Our Story

The Pollocks

Bekah and Grace

Bekah – Grew up in Minnesota and moved to Illinois for undergraduate studies at Olivet Nazarene University and graduate studies at Wheaton College.  She has known Jesus since she was a child and points to a semester studying in Costa Rica as the time that she “grew up”  in her faith.  She will teach middle and high school geography at Bingham Academy in Addis Ababa next year.  She enjoys teaching, training, and mentoring; running, walking, and Pilates; and reading.

Jon and his Girls

Jon – Grew up in Indiana, Illinois, and Minnesota, where he met Bekah and graduated from high school.  He moved to Illinois for undergraduate studies at Olivet Nazarene University and medical school at the University of Illinois.  He trained in general surgery at Emory University in Atlanta, now works as a surgeon at Sodo Christian Hospital and will work at Myungsung Christian Medical Center in Addis Ababa next year.  He has known Jesus since he was a child and desires that others know Him as well.  He has found a calling in providing healing through medicine, sharing about a relationship with Christ, and training others to do the same. Outside of the OR, he enjoys finding good deals on music, downloading sermons, and reading.

Grace – She is 5 years old and loves a good party.  She likes to visit all of our neighbors, greet visitors to the hospital, and usually knows what’s going on with everyone.  She loves to be creative through art, singing and dancing and to learn about how things work.  Her favorite books are The Magic School Bus series and The Boxcar Children.  She loves her little sister and likes to help entertain her and take care of her.

Hannah – She is 2 years old and likes to watch her big sister and try to do what she does.  She loves to be funny and tell us stories.  She also loves to explore and climb and get into everything and is starting to be a helper and help put things away and “weep.”  Her favorite books have Dora the Explorer in them.

Why missions?

Good questions!  In many ways we’re an unlikely family for God to call into cross-cultural medical/educational missions.  There are no missionaries or doctors (although there are teachers) in either of our families and we grew up in families and communities that were not at all multi-cultural.

Simply put, we have been captured by God’s love as shown to us by Jesus death on the cross and desire that others from all nations experience this also.  God has also given us each, from the time we were children, a love for people around the world.

We find ourself in wonder at God’s promise to establish his kingdom on earth and, with it, for justice to reign, his creation to be restored to complete health and wholeness, and for our relationships with one another to be life-giving, characterized by selflessness, trust, and stability.  In light of this, we pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

We enjoy worshipping with believers in Christ from other cultures and believe that this is a small snapshot of what’s to come when Christ returns.  We value the perspective and experiences they bring, believing that God reveals himself to them in different ways according to their cultural context (without changing who he is) and that, put together, these perspectives are a better picture of who God is.

We are excited to see that God is working all over the world to bring people into relationship with himself, build his Church, and restore all of creation to the beauty it was at the beginning of time.

Here is a link to an informational sheet about our ministry.

Pollock Brochure