Get to Know Neil and Wannee Thompson, OMF Staff

Names: Neil and Wannee Thompson (pictured above with their children, Kevin and Nathan)
Roles at OMF (U.S.): Wannee: Serve Asia Program Coordinator and Assistant to International Facilitator for Medical Missions; Neil: International Advocate/Facilitator for Medical Missions
What is your favorite:

Food: Wannee: Any Thai food; Neil: Thai food – ปูผัดผงกะหรี่่ (crab in curry paste), ปลาช่อนน้ำตก (deep fried snakehead fish). American food – “Surf & Turf” (aka, Reef & Beef)

Way to relax: Wannee: knitting, cross-stitching or quilting; Neil: Reading, gardening, fishing.

Part of your job:
Wannee: I love putting pieces together to make it work. So, coordinating Serve Asia teams is what I love and to see how God works through teams/participants is amazing.
Neil: Seeing people get interested in, excited about and then serving in medical missions.

What are three words someone might use to describe you?

Wannee: Caring, organize and straightforward. Many people said I’m a good cook, too.

Neil: Dedicated, loyal, disciplined.

How did you two meet?

Neil: Wannee and I met in a church in Bangkok. From a Buddhist and ancestor-worshiping Thai Chinese family, she and her family had become Christians (that’s her story) and then attended Muang Thai Church. Shortly after that, a good Thai friend invited me to visit his family when I was in Bangkok and join them in attending church on Sunday. It was the same church Wannee attended—and eventually we met, became friends and began to date. And then, bingo!

What is it like to work together?

Wannee: It has been a learning/growing experience. It was not fun in the beginning. But later on I realized that in the office Neil is my boss and not my husband. Also, we needed to learn to complement one another, i.e. needed to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and how we can complement one another to accomplish the task.

What did your work look like when you served in Thailand?

Wannee: At Manorom Christian Hospital I was a secretary (or what it’s called today, “Personal Assistant”) to the Hospital Director. It was mostly administrative work. I also served at the Manorom Church in different roles with the children’s Sunday School, youth ministry and worship service.

Neil: My primary ministry was to provide high quality surgical care at Manorom Christian Hospital (MCH) in Central Thailand, where there were very few Christians. MCH ministry, essentially showing the compassion of Christ in action, complemented the evangelism and discipling done by church planters. The outreach was to all patients (in and out patient) and the hospital staff. I also taught SS, preached occasionally at Manorom Church and discipled the young Thai Christian professionals who worked at MCH. During the final 2-3 years there I provided leadership for the hospital.

Briefly describe your role at OMF. 

Wannee: 1) Assistant to International Facilitator for Medical Missions (Neil): mostly administrative and logistic work. 2) Program Coordinator for Serve Asia: I mainly help coordinate Church Partnership Teams, medical placements and teams that go to Thailand.

Neil: I advocate for (mobilize, network, raise awareness, promote) medical missions. OMF has about 100 medical personnel working in eight countries and about 30 people groups. I provide resources for our current missionaries as well as mobilize future medical workers for the harvest in East Asia.

What is one thing God has taught you through your role(s) on the U.S. team?  

Neil: I think the main thing God taught me is that leadership is not a one-man show and that you can’t be very effective as a “Lone Ranger” leader! To build a real ministry you need to enable and empower the people around you and work together as a team.

Wannee: I like a set pattern for life and work. I had to learn that there are many unexpected changes and challenges that I don’t like. So, I had to learn and re-learn that HE is in control and not me.