Missionaries Needed to Keep Health Program Healthy

Over 100 health services missionaries are currently serving in 22 countries around the world. This program of the Church is expanding under the pressure of increasing demands from missions from North America to the Orient. But a shortage of missionary candidates is hampering its progress.

During the next few months nearly 50 health services missionaries will be released after completing full-time missions. At least 100 calls will be made in 1974 to replace those being released or to meet the needs for additional new missionaries.

Once in the field, the health services missionaries work to prevent disease rather than practice medicine or care for patients. They teach proper nutrition and sanitation habits, care of children, and first aid and home nursing, and also help members make wise use of local health sources. Their work has won the praise of local government as well as priesthood and auxiliary leaders.

The work of the health missionaries makes it much easier for the proselyting missionaries to reach nonmember families.

Eileen Draper, a recently returned health services missionary who lived and worked among Indian members in a remote Guatemalan village, made this comment about her 18 months of labor:

“I feel that, through our efforts, ignorance was replaced by knowledge, truth took the place of tradition, understanding overcame fear, and hope now exists where despair once prevailed. Members now understand more about the cause of health problems and are better able to prevent or cope with them. What a thrill it was to see mothers learn to care for their children and wives to find that cooking on a simple stove was better than kneeling in the smoke from a fire built on the floor.”

“The work of the health missionary brings spiritual as well as physical blessings,” she continued.

Through their example and work, health services missionaries are showing the gospel in action. Most health missionaries, in addition to their health work, are also teaching investigators.

The health missionary program places physicians, nurses, nutritionists, dentists, dental hygienists, home economists, health educators, and others in health teaching assignments in missions around the world. Both single persons and older couples are being called on these missions.

Presiding Bishop Victor L. Brown, chairman of the Church Welfare Services Committee, has urged that every potential health services missionary give consideration to a mission, and discuss such a call with his bishop or branch president.