The applause may be loud, the moment full of promise—but what follows a Nominating Committee announcement at the General Conference (GC) Session often signals the start of a life-altering journey, not just for the leader, but for the family standing quietly behind them. For many their spouse’s acceptance of a new role means more than apparent professional advancement—it means uprooting a carefully built life. It means leaving behind a home, a church community, close friends, and a fulfilling career, and sometimes even navigating a new language or culture. These individuals often do so with quiet strength, stepping into the unknown with little fanfare, guided by faith and a shared sense of calling. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy.
We Had Hours to Decide
Loida Pamplona studied medicine in Madrid, Spain, then moved to Valencia when she married, and earned a specialization in obstetrics and gynecology (OB-GYN). After her residency she obtained a job at a hospital near their home, where she has been working for seven years.
“I did my residency in a big hospital where there were lots of resources, but it was also very strict and impersonal,” Loida says. “Where I work now is a smaller hospital, and there are good relationships between all the staff, who are all centered on respect for the patient.” A few years after starting this job, Loida earned her Ph.D. in medicine. Then she had her first child.
Loida stayed home with her son for his first year of life, working only part-time at the hospital. “I put my career in second place for my family, and I did it 100 percent sure it was a good decision,” she comments. This way, she was able to travel with her husband when he was sent on work trips around Spain. “I thought I was giving a lot to prioritize my family,” she says, her eyes filling with tears. “Until two days ago, when I found out that had been nothing.”
Last week during GC Session, Loida’s husband, Samuel Gil Soldevilla, was nominated to serve as associate Communication director for the GC, moving from his current roles as Communication director for the Spanish Union and CEO of HopeMedia Spain. This meant a relocation from Spain to Maryland, United States (U.S.).
“We had hours to decide,” Pamplona shares. “And we had not expected this at all.”
Professionally, the transition for Samuel is relatively simple. He adopts a new title, a new office, and a new team of colleagues, and carries on. For Loida, the transition is not so simple, as medical degrees do not transfer as easily internationally. In order to practice medicine in the U.S., she must pass four exams on general medicine and an English-level exam.
“It would be hard for me, because it has been many years since I took these exams, and I have not been practicing general medicine,” she says. And even if she were to pass all five exams, she would not be allowed to work as an OB-GYN. That she can do only by completing the specialty training in medical school again. “I don’t expect to work [in the U.S.] as a gynecologist,” she admits.
Leaving the Life She Loved
Paula Sabuin had an established career as a nurse, having worked in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Korea for nearly 20 years. But as a pastor’s wife, she was also expected to fill roles she wasn’t trained for or comfortable with. “They thought the pastor’s wife should be a pastor too,” she explains. Though she tried to tell them she wasn’t a public speaker, they asked her to do it anyway. “I was expected to, as a pastor’s wife.”
In 2022, when her husband, Richard Sabuin, accepted a call to serve as associate director for the Education Department at the GC, Paula had to walk away from her career as a nurse. She obtained a job as an office manager for the Communication Department at the GC, where she has served for the past three years.
“I’m alone, and when my husband is away, I cry alone, I pray alone. It’s very hard.”
“I miss my job as a nurse, because I loved my patients,” Paula shares. She has also found her life in the U.S. much more lonely than the one she enjoyed in Asia. In Korea they lived in an apartment complex, with neighbors they knew and talked with regularly. “Here we don’t know each other. I’m alone, and when my husband is away, I cry alone, I pray alone. It’s very hard.”
Uprooted, Again
Liliam Martinelli and her husband, Mario, moved from Brazil to Spain 15 years ago when he began serving as CEO of Editorial Safeliz, a publishing house in Spain. It was a difficult transition, as there was no church nearby and they knew no one.
“We had a dream to start a church there, and after seven or eight years we planted a small church, which kept growing and growing,” Liliam shares. “It was a dream come true for my husband and me.”
Over the years Martinelli and her husband developed the church, made many friends, and settled into life in Spain. Then last week at GC Session, Mario was elected to serve as director of Publishing for the GC. “This is actually the most difficult thing,” says Liliam; “to leave the publishing house, our local church, and our friends behind. I cried and prayed a lot. I don’t like farewells.”
Liliam shares that Mario initially didn’t want to accept the call to the GC. He had already been thinking about retirement in a few years, and wasn’t looking to move before then. But Liliam felt it in her heart that God was leading them to Maryland.
“I know the world field needs my husband’s services,” she says. “Even with my heart broken, I encouraged him to accept. He said if I was willing, he would be as well, and I am always ready to go where God leads. So we said yes.”
Called Together
In the midst of the upheaval and heartbreak, all three women believe they are on the path God has chosen for them, even preparing them for this transition before they ever saw it coming. Two months ago Loida finished the grueling five-year process of obtaining a permanent position as a gynecologist at her hospital. This means regardless of where she goes throughout the course of her career, she will always have a position available there—for life.
“I’m telling you it’s a long process, and I had to deal with lots of difficulties to get here,” Loida says. “It’s a long story, but the experience prepared me to feel cared for, and that this is something bigger than me. It’s something I can’t control, but God does.”
Liliam, too, senses a larger, more powerful presence in these decisions than her own hopes or desires. While it may be difficult to step outside their comfort zone, Liliam is convinced spouses are meant to be partners, supporting each other, especially through tough moments with God.
“Our greatest challenges are God’s opportunities,” she says. “God always has a purpose, and He is faithful, always. The two of us are one before God, so the call is for both of us, and I know God has a mission for me, too.”
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Becky St. Clair is a freelance writer living in California.
