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Medical Mission Work - The World is Calling: Part Two
By Kathy Heizer, PHCS Director of Marketing
December 18, 2008
We previously visited with a small number of our Premier clinicians who are compelled to do medical mission work both domestically and in distant countries. The second part of our story has given me the privilege of talking candidly with Dr. Tim Kubacki, former full-time physician with Premier, now full-time physician with a mission.
What drove a successful doctor, husband, and father of four to transform his life in Sunbury, Ohio to life in the Xingu region of the Amazon Basin in Brazil? A deep spiritual calling that couldn’t be ignored. But this calling didn’t happen overnight. Dr. Kubacki begins his story back in college.
“I played baseball in college and then played in the Yankee system for a year. When I was unexpectedly cut during my second season, I had a difficult time dealing with the fact that I was an adult and needed to decide what to do with my life.”
Through the circumstances of emotional need in his own life, he started thinking of others. “I became interested in places in the world where pain and injustice were common, and I began to develop a more global perspective, becoming a missionary and sharing with hurting people the love that God had shown me. It became my primary desire.”
“While preparing to go on an overseas mission trip, I met a retired missionary from Africa who encouraged me to learn a skill that I could take with me to help people in impoverished areas. When he found out that I had a biology degree, he said that health care was a huge need overseas. This information created a new passion in me for taking medicine overseas to a developing region.”
Dr. Kubacki made several trips to a rural hospital in Haiti while in medical school and residency, which confirmed for him that his life was on the right track. After completing residency in Family Practice, Tim took the recommendation of friend and colleague Dr. David Keseg and joined his Emergency Group. Tim became the ED Medical Director at Morrow County Hospital. “This job was a very nice fit for me and for my family. I worked for Premier Health Care Services and for MCH and thoroughly enjoyed both relationships.”
In 2003, Dr. Kubacki was traveling with some people from his church on a two-week trip to the Amazon Basin in Northern Brazil when he again faced another life-altering moment in his life. “While I was there, the desire to serve people without access to health care and to share my love of God with others came back with such passion and joy.” The trip Tim was contemplating for himself and his family was neither a two-week trip nor a two-month trip. He was looking at a move. Tim’s wife, Betsy, took a similar trip to Brazil a year later and, although apprehensive, she agreed that perhaps the time was right. A year after that, the whole family went to Brazil for two months to “test the waters.” “We were pleased to see that our kids loved it there and showed no objection to considering such a move.” Upon returning from this trip, the Kubackis started preparations to move the family to Brazil and join the Xingu Mission, working among the river villages of the central Amazon Basin.
Twelve years had passed since Dr. Kubacki embarked on his medical career. During this time, he had made many missionary trips to Haiti, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, doing both medical and evangelical work. He also was a co-founder, along with Premier’s Dr. David Keseg, of a free medical clinic in downtown Columbus with the Vineyard Church of Columbus. Working with Premier co-workers Dr. Kevin Doherty and Dr. Jornel Rivera, Tim watched the clinic grow to a significant size for the underserved of Columbus.
Why then did he feel the need to do more? “We felt we would have more of an impact by living among the people and speaking their language. We want to treat them medically, but perhaps more, we want to help them to live healthier lives, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and relationally.”
Two years later, Dr. Kubacki says, “Our kids have absolutely thrived, which of course, was a primary concern initially. We chose to go specifically to Brazil for very practical reasons. The mission group already working in this region was a group of American expatriate and Brazilian families with children who would provide a supportive environment for our family. Our two oldest already speak Portuguese fluently and are quite plugged in socially with some good friends.” Tim and Betsy have had a more difficult time with the language barrier.
“We were told before we left that the first two years overseas would be the most difficult, mainly because of all the adjustments; we now understand this first hand.” “Betsy has home schooled our kids and done this wonderfully. She thoroughly enjoys this role and the relationship it allows her to have with our kids. Our oldest, Luke, begins high school this year, so the schooling challenges will increase, and I will share more of the teaching, and I think we are prepared for this.”
In summary, Dr. Kubacki shared with me his insight into why people should get involved. “The physical and spiritual needs around the world are so very real, both in the States and especially in the developing world. I believe it is in all of us to reach out to those hurting. As physicians, we already work every day serving hurting people. Some of us are best suited to go to these regions and some are best suited to support those who go. Both roles are equally important.”
“It takes courage and a little insanity (in my case) to go to these neglected areas. No one can go without the financial and relational support of those who send them. Physicians can do wonderful work on short-term trips, they can financially support others who go, and of course, they can relocate to one of the many neglected areas of the world and dive in.”
In conclusion, Dr. Kubacki had this to say about his work, “The people living remotely have so little, including access to medical care. I’ve seen first hand that I can help a great deal by offering simple remedies and advice. The people of the Amazon region are quite receptive to, and grateful for, the help that we offer. Our goal is to love the people of this region and serve them with no strings. Changing them is not our priority. We wish to live among them and help them develop more healthy lives. I don’t know if I will always work in Brazil, but I think it is likely that I will finish my career in a developing part of the world.”
For those who might be interested in visiting and directly helping us on a short-term basis, please contact me by e-mail at kubacki6@msn.com, and we can dialogue about what a trip would be like and what you would be able to do during your trip. I would love to sit down and talk with anyone about our work while we are in the United States this summer. -Dr. Kubacki
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