Dr. Floyd Thomas “Tom” Carey Jr. is a Global Missionary of The United Methodist Church, serving as a medical doctor at Hebron Hospital and Mercy Medical Center, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry at Millsaps College, Tom received his M.D. from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine. He continued his residency training at Michigan State University/Sparrow Hospital. Pursuing a post-graduate degree, he did his residency in obstetrics and gynecology. Tom is a lay member of Asbury United Methodist Church, Lafayette, Louisiana, related to the Louisiana Annual Conference. Blessed to grow up in a home that valued God and people, Tom recalled, “My mother had a social justice leaning to her life and taught us to treat everyone with dignity and respect. My dad was our family’s spiritual leader. His faith involved not just a love of God, but also a gift of service to people. I always thought I would become a physician just like my dad, and I was blessed and supported by my parents such that I was able to pursue my education straight through from high school, to college, to medical school, to residency. “Throughout my years of education, my 16 years in a private OB/GYN practice, and my 14 years as an OB/GYN hospitalist, God has been preparing and equipping me to serve in mission. I had amazing role models such as my dad and my senior partners, and I have faith that God has put people and opportunities in my path to enable me to fulfill his calling.” Tom and his wife, Delecia Carey, believe that God calls them to tithe both their money and their talents. “We have served our churches in countless ways,” he said, “and we usually felt we were doing our best. But now we feel that we have the opportunity to tithe our working careers, and that is how we look at the coming years of missionary service. “I completed my residency, and Delecia earned her Ph.D. in 1993. We have worked for 30 years for ourselves and our family. Now it is time to work for God. It feels a little challenging to give up the generous incomes we have been used to for so many years, but we feel confident that God will help us adapt as we embark on new careers as missionaries.” Tom’s father set an example for him – both in vocation and in mission. “My father loved interacting with and caring for people. He became deeply involved with foreign missionary work and led medical groups to Honduras, Roatan and Jamaica for more than 30 years.” When their father died, Tom and his three siblings established the Dr. Tom Carey Medical Mission Memorial Fund to support mission teams who continue his work. As a dietician with the Mississippi Health Department, Tom’s mother loved interacting with all kinds of people. “She considered her job a food ministry and helped with a community food pantry as a volunteer,” Tom said. “We were taught through her words and her actions about how to provide care for people in need in a way that maintained their dignity. “Mission is one of the most important ways God works. People who care and love others can provide ends to isolation, depression, anxiety, hate, and so much more. Building projects and skilled people provide shelters, worship centers, and clean, accessible water. In doing mission work, we bless others and are, in turn, blessed by them. With such a powerful tool, the necessity of mission in our world today is paramount.” Active in United Methodist congregations since youth, Tom is grateful that his spouse is a devout Christian. “With her support,” he said, “I have served in church offices and taught Sunday school off and on for about 28 years. I have tried to serve my patients with Christian values and as a mission to their needs. And, yet, my wife and I feel we have been called to do more. She said that we’ve tithed our money for all these years, but now we can also tithe our careers. Since I’ve been in medicine for 30 years (and been blessed by it), we feel now is the time to work in missions.”

Roberta Cynthia Vieira Rios Lage is an Global Missionary of The United Methodist Church, assigned as speech therapy and training program coordinator at Chicuque Hospital in Mozambique. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in speech therapy health at the Methodist University of São Paulo, Brazil. Her most recent employment was at the Belo Horizonte, Brazil, City Hall. Roberta is a lay member of Igreja Sete Lagoas (Seven Lakes Church), related to the Methodist Church of Brazil. “I have attended the Methodist Church since I was a teenager,” she said, “and I have always participated with grace and joy. We all carry out our mission with our professional gifts and talents because our work is an expression of service to others. By exercising my profession with serenity and commitment to others, I faithfully follow my mission of serving God with my best. Throughout my journey as a Christian, I have always been taught about the value of sharing and communion.” For years, Roberta and her husband, Jovanir Lage, felt called to missionary service. They promoted mission in their local church, volunteering their talents and professional gifts. Then they decided to take a leap of faith with their two children, now teenagers. “We placed ourselves in God’s hands and were willing to undertake this service of learning and exchanging experiences with our brothers and sisters from Africa in Mozambique,” Roberta said. “As a health care professional, I have worked in both the private sector and public service in my country, but now I am willing to contribute with great joy and serenity to the hospital in Chicuque.” Chicuque is a reference hospital for four districts. Because of its privileged location in the continental side, it has been highly preferred by the population. The hospital lacked a speech therapist due to a shortage of human resources trained in this area. Therefore, placing missionary Roberta in this area is an important step for the health of the communities served by Chicuque Rural Hospital. Family is Roberta’s foundation. “It is where I find the strength to face the challenges that life presents to me,” she said. “I got married at age 19. I worked at the hospital in my hometown as a secretary and then as a nursing technician. We both always worked diligently in the local church. When my husband went to São Paulo to study theology, I started my degree in speech therapy. I already had my daughter and then my son came. We have always maintained our involvement in the local church and our work, and our children have always accompanied us to the local church’s programs. “Our entire family is here in Africa because we understand that mission is family and we support each other, support and collaborate, so we joined forces to face this great challenge. Thank God, we have been here in Africa since January 2024 and have begun our adaptation. We continue with faith and hope in our mission and, above all, the exchange of experiences and the appreciation of knowledge.” Roberta asserts that mission is the essential element that gives life to Christianity. “It must happen,” she said, “because there are still people who need support, health, help and charity. As long as there are hunger, wars and people in conflict situations, mission will always be necessary.”