In a couple of months I will be 65 years young. All of our friends are retiring but we are having too good a time to retire. God has blessed us with good health, 3 grown children all walking with the Lord and 6 grand children.

Both I and my wife Ruth, came to know Christ at an early age. We have worked with Campus Crusade for Christ on two different occasions for a total of 18 years. In between Ruth practiced nursing and I ran our own Real Estate office. We have been on loan to Global Hope Network for the last two years. As Project Managers for China. We have been on many short term mission trips but this is my first to Sri Lanka. I so look forward to meeting each of you personally and working with you.

The worst part of this trip will be not having my sidekick, Ruth, with me. She will be staying home waiting until I get back to have a hip replacement. Of all my trips, this will be the second one she hasn’t been with me. The other was to Iraq two weeks after the war began. Ruth has been doing all the processing of your paper

Hello Team! My name is Jill Gomoll. I am a Physician Assistant from East Lansing, MI. I currently work in the prompt care of our Emergency Department at Ingham Regional Medical Center. I enjoy my work and the people that I work with. This job has been such a blessing for me as I have an amazing amount of autonomy and have only been practicing as a Physician Assistant for a year and a half now. Since moving back to my hometown after graduate school, I have had the opportunity to live with my mom, who is also a member of our Sri Lanka team to save some money and pay off some loans. When I am not working I enjoy traveling, reading and spending time with friends.

I have been a Christian since my senior year in high school. My faith was molded and strengthened by an 8-week medical missionary internship in Ethiopia that I participated in about four years ago. This instilled in me the desire to participate in medical missionary work in the future. I am a little anxious and extremely excited about our time in Sri Lanka! This was my whole purpose of going into medicine…to be able to make a difference in the lives of people that need it the most. God has provided me with a passion for overseas mission work and a love for medicine. I am so excited to combine these gifts and meet you all as well as the people of Sri Lanka.

Blessings and Love, Jill Gomoll gomollj@hotmail.com

I go by "Barb". I am a registered nurse, semi-retired but still working one day a week at a local hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan. My husband and I have been married for 47 years, have four children and twelve grandchildren. Howard is an ordained minister with the Assemblies of God, as well as a licensed professional counselor in the state of Michigan. He also is semi-retired, still doing some counseling.

My passion is foreign missions and since 1989 (when I first started to go on short term mission  trips) I have been on 38 trips to 23 different countries. I have done a little of everything on these trips, usually serving as a nurse examiner. I am taking my grandchildren, one by one, on trips with me, hoping to  instill in them a love and passion for missions. I have been to China twice with Frank & Ruth Luter. Barb Collver, RN

I am 63 years old and have a wife of 43 years, two children  and 6 grandchildren. I am an Ob-Gyn who practiced 30 years and delivered 6000 babies and did about the same number of surgeries.  I came to the Lord after residency, in the Army, through a Navigators Bible Study.  I was a short term missionary to Haiti 8 times over the years.  

More recently I have done short term relief work in India after the earthquake and in Haiti after the flooding.  I have been retired from active practice for 5 years and am the Medical Director for a Crisis Pregnancy Center in Dayton doing exams and  ultrasounds on women considering abortion and also work in an indigent clinic.

I enjoy nature, wildlife photography, bird watching, boating and golf.  Each short term mission that I have been on has ended up impacting my life as much as those we serve.  I look forward to working together to serve the Lord through assistance to this needy people.  

Greetings to all of my team members –

I am Nancy Gomoll, and I am the occupational therapist on our team. I have been working in an acute inpatient adult rehab setting for the past 16+ years, and the thing I love most about my job is that it allows me to serve our Lord daily by ministering both physically and spiritually to those struggling with injury and disease. That same love is what has drawn me to do medical mission work. I consider it a tremendous honor to be a part of this team that will minister to the people of Sri Lanka.

I have been a Christian all my life, but my relationship with our Lord has really grown stronger in the past 18 years. That is when I really turned my life over to God and allowed Him to lead me. I would never be where I am or who I am today if it wasn’t for His love and guidance.

As for my personal life, I am the proud mother of 3 grown children (the youngest of whom you will also get to know on this team). When I am not at work, or doing things with my family, I enjoy traveling, nature, photography, gardening, and crafts. I love to experience other cultures and have had the good fortune to have visited numerous countries including 4 previous mission trips (to Turkey, China, Kenya and Guatemala).

I am looking forward to getting to know each of you and working together as a team. I pray that God will guide our hearts and our hands as we reach out to the people of Sri Lanka.

Blessings – Nancy

Hi everyone!  For those of you who don't know me , I'm Liz.  I live in Ft. Collins CO, and work in Loveland, Co (with several of our team mates.) I am an LPN, and have spent the last six years of my life working on the OB floor where we do labor and delivery, post partum, nursery and gyn surgeries.  I am also a scrub tech/assist in our O.R.  I am currently working my rear off in nursing school towards my R.N. (I graduate in May - yeah!!! :)

Enough about that.  I also have a wonderful family (including my two wonderful dogs and two cats) and awesome friends that live near me.  They are my strength, along with the Lord, that guides me every day.  I am soooo thankful for them!

I have had the honor of traveling with Dr Mark on two other medical mission trips to the Yucatan.  If this is your first medical mission trip I hope and pray that you find this as awesome an experience as I have.  There is nothing like this kind of work!  Dr. Mark told me I would be addicted, and I wasn't so sure,  but I am now a total addict :).  I am continually amazed at how the Lord always puts together the perfect team to take care of the people that need the use of our gifts.  I am looking forward to meeting everyone!  Liz

My name is Andrea Mead and I'm a pediatrician from Colorado.  I'm in the same private practice with Dr. Mark Wiesner and I work with Dr. Michelle Soriano (we also went to medical school together) and Liz Andersen.  I actually grew up in the same town that I practice in now: Loveland, Colorado.

 I went to medical school in Colorado and did my residency at Dartmouth.  I then moved back to Loveland to join Mark's practice (a total of seven physicians now). My family and I traveled a lot growing up (Europe three times, Indonesia, Thailand) and I have traveled as an adult for pleasure(New Zealand, Costa Rica, Belize) and on medical missions (Dominican Republic and Vietnam).  

My most recent trip, three years ago, to Vietnam was an amazing and eye-opening trip with a Christian-based organization, Children of Peace. Since that trip, alot has changed and God has blessed me: I married an amazing man, Scott, gained a wonderful teenage step-daughter ,Raschel, and we had an adorable little girl, Ellie, 7 months ago. Scott would have loved to join us on this trip but he is going to stay home and take care of our children, allowing me to go.  It's going to be hard to leave my family but I truly believe that God wants me on this trip and I pray that we will help many children and their families in any way that we can. I thank Frank and Global Hope Network for planning this adventure.  I look forward to meeting everyone!  Andrea

Karen and Rick met in fall of 1970 at an MSU football game. They dated for about 9 months when Rick got terribly sick and ended up in the hospital. After getting out of the hospital, Rick became a Christian while recuperating at his sister’s in Toledo, Ohio. While Rick was coming to Christ in Toledo, Karen came to Christ through Campus Crusade for Christ International before spring term at MSU ended.

They continued to date and became involved with a church on the south side of Lansing. They were married February 24, 1973. Before moving to Haslett in 1979 they had Kristi (11-76) and Rick Jr. (12-78). Their foster daughter Linda moved in with them in 1985. Linda lived with the Lundgrens 3 years and during this time they began to attend Trinity Church because of

the great youth group it had there. After graduating from high school, Kristi and Rick Jr. moved away for a while, Kristi to military service in California and Wyoming and Rick Jr. to acting school in New York City. In the past year Rick Jr. married Michelle and they moved back to the Lansing area. Kristi is living in this area as well.

Rick retired from the Michigan Departments of Natural Resources and Environmental Quality in October 2002. Karen has been substitute teaching for six years and Rick began to do the same in December after his retirement. They both became interested in missions and traveled in East Asia with Frank and Ruth Luter in March of 2003 and November 2004. Last fall Rick began working part time at Meridian Winds of Haslett and Karen continues to teach. They still attend Trinity Church and belong to the Search the Scriptures community (class) where they fellowship with many other fine people their age (younger and older also

Karen loves to garden and raise beautiful flowers. Rick loves to fish and hunt. He is a member of Gideons International and distributes the word whenever the opportunity arises. They both enjoy walking, sailing and traveling to visit family located all over the country. They also snow and cross-country ski. Rick still tries to get some snowboarding in whenever he is brave enough to do it.

Rick and Karen are very excited about going on this trip and look forward to getting to know the entire team.

My name is Ian Bare and I’m a Family Physician living in San Clemente, CA.

I finished residency last year and am now working on a part-time basis  so I can have time to travel on trips like this one (I've also been to China  with the Luters twice in the past year).

 The stories I've heard from  friends who've come back from Sri Lanka doing relief work have been amazing --  there is so much need there, and I'm so excited to be traveling & working  with this group.  I look forward to meeting everyone on the other  side...  – Ian

I just finished up my residency, working in the ER from time to time and with some other Christian physicians in the residency program at Ventura.

I love worshipping, laughing which I hope we'll get a chance to do together on this trip; and surfing (which we probably won't get to do. I already missed the big wave.). I am excited about this trip, both in the short term sense in the chance to show Christ's love and sacrifice to the people we come across, and in the long term sense as my wife Renee and I explore where God might lead us to serve in the future. We are soon to be parents for the first time.

Who am I?  I am a sinner saved by grace, through Christ alone, by faith alone. I'm  privileged to be the husband of Jean Wiesner for the past 23 years and  the steward of 4 wonderful children.  Kayla is 16, Aaron 13, Christy 11 and Anna 7.  

We spend much of our time home schooling the youngest three and Kayla is a Junior at Loveland Christian High School.  I'm blessed with an outstanding church family at Grace Community Church and have served as a worship leader there for many years.

In my spare time I practice as a general pediatrician in Loveland, Colorado, and have been in this area since 1992.  I enjoy having residents and medical students  at the practice, serving as Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics through Childrens Hospital in Denver.  I completed my pediatric residency at the Childrens Hospital in Denver, attended medical school at Des Moines University (previously UOMHS), and have undergraduate degrees from the University of Colorado in medical technology and molecular, cellular,  & developmental biology.  

Prior to medical school I worked as a medical technologist in a pediatric laboratory at University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.  I have participated in medical missions trips to the Yucatan and Honduras.  I look forward to meeting all of you and serving  with you on the mission field!

  Your brother in Christ,  Dr. Mark

My name is Travis Chapman, I am 30 years old, and I am from Firestone, Colorado, Loveland until about a week ago.  I grew up in Murdock, Nebraska, near Lincoln and moved to Colorado with my wife in 1996.  I became a paramedic in 1997 and have been working in EMS for 10 years now.  I am currently employed in Longmont as a firefighter.  

My wife, Michelle, is a horse trainer and I have two daughters, Joslyn (7), and Jessica (4).  I came to know Jesus with direction from Michelle and our Pastor from our wedding.  Life's trying moments have brought me closer to him over recent years and continue to do so.  My first experience with mission work was with Dr. Wiesner last year with a trip to Mexico.  After that trip I really felt like I had found something that had been missing from my life.  I enjoy skiing, horses, movie's, and family.  I am looking forward to meeting and getting to know all of you.  –Travis

My professional name is Michelle Soriano. My family name is Michelle Kirchmar. I have yet to dive into the task of filling out all paperwork on changing my name. Someday soon.I am an obstetrician/gynecologist in Loveland, Colorado. I have been in private practice for about 5 years. Med. school and residency were completed at University of Colorado Health Science Center.

My family, (Kevin, Yogi and Leni - husband, sons aka german shepards) are my life. We live in Ft. Collins, Colorado which is about 15 minutes from Loveland, 9 minutes if she is pushing! hahaha

I love spending time with my family, doing yard work, or I should say redoing yard work!! Summer and spring are my favorite times as we love playing golf, riding bikes and being outdoors.

I have never been on a mission. I was asked by Mark Wiesner if I have ever been out of the country..My response was Jamaica...The Grand Lido resort where you get 24hour room service and pina colatas at 10am if you want..

So why do I want to go to Sri Lanka. Lately, I find myself asking why I am doing Ob/Gyn. I know it wasn't to make sure I see 30 patients a day to meet expenses, or coding correctly, or trying to understand why a patient is telling everyone you cut her open like a pig... but forgetting to tell others I saved her baby's life. I hope... I believe that this mission will help reinforce my reasons why I went into medicine. That - I can really make a difference in someones life.

Belief...hope...trust...and faith are the words my family lives by. These five words (belief, hope trust, faith and family) are what make me strong. If I can't help with Ob/Gyn in Sri Lanka maybe the words I bring can.

I can't wait to meet all of you..Be safe and don't get lost..(old saying from a good friend in med. school.)

Michelle Soriano