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From Luke’s Journal February 2024 | Vol.29 No.1 | Missions and Sacrificial Service

Many missionary doctors in the past have sacrificed much, indeed even their lives, and some still do today. This has not been my experience, perhaps simply because of being a missionary hospital physician in two modern hospitals in established locations, being Hong Kong and Tanzania. 

Nevertheless, I have made decisions that have affected my career that have been considered stupid by many, and deleterious for my professional development.  I am happy to share this decision-making at three different phases in my life.

Three decisions

Three decisions I made when I was young in the 1960s stand out as being different from the norm. 

First, in my final year in Medicine at Sydney University in 1966, while living at ‘Men’s Hall’ at Glebe and Attending St Barnabas University Church, I believed God was asking me to not study on Sundays but to make that a special day for rest and worship. I had always studied on Sundays in the past, and then as now, I do not think this is sinful. But as much as I argued with God about this, trying to ignore this thought, I could not get any peace about this matter. So, through gritted teeth I decided in January to follow this restriction. I had always done well academically, being in the top thirty in the year, and I wanted to do well for the finals.

To make up for this action, I sacrificed by refusing all social activities on Saturdays, days and nights, as well as buying an alarm clock for early rising on Monday mornings.

Two very tangible results occurred. One was to beat all my usual academic competitors coming second in the year in Internal Medicine and sixth in Surgery! That certainly influenced my career. The second was even better. I met Kay who became my wife! This was a result of my sister taking pity on her hardworking brother, fading away and missing out on life. She arranged for, and persuaded me to accept, one weekend away at a working bee for the Crusader Camp at Lake Macquarie—and there she was!

Second, although a medical registrar at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPA) in the physician training programme run by “Ding” Chalmers, I was much more relaxed and non-competitive than my fellow registrars. This was because I was not seeking to impress with superior knowledge about obscure medical wonders, as I accepted that God was calling me to be a missionary.

Thus, I was ‘sacrificing’ my future in not seeking a future career at RPA or equivalent posting. Again, two good outcomes followed this so-called ‘sacrifice’. Kay accepted my proposal for marriage allowing a wonderful year in 1966, combining an engagement year with a delightful position as a tutor at New college, UNSW until marriage in December. Not surprisingly I failed my exams for the College, and lost my appointment as a “gastro” registrar at RPA as a consequence. The second even better outcome was an appointment to the Liver Unit at Kings College Hospital, London, through the help of Professor John Read, to whom I had been his first Professorial intern in 1967. And the College exams were not a problem once married!

Third, following two years at King’s with publications and international presentations, I was encouraged to stay on and complete a doctorate. I declined as I needed to get to the mission field sooner rather than later. I received a severe dressing down at this stupid decision and ‘sacrifice’ of an academic career in Hepatology.

Again, God’s ways were better. I was accepted by the Church Missionary Society (CMS) as a missionary, and after some hiccups with visa refusals for a hospital post in Bandung, Indonesia, I was appointed founding Head of the Department of Medicine in a brand new 640 bed Christian hospital in Kwun Tong, Kowloon Hong Kong. A wonderful ten years followed, fulfilling any dreams I had of ‘joy in Medicine’, both practising and training junior staff, serving a population of three quarter million and of ‘joy in family life’, retiring from the post with four healthy children, to allow for local management to take over.

The forgoing thus far has been about Russell as a young man, but what about my behaviour as a more mature and sensible doctor?

A mature doctor

Certainly, I count 1983 as the most stressful time in my life. It was right for me to leave Hong Kong to locals, but what was I to do? I had no home in Australia, no money and no obvious job to go to. In addition, I had four children to care for, at the most expensive phase in their lives! I contacted all my medical friends but the advice was to, “Stay away, Sydney Hospital has closed and there are no positions in any hospitals in Sydney!” I was truly off the ladder. It seemed I had ‘sacrificed’ my life after all!

“God’s solution for me, and the details, takes too long to tell, but it was marvellous! God is good all the time—even when we doubt it and we cannot see any solution.”

God’s solution for me, and the details, takes too long to tell, but it was marvellous! God is good all the time—even when we doubt it and we cannot see any solution. I was appointed to St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney as the Founding Head of Geriatric Medicine in 1983, and as a Senior Lecturer in Medicine, UNSW, responsible for the Fifth Year rotating two week course in Geriatric Medicine. This appointment solved my financial and family needs and was a continuation of my “joy in Medicine”! I had credit for this because I had been involved in Hong Kong with establishing the first Geriatric Medical Department in the Far East in 1975, being grandfathered into this sub-specialty in Medicine because of an English physician colleague, who knew “something about Geriatrics”, and a hospital superintendent who said we are “going to do Geriatrics” in this new hospital! There had been stress and adventure in these ten years, but no sacrifice!

Senior Years

Quickly moving on to my senior years, I sacrificed something like ‘security in old age’, by resigning my post at St Vincent’s in 2001 to join CMS to work somewhere as a missionary. Kay and l loved our missionary experience, and we could not wait until the children had matured sufficiently to leave the nest and serve again with CMS. We had experienced further anxiety in 1995 when Kay developed a highly malignant breast cancer with five axillary nodes and a ten year prognosis. What concerned Kay most was the fact this would mean we could not be missionaries again. We never “did” healing services, nor asked for a cure, or put conditions upon God, but we made a vow that if Kay was well by 2000 with no secondaries, we would take that as a sign we should go again to serve with CMS.

There were challenges in finding a location for us, but one was found, and we spent seven years in Tanzania where both Kay and I were pushed to our limits, but also wonderfully blessed and joyful in our different tasks.

Kay taught the Bible in Swahili at a Bible School and I was now a Professor in Medicine at the Tumaini University and Senior Physician at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, Moshi. We left for Tanzania in 2002 with three children married and no grandchildren, and returned in 2008 with all children married and eight grandchildren. Family life has been and continues to be a joy despite our overseas living.

“We left for Tanzania in 2002 with three children married and no grandchildren, and returned in 2008 with all children married and eight grandchildren.”

I am now retired and living in a Retirement Village. Kay went to heaven in 2019 following a sub-arachnoid haemorrhage from a burst arterio-venous malformation. This was thought to be due to radiotherapy damage, administered for a glioblastoma multiforme brain tumour which was found in 2012 and miraculously disappeared in 2014. I have recently remarried the wonderful Evelyn in 2022.

Has there been ‘sacrifice’ for Russell? I think not, but certainly the making of a different pathway from most doctors, who did think I was ‘sacrificing’. “Seeking first God’s Kingdom”, and trusting Him for the future (Matthew 6:33) has been a favourite verse, and I have not been disappointed. Praise the Lord!

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

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