Hunting Stories

While his medical school classmates were settling into suburban American practices, James Foulkes was treating near-fatal snake bites, hunting big game to feed hospital patients and seeing God work miracles in the African bush. A banker’s son from Lima, Ohio, he graduated from Asbury College in Kentucky after serving two years in the military, and attended medical school at Ohio State University. Called to missions, Foulkes and his family moved to Mukinge Hospital in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) in 1958 under the direction of the South African General Mission (now SIM). Working in a hospital far from modern conveniences for 38 years, he provided medical care for thousands of Africans and mission families, treating anything from African Sleeping Sickness, malaria, cataracts and dysentery to gory wounds from wild animal attacks and serving the people with compassion, joy and hope. His role as a bush doc, however, involved more than making rounds and performing surgeries. For Foulkes, the job description also included hunting wild game to provide meat for the hospital. From these thrilling adventures, comes this remarkable account of hunting in the wild and rugged African landscape, of stampeding elephants, man-eating leopards, angry buffalo, hippo, roaring lions and the crack of his Weatherby. In the midst of this excitement, Foulkes above all affirms the faithful guiding and protecting hand of the Lord.