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There was a boy who moved with his family from Michigan to Ohio. In driver's ed class he met a girl. They found themselves in the back seat one day where the instructor looked back and said, "Don't worry, you two will be holding hands before this course is over." The unlikely "prophet" was right: by their senior year at Olivet Nazarene University, Lynn and Sherry (McGinley) Shmidt were married. After graduation in 1972/3, they returned to be near family in Columbus, Ohio and began their medical careers, Lynn as Medical Technologist and Sherry as a Registered Nurse. Both Lynn and Sherry had felt a call to missions before and during their years at Olivet. This call simmered in the background, while being nurtured under the ministry of Pastor Gordon Wetmore and fellowship with other young adults in their church in Columbus.
By the birth of their first child, Geoffrey, they knew it was time to pursue their dream and call. In May, 1981, they found themselves boarding a plane with Geoffrey, 3 years old, and Emily 7 months old. Where were they going? To Africa. Ever since they were little children they had hoped to be missionaries one day. God called them and enabled them to serve for 18 years in South Africa and Botswana, sent by the Church of the Nazarene. Though starting out as medical missionaries in Tintswalo hospital, Acornhoek, South Africa, they soon felt God's hand upon them to prepare for ministry through evangelism to carry the message to others.
During furlough's Lynn worked on his Masters in Evangelism and later his Doctorate in Missiology. Sherry prepared with home study to become an ordained minister. Life never stays the same, and while they were home in Kentucky and Ohio, they went to school, pastored a church, filled the pulpit, worked as a nurse, and taught at Ohio Christian University and Asbury University. They saw their children get married, both of them, in the spring of 2003. One of life's greatest blessings has been their 6 grandchildren who fill their lives with laughter and joy.
On their road to semi retirement (or so they thought) Lynn and Sherry were surprised by another great joy--the joy of following God's leading to "go" once again. They have been commissioned to go the Philippines to teach at the seminary and coordinate strategizing mission on the Asia-Pacific region starting in the fall of 2015.
