Christmas on the Mission Field
Dr. Mike Chupp is joined by several missionary members of CMDA to share their Christmas and holiday memories from the mission field.
Meet Our Guests
Lester Dornon, MD, DABFM, and Deborah Dornon
Lester grew up in Japan and came to the U.S. to complete medical school at Northwestern University. His completed his family practice residency in Peoria, Illinois at Methodist Medical Center. Soon after that, he went to Nepal to serve at the United Mission Hospital Tansen along with his wife Deborah and their two young children. Their youngest child was born there in Tansen, and they stayed on the mission field for 12 years from 1990 to 2002. They returned to the U.S. to put their children through higher education, and then Lester and Deborah returned to Nepal in 2012 and served for another 10 years. They are currently in Indiana, as they spend time with family and pray about the future.
Doug and Ruth Lindberg are both family physicians. Doug joined CMDA as the director for the Center for Advancing Healthcare Missions (CAHM) in 2020. They both graduated from Loyola University Chicago in 2003, and then they completed their family medicine residency at Waukesha Family Practice Residency outside Milwaukee in 2006. The Lindbergs served in South Asia as healthcare missionaries from 2009 to 2013. They returned to the U.S. in 2013 for what was intended to be a one-year home assignment, but a series of events, including a life-threatening cancer diagnosis for Ruth, led them to permanently relocate back to Wisconsin. Ruth is now miraculously cancer free since 2015 and is working on a book about her healing. Doug is thrilled to utilize his experiences as a healthcare missionary and family physician to advance the cause of healthcare missions with CMDA. In addition to his work for CAHM, Doug continues to practice part-time as an urgent care physician for ProHealth Care. They have two children, Maddie (13) and James (10) and a golden retriever puppy named Scout.
Judy Palpant is a teacher, writer and speaker. Her roots are in Colorado, with later formative experience in England, France, Kenya, Uganda, Thailand, Australia and China. She and her husband Sam served nearly six years in a Quaker mission hospital in East Africa from 1979 to 1985, along with their three young children. Since then, they have lived in Spokane, Washington. Judy and Sam participated as teachers in past continuing education events for overseas workers from 2004 to 2012, alternatively in Thailand and Kenya. They are still active in student ministry as emeritus leaders of CMDA medical student groups at their local University of Washington and Washington State University medical schools. Judy is also a member of the Spokane Side By Side spouses’ program. She serves as the editor for CMDA publications Your Call and the e-Pistle. Her hobbies include playing the piano, quilting, gardening and visiting her children and 11 grandchildren dispersed near and far.
David Stevens, MD, MA (Ethics), previously served as CMDA’s CEO for 25 years, and he is now CEO Emeritus. Prior to his service with CMDA, Dr. Stevens served as medical director of World Medical Mission. From 1981 to 1991, Dr. Stevens was a missionary doctor at Tenwek Hospital in Bomet, Kenya where he served as Medical Superintendent and Executive Officer. He is the author of Jesus, MD and Beyond Medicine, is co-author of Leadership Proverbs and Servant Leadershipand writes many chapters and magazine articles. Dr. Stevens holds degrees from Asbury University and is an AOA graduate of the University of Louisville School of Medicine. He earned a master’s degree in bioethics from Trinity International University in 2002. He was a co-founder of the National Embryo Donation Center. Dr. Stevens and his wife Jody have a son, Jason, and two daughters, Jessica and Stacy, and 10 grandchildren.
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