Dr. Edy A. Lubis

Dr. Edy Ariston Lubis, fondly known as Bang Edy (Bang = older brother) to the Bethesda staff, was born in Medan on July 15th 1972. He is from one of the major people groups of Indonesia, the Bataks. The Lubis' moved to Jakarta when Edy was 8 years old. He is the 3rd of 5 children, all of whom are believers. His parents, Maraden and Asmin Lubis, are devoted Christians who sent their children to Sunday school since they were very young. Dr. Edy didn't accept Jesus as his personal savior, however, until he was in high school (1989). His parents held a house-service and called a pastor from their church, HKBP Cengkareng, to give a sermon. The pastor talked about Jesus in a such personal way that it opened young Edy's eyes to a new wonderful truth. Even though Edy had known about Jesus since he was very little, he had never known that one could have such an intimate relationship with the Lord. The Holy Spirit worked in his heart and he received Jesus as his savior that very moment.

Edy attended Trisakti medical school in Jakarta from 1991-2000. While studying in medical school, he served with Perkantas and attended the student services held at the university. There he met a young dental student, Susan Kristy. She was born in Jakarta on April 12th 1976. She is the 2nd of 4 children and also comes from a Christian family. It was also during one of the student services that they first heard about Bethesda Mission Hospital in 1997. Dr. Husin Basir, the director of Bethesda, shared Bethesda's need for medical doctors who would be willing to serve in the remote jungles of Borneo. Well aware of the sacrifices they would need to make, Edy and Susan prayed for God's will in their lives.

Upon graduation in 2000, Edy and Susan flew to West Borneo for the very first time to serve at Bethesda Mission Hospital. While serving at Bethesda, Edy and Susan's relationship grew stronger. They decided to get married on July 20th, 2002. Felix Zefanya Robert Johnson Lubis was born at Bethesda on April 12th 2003.

In 2002, Edy decided to apply for specialty training through Bethesda's sponsorship program. He felt that God was calling him and his family to commit to serving at Bethesda long term. Edy then applied for ophthalmology specialist training at Gajahmada University in Jogjakarta, Central Java. It was pretty obvious though that Edy had a very slim chance of being accepted at this well-known university for several reasons: Edy was a Christian – a 'second class citizen' in this large Muslim country – plus he didn't have any connections in the university who could help him, while the other candidates were the sons and daughters of the professors and authorities in the university. God however, was to be glorified. Edy was accepted just over a week before the start of the new semester in December 2003.

Edy hopes to finish his specialty training in December of 2007. Susan is taking a prostodental program at the same university and will graduate at about the same time as Edy. Edy and Susan's plans are to return to Bethesda once they finish their studies. Edy is also planning to minister to the congregation of Jirak (a village about 30 minutes drive from Bethesda) when he comes back to Bethesda . Edy was ministering to this congregation every Sunday while he was still in Bethesda.