Bringing Healing and Hope in Micronesia

Dave & Patti Schatzmann left their jobs, home, friends, and family to follow God’s call to minister in Micronesia. They now live on a tiny island in the Central Pacific and find contentment they never imagined.

Join us as they share every day adventures experienced in their new “paradise.”

Transcript

TOPIC: Bringing Healing and Hope in Micronesia
GUESTS: Dave & Patti Schatzmann
S3, E34

Ric Shields (00:00):

I've interviewed people in the past who have shared the difficulties of having to drive forty miles to the nearest Walmart. Now that's hard for me to fathom since I have one less than three miles away. What if the closest Walmart or anything like it was 3,000 miles away? What if everything you needed had to be shipped and could take anywhere from two weeks to a few months before it arrived? Planning ahead would be pretty important.

(00:24):

But Dave and Patti Schatzmann have chosen to embrace that lifestyle in order to live where a huge need exists in the South Pacific where there are thousands of islands and languages, many of which are hundreds of miles apart. They chose this lifestyle after having longtime careers in accounting and nursing, and it’s no small deal.

(00:46):

I'll be chatting with Dave and Patti Schatzmann on this episode. I'm Ric Shields. Thanks for joining me on the DoorWays® Ministry Network podcast.

(01:03):

Dave and Patti, you're living in the South Pacific in Pohnpei, Micronesia. You're 16 hours ahead of us in Tulsa, Oklahoma, about 6,800 miles west of us in the South Pacific. Thanks for working with me and making it possible for us to connect with you.

Dave Schatzmann (01:19):

Who would've thought that we'd be sitting here some 35 years after you were my Earth Science teacher at Oral Roberts University? Well, it is an honor to be here with you, Ric.

Ric Shields (01:32):

That's, that's just hard to believe it's been that long ago.

(01:36):

You're 3,000 miles away from the nearest Walmart. This has got to be a huge adjustment.

Patti Schatzmann (01:44):

Yes, this is absolutely a huge adjustment. We have learned life without Walmart. Everything is imported here. Even the vegetables and fruits, which is surprising because we live on an island. And because of that, grocery shopping here is very expensive and different than in the United States. Due to the compact that the United States has with the Federated States of Micronesia. The US dollar is used here as well as the USA mail delivers here. And we have a US zip code. This is nice as you can write us for the same cost of sending a letter in the United States and we also receive Amazon.

(02:27):

The downside is it can take up to a month to receive a letter from the United States and we've had to wait up to four months to receive some of our Amazon packages. We know that we are so blessed to be able to have this right now in our current location. Not everywhere in Micronesia has this perk with Amazon.

Ric Shields (02:50):

So, I think everybody needs to realize it's time to start sending your Christmas cards because we don't know for sure when you'll get them <laugh>.

Patti Schatzmann (02:58):

That's absolutely right, Ric.

Ric Shields (03:00):

Now listen, I've done a little bit of research. You currently live on a volcanic island that's about 11 miles by 12 miles. The highest point is 2,500 feet. And that tells me, because again, Dave, I'm an earth science instructor, much of the island is really uninhabitable. But still, there's a population of about 37,000 people. One of the wettest places on Earth, 300 inches of rain each year, average daytime temperatures in the mid-eighties, mid to upper eighties with lows in the seventies. It sounds like a beautiful place to live, but there's absolutely nothing there.

Dave Schatzmann (03:36):

The place reminds us a lot of Jurassic Park. Patti says it all the time, “Man, this just looks like Jurassic Park.” And because of all that rainfall, the scenery is absolutely lush, it's green, there's foliage everywhere, and it honestly does not take long for weeds to thrive here either.

(04:00):

It really, the country's honestly more of a second world country and it's just not nearly as developed as the United States is. The minimum wage here is approximately $1.50 an hour. So, people don't make a lot of money.

(04:18):

You mentioned the climate. It is rather warm here. I don't know if we've seen 70’s because we live in the lower elevations. It might be in the 70’s up on the mountainous area, but we don't see 70’s. It gets rather warm here.

(04:34):

One of the other unique things is I don't think we've seen a place that has more stray dogs, stray cats and chickens running around everywhere. So, a few little different things that we've seen here.

(04:47):

The people though are extremely, extremely friendly. They're polite. They love having us here on the island. One of the benefits here is that they speak English very well and that makes communicating very easy for us on the island. But here's a side note. Many people believe that all of the islands in the Pacific are like Tahiti and that's just not the case where we live. This island is 100% surrounded by mangroves. There is not a sandy beach on the island. You have coral beaches, so you can't just go walk out barefoot and be happy and go enjoy the water. We honestly have not spent a lot of time at the beach here because it's just not that kind of island. So, we were surprised when we saw that. But it is beautiful.

Ric Shields (05:41):

I'm getting ahead of myself. I'd like to say, let's go back to the beginning, but Patti sent me a three-page single space note and we're aiming for a 20-minute episode, so we're going to have to hit some highlights.

(05:52):

I've known you two for 35 years or hour longer. You're Oral Roberts University graduates. Patti, you have a degree in nursing. Dave, you have an accounting degree from ORU and a master's degree in accounting from Oklahoma State University. You got married, you started careers, started a family dug into life and ministry in your local church, and that seems like a pretty great story right there. What happened that you've been transplanted to Micronesia?

Patti Schatzmann (06:21):

David and I went to church with no idea that there was going to be a missionary speaking that day, and that by the end of the day, our lives would be forever changed. For 30 plus years, we had been financially helping to send missionaries, but that day we both felt the Holy Spirit was calling us to pursue missions full time. So yeah, that's what changed.

Ric Shields (06:50):

So, you both sensed the call of God missions when you were young adults, before you were even married, I think. Had you ever talked with each other about it and considered a different life path?

Patti Schatzmann (07:00):

Actually, we were living in Florida and we really felt like God was telling us it was time to move and we were looking in to working with a mission organization that had a headquarters in Australia. And we had been praying about it and seeking God in that direction. Really just saying, “God, we're willing to do whatever you tell us to do. We're open to moving, we're open to going on missions.”

(07:31):

And about that time, out of the blue, David received a phone call from a former employer and he asked David to come back to Tulsa and to work with him. And we felt like that that was God opening the door for our move. We loved Tulsa and so we knew going back to Tulsa would not be a hard thing.

(07:56):

So yeah, we talked about it, but after praying, God led us back to Tulsa instead of taking a position in Australia. And we laugh about that now because Australia is actually part of our Pacific Oceania team with our mission organization. And so, we are like God was preparing us even then for a life in the Pacific.

Dave Schatzmann (08:20):

Before we were married, Patti had her invisible pre-marriage checklist, you know, the husband or the potential husband interview checklist, and on that list is blue eyes. “Oh God, you're going to have to throw me a bone here because I don't have blue eyes.”

(08:41):

And then she says, “Dave, do you see yourself doing missions?” And I said, “well, of course I do. I grew up on the mission field my first six years were in the mission field in Lesotho, and I definitely can see myself doing missions,” but, and, and as soon as I said that, you know, check in there goes, okay, check. He's, he's a missionary. And I said, “but only if God calls” because I was wise enough then (I was not wise about many things, but about that I was), I knew that going to missions was not something like a vacation destination choice. That was something that required a call of God.

(09:26):

So, 35 years later, that call came and it was, that's part of the story. I think that is important for people to hear. It's not about a vacation destination. It is far more than that.

Ric Shields (09:39):

So, were you experiencing a time of discontent maybe in your careers or did something just happen out of the clear blue sky? You go to church on a Sunday, somebody speaks and that got your attention?

Dave Schatzmann (09:52):

Honestly, I don't think either of us were looking for any change. Not spiritually and definitely not in our career choice. But for whatever reason on that day, June 5th, everything changed and we have not looked back since that day.

Ric Shields (10:10):

You're listening to the DoorWays® Ministry Network podcast. My name is Ric Shields and I'm joined on this episode with my friends Dave and Patti Schatzmann, who recently had a huge life change. They went from earning comfortable salaries, being near their kids, doing life with longtime friends and chased the call of God to some remote islands in the South Pacific, or the water is clear. They just told me the beaches might not be that great where they are, but you know, still, it's awfully pretty and it never snows. It never freezes. Coconuts, palm trees, snorkeling and fishing. Man, it all sounds a bit romantic, but is it?

Dave Schatzmann (10:45):

That's funny. Romantic isn't the first word that either Patti nor I would think of to describe our time here. In fact, there are days where I have to take showers multiple times a day just because of how hot and sweaty I've gotten. Our income decreased so much that I think when we graduated ORU we were making more money our first year out of college than we are now, and that's 35 plus years. Just about everything here costs more than I'm, I'd say maybe double to triple the cost of what it costs in the United States. So, electricity, food, fuel, snacks, you name it, it, it is just far more expensive.

(11:26):

Somehow in all of these situations, we find ourselves content. We are learning to trust God now in ways that we never had to experience back in the States.

Ric Shields (11:38):

Now you're learning a language on an island where that language is not predominantly spoken. That makes me scratch my head <laugh>. What is your ultimate destination and what do you need to do to get there?

Patti Schatzmann (11:52):

Yeah, we scratch our heads on that one too sometimes. The fact is we are missionaries to Micronesia and this place is huge. Our short-term goal for the next two years is learning the language and the culture of this area and getting our credentialing to become career missionaries. Our future after language and culture is community development, which just means using our gifts in the community to expand the church. And we are looking at doing that through clean water projects, through afterschool programs, possibly a medical clinic on a remote island for me and for Dave also doing volleyball training clinics, which he's actually already started doing on the island that we live on right now.

(12:44):

Part of why we're here is that our mission organization requires all new missionaries to serve along a missionary mentor their first term. Sadly, in all of Micronesia, there were only two missionary units to choose from to partner us with. And so that's why we're on Pohnpei is because our missionary mentor lives here and works here on Pohnpei. The reality that I think this should bring home to everybody is that we need more missionaries in this part of the world. This part of the world is truly isolated. It's remote and what many will label as a forgotten area.

Ric Shields (13:28):

Yeah, you're moving to another island, it's about a thousand miles away from where you're at, is that correct?

Patti Schatzmann (13:33):

Dave is the guy that knows all of the statistics where things are located and he can explain that.

Dave Schatzmann (13:41):

The country is spread out all over the place, but we don't know where we will actually move. We might stay here on this island and do ministry from here. It just, the flights are a whole other aspect of, you know, getting between islands.

Ric Shields (13:59):

It's a big change. So being here so that you can go there. Okay, I get that you've got to work with somebody and understand the, you know, all the hoops and loops and whatever. Wow.

Patti Schatzmann (14:10):

I mean, between us, is it frustrating that we're learning this language and then we might not even go there? Absolutely. That can be frustrating.

Ric Shields (14:21):

Dave, you spent time in Switzerland when you were growing up, there's a huge need there. Why not go back to Switzerland or Luxembourg or Austria? Don't they need cross-cultural workers there too? 

Dave Schatzmann (14:32):

Yeah, Ric, they do, but I don't yodel, so I don't think Switzerland's going to be where God calls me.

Ric Shields (14:38):

So, I can understand because I went to a yodeling thing when I visited Austria a couple of years ago. That was fabulous. It was a lot of fun. But you would, yeah, but you understand what I'm saying. It's not about yodeling. I mean, there's huge needs, so why go to Micronesia?

Dave Schatzmann (14:54):

There truly are a lot of needs in Europe and part of the way that I see America is what has happened to Europe and we trail by maybe 10 to 15 years, and so the need has grown far beyond Europe. It's, it's in America as well. So why didn't God call us there?

(15:11):

Well, the simple answer is I think that we don't get to tell God where we want him to call us. Well, he offers the call and then he gives the location and our option is one of two answers. Yes or no.

(15:26):

Would it have been easier to go somewhere where we know some or all of the language? Absolutely, you know, South America with both of us knowing Spanish anywhere like that it's even Switzerland would've been easier for me because I speak Swiss German. But I think the, you know, the ideal answer would've been even more so Australia or New Zealand, and we would've had to learn a new accent. So <laugh>, but the reality is that we said “yes” to his call and we are right where he's called us.

Ric Shields (16:00):

So, you wrote and said, you told me obedience is a huge part of this story. So that's what you're telling me here, too. It's all about obedience.

Dave Schatzmann (16:10):

Yeah, in fact, we heard a message during a conference that we went to, right pretty much a month after God called us. And this was from our regional director and he gave a morning devotional about what a Christian life looks like. And he said, “Really, our Christian walk is a series of yeses from the beginning of God's offer of salvation. It's a yes or a no. And so, if you say yes, then the next question might be a call. And that call has an answer of yes or no.”

(16:46):

So, in life, our options are to say yes to God or to saying no to God. And so, for Christians, those typically end up with yeses. And when you follow God, I think the yes is all about obedience or not. And for us, I tell Patti and, and even others that we learned from Jonah, when God's called us to go to Micronesia or wherever it is, I don't want to go in the belly of a large fish. I would just as soon go on an airplane.

Ric Shields (17:15):

Is what you're doing, this whole idea of leaving everything behind. Is this something you recommend to others?

Patti Schatzmann (17:23):

Would I recommend leaving everything that is comfortable behind; your job, your family, your friends, and your church? Only if God tells you to. It's been one of the hardest things yet one of the most fulfilling things we've done and we've come to realize we can live with so much less and that a simple life brings a lot of freedom.

Ric Shields (17:53):

Isobel Kuhn was a missionary to China in the 1930s and in her book, “Nests Above the Abyss,” she wrote, “I believe that in each generation God has called enough men and women to evangelize all the yet unreached tribes of the earth.” She concludes with this. “No, it is not God. Who does not call it is man who will not respond.” The harvest is ripe, it's plentiful, but the laborers are few and I'm proud of you guys for saying yes.

Patti Schatzmann (18:24):

I also would like to add that a lot of these places in the Pacific are very remote and have maybe only, you know, fifty to a hundred people maybe on a little island. And many might think, why would you want to go there where there's such few people instead of doing a mass outreach where thousands and thousands of people might be saved. And I'm just reminded of the story that the shepherd leaves the hundred to go after the one.

Ric Shields (19:00):

What's that? Do you want to say something different, Dave?

Dave Schatzmann (19:01):

Oh, I just said he also leaves the ninety-nine to go see, to find the one.

Patti Schatzmann (19:06):

Oh, that's what I should have said. Oh, let me say that. Okay. He leaves the 99 to go for the one <laugh>. I'm sorry, I got to give all my story straight.

Ric Shields (19:15):

Well, it's, it's early morning there for you.

(19:17):

Dave, you told me that God has given you an entirely different perspective on retirement. Would you share that perspective with us?

Dave Schatzmann (19:25):

Yes, absolutely, Ric. It was actually one of the first things that I believe that I gained a different perspective and I think the Lord was involved in that. I think at our age, most people are thinking about what are they going to do after retirement?

(19:41):

And that's a legit question when you grow up in America, but I think the, the Lord showed me something different. First, I think, let's just talk about that American view. Typically, Americans invest and live for their future. So, they're planning for that and that is that ultimately, they can retire, some earlier than others. But retirement actually looks like it's “Me Time.” M.E. It's about what are we going to do with our time and money, where we want to and how we want to live. So, it's looking about the future for ourselves because we feel like we've lived our lives for God, for whatever.

Ric Shields (20:29):

For others. For the man. Yeah.

Dave Schatzmann (20:30):

Yeah. We've lived our life that way. And so now it's my time and, and I believe that the Lord showed me the correct way to view it is that our lives belong to him. We live for him and serve him until we're no longer able. Then when we die, we enter retirement.

(20:54):

So, seeing heaven as a threshold of a believer's retirement is a whole new way of looking at life. And I really, boy, that was not hard for me to pick up and latch onto because I think that's a much better picture of how our lives should be.

Ric Shields (21:15):

Generally, we refer to you guys as second career missionaries. You had that first career; it was fulfilling whatever. You had opportunities. There were wonderful opportunities. And then at the end of that career, and sometimes it's when people retire, then they say, “Now what do we do? How do we spend the rest of our time and energies impacting the kingdom more effectively than we ever have before?”

(21:43):

So yeah, really, I'm, I'm proud of you guys. It's no small thing that you've done. You've gone to a remote part of the world. It's not like you can just hop on the plane and come visit us and be here, you know, for dinner. No, it's about what, a day and a half, almost two days to get back home? That's no small deal.

(22:04):

Dave and Patti, maybe there are people that want to follow what you're doing there in Micronesia. What can they do to keep in touch with you? Follow you? What do they do?

Patti Schatzmann (22:13):

Well, we have a ministry page on Facebook called Bringing Healing and Hope to Micronesia. It's in the group section of Facebook, Bringing Healing and Hope to Micronesia. And we also have a website, Schatzmann.com. It's just our last name, Schatzmann.com and we have ministry information on there as well.

Ric Shields (22:37):

Guys, this is great. Thank you so much.

Patti Schatzmann (22:39):

Thank you, Ric. It's been a pleasure.

Ric Shields (22:45):

What if God called you to walk away from your career, your home, your family, and send you to live among people who speak a different language and another culture? Could you do it? Would you do it?

(22:58):

Second career missionaries can be really effective. Their maturity and years of experience make them valuable in ministry to people who need others to come alongside. Help them to succeed. Vocational and life skills can be both caught and taught.

(23:15):

I love to read Romans 10:15-13. You heard it right. When you read in the "Ric Shields Reverse Edition" it goes like this. “Those who bring the gospel are beautiful messengers. They preach because they've been sent by others. That's how people have a chance to hear them. And once they hear the gospel they've never heard before, they can believe and believing means they will call on the name of the Lord and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

(23:45):

Dave and Patti Schatzmann have been called and sent and are preparing to share the gospel effectively. I'm so grateful for people like them.

(23:55):

I'd like to hear from you this week. Please let me know if we're providing the kind of content that's helpful to you. Send me an email at info@doorways dot cc and let me know and let me know if there are topics you think will be helpful for us to discuss.

(24:08):

I look forward to being with you next week. May the Lord bless you, keep you and give you peace.