DAVID POLSTRA

Medi cal Mi ssi ons Mi ni st ri es

Brightworth
Charles Schwab Advisor Services
David Polstra remembers thinking, Theres no way Im going
on an overseas mission. But after participating in an eight-
day mission trip to Guatemala in 1991, he returned home a
changed man.
I felt I had to make a choice in my attitude: Either think been
there, done that or answer the calling to make a difference.
He heeded the call, leading his own mission in 1992 on behalf
of Medical Missions Ministries, which provides free medical
clinics for impoverished rural Guatemalans. He has continued
to travel to Guatemala almost every year since.
Mr. Polstra, an advisor with Brightworth in Atlanta, GA, has
served on the board of directors of Medical Missions Ministries
for 17 years, applying his administrative talents and fnancial
expertise to setting up fnancial systems, fundraising, recruiting
volunteers, procuring medicines, and facility planning.
Under his guidance, the organization has grown from one
doctor and three mission trips a year to a full-time staff of 10
and 29 trips serving 3,000 patients annually. The ministry also
provides microenterprise training.
Keeping the organization running smoothly and fscally sound
is Mr. Polstras behind-the-scenes gift. He jokingly tells the
doctors, You prescribe the medicines; let me count the money.
Gl obal Communi t y I mpact