A Perfect Match Sacrifice

People don’t always know why certain individuals cross their paths, but sometimes it’s abundantly clear. Erika Goffin, youth pastor at Adams Assembly of God in Wisconsin, and Isaiah and Misty Scudder of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, believe they are in one another’s lives because God matched them together.

Years ago, while working in ministry in Sturgeon Bay, Goffin became acquainted with the Scudder family. Isaiah was a shy teenager at the time, but also a committed musician and servant. Ultimately, Goffin and her family moved away, but at a convention in 2009, she experienced a sudden trip down memory lane.

“Out of nowhere, I was locked in a big bear hug — and it was Isaiah Scudder,” Goffin says. “He was a youth volunteer, and still so excited about Jesus,”

Isaiah was also in love with a girl named Misty. Goffin reconnected with Isaiah via Facebook, and over the next seven years watched as Isaiah and Misty married and later welcomed a baby boy. Then, in October 2014, Misty Scudder suffered two brain aneurysms and required emergency surgery. The dyes used during the surgery caused her kidneys to fail, and Misty ultimately had to have both removed.

Goffin formed a group to pray for a donor and miraculously one was located, but soon disqualified. Goffin started praying again, but this time she sensed the need for a more personal involvement.

“I felt I needed to do more than pray,” Goffin recalls. “I had never considered being a donor, but I started researching.”

By April 2016, Goffin had passed all the necessary screenings and Misty learned she had a potential donor, but she didn’t learn the identity.

“I was so thankful,” Misty says. “The minimum wait is usually three years, and we’d been waiting just six months.”

For the next several months, Scudder underwent tests and had to have a hernia surgically removed. Finally, in September, nearly two years after she suffered the aneurysms, Scudder passed her final test and the transplant was approved.

“I so wanted to know who my donor was,” says Scudder.

Soon her wish was granted. After passing that last test, Scudder noticed Goffin had tagged her in a video post on Facebook.

A Perfect Match from Assemblies of God USA on Vimeo.

She logged in to watch, and in a few minutes realized the sacrifice being made. Goffin proved to be a perfect match.

“When I put it together, my heart just sank to my stomach and I cried,” Misty says. “Because of her, I get to watch my son grow up, grow old with my husband, and have more children. I’m getting back the life I didn’t think I would have.”

Goffin is willing to undergo the major surgery — on Nov. 2 at Fresenius Kidney Care in Milwaukee — but she considers it a minor sacrifice to save a life.

“Sometimes life is unfair and you can’t do anything about it, but sometimes you can,” says Goffin. “This process is surprisingly easy, and it’s a place Christians could really step up and make a difference.”

IMAGE: Erika Goffin and her son Caleb

Rachel Dawn Hayes

Rachel Dawn Hayes is a writer and journalist focused on the stories of ministries, people, and causes in the faith-based arena. Hayes lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, Joel. Together they enjoy travel, the outdoors, and cooking for friends and family.