Hoping to gain entrance to India, the FMB spent a decade pursuing contacts and every possible avenue. When Dr. Paul Brand, a prominent missionary doctor and director of the Vellore Christian Medical College in South India, visited the FMB in Richmond, Virginia, he made a valuable suggestion: Southern Baptists should send a missionary doctor to join their staff.

Dr. Jasper McPhail, a thoracic surgeon, and his wife, Dotti, a clinical anesthetist, were the perfect couple to answer the call. Soon after their arrival, Jasper became the head of the thoracic surgery department and took on more responsibility than he anticipated because of the need. Jasper’s qualifications were also noted by India’s Ministry of Health, and his reputation as a respected surgeon quickly grew.

The physical needs in India were great, and the spiritual needs were greater. There the McPhails found the perfect match for their medical skills and their missionary hearts. Daily confronted with the lostness in South Asia, Jasper and Dotti found ways to minister to patients in a way that pointed them to Christ.