By Michael J. Robinson ’95

A number of years ago, my morning rounds at Guam Memorial Hospital Authority were taking longer than I anticipated. There were three infants in the nursery who were doing well and were ready to be discharged. It was a blessing to pray with each family before sending them home. Then it was on to the third floor medical-surgical unit to see my adult patients.

After rounds, I headed to the Guam Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Clinic to see patients in the office for the day. The green grass and waving palm trees at the clinic were a welcome sight upon leaving the government hospital. The day was bright and sunny with a light dew on the vibrant green grass. There was a gentle breeze and very few clouds in the tropical sky.

I arrived at 7:30 a.m., and the clinic parking lot was still quiet. I considered the official opening of the clinic in 1957, when Violet Clark-Cruz, the first missionary clinic nurse, joined Leslie A. Smart Jr. ’54 who had arrived in Guam in 1956. After a few months of seeing patients without a SDA nurse, he sent a call to the General Conference for a nurse. Violet Clark-Cruz had just graduated from Union College when she accepted the call. They were followed by many faithful nurses, dentists, physicians, and others from the College of Medical Evangelists, later renamed Loma Linda University. These mission-focused workers dedicated their time and energy to establish the medical work in Guam and throughout the Micronesian islands; they took mission trips all the way from Majuro to Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk, Saipan, Yap, and Palau. Because of their faithful work, the clinic grew. Now, here I was, serving as a medical missionary because of their legacy. My thoughts shifted to the task at hand: getting ready to see my clinical patients.

My first patient was Aida, a new patient at our clinic. She had recently quit her lucrative government job after praying and seeking God’s will in her life. As a well-educated professional, she earned more than her husband. She felt God convicted her to quit her job to be totally dependent on Him through her husband. When she did that, they lost their health insurance, which complicated matters when she developed a medical issue. She decided to see a doctor at the Guam Adventist Clinic. Here is the story from her perspective:

Dr. Michael Robinson provided medical care to me for the first time, spoke kindly during the entire visit, prayed for me before I left, and, to my surprise, did not charge me a doctor’s fee! Instead, written on my receipt was, “Sabbath Fund.” I was startled and checked if the cashier had made a mistake. No, there was no mistake. I did not have to pay… Instead, the Sabbath Fund took care of it. What is this Sabbath Fund? My heart longed to understand what had just happened. In Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV) God promised, “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” True to His Word, God led me to His Sabbath. Little did I know that my doctor’s visits were just the beginning of abundant blessings God had in store for me.

Aida continued to see me quarterly for the next two years, and we helped her with funding for her medical care through the Sabbath Fund. The Sabbath Fund was set up by the Guam SDA Clinic providers to help patients in need. It is a habit of the providers at the clinic to set aside the billings from patients seen in the hospital on the Sabbath day. This is placed into the Sabbath Fund to be used for those patients with medical needs who cannot afford their health care.

I referred Aida to attend the Guam SDA Clinic wellness classes. She took her whole family, and they all obtained improved health and well-being. Their positive experience prompted her to share what she had learned with others. I collaborated with her to promote the key principles of healthy eating and active living. We applied for funding for our project and obtained a three-year, $250,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to address the childhood obesity epidemic in Guam.

Dubbed “Sustantia,” meaning nutritious, this project became very popular and gained coverage from local, national, and international media outlets. In November 2009, Aida was invited to present the Sustantia project at the Healthy Kids, Healthy Nations: Reversing the Childhood Obesity Epidemic National Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. She joined 15 other RWJF grantees at a special dinner with former first lady Michelle Obama’s health policy advisor, who was interested in our community-based strategies in addressing childhood obesity through healthy eating and active living. In February 2010, former first lady Michelle Obama launched the Let’s Move! project, incorporating the HealthierUS School Challenge into her campaign to raise a healthier generation of kids. The following August, Aida was invited to present the Sustantia project again at the 2010 National Conference on Health Communicat​ion, Marketing, and Media in Atlanta, Georgia. Both events were sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In October 2010, she presented Sustantia at the 20th European Childhood Obesity Group (ECOG) Congress held at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. Immediately after the ECOG Congress, she received five invitations to present Sustantia throughout Europe. Considering the impact extended travel would have on her regular job and her family, she declined these invitations. In 2012, she presented the project once more at the Science of Eliminatin​g Health Disparitie​s Summit in National Harbor, Maryland (sponsored by the National Institutes of Health). Sustantia was published in numerous newspapers and magazines and featured in peer-reviewed journal articles.

The opportunities to share the benefits of healthy eating and active living through the Sustantia project far surpassed what either of us thought possible. We certainly couldn’t have foreseen to what Aida’s curiosity in the Sabbath Fund would lead. She reflects on the experience in this way:

Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined such opportunities to promote what I had learned from the Guam SDA Clinic. Those years of financial drought as a jobless, penniless PhD were years of great spiritual growth when I learned not only submission but obedience to the Sabbath. These gems indeed brought many blessings. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven,” Matthew 5:3 (NIV).

Dr. Robinson is a family practice physician and the medical director of Guam Seventh-day Adventist Clinic. He and his family have served the people of Guam since 1998. Leading people to Christ by providing high-quality medical care, the right arm of the gospel, is the source of his joy as a missionary.