Dr. Kit: searched for purpose, found by God

            Dr. Kobkit Putrakel (called Dr. Kit by most) is known by many people as being extremely generous, encouraging, and having a great passion for following Jesus. He describes himself as an advocate and encourager of others like Barnabas from the Bible. However, he was not always selfless to others. Dr. Kit is very honest about being a prideful and selfish man before he knew God.

            “I was living for myself and wanted fame,” said Dr. Kit. “I didn’t seek God, but God actually sought me out through his people.”

            Originally from Thailand, Dr. Kit followed in his parent’s footsteps and became a doctor. During rotations in a hospital, he met a monk and decided he wanted to search for the meaning of life. A month before surgery training and after medical school, he became a monk for two weeks. After reading the Buddhist scriptures and asking questions about the purpose of life, all he found out was to be a good person. He soon decided that there was no answer to his questions and became an atheist.

            Dr. Kit continued his training as a doctor and moved to the United States in 1992. During his first few years in the U.S., he never met a Christian or heard anything about God. Until 1995 when he was living in Seattle, Washington for a training program. He met a Thai lady, who worked at the hospital. She invited him over to a Thanksgiving meal with friends. The four couples at the meal were all believers in God and shared their testimonies.

“I didn’t understand, but the friendship, relationship, that sincerity, the way they live their life differently, God used all of those to soften my heart,” said Dr. Kit. “Jack and Hellen opened their home whenever I was lonely. I could just go there and hang out. They became like my parents here in the U.S.”

The families were different than any Dr. Kit knew before. He was curious as to why. They went to church and had invited him, but he was always working. One day, he was able to go, but he couldn’t find the building so he decided God must not be true since he couldn’t find the church. As soon as he thought that, he found the church. The people were very welcoming that evening, but he was half asleep because of all of the long nights he spent working. He continued to be a part of their lives and even would go to a men’s Bible study with them.

Nothing about the Bible made sense and Dr. Kit was still a prideful man. His friends cared for him so much that they prayed for him often. They invited him to a concert one evening. Work made him late. Yet again, when he was lost and couldn’t find the concert, he said God doesn’t want me there. Then, he found the concert.

One of the songs was about David from the Bible who had made horrible mistakes, but God forgave and accepted him. Dr. Kit was impacted by the way that God loves as a friend and offers forgiveness instead of the death humans deserve because of the wrong they’ve done.

“I knew I was a sinful man that I committed many sins,” said Dr. Kit. “I was a womanizer. I was a selfish man. I was not helpful to anyone, not helpful to my family. I knew I had to pay for my sin when I die. To hear that there’s another way that I never heard before that this sin could be paid once and for all. If it’s true, no one else can do this it must be God’s way. I’m going to give this a try. I did not understand everything but I wanted to go ahead and believe.”  

After the concert, Dr. Kit told his friends, but they didn’t believe him at first. When they realized he was serious, they were excited for him and told him that God had a wonderful plan for him. Dr. Kit didn’t understand and thought he was the same and hadn’t changed, but little by little God began to change him.

When he moved to New Mexico, he was in a spiritual desert even when he was treating patients differently and witnessing to people. He was self-focused on his job and didn’t know God well. Yet, God gave him a peace like never before when he was humbled. Soon after, Dr. Kit moved back to Seattle and began to seek God more. He read the Bible thoroughly and realized everyone has a pride issue. Without much of a plan, he moved back to Thailand, trusting God and attended a Bible school.

“God gave me purpose in God,” said Dr. Kit.

God also led Dr. Kit to his wife, Avery from North Carolina. They met while they were working at a clinic in Thailand. They’ve been married for 15 years and have an 11 year-old son, Lucas. When Avery was pregnant, they were missionaries in Southeast Asia. Dr. Kit honestly admits that he became a prideful missionary and wanted to boast about translating the Bible. As well as the fact that living in Southeast Asia is difficult, they decided to move back to the U.S. to seek marital help and God gave him time to renew his license and work part time.

“Through my many mistakes God is always faithful,” said Dr. Kit.

In 2008, he was a full time physician at the hospital in Manchester, Kentucky. Currently, he serves as an advisor and is no longer the regional director. The hospital allows him to be real and pray with patients. Their idea of medicine is similar in that healing is a ministry of Christ. Spiritual needs are important to be met in time of crisis. God is always a work.

“Kit is always open and ready to share the gospel and encourage others,” said Ryan McCowan, a friend from Corinth Baptist Church in London, Kentucky, who traveled with him to Southeast Asia on a mission trip.

In many different areas of life, Dr. Kit shares his faith. Not only at work or overseas, but also at home with his family as he is modeling a life of Christ for his son. Him and his family also open up their home and welcome international students to stay with them. They have an extra room in their house specifically for that purpose. He believes that God has a plan for international students here as God did for him.

Many can see the evidence of how Dr. Kit leads a godly life. One such person is Brett Martin who asked Dr. Kit to mentor him because he knew he was a man of prayer, had wisdom, and a lot of missions experience.

“Kit has impacted my life the most by loving me,” said Martin. “He has spoken truth into my life and also been extremely gracious modeling Jesus who came bringing both truth and grace. He has been very intentional with spending his time, resources, and energy to help me both grow in my personal relationship with Christ while also helping me fulfill God's calling in my life.” 

Dr. Kit is still pursuing God’s call on his own life. He plans to enroll into seminary next year so that he will be able to mentor pastors. He wants to help them to understand the Bible in-depth. And also to realize that serving the Lord is life-long, even after retirement.

 “I start off with trying to find purpose for my life,” said Dr. Kit. “God found me and he gave me His purpose. His answer is that His purpose for my life is Him in my life. It is a privilege to walk with Him. I just dare to serve God and He provides. I’m still learning to allow the Lord to prepare me for the future. We’ll continue to live our life serving the Lord in whatever capacity He allows us.”