Caring with Compassion

Myra and Mike both felt called into ministry as young children – Mike through the Grace Brethren Church and Myra through the Southern Baptist Church. Several years after marriage, in 1989 they moved to the Central African Republic with Grace Brethren International Missions now Encompass World Partners. They worked with Encompass for 24 years; during the Taylors’ last year of ministry with Encompass, they saw the need of having on the ground, 24/7 healthcare run by nationals. It was then that Mike and Myra decided to begin Three Strands, eight years ago.

Mike and Myra have been associated with the CAR for almost 31 years and with the ministry in Haiti for 10 years. They’ve observed the average person in Africa seems to be monetarily worse off than they were when the Taylors first arrived there.

“Due to sectarian violence, even the subsistence farmer is struggling to make ends meet as a result of great insecurity,” says Mike. “On a very positive note the incredible change we’ve seen is that our African brothers and sisters and Haitian brothers and sisters have taken ownership of the ministry, and they manage the Three Strands’ medical center in Central Africa and the primary care/guesthouse in Haiti. This work continues 24/7 without us being present. That is really cool.”

“I think that Myra and I would say that Africa has changed us spiritually. How can I say that when you work with brothers and sisters who are deeply impoverished financially but extremely strong spiritually with great families? They can only strengthen you spiritually,” says Mike. “Myra and I consider our Haitian and African brothers and sisters some of our closest friends in the world, people that we go to with our own personal cares, people that we interface with, people that we deeply respect.”

As they approach retirement, which they hope will happen in the next 5 to 7 years, they dream to one day be able to go back and spend extended periods of time in Central Africa and Haiti. Dr. Richard Klopp, former CEO of Water for Good, has been named as the new CEO of Three Strands.

“We believe under Richard’s leadership Three Strands has great potential to grow even larger and serve more locations in the two countries where we currently work,” says Mike.
“I think now our biggest dream is to see our brothers and sisters become more and more self-sufficient. We are doing that in Haiti by providing guest house services to generate income for the primary care clinic, and we are doing that in Central Africa through primary care, laboratory, Pharmacy, and most recently a surgical center.”

[Connect:] Send Mike and Myra an encouraging note here.

This story appeared in GraceConnect eNews. To subscribe to the weekly e-newsletter that includes news and information from congregations in the Charis Fellowship, click here.