors on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, with quilting and other activities. The mission provides clothing and household-goods assistance for area residents. Red Bird markets crafts made by people who live within 60 miles of the mission center, providing an income for them. At First UMC in Topeka Sept. 12-13, in conjunction with the Foglemans’ presentation there, a Red Bird Mission Craft Show raised more than $7,600. Red Bird also hosts work teams who do repairs and other work at the mission center and in the surrounding communities. There are heated and air-conditioned cabins at the center that can house 150 people. “The work-team program is very well organized. Most teams stay one week and use one day to sight-see,” Lynn said. “Towanda UMC teams come regularly to Red Bird.” The work team program operates March through November. “October and April are the most beautiful times in our forest,” Sharon said. In the midst of what may seem a hopeless situation to others, the Foglemans feel God motivates them to persevere. They see health education and prevention as critical, especially for the future of the young people in the area and the Red Bird school students. “We feel that God called us here, and the joy is when someone accepts the love of Jesus personally into their heart,” Sharon said. “Often this happens when life’s end is close, but sometimes lives are changed even before life-and-death issues are a part. Seeing someone choose to stop smoking or start walking or improve after serious illness—that satisfies our spirits.” Learn more about Red Bird Mission, scheduling a work team and donating online at www.rbmission.org. There are no comments |
