David and Jillian Schaeffer, along with their children, Ellie, Theo, Simon, and Luca, live and serve at Bongolo Hospital in Gabon. David grew up as a TCK in Burkina Faso, where he gained a passion for medical missions through his summer internships at a hospital in Mali. Jillian grew up in a mission-minded family in Pennsylvania, where her family often hosted visiting missionary families. They met while David was a general surgery resident at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, PA, and Jillian was working on a nursing degree at Misericordia University.
As a family, they love living in the multicultural group of medical providers and learners at Bongolo. David is especially passionate about teaching and encouraging the group of African doctors learning to be surgeons. Jillian stays busy doing visitor coordination, teaching at the school for missionary children, and welcoming people for meals, all while remaining primarily focused on their 4 children.