Kwai River Christian Hospital

In the last months of 1960, the foundations of the Kwai River Christian Mission were carved out of the jungle in western Thailand. This outreach would eventually include a hospital, a school, a student hostel, and an evangelistic effort. Told through interviews, old letters, and memoirs, Kwai River Christian Hospital: Voices from the First 60 Years is an account of the early days of this inspiring community.

In the last months of 1960, the foundations of the Kwai River Christian Mission were carved out of the jungle in western Thailand. This outreach would eventually include a hospital, a school, a student hostel, and an evangelistic effort. Told through conversations, old letters, and memoirs, Kwai River Christian Hospital: Voices from the First 60 Years is an account of the early days of this inspiring community. Dr. Phil McDaniel—who served as hospital director for 23 years—has collected letters and memoirs from fourteen former staff and spouses, born in six different countries to relate their experiences in first person accounts.

Philip McDaniel, MD grew up in northern Thailand, where his father was a medical missionary. After graduation from medical school, three years of training in internal medicine, and a year of surgical training, he returned to Thailand to work at the Kwai River Christian Hospital in the jungle of western Thailand. This location was quite remote— at the headwaters of the River Kwai— and the mission boards had had difficulty keeping it staffed. Phil resolved to try to last as long as possible, providing some continuity and allowing time to sponsor a promising young man from the community to be his replacement. In these pages Phil describes not only some of his own challenges and adventures, but also those of 14 former staff and spouses through letters and memoirs.