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Although they met in their first year as medical students, it wasn\u2019t until Terpstra was praying for a close friend and searching with her husband for a church home that the two connected. Yelton invited them to church, where they worshiped, and their friendship grew stronger. As third-year medical studentsat Liberty University, Yelton and Terpstra now stand united by a childhood compassion that\u2019s grown into a powerful force shaping the future of healing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most recently, they attended a Samaritan\u2019s Purse conference that clarified their goals and callings, reinforcing their commitment to medical missions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe conference was a coming together of providers from across the globe, being refreshed and encouraged,\u201d Terpstra reflected. \u201cThey emphasized the youth and pouring into the next generation to take on the baton because a lot of the older generations are getting a little too old, and there is a real need for young medical professionals to step up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The spiritual aspect of the conference deeply impacted both women and reinforced their commitment to integrating their faith with medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Terpstra shared, \u201cThe worship services were so powerful. There\u2019s something so cool about being surrounded by people with the same mission as you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEdward Graham said something that stuck with me,\u201d Terpstra said. \u201cHe said, \u2018We love people who want to volunteer and want to help, but if you\u2019re not willing to share the gospel, then there\u2019s not really any point in helping because if you come and you don\u2019t share the gospel at all, you leave that person as spiritually dead as you met them.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She continued, \u201cWhat I\u2019m trying to remember going forward in medical missions is that it\u2019s great if you want to help and serve, but we also need to be sharing the gospel because that\u2019s the most important thing. Medicine gives you a unique opportunity to talk to people, maybe on the worst day of their lives, and you\u2019re there comforting them. That\u2019s a unique opportunity to speak into their life.\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was Yelton\u2019s third Samaritan\u2019s Purse conference, but it clarified the direction of her future in missions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She said, \u201dThis year, being married a little bit longer and having a better idea of what I wanted to do in medicine, there were more practical ways I could start forming what medical missions might actually look like in my career, not just confirming whether that was going to be something I wanted to do or not.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n While different, early inspiration set them on medical career paths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI knew, pretty much since I was a little girl, that I wanted to become a doctor,\u201d Terpstra recalled. \u201cI had an amazing pediatrician who inspired me to pursue medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Yelton, the journey began with those Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes and evolved through mission trips and a Samaritan\u2019s Purse internship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve been going on mission trips since I was 13,\u201d Yelton said. \u201cThat\u2019s really where my passion started.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, their medical focuses differ slightly. Yelton is pursuing general surgery with an interest in rural health care, while Terpstra is considering emergency medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI really enjoy the shift work, and it\u2019s very broad,\u201d Terpstra explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yelton and her husband grew up in rural communities, and this is the population she wants to serve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yelton emphasized, \u201cI want to be able to treat as much as possible and do anything and everything that I can to better serve that patient population.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both see short-term missions as part of their future. Yelton envisions short-term trips in the summer and potentially full-time mission work in retirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Terpstra, balancing her aspirations with married life, says, \u201cAs of now, I think we\u2019ve decided on short-term missions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As they look to the future, both Yelton and Terpstra see their roles extending beyond traditional medical practice. They\u2019re committed to bridging gaps between advanced and basic health care, physical and spiritual healing, and generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere are still young people who have a heart for missions and want to serve and share the gospel,\u201d Terpstra asserted, offering hope to older generations concerned about the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From childhood dreams inspired by shoebox gifts and mission posters to their current position as medical students poised to make a global impact, Yelton and Terpstra embody the future of healing \u2014 one that combines medical expertise with compassion, faith, and a commitment to serving those in need around the world. GN<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In rural Florida, Amy Yelton scanned Dollar Tree\u2019s school supplies and thoughtfully selected colored pencils, adding them to the shopping cart holding other small gifts and personal supplies. As she contributed each December to Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan\u2019s Purse, she imagined the children receiving them. Yelton pictured a bright smile lighting up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":22875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/lynchburg-va\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/01\/Amy-2-1-1024x683.jpg\")
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