Serving in Thailand

A journey of a thousand leagues begins with a single step”. With this in mind, my family has been learning the Thai language this year and preparing for homeschooling so that we can support the needs of the rural poor, refugees and displaced peoples at Kwai River Christian Hospital. Like many low-resource communities, many people along the western Thai-Myanmar border suffer needlessly from treatable conditions. The medical work will provide access to essential medical and surgical care for the hospital’s catchment area of a 200km radius, while the educational work aims to break the cycle of poverty. Joining the hospital on-site from 2017 will also provide opportunities to leverage on the skills of visiting short-term missions teams and channel the loving support of our partners for a lasting impact on the well-being of the community.

Our steps have led us together from meeting at Taylor University to courtship through Medical School in Indiana and then journeying as a married couple in General Surgery Residency in Phoenix, Arizona. We returned to Singapore in 2005 to join the team at Alexandra Hospital just before its transformation to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital in the department of General Surgery. The supportive community there has allowed us to step out to serve in the rural community of Amphoe Sangkhlaburi while maintaining connections and clinical skills with the developed world. We have been blessed with three daughters: all adventurers at heart and our fellow wanderers in this journey.

Dr Jen and family