Bert Oubre was born at Lake Charles, La. and grew up in the small town of Vinton near the Texas/La. Border where his father was a dentist. He attended public schools and he participated in track, football and basketball. He earned his B.S. from Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge and his M.D. from LSU School of Medicine at New Orleans. He married his high school sweetheart, Alayne Knight, while both were still teen-agers and they had two sons, Steve and Greg.

Bert and family then moved to Austin, TX where he served his internship at Brackenridge Hospital. After the internship, the Oubres’ moved to Stockton, Ca. where Bert completed four years of general surgery training. At the completion of the latter, he entered a private general surgery practice. He became a Fellow in the American College of Surgeons in 1975. Special surgical interests included the surgical treatment of morbid obesity, treatment of severe burn cases and trauma surgery. He was involved in teaching in the Surgery Dept. at San Joaquin General Hospital for some years. He was a member of the Stockton Surgical Society, the Burn Society, and the Trauma Society . Bert also became interested in Emergency Medicine as it was evolving into a specialty. He helped train and examine the first paramedics in Stockton.

The Oubres moved to the country and developed an Arabian horse ranch while continuing the surgical practice. They eventually were caring for and showing forty-five horses. Bert started a general practice in that rural area (it had no doctor). With the help of a partner he maintained a city and a rural practice.

In 1985, Alayne developed metastases from breast cancer. For six months she was bedridden. Both Alayne and Bert became believers (Christians). Alayne died in October 1985.

Bert felt as if the Lord was calling him to leave the surgical practice to serve full time on the mission field. His first short-term trip was with World Medical Mission to Zaire. In June 1986 he left his general practice to his partner and sold the surgical practice and the ranch. He went to Cameroon, West Africa with the North American Baptists where he served as surgeon for one year to allow another surgeon to go on furlough. In the meantime, he married his second wife, Debbie Gyger, a Swiss/American nurse he met on the mission field. (The Oubres now have three children, Heidi,16 y/o, Philippe, 13 y/o and Joel 10 y/o. Bert’s two adult sons live in Texas. Greg is married and is the father of four year Hannah, Bert’s only grandchild.)

The Oubres returned to the USA and Bert served a one year fellowship under Dr. Paul Brand in reconstructive surgery at the U.S. Hansen’s Disease Center in Carville. La. He then worked as emergency physician and invested part of the earnings as seed money to start the Medical Centers of West Africa (MCWA), a mission with the goal of reaching Muslims (especially the Fulani), through medical care, for Christ. The next two years were spent learning French and going to Bible school in Switzerland. The Oubres served one year in Cameroon with the Swiss Branch of S.U.M. During this year construction of the MCWA hospital was started. The hospital opened in 1994. The Oubres served with MCWA until 2001. The hospital now is run mainly by nationals and continues to do a serve a needy population and the Lord.

Bert has served as the international medical director with the Voice of the Martrys (VOM) since 2001. This has involved developing medical systems in various countries in Africa and Asia to care for Christians who have been physically attacked because of their faith.

In 2002, Bert and Christian friends founded Cutting Edge Foundation (CEF) with the goal of reaching the lost in sub-Saharan Africa for Christ through medical and non-medical projects. Two hospitals are being developed; one in Chad and the other in Sudan.

The Oubres are on assignment with VOM in Thailand until June 2006. They presently reside in Temple, Texas.