Goodbye, Sister Ellison

The West Indies Mission will lose an incredible asset on August 8, when Sister Diane Ellison goes home to her family and friends in southern California. Sister Ellison has spent 23-months caring for the health and wellbeing of the “young . . . and a little past young” missionaries in her role as WimNurse. In her other role as WimTravel, she has also pulled off some truly miraculous feats in arranging hundreds of airline flights for transfers, zone conferences and other mission journeys.

The most enjoyable experience of her mission? “Doing things which seemingly could not be done. Seeing miracles happen because I wouldn't believe they couldn't. Being cornered by impossible flight schedules or medical problems, then feeling the flash of insight coming straight from The Source. Getting to know the missionaries. I've laughed with them, I've cried with them, I've learned and grown with them. My love feels no limits when I think of them.”

While she will mostly miss the “incredible tropical breezes,” the WIM will miss this senior missionary's positive attitude, her giving spirit and her infectious laugh, but she is excited for her future. “I am a Red Cross disaster nurse and they are already emailing me and counting the days until I come home. They’ve asked me to up-grade my certification so I can be deployed internationally, as well as nationally. I love this kind of exhausting, heartbreaking and incredibly satisfying work which pushes the edge of the envelope. The assignments are about 3 weeks at a time so I'm not gone from my family long and they love the stories I have to tell when I return. I also plan to be a nurse at summer camp. Because of my connection with the Red Cross I could do all their certification like lifeguard training, water safety, first aid and CPR. Most of all I love the out-of-doors, I love health and I love swimming and teaching children to swim.”

Til we meet again, Sister Ellison. We are better (and healthier) for having known you!