Moving to California

As a dentist in the US, I felt strongly compelled by my atmosphere to work for no less than six figures until I retire. My husband is a stay-at-home dad who is homeschooling our three children. We have two dogs. We still owe a sizeable amount of student loans. Yet this year, my husband and I felt called to go into full-time ministry, which will drop our income to zero. Needless to say, the logic doesn't coincide with anyone's idea of the American dream. But John 6:27 tells us, "Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you."

We have prayed many prayers over the years since surrendering our lives to Jesus Christ in 2011. We have learned to ask God to make His will known to us, to open every door we should go through, and to shut every door we should avoid. In doing so, we have lived in eight different states, doing our best to seek His will with each and every move. We feel a deep connection to the Israelites in Numbers 33!

In 2018, my husband stepped away from his music career. He went through more than eleven years of college and graduate education, and played trumpet for twenty-two years. After six months of prompting from the Lord, he sold every trumpet he owned and hasn't touched the instrument since. He explains that his ability was a source of pride that he wasn't able to overcome without the Lord's intervention. In Kyle Idleman’s book, Every Thought Captive, he tells us, "There are so many negative, harmful, anxious, shameful, unholy, pride-inducing, ungodly, oversexualized, hateful, helpless, selfish, jealous prompts that will pour into our minds if we let them. Sometimes they are obvious, but most of the time they try to sneak in the back door. Exposure to those things will determine our thoughts, and those thoughts will direct our lives" (page 47). Asking the Lord to reveal the sources of pride or other sin in our lives is painful, but necessary for growth and maturity.

In recent years, I've felt compelled to pray with my patients. Initially, I was terrified. Praying with people I barely know, while working for non-Christian companies, and hoping not to offend the dental assistants I was paired with--it was enough to keep me from praying consistently. But Jesus set the example here, as he prays for His disciples in John 17. "My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one... Sanctify them by the truth... My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message" (vv. 15, 17, and 20). In the last year, I've made guidelines about whom I would pray for and even obtained permission from my most recent boss to pray with my patients. Now, at the end of every adult female patient's appointment, I ask if I can pray for her. I also ask every mother that accompanies her child to an appointment. And the others, including the few who have declined, I pray for after they leave.

This simple change in my routine has called me to higher standards. I think here of Job's words in chapter 23, verse 10: "But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold." Not only do I feel it necessary to perform higher quality dentistry because my patients know I'm Christian, but I feel a stronger connection with my patients. I feel a neighborly love for them, in ways I didn't feel when I was only performing a job. I've opened my eyes after praying to find many women crying. They often tell me they "really needed that", or that they have never had a dentist or doctor pray for them, or they just enthusiastically thank me for being so bold.

While I'm more fulfilled in my career than I have ever been, I miss my kids and my husband when I'm away at work. Since my eldest was a baby, I've hated leaving my children to go to work. Nine years and two more kids later, it's not easier. Naturally, I've numbed to the sorrow, but I desire to be home with them. My husband and I have made several difficult decisions over the years to ensure that we would be the ones spending the most time with our children. Having both been raised in families that struggled with addiction, we desire Jesus to be the foundation of our children's lives. "Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it" (Proverbs 22:6). I'm hoping that running our own practice will afford me more flexibility to be with my family--not necessarily working less hours, but coordinating those hours to be more in line with their schedules.

I've worked for a large corporate company, a private mobile clinic, and 3 different FQHCs. When we started discussing my dream of opening our own portable dental clinic, we couldn't bring ourselves to agree on a price list. The only thing we could agree on is that we didn't want to charge anyone for care. Ever. So rather than starting a business, we decided to start a ministry. A few months ago, while we were exploring the idea of doing our ministry full-time, a full-time missionary who resides in Israel came into the small-town clinic where I work, with a toothache. Shortly after that I met a full-time missionary mother who resides in India, whose son needed dental treatment. What unexpected and timely encounters these were! God allowed me to speak face-to-face with women who were doing exactly what I was feeling ill-equipped and inadequate to do myself. Both of these women prayed with me and for my family, and encouraged us to seek the Lord's will. Jesus reminds us in John 14, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me" (verse 1).

We've started our own non-profit, obtained 501c3 status from the federal government, and recently moved into my brother-in-law's backyard tiny home. While the temptation to gain fame or fortune through our ventures exists, we've been careful to avoid social media for many years and want to trust in the leading of the Holy Spirit to direct us to each patient, as well as provide us with the funding we need. I'm reminded of Jesus's experience in Mark 1, when the man with leprosy spread the news (against Jesus's warning) about his own miraculous healing, "...As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere" (verse 45). Clearly, even in the beginning of Jesus's ministry, word of mouth was plenty effective in spreading the news. May our hearts remain steadfast in trusting you and seeking only your glory, Jesus!

While we were debating the decision to leave behind the American dream, I read several stories in the Christian Medical and Dental Association’s (CMDA) journal about other medical professionals who made missions work a huge part of their career and I felt encouraged to take the leap of faith. Corrie ten Boom encouraged us in one of her many books, I Stand at the Door and Knock: "The absence of complete surrender on our side is an obstacle to God and prevents Him from blessing us and using us. He wants to make us a channel of flowing, living water. God can use us day and night if we surrender to Him completely" (page 56).

Less than two weeks after moving into our tiny home, I had the incredible opportunity to attend CMDA’s Remedy West 25 event. I felt like my eyes were opened fully to the world of medical missions. I felt like I had only scratched the surface in learning to pray with my patients--many of these providers are having full-blown conversations with their patients about their faith background and are leading their patients to surrender their lives to Jesus! The speakers, the workshops, the exhibitors, and the attendants were truly inspirational. Not only did my husband and I feel encouraged that we are on the right path in seeking out full-time ministry, we decided to cast our nets a bit wider in finding God’s plan for our location. Whether He desires for us to remain in the United States, or move our family overseas, we are again praying for His will to be made known.

Thank you, Jesus, for providing CMDA and all the other Christians who offered the encouragement we needed to move forward and know that we are not alone! May we soon join with the multitudes in Heaven, praising your name, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come... You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being" (Revelation 4:8b, 11).

26 October 2025