Thomas Hale, Jr

Dr. Thomas Hale, Jr (born October 10, 1937) is an American physician and author who is best known for his 25 years of missionary work in the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal. Self-described as "deeply Christian", Hale was driven to become a missionary due to his strong faith and devotion to God. Shortly after returning from his first trip, Hale began writing novels, some of which have received critical acclaim, about Christianity and life as a missionary.^[1] After his permanent settlement back in the United States, he served as a board member for both the International Nepal Fellowship (INF) North America and the MedSend organization.^[2][3] He continues to write and works with his wife as a lifelong advocate of missionary service.^[1]

Early life

Hale was born in New York state, where he grew up with aspirations of becoming a politician. As an adolescent, he attended the Phillips Academy boarding school in Andover, Massachusetts, where he experienced a spiritual epiphany that led him to believe God wanted him to become a medical missionary. In his search to find his missionary home, Hale stumbled upon a pamphlet that described the ongoing medical need in Nepal. After reading this brochure, he chose Nepal as his future missionary destination.^[1]

Family

Hale's father, Dr Thomas Hale, Sr, was a practicing surgeon before working in hospital administration. Hale met his wife, Dr. Cynthia Hale (not to be confused with the political activist of the same name), while they were attending Albany Medical College and they originally bonded over their shared belief in missionary service and religion. The couple married in 1959 and had two sons, Thomas III and Christopher, both of whom have pursued careers involving the spread of religion to other cultures.^[1][3]

Professional career

Pre-Nepal

After graduating from Albany Medical College, Hale was trained in general surgery. He went on to work, with his wife, a pediatrician, at an army hospital for two years. While working there, the couple found an opening for medical missionaries in Kathmandu, Nepal, and began making arrangements to move their family. In preparation for the move, Hale collected supplies in the form of donations from his hospital and the Brooke Army Academy.^[1]

Missionary journey

Hale moved with Cynthia and his two children to Nepal, arriving in the capital city of Kathmandu on October 10, 1970. In Nepal, Hale was assigned to work in a small, newly constructed hospital in Amppipal, a tiny village in the Himalayas outside of Kathmandu. The Amppipal Community Hospital was built in 1969 by the United Mission to Nepal (UNM), the missionary organization that was responsible for placing the Hales.

The Amppipal Hospital provided medical services for an area approximately the size of Rhode Island, that included about half a million people. Throughout his years at the hospital, Hale acted as the head surgeon, while treating other general injuries and common diseases that faced the Nepalese people. Hale specifically oversaw several procedures that were unfamiliar to him. His most memorable surgeries were a cholecystectomy on a child experiencing an extreme case of gall badder inflammation and a hysterectomy on the wife of a local village leader.

Towards the end of his career in Nepal, Hale was appointed as medical director of the Amppipal Hospital. With his new position, Hale moved his family to Kathmandu before moving back to the United States.^[1]

Common diseases and injuries treated

• Infection with parasitic worms
• Severe burns
• Abdominal trauma
• Tuberculosis
• Leprosy
• Cataracts

After Nepal

In 1996, Hale permanently returned to the United States with his family. Following his return, Hale served as the president of the North America Board of the International Nepal Fellowship and as a board of reference member for the MedSend organization. With these two organizations, Hale work to provide opportunities for medical professionals to travel to other countries and contribute medical aid. Now in retirement, Hale continues to speak and write in order to advocate medical missionary service.^[1][2][3]

Written works

Hale is also known for his published works, which include:

• Don't Let the Goats Eat the Loquat Trees (1986), a chronicle of his first years as a missionary in Nepal and the cultural issues he faced while living in a primarily Hindu country.
• On the Far Side of Liglig Mountain
• Living Stones of the Himalayas, which addresses the remainder of his years in Nepal.^[4]
• On Being a Missionary (1995), which details the challenges faced when working as a medical missionary. This book is used as a guide for many modern missionaries. In the book, Hale discusses the positive and negative outcomes associated with missionary work and uses his personal experience to address the best ways to cope with them. He specifically writes about the preparations it takes to become a missionary and how to endure the culture shock, social barriers and emotional stress that can accompany living in a foreign world.^[5]

Hale has also written two books in Nepali that provide commentary on both the New Testament and Old Testament of the Bible. These books have been further translated into 30 different languages, including Amharic,^[6] Malagasy,^[6] Marathi, Serbian,^[6] Sinhalese^[6] and Yoruba.^[2]

References