MAGL Alumni Sara Estes and Sarah Hilkemann

Sara Estes

I currently work for a pediatric home health company in Dallas and do private duty nursing for a local family. Though I feel this job is not going to be the extent of being a registered nurse, God knows where we need to be in each season of life. My responsibilities involve the medical care of a child with a degenerative disease. This child is completely dependent, even on a ventilator to maintain breathing. In this role, I have the opportunity to demonstrate the compassion of Jesus to the hurting and lost. Being a pediatric nurse with a home health schedule has also allowed me to be a volunteer in the children’s ministry at my church. Most recently, I have been apart of the team who video records each Bible lesson that is posted for “Facebook church.”   

God opened the doors for this degree while on one of my journeys to Haiti. With a concentration in missions, I was taught the skills to develop biblical leadership and apply it in cross-cultural contexts. These skills are applied in meeting many families in healthcare. I have also been blessed to take these skills to remote Rwanda, Russia, Cambodia, and elsewhere, doing medical missions and discipleship. I cannot wait to encounter more of the world and see glimpses of Jesus’ love to people in the healthcare environment.

Sarah Hilkemann

After graduating from DBU with my MAGL in 2012, I began the journey to serve overseas and arrived in Cambodia in 2013. I had the opportunity to join the leadership staff of Velvet Ashes, an online community, and ministry for women who are serving cross-culturally. I am currently the Program Coordinator for Velvet Ashes and help oversee our community of over 3,000 women who are serving and living all over the globe. I am responsible for our weekly blog and work with our writers and other volunteer teams. I coordinate our online Connection Groups. I also help plan other projects and opportunities for women to encourage them and equip them.

The MAGL program gave me tools to grow as a leader both on the field and off. I still refer to the things I learned in my classes from professors, other students, and the information we received. I get the opportunity to invest in those who are on the front lines of Kingdom work so that the Gospel can go forth, and I’m grateful for the doors that my MAGL degree has opened for me.