The Medical Mission

Pedro J. Obregon, II, MD, PhD, FACS
Judith Obregon, CMT, RMA

Dr. Pedro “Pete” and Judy Obregon are truly a dedicated medical missionary team. They personify those who honor others by serving those in need. They have distinguished themselves by following in practice the biblical injunction “love thy neighbor.”

Pete is a product of an American medical mission in the Philippines. His mother and father were the first converts to the Christian faith in the Philippine city of Hollo in the early 1900s. Dr. Obregon received his academic training at a Baptist University in the Philippines. After graduating from medical school, he came to the United States for his medical specialty training in general surgery and began his private practice in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and later in Columbus, Ohio.

In their words, “We were richly blessed by God and highly honored to be called to serve Him. So, we promised to give back to Him by serving the underserved people of our community and the world. Judy and I were pleased to have been given the opportunity to promote the common good by giving back to our community by making our talents and abilities available to our many underserved brothers and sisters.”

Pete and Judy began to give back by starting two homeless clinics in Columbus, Ohio, but their greatest desire was to serve the underserved medical and surgical needs of the poor in the third world. Early in their medical mission career, Dr. Obregon started doing short-term medical mission work at Hollo Mission Hospital where his mother started working years before as a nurse. Their medical mission practice eventually branched out to El Salvador, Africa, the Dominican Republic and Mexico.

In 1993, Dr. Obregon was appointed medical director for Medical Ministry International for Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe. Recognizing the larger medical and surgical needs of the underserved in third world countries, Pete decided to give up his private practice and began to serve full-time for Medical Ministry International. Since making that life-transforming decision, Dr. Obregon and Judy have taken 134 medical and surgical teams to 39 different countries in the world. In addition to participating on numerous medical and surgical teams, Judy has served as project director for many MMI projects. She handled the administrative aspects of the mission projects while Pete concentrated on the medical aspects. She assisted in the surgery and pharmacy aspects of mission projects and has taught techniques of respiratory therapy to nurses.

Dr. Obregon is still actively doing medical missions by serving as International Medical Director of Medical Ministry International. Pete and Judy are representative of the many unsung heroes among us. They recognize that to truly honor those who are devoted to serving the common good we can honor them by beneficially serving others.