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 books, some of which have received critical acclaim, about Christianity and life as a missionary. 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.

Early life and family Hale was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He grew up in Slingerlands, a suburb of Albany, New York, 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.

Hale's father, Dr. Thomas Hale Sr., was a hospital administrator. Thomas Hale Jr. met his wife, Dr. Cynthia Hale, during their first year attending Albany Medical College. On the Far Side of Liglig Mountain (1993) Living Stones of the Himalayas On Being a Missionary (1995), which details the challenges faced when working as a medical missionary. 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. A Light Shines in Central Asia (2000) Light Dawns in Nepal (2012) On Being a Missionary Revised Edition, with Gene Daniels (2012)

In 1993, Hale wrote Nayaa Karaarko Tippani in the Nepalese language. The book is a commentary on the New Testament, with general articles contributed by Dr. Stephen Thorson. The two doctors then re-wrote the commentary in English under the title The Applied New Testament Commentary (1996) and it has been translated into more than 30 different languages, including Amharic, Malagasy, Marathi, Serbian, Sinhalese and Yoruba.