Gideon Logan As a graduating International Rescue and Relief and Biomedical Science double major, Gideon Logan’s time at Union offered him countless adventures. When first starting college, Logan planned on becoming an ecologist. Around the time he realized a career in habitat restoration would actually keep him in an office, he started taking IRR’s EMT class. While in the class, Logan recalls being left with a lot of questions. He was learning how to treat a variety of issues, but he wasn’t learning the root causes. His curiosity drew him to rethinking his path and deciding to become a doctor. During the IRR expedition in Malawi last year, he gained valuable first-hand experiences that confirmed his calling as a physician. “I did more than 100 hours of shadowing in clinical rotations,” Logan said. “I got to scrub in to assist with surgery. I had my first experience doing CPR on someone. I got to suture. I even delivered a couple babies … there’s a little boy in Mozambique named ‘Gideon’ after me. It was a really good experience.” Logan’s desire to be a compassionate person is very apparent. Whether it’s to be a listening ear or someone who offers wisdom-filled advice, Gideon’s primary goal is to be authentic and build real connections with people. Savannah Fortney, Logan’s fiancé, said, “When he worked as an EMT, he was known for not just getting the patient from point A to point B, but taking the time to hear their story and to get to know them even in a short ambulance ride. One thing that is pushing him to pursue this career path is the continued opportunity to get to know people who are hurting. He wants to be able to form relationships and trust with those that he interacts with.” Yann Birasa From his confident walk across campus, there is no indication in Yann Birasa’s relaxed stride that he hasn’t lived in the Midwest his whole life. Having grown up in Belgium and Rwanda, Nebraska wasn’t a place Birasa had ever intended to go. This changed, however, when his cousin told him about Maxwell Adventist Academy in Kenya. By attending an Adventist high school, Birasa’s life was turned around. Through God moments, he was baptized, and with a little help from Union’s own Pastor Rich Carlson, he made the decision to seek education across the ocean at Union.  Before ever making it on campus, Birasa had been messaging his soon-to-be teammates on the men’s basketball team. Pastor Rich had connected him with men’s basketball coach Drew Mekelburg and students on the men’s team. Birasa said, “It felt like I was already on campus without even being on US territory. It was insane.” So when he showed up as a wide-eyed international student, he was able to settle in with a ready-made circle of friends. Now, everybody knows Birasa. From being a freshman on the basketball bench, to being voted SA president and even receiving a campus celebrity award at this year’s spring banquet, Yann has become an important leader on campus. He’s everywhere. Whether it’s up front giving speeches or exploring Lincoln with his friends, Birasa is always offering a hello and a smile.  Graduating with a degree in business finance with a minor in psychology, Birasa is ready to take the next step of his life to Florida where he’ll be working for AdventHealth. He’s bringing with him a newfound love of golf, a mindset of curiosity and discovery, and an eagerness to explore the restaurants of Orlando.  Birasa’s memories — the days spent with friends, the long hours on the bus with the basketball team, and the time enjoying every homemade chocolate chip cookie he could get his hands on — will stick with him for the rest of his life. While reflecting on his years spent on Nebraska soil, Birasa said, “The best part of Union is the people. The people let you come as you are. You can come from far, you can come with a different culture, you can come different, and the Union community welcomes you and understands you. Even though we are different, at the end of the day, we are all God’s children.” Kylie Wehling In seventh grade, Nebraska native Kylie Wehling sat with her dad at Union’s Friday night vespers. The chords of the song “Oceans” drifted across the sanctuary as the pianist’s hands glided along the piano keys. Her dad turned to whisper to her, “One day, you’re going to play like that up there.” Wehling remembers thinking how unbelievable that seemed, but at the same time praying that what her dad said would turn out to be true. Not long before that night, Wehling had suffered a massive hand and wrist injury. Shattered glass had severed nerves, tendons and arteries in her left hand, taking away her ability to play the instruments she loved. Creating music with the piano, cello and French horn now seemed impossible, and Wehling wondered how this was a part of God’s plan. Now a graduate from Union Adventist University, Wehling’s life has been filled with challenges, and with each one, her perspective grows. “I always go back to Scripture and have a solid, honest prayer with God,” she said. “Like, ‘hey, this kind of stinks. I failed, I hit a wall. I don’t know what You want me to do next. Lead me.’ And it kind of reframes my mindset that this is not necessarily a closed door, but an opportunity to go somewhere else until we walk into a different area that God has called us into.” Union ties run deep in the Wehling family, as does a commitment to the ministry of health care. Both of her parents, Dr. Merlin Wehling and Chere (Ray) Wehling, graduated from Union in 1997, and her brother, Caleb Wehling, graduated in 2024. While her brother followed in their mother’s footsteps to a career in nursing, Kylie is finishing her degree in biomedical science to follow her Read more…

Nearly one year ago, a small group of church members walked through the doors of an Adventist Community Services building in Bridgeton, Missouri, with a shared conviction and more than a few nerves. They weren’t pastors or theologians. They were laypeople who felt the pull to do more—and had said yes to something that would change them. The Iowa-Missouri Conference’s IM Called School of Evangelism and Discipleship launched on June 23, 2025, and concluded last September. In the months since, the fruit of that first class has continued to grow: dozens of lives touched and a new congregation now meeting every Sabbath in Wentzville, Missouri. The idea began with a phone call. Conference president Lee Rochholz reached out to Pastor Jeremy Clark, who also serves as the conference’s Bible worker director, with a question that set everything in motion. “He basically asked me, ‘What if we could start a school of evangelism to help our laity go out in the field and win souls for God’s kingdom?'” Clark recalled. “The prayer is always for laborers. We thought, what can we do to encourage and grow that base?” Clark and co-instructor Rob Alfalla, the conference evangelist, designed the school around two pillars: theological depth and practical field experience. Classroom sessions ran on Mondays and Wednesdays, while Tuesdays and Thursdays sent students door to door across St. Louis neighborhoods in partnership with a local church. “Personal spirituality feeds everything else,” Alfalla said. “You could have every 28 fundamental belief memorized, but if you don’t have a relationship with Jesus, it doesn’t do anything.” Lives shaped—from both sides of the door Among the students whose stories stood out was Megan Cooper, whose path to Bible work was anything but conventional. After a decade of trafficking and exploitation, she was reached by a Christian agency called New Name, and later received a year of faithful weekly Bible studies from Elder Fred Schiller and his wife, Lynn, during Covid. “It’s just a beautiful thing to see how God can bring things full circle,” Cooper said. “It really prompted me to want to be a Bible worker myself.” By graduation, Cooper and her classmates had studied with people from different denominations, prayed for strangers at gas stations, and knocked on doors in neighborhoods that tested their courage. “Walking up to the door sometimes is hard,” one student said. “But I feel like I’ve gained more courage to do things.” Another recalled a return visit to a family who met them at the door with a smile, already waiting. “They were so happy to see us. That was just amazing.” A campaign in Wentzville—and a church taking root The school’s first year concluded with a Prophecies of Hope evangelistic campaign led by Alfalla in Wentzville, a growing community in the northwestern St. Louis metro area. The campaign reached people both through public meetings and through personal Bible studies conducted by the school’s students—resulting in 12 baptismal requests in total. By the final night, 24 guests had accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior, and five were baptized, joined by 19 who committed to a new small group that would become the seed of a worshiping congregation. As of May 2026, that group meets every Sabbath at a rented location in Wentzville, averaging 15 to 30 attendees. Each week includes a song, a prayer, and a small-group Bible study, while leadership searches for a more permanent home for the growing fellowship. “We want to plant churches. We want to take God’s Word out,” Clark said. “We want to start a fire that cannot be put out. If not now, when?” As IM Called approaches its one year anniversary, leadership is developing an “IM Called On The Road” model to bring training modules directly to congregations across the conference. “The harvest is great,” Alfalla said, “but the laborers are few.” Learn more, including information about future cohorts, at imsda.org/imcalled.

Some years ago, I was watching a father teach his daughter to swim. She was holding onto the ladder that descended into the water at the shallow end where she was clearly able to stand with her head above the water. He was in the pool behind her, his hands reassuringly on her shoulders. “Okay,” he said to her calmly, “let go of the ladder now. You can stand up.” “No!” she shouted. “I’ll go under the water!” “No, it’s very shallow, and you can stand. Besides, I am right here, and I have hold of you. Nothing can happen to you.” She was not convinced. “I won’t let go!” In his soft, soothing voice, Daddy patiently reasoned with her. “Remember when I taught you to ride a bike? I didn’t let you get hurt. Now you love to ride your bike. You will love to swim, too. But you can’t learn until you let go of the ladder.” She remained resolute, but silent. So, Daddy gave it one more try. “Don’t you trust me?” “I trust you, but I’m not letting go.” That ended the lesson. He told her they would try again another time and took her to the wading pool where she was much happier. That little girl was obviously scared of the deep water. However, I suspect her confidence grew as time went by, and by now she may have taught her own children to swim. It’s unlikely that she stayed stuck in her fears about the shallow end of the pool. If she really did trust her father, she learned to let go. Of course, you are way ahead of me now, but I hope you keep reading while I make the obvious point. If we truly do trust our Father, won’t we learn to let go when He says He will hold us up? Do you trust God enough to let go of tithes and offerings? You knew I was going to get to that, and you knew I was going to use this verse to support it. Mal. 3:10 tells us, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it” (NIV). I’m going to say something now that might sound really mean about that scared little girl holding the ladder in the pool. No matter what she said, she really didn’t trust her father. He may have proven himself with bicycles, his firm grip may have been familiar to her from when he ran beside her holding her onto the bike, and he may have told the truth about the depth of the water just like he told the truth about how to ride down the sidewalk, but she would not let go. Her fear was bigger than her trust, no matter what she claimed. I’m not trying to be unkind. In fact, listening to her fear, I could not help but feel a great deal of empathy for her. But there is a logical conclusion based on the evidence. In fact, it is an inevitable conclusion. In this case at least, almost up to her neck in water and her toes not quite touching the bottom of the pool, she did not truly trust her father. If we say that we trust God, but we don’t let go of what He claims as His, what is the logical conclusion based on this evidence? Has He not proven Himself trustworthy in our previous experiences with Him? Are His reassurances of blessings pouring out on us not believable? I hope you believe in the mission of your church; but if you do, that’s not the reason to return tithe. I hope you believe that all you own belongs to Him anyway and you are just a steward; but that’s not the reason to tithe. I hope you have peace knowing that God will not accuse you of robbery; but that’s not the reason to tithe.  I hope that you are so grateful for all He has provided that you want to show how you feel through your gifts; but that is not the reason to tithe. Well, okay, those are some good reasons. Pretty good anyway. But let’s get down to the heart of it: God doesn’t need your money any more than that daddy needed his little girl to let go of the ladder. But he was there beside her, encouraging and reassuring her, because he wanted her life to expand into a whole new experience that would provide her with a lifetime of enjoyment. But that was impossible if she didn’t trust him enough to let go. The real reason to tithe is a matter of trust. Letting go is not about supporting the work, or understanding ownership, or peace, or even gratitude. Letting go is about trusting. Doug Inglish is RMC vice president for administration and stewardship director.

Earlier this year, team members from AdventHealth’s Rocky Mountain Region traveled to Lesotho, Africa, with AdventHealth Global Missions, bringing care, compassion and expertise to communities in need while returning with a renewed sense of purpose.  For Harmony Furlong, chief development officer and foundation director for AdventHealth Parker and AdventHealth Castle Rock, the experience was filled with moments that were both joyful and humbling.  One encounter that stayed with her was a woman who received a pair of glasses through the Community Health Team. “She was so overjoyed, she sang ‘Heaven! Heaven!’ as she left the tent,” Furlong shared. Later that day, the team saw her again—walking with a baby on her back, smiling brightly and proudly wearing her new glasses. “It touched my heart to know we had contributed to that joy.”  Through the Water Team, Furlong also witnessed entire villages celebrating the arrival of clean water systems—dancing and singing in gratitude. “Joy came so easily to many of the people we met,” she reflected. “It reminded me how powerful and simple joy can be.”  For Antje Oudakker, director of perioperative services at AdventHealth Parker, the trip was a return to Maluti Hospital after her first visit last year left a lasting impression.  “The staff provide incredible care with far fewer resources than we’re used to,” Oudakker said. “It’s a powerful reminder of what truly matters in medicine.”  During the week, the surgical team completed 25 procedures for patients who otherwise would not have had access to care. One patient, diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer, will now receive chemotherapy thanks to donor support—treatment that would not have been possible otherwise.  Another patient’s story left a deep impact. Living with HIV, tuberculosis and advanced colorectal cancer, she chose to share her experience—not for herself, but to educate others and reduce stigma in her community.  “Her bravery was humbling,” Oudakker said. “Moments like that remind you this work is about far more than surgery. It’s about dignity, compassion and human connection.”  For Miranda Schick, director of the mom and baby unit at AdventHealth Avista, the impact of Global Missions was seen in the success of long-term partnerships.  Serving on the Helping Mothers and Babies Survive (HMBS) team, Schick helped train local providers on tools to improve neonatal outcomes. During this visit, she learned that a baby’s life had been saved just days before their arrival because a midwife used a device introduced on a previous trip.  “The baby wasn’t breathing and they were ready to pronounce death,” Schick said. “But the midwife used the device, detected a heartbeat and resuscitated the baby for over 15 minutes. That baby lived. Seeing that impact was incredibly rewarding.”  Now on her eighth mission trip, Schick says these experiences continue to shape her perspective. “I always come back grounded in gratitude. The connections we build across the globe truly change how you see the world.”  Together, these experiences highlight the profound impact of Global Missions, not only for the patients and communities served, but for the team members who carry those lessons forward.  Learn more about mission trips like this one at www.adventhealth.com/global-missions