WILLS & MELISSA VANRAY
Wills was born in Cambodia and survived much pain and suffering during the civil war and genocide. As a refugee in America, he found that country is truly the land of opportunities. He made the most of his opportunities and obtained his Doctor of Optometry degree from the Southern College of Optometry and completed his residency program at Northern Navajo Medical Center. He first heard the name of Jesus at age 32. Through Jesus’ relentless pursuit and personal recognition that he is a sinner, he gave his life to Christ in February of 2008. Since then, he has been walking with Christ, maturing in his faith, and serving God in his local church and on short term missions trips with LightBridge. He knows that God has truly brought him full-circle as He is calling him back to Cambodia to spread the hope and love of Christ to his own people. Because he is still fluent in Khmer, lived through and survived the war, he has the unique opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the Khmer people in their native tongue.
God gave Melissa a heart for missions during high school when she went on a mission trip to Kentucky and a youth conference where they spoke about mission trips overseas. She continued to grow in her faith slowly until college when her understanding of the Bible grew and her love for Jesus deepened. Her passion and love for missions increased during a mission trip to inner-city Philadelphia in college and then through two trips to Honduras during optometry school. Since marrying Wills and going on five short-term mission trips with LightBridge to Cambodia, she has fallen in love with the Khmer people and wants to help create positive changes in their lives.
Their role at Lightbridge is to be on-the-ground missionaries in Cambodia with a focus on outreach in the community and establishing relationships through eye care and health education. They want to use the education and experience that God has given them to provide quality eye care in Cambodia where the access to eyecare is limited to nonexistent. As Optometrists, their goal is to start an eye clinic in Cambodia.
The Vanrays also have a passion for mentoring and discipling young adults through Bible study, community building, and personal relationships. They use the Biblical knowledge and leadership training they have received and pass it on to the Khmer people who do not have access to such resources. Their goal is to help them understand the teachings of Jesus, to give them vision for their future, and to lead by example what it looks like to serve God in their everyday lives. Their desire is to help young people become whole and complete the way God designed them to be. They want to prepare them personally, morally, and spiritually so they can have great relationships and positively affect the next generation.