My name is Joanna Machain and I attend Our Savior Lutheran Church in Topsfield, MA. I grew up in Indiana and attended Zion Lutheran Church and graduated from Zion Lutheran School and Lutheran High School of Indianapolis. I currently work as a Nurse Practitioner in Hospice and Palliative care and Urgent care. I was a medical ICU nurse before I became a Nurse Practitioner.

 

Since I was 13 years old, I have known that I wanted to serve God by doing missions abroad. I had the opportunity to go on my first mission trip to Ghana when I was just 17 years old, and what a trip it was! What an amazing experience for a 17-year-old to witness the needs of other and to see how God is actively at work through missionaries and mission teams.  Since my first mission trip at age 17, I have had the opportunity to go on numerous mission trips to Honduras, Kenya, Ghana, and Madagascar. And through the blessing of God, I was able to live in Madagascar for a year, providing care to those in need at a Lutheran Hospital. 

God granted me the ability to take a mission team to Madagascar in April of 2023. This was the first medical mission team to provide care for patients in the Antsirabe area since the start of COVID. They were in desperate need of care (even more so than normal). In the week that our team was there, we were able to see over 1000 people and provide them with the medical care they needed.

 

God has again granted me the ability to serve in Madagascar on a medical mission trip in September 2025 as the team leader. While there, we will be able to show God’s love and mercy through our talents of providing medical care to those in need. We will be working with local Lutheran Churches to provide a daily clinic where we will see and treat between 100-350 people in need.

 

Though God has been gracious to give me the ability to serve abroad, it does not come without cost and sacrifice. This is a very expensive trip and requires a lot of time that is spent away from family, friends and my job. It is also important that we’re able to bring medical supplies and medications with us on this trip as we are going to serve on a medical mission.

God has called all of us in some way or another to serve Him and His church on earth.  God has called some of us to be “goers” and others to be “senders”. Romans 15:5-6, “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

I would ask that you prayerfully consider being a “sender” and help with monetary gifts to support this trip. We also need a lot of prayer and if God has placed it on your heart to be a “sender” through prayer, we welcome that as well! I pray that God uses all of us to His glory on this trip, whether as a “goer” or “sender” and we can provide the hope of salvation through Jesus Christ.

To God be the glory!

Joanna Machain