'Miracles still happen every day'

Don't tell Dr. Steve Meyer that miracles are few and far between these days.

"God has a plan for everybody's life," he said. "Miracles still happen every day, and I'm a walking, living example of that."

The Hartley native returned home last Friday to address a gathering of the Lutheran Women's Missionary League at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, where he was baptized. Meyer gave a message of hope focused on his missionary work in Tanzania, which has cemented his Christian faith and emboldened him to spread the gospel.

According to Meyer, surrendering himself to God has allowed him to be a part of countless miracles during his career as an orthopedic surgeon.

"If we walk directly into the eye of the hurricane with like-minded people arm-in-arm with the three essential ingredients – faith, hope and love – that's when miracles happen," he said.

• Called to serve

Meyer said he was called to serve God unexpectedly. After being kicked out of his house following an affair, he was in his apartment contemplating suicide with a loaded shotgun.

However, fate intervened when the on-call doctor at the hospital he worked at refused to answer his phone that same night. Meyer was called into work, where he was greeted by a 19-year-old woman with a broken leg. She had dedicated her life to serving God as a missionary, which impressed Meyer.

"I told her that I couldn't find God anywhere," he recalled. "She told me buddy, God didn't move – you did."

Thanks to her, Meyer eventually found himself on a plane to China, where he joined a group charged with smuggling Bibles into the country. The rest is history.

"I decided then that I would turn myself wholly over to God," he said. "That's where I've been for the last 27 years."

• STEMM and Tanzania

Meyer has always been drawn to Africa – as a kid, he repeatedly read the chapter about the continent in the Encyclopedia Britannica. When a friend asked him to join a medical mission to Tanzania, he didn't think twice.

"We were greeted by a place of incredible beauty and intense poverty, but I fell in love with country and the people," he said.

Meyer's passion led him to co-found the Siouxland Tanzania Educational and Medical Ministry (STEMM) in 1996. The organization still exists and has helped develop a relational bridge between Siouxland and Tanzania by addressing the priorities of spiritual growth, medical care and educational opportunities for the country's citizens.

Over the past 27 years, STEMM has raised money to provide more educational opportunities for Tanzanian children while providing medical care, agriculture outreach, ministry and orphanage support. The goal of the organization is to not only help people, but share God's message.

"We really do change people's minds and change people's hearts," Meyer said, noting even Muslim people in the communities STEMM serves have softened their stance on Christianity. "We're totally changing minds and lives in the kingdom."

• Tragedy and triumph

Meyer said his work in Tanzania has led him to witness several miracles, but none were bigger than one in 2017.

The surgeon was in the country when the worst school bus crash in African history occurred – 35 people died, with only three survivors living through the catastrophe. The trio only made it out alive because they were cushioned by the bodies of their fellow students.

Three of Meyer's colleagues assisted at the scene and the survivors were transported to a nearby hospital. After visiting them, he knew they had no chance at recovery if they stayed in Tanzania.

However, thanks to persistence from his wife and connections to former Congressman Steve King, officials at Mercy Hospital and Tanzanian lawmakers, the children were brought to Sioux City in an attempt to save their lives. The worst crash victim, Doreen, had a broken back and was paralyzed, but Meyer believed God didn't bring the children to America for no reason.

Meyer operated on Doreen, who eventually made a full recovery.

"I was praying big and I was praying bold," he said. "Eighty-six days later, she walked off the plane in Tanzania. She's the only human being on the face of the planet who was a complete T5 paraplegic that has ever walked. So don't tell me God doesn't do miracles today."

• "God loves us this much"

Meyer believed the miracles he's witnessed were all thanks to God's love.

"When you turn yourself over to God completely, miracles can happen, and they happen all the time," he said.

The surgeon admitted he's not perfect – three failed marriages, personal turmoil and other tribulations are proof of that. Still, Meyer said struggle and suffering are all part of God's plan. He encouraged those in attendance to open their hearts and let God take control while serving as His messenger.

"We all have our faults and we're all sinners, but God loves us this much," he said. "God has a purpose for all of us. If we answer his call, miracles will happen."