John and Jessica Cropsey
John and Jessica first met in 2nd grade in Ypsilanti, Michigan while John's family was back for a year of furlough from Togo, West Africa where they served as medical missionaries. John and Jessica's relationship can best be described as distant and cool at that time, but it didn't end there. They were reunited in high school, both with a vision for missionary service. The high school sweethearts found themselves in holy matrimony in the year 2000.
John graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.S. in Biology in 2001 and continued to pursue his studies at the University of Michigan Medical School. In the same year, Jessica graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a B.S. in Secondary Math Education. While teaching high school math, she earned a Master's degree in Teaching English as a Second Language. In 2005, they moved to Philadelphia where John completed his internship at Albert Einstein Medical Center and ophthalmology residency at Wills Eye Hospital.
After completing residency, John and Jessica joined World Medical Mission's Post-Residency Program. This program provided them with an opportunity to serve and to be mentored for two years (2009-2011) at Tenwek Mission Hospital in rural, southwest Kenya. They embarked on this journey with a group of two other families from their home church in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Using a portion of each family's last name, they dubbed themselves "The McCropders". God kept this team united and added additional members so that the McCropder team now includes 6 doctors, 3 teachers, and 7+kids. John and Jessica have three small children: Elise (2007), Micah (2008), and Samuel (2011).
The McCropder/WHM Burundi team is currently studying French at a Christian language school in Albertville, France. In August 2013, they plan to move to Burundi, East Africa. They will partner with Hope Africa University and Kibuye Hope Hospital to focus on medical education and discipleship. In particular, John and Jessica are serving as the team leaders for the WHM Burundi team and plan to establish an eye care center at Kibuye Hospital that will provide medical and surgical care for the visually impaired in Burundi as well as function as a training center for national eye care providers of all levels. For more information about the work in Burundi, visit the team blog at mccropders.com.
DESIGNATION NUMBER: 51311
