Under the relentless Nigerian sun, a sandy-haired boy squints at a small prop plane before him. The smell of engine fuel fills the air as he scrambles aboard. Face pressed to the window, he watches as his parents below grow small and disappear. Don Campion is airborne … for the very first time.
As a missionary kid growing up in the remote village of Egbe, Nigeria, Don’s long flights to boarding school were among the many experiences that imprinted his life with an indelible sense of resilience and adventure. “From hunting with villagers for days out in the bush to driving a motorcycle solo across two continents, I had an unconventional childhood, to say the least,” Don says.
But he never imagined that one day God would thrust him and his wife, Sueanne, directly into the flight path of a massive international revitalization project – to restore the once-thriving mission hospital compound he first called home.
Propelled forth
Built in 1952 as a simple mud structure, Egbe Hospital was established by Don’s parents, Dr. George Campion, a physician, and Esther Campion, a nurse, who were missionaries from Canada. Over time, they grew the hospital into a thriving medical outpost, which drew Nigerians from all over the country, the most populous nation in Africa with 220 million people.
While his parents continued their life’s work in-country as missionaries, Don and his three sisters had to leave Nigeria once they finished high school due to immigration laws. “I outfitted my Honda motorcycle with extra fuel, water, a compass, and a tent and set out across the Sahara Desert,” Don says. “I crossed from Africa into Europe through Gibraltar and kept driving all the way across the continent until I reached the English Channel, then on to London.”
From there, Don went to Canada, where he studied to become a pilot and aircraft technician. Eventually, he made his way to Miami, Florida, drawn by the proliferation of independent charter plane operators. After flying for several years, he saw a niche in the market. In 1979, he opened Banyan Air Service to provide maintenance to charter companies.
Don and Sueanne became friends through of one of Banyan’s early customers and fell in love. Soon after, they married and began establishing Banyan Air Service as a Christ-centered business, seeking to honor God became a guiding principle in all that they did.
A change of course
In 2008, Don was given the opportunity to return to Nigeria for the first time since he had left as a young adult. “Of course, I wanted Sueanne to see where I grew up,” Don says. “So, off we went to Nigeria.”
Many of the chiefs in the surrounding villages who were Don’s former playmates came to see them. “I was so surprised,” Sueanne says. “It’s a whole other part of Don’s life I knew nothing about.”
But his return was not all joyful. Don was shocked to see that Egbe Hospital had fallen into disrepair. “There was no electricity and no running water,” Don says. The hospital was on the brink of collapse, which would leave local Nigerians with no option for medical care for at least 100 miles.
While Don was sad, he and Sueanne didn’t feel like there was much they could do. “Those days are over,” they thought. “The hospital served the region well for 50-plus years, and now it’s come to an end.”
Into the crosswind
When they returned home, they both sensed God was steering their hearts in a different direction. “The call to rebuild the hospital got stronger and stronger,” Don says. “We thought of all the people who wouldn’t be alive or know the Lord today if it wasn’t for the hospital. We hated to see it collapse.”
But with no missionaries on the ground, no sponsoring mission agency, no skilled labor, and no building supplies within miles, the task seemed daunting. But God had a plan.
Achieving critical lift
Everything changed when Don met Stephan Tchividjian, president of NCF South Florida, at a Bible study. Later, he discovered that Stephan is Billy Graham’s grandson, and the memories came flooding back. “In Nigeria, the only white preacher I knew was a man named Billy Graham,” Don says. “We gathered around a shortwave radio to listen to his Hour of Decision program every week.”
When Stephan heard Don’s heart for Egbe, he suggested they fly to North Carolina to meet with Billy Graham’s son Franklin, president of Samaritan’s Purse. The two men quickly bonded over their shared loved of flying, and Don explained his vision for the hospital. Franklin was moved, and he committed a team to scout the project.
After visiting Egbe, their response was unanimous. Samaritan’s Purse offered support in the form of a construction manager, volunteer coordination, half a million dollars, and a half-million-dollar matching grant – which Don’s company quickly matched.
“In one conversation, we raised $1.5 million,” Don says. “That was overwhelming proof that God can do anything, just like that.”
Cleared for takeoff
Back in Fort Lauderdale, Stephan helped Don set up a Giving Fund at NCF to help manage the contributions coming into Egbe Medical Mission. But Don soon realized that the process of getting those funds to Nigeria was complex and expensive.
The organization he was using to handle their international granting took a stiff percentage fee. And they worked with banks that didn’t provide very favorable exchange rates. He was also concerned about the complicated governmental rules and legal implications of transferring large sums of money to Nigeria.
That’s when Stephan connected Don with TrustBridge Global Foundation. With their cross-border expertise and relationships with leading global banks and technology providers, they proved to be a safe, efficient solution for the Campions’ international granting.
“TrustBridge has enabled us to save 30 percent in administration costs on every dollar given, so we can send that to ministry,” Don says. “When you’re raising money for kingdom work, you have an even greater responsibility to steward it well, so that’s a huge win.”
The like-minded relationships have given Sueanne peace of mind. “With NCF and TrustBridge, we know that everybody’s prayer is to make sure the biggest percentage of the money goes to the mission,” she says.
Achieving altitude
Through the heroic efforts of a dedicated team of American, Canadian, and Nigerian doctors, nurses, donors, missionaries, and volunteers, Egbe Hospital was revitalized to become one of Nigeria’s leading medical centers. One look at the dramatic before-and-after shows the leap of faith they took.
Today, the hospital is a thriving, 50-acre complex handling an average of 2,000 patients per month – plus 30 labor and delivery patients and 70 major surgeries. There are six family medicine doctors on staff and 450 local nurses in training at the hospital’s college of nursing.
Don’s parents lived long enough to rejoice in Egbe’s restoration before they both passed away in 2022 at the age of 97.
Over time, Don and Sueanne have come to believe that, with God, the sky really is the limit. And they have big plans to keep growing and innovating. “The ideas keep flowing,” Don says. “With so much local community involvement, generous donors, and a large network of organizations offering assistance, there’s definitely no end in sight for Egbe Medical Mission.”
Contact your NCF team to learn more about TrustBridge Global and their international granting expertise.
Photos courtesy of Don and Sueanne Campion
