John & Jenny Rolland

Since early in John’s life, he has felt called to overseas missions. His first real introduction to missions was at JAARS (Jungle Aviation and Radio Service) where his father worked in the computer center and where the family lived for a year.  While there, John and his parents had the privilege of attending worship services with and drawing inspiration from Cameron Townsend, the founder of Wycliffe Bible Translators.  This season at JAARS was instrumental in John’s life.  Several years later, at the age of seventeen, John committed his life to Christ. While attending King College in Bristol, TN, John travelled twice to Papua, New Guinea on short-term mission trips. These trips deepened the calling John felt in his heart toward mission work.

Jenny was nine years old when she understood the Lord was drawing her to Himself and it was then that she gave her life to Christ. At the age of fourteen, she went on her first mission trip with her youth group to Haiti and realized she wanted to become a missionary nurse. Two years later, while on a school field trip, she toured the M/V Good Samaritan, one of YWAM’s Mercy Ships. During that visit, the Lord placed in her heart a strong desire to serve on a Mercy Ship one day. Jenny recalls singing along with a song by Petra on the radio in 1987 which echoed her heart – “I am available, I am available. I will go where You say go…so use me as You will, I am available”.

John and Jenny met in 1991 while Jenny was in nursing school and they married in 1995.  Their mutual desire to be involved with overseas missions was one of the things that drew them together.   In 2008, along with their three children who were 6, 10, and 12 at the time, John and Jenny joined the Mercy Ships crew on board the M/V Africa Mercy in Liberia.  The family spent nearly three years serving together in Africa.  John served as a photographer and Jenny as operating room manager.  Various short-term mission trips followed their departure from the ship in 2011.  Then, in October of 2023, with their children now grown, John and Jenny were called back to Mercy Ships and spent a year on board the ships working in Sierra Leone and Madagascar.  This time Jenny served again as operating room manager and John worked as infection preventionist and, later, HOPE Center facilitator in transportation and supply.  John and Jenny are returning to the Africa Mercy in Madagascar in 2025 for the month of September, and will be continuing their service with Mercy Ships in the future as they are needed and the Lord leads.  John and Jenny need sending partners and are always grateful for any prayer or financial support.  Discerning and obeying the Lord’s call is very important to them and they are ready to respond to the opportunities the Lord presents, whether with Mercy Ships or other ministries, despite the challenges, as long as they are in good health and able to go.