| With 8 kids in the family, you would not expect John to be actively volunteering on missions and projects. On the contrary, he has been touched by the joy of service which started about 30 years ago when he joined the Society of St Vincent de Paul with a group of pioneer CJCians. Even when he entered medical school, he continued to reach out to those in need organizing outings for Vietnamese orphans housed at Hawkins Road UN Camp.
“My wife, who was my medical schoolmate then, helped me organize these outings,” revealed John. “Till this day we have never forgotten the elation we received from the unconditional love that the Vietnamese children gave us in return.”
John and Priscilla have been involved in many humanitarian missions including providing medical supplies to disaster hit areas, organizing medical teams, building clinics and hospitals, clean water programs and non-medical projects such as establishing educational scholarships, in countries like Cambodia, Indonesia, Timor Leste, Myanmar, China and even to Africa. They have begun to involve their children by bringing the older ones on a mission trip to Cambodia. It was an eye-opener and life changing experience for their children.
“The joy of mission cannot be described or explained. It can only be experienced,” John pointed out. “What drives us to do all this? It's the unconditional love and acceptance and the joy on the faces of the young children we are reaching out to.”
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