A Health Student Summer Mission Project
Southern California
From Cradle to Walk
Janette Marroquin, Medical Student, UCLA School of Medicine

Small group discussions provided a caring and intimate setting for fellowship and personal growth. The first two meetings were spent sharing our personal testimonies with the people in our group who would soon become my closest friends. I began to appreciate how God brings together people from all walks of life to serve Him in this ministry. At the beginning of the project, we were given two books to read The Faith Factor by Dale Matthews and The Search for Significance by Robert S McGee. Throughout the next meetings we discussed these books, spending most of our time with the book The Search for Significance. This book served as a guide on how to build our self worth on the love of Christ rather than our own capabilities or the opinions of others. I found this book to be very insightful and a great facilitator in my walk with God. In addition to discussing these books, this was a great time of sharing what we had learned during the week in the clinics. I found this helpful in processing all the wonderful lessons God taught me through my experiences at the clinics with patients. My small group leader was especially helpful in promoting openness among the group, giving us the chance to learn from everyone. I am truly blessed by my interaction with my small group and mentor. These times served as a catalyst for coming closer to God in my daily life and relating that to my future ministry as a physician.