Welcome To First  PresbyterianChurch                  120 Broad St.   LaGrange, GA  30240

Pastor, Dr. Douglas T. DeCelle                Parish Associate, Dr. William Conine

  Pastor's Site   Children's Education          Membership       Members       Child Care    Montessori School

Jim and Jodi McGill                                          Guest speakers for worship on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2008             Jodi and Jim are special friends of Kristen DeCelle our 2006-7 mission worker in Malawi Jim and Jodi McGill have been under appointment as mission co-workers since 1995. Their most recent assignment, which began in 2000, is in Mzuzu, Malawi, just two hours from Embangweni, where they had lived for ten years. Jim and Jodi moved to Mzuzu at the request of the Synod of Livingstonia of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian, the PC(USA)’s partner in Malawi, in order to widen the scope of their work to include the entire synod. After their reappointment in June 2004, Jodi began working part-time at the Ekwendeni Hospital's nursing school as a clinical instructor. Malawi is a landlocked country bordering Tanzania to the north and east, Mozambique to the south, east, and west, and Zambia to the west. Mzuzu, a small town with electricity, email access, shops, and several schools, is located in the northern region of Malawi. The predominant illnesses in Malawi are malaria, pneumonia, anemia, malnutrition, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS related illnesses. The average life expectancy is 35 years, which reflects the high mortality rates from malaria and HIV/AIDS. Jim serves two roles in the Synod of Livingstonia’s Development Department—coordinator of protected water and buildings coordinator. After moving to Mzuzu, Jodi became the Synod’s coordinator for primary health care and at the same time also took on the work of interim coordinator for the AIDS department. Jim coordinates the clean water and sanitation work of the Synod’s three hospitals, the clean water section of the Synod’s Development Department, and the shallow wells work of the Marion Medical Mission. The focus of his work is to ensure sustainability at the community level and to ensure the church is a strong presence in the rural development of Malawi and an effective advocate for its people. Prior to their move to Mzuzu in 2000, Jodi was a staff nurse on the wards of Embangweni Hospital, which was founded by mission personnel of the Free Church of Scotland in 1926. She treated patients in the outpatient department, assisted with administration, and worked with Malawian counterparts to develop and implement primary health-care projects. In Mzuzu, as coordinator of primary health care, she works with the Synod’s three hospitals, the congregation-based malaria prevention program, HIV/AIDS prevention and care, support-programs in communities and hospitals, and a variety of other public health programs. Jodi McGill holds a bachelor of science degree in nursing from the University of Arizona and a bachelor’s of science in chemistry and microbiology from Northern Arizona University. She also holds an MS in nursing and a master's of public health from Emory University. She has served as a nurse both in the Atlanta, Georgia, area and in Africa. Jim received his BS in physics from Wake Forest University before finishing his MS in geological engineering at the University of Arizona. Jim has spent many years in Africa doing geophysical research for the Geology Department at Duke and as the child of Presbyterian missionaries to Congo. The McGills are the parents of six children, twins Jason and Michael, Salome, Selina, and twins Joseph and John. Jim serves two roles in the Synod of Livingstonia’s Development Department—coordinator of protected water and buildings coordinator. After moving to Mzuzu, Jodi became the Synod’s coordinator for primary health care and at the same time also took on the work of interim coordinator for the AIDS department. Jim coordinates the clean water and sanitation work of the Synod’s three hospitals, the clean water section of the Synod’s Development Department, and the shallow wells work of the Marion Medical Mission. The focus of his work is to ensure sustainability at the community level and to ensure the church is a strong presence in the rural development of Malawi and an effective advocate for its people. Prior to their move to Mzuzu in 2000, Jodi was a staff nurse on the wards of Embangweni Hospital, which was founded by mission personnel of the Free Church of Scotland in 1926. She treated patients in the outpatient department, assisted with administration, and worked with Malawian counterparts to develop and implement primary health-care projects. In Mzuzu, as coordinator of primary health care, she works with the Synod’s three hospitals, the congregation-based malaria prevention program, HIV/AIDS prevention and care, support-programs in communities and hospitals, and a variety of other public health programs. Jodi McGill holds a bachelor of science degree in nursing from the University of Arizona and a bachelor’s of science in chemistry and microbiology from Northern Arizona University. She also holds an MS in nursing and a master's of public health from Emory University. She has served as a nurse both in the Atlanta, Georgia, area and in Africa. Jim received his BS in physics from Wake Forest University before finishing his MS in geological engineering at the University of Arizona. Jim has spent many years in Africa doing geophysical research for the Geology Department at Duke and as the child of Presbyterian missionaries to Congo. The McGills are the parents of six children, twins Jason and Michael, Salome, Selina, and twins Joseph and John.