Hi, my name is Marcus I was born and raised in Chattanooga Tennessee and since I was little I have always wanted to be an international medical missionary. I grew up listening to stories from friends and family talk about people going into remote places of the world where the gospel had never been heard and spreading the gospel. The stories, adventures, and miraculous things that they encountered always made my mind race with excitement and made me long to be able to serve and have that kind of experience. Something about being in a remote village up in the mountains or in a jungle has always intrigued me and from before I can even remember I have told myself that I wanted to be a missionary. Since then I have embarked on trying to figure out how I would serve and what I would do. For a while, I became fascinated with the idea of being a mission pilot, but as I thought about it I realized that I didn’t just want to serve, I wanted to connect with the people that I would be serving. Then an idea flashed across my mind, what about being a nurse! Previously I had sworn that I would never do anything medical since everyone in my family seemed to be doing something medical, however, I did like science and biology so I decided to pray about it. As I began to pray about being a nurse a mixture of peace and excitement flooded my body and as I started nursing school I discovered that I really did have a passion for healing and helping people. I told myself that once I finish my BS degree and have a few years of experience under my belt then I will go and serve.
One night as I was sitting and listening to a testimony from a previous student missionary and how they served right after their AS degree in nursing I was shocked. How could they serve with no real experience? What were they thinking? Didn’t they know that it could mess up their career plans? What if they didn’t remember everything they learned? What if they accidentally hurt someone? I began to list all the ways that going as a student missionary right out of college was a stupid idea, but then they gave an appeal to go as a student missionary and I began to feel that God was leading me to serve between my AS and BS degree. I knelt down and prayed and told God that I wasn’t qualified and I didn’t know enough yet, but the quote “God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called” began to repeat over and over in my mind so finally, I said okay God there is a long road ahead of me, but if you can help me get through the application and the funding to go as a student missionary I will go where you lead.That brings me to right now, I have finished my AS degree in nursing praise be to God and am now. I am working on the arduous task of fundraising and am praying that God will lead me to the right people to help support me in this mission. I am asking if you are able to, please help partner with me and support my mission to Palawan either through finances or through your prayers because I know God is willing and waiting to help if we would just ask him. Thanks so much for your support of this mission project!
-Marcus Donesky
