For this family man, there's medicine in faith

SUFFOLK

Dr. J. Craig Merrell ran his fingers up the keys with the flair of a professional pianist, flourished a few arpeggios and launched into an impromptu family sing-along. This was not singin' in the kitchen, however. Merrell's wife, Teresa, had composed the music and lyrics to the spiritual number which the family sang in French around the grand piano in the living room.

It was an impressive performance for a man who's better known in Hampton Roads as a plastic surgeon, a medical ambassador for Operation Smile and a leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints rather than a musician.

But Merrell, who has been in private practice in Hampton Roads since 1983, has a history of the unexpected. Over the years he's taken weeks from his practice to volunteer with Operation Smile in Africa, the Philippines, Vietnam and Romania, often taking with him members of his family.

With six sons already, the Merrells, adopted twin 1- year-old girls from Romania in 1993 to complete their family.

Perhaps his biggest surprise came in 2005 when he decided to take a three-year sabbatical from his practice to serve as the president of the Toulouse, France, mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes known as the Mormon Church. There he supervised a continually rotating roster of 100 to 120 international youth missionaries.

He remembers telling another physician about the mission - and hearing the telephone line go silent. Finally the other doctor asked "Can't you just say 'No'?"

For Merrell, Teresa and their eight children, refusing a call to minister would have been impossible.

"When church leaders asked Craig and Teresa to donate three years of their lives to serve in a church mission, they thought it was an extreme honor and an opportunity to give back," said James P. Councill III, longtime friend and fellow church member. Councill is also mayor of the city of Franklin. "They are devoted church members and willing to share their time and resources, but it was a huge sacrifice to walk away from his business and leave most of his family for three years."

Merrell left his practice in the hands of his partner and two associates. He and Teresa found housesitters for their home in the Cedar Point section of North Suffolk. Then, in June 2005, they traveled to France with their youngest son, Joshua, then 14, and their twin daughters who were 13.

The mission meant that Merrell would not be able to come home for three years - and that Teresa would come home just once, for the wedding of their son, Thomas. It was a difficult restriction for the man who revels in being a super father and grandfather.

"But there was never a question that we'd go," Merrell said.

"We don't ask for calls, but we don't turn them down," Teresa said. "The mission blessed our lives with unbelievable experiences."

Of half a dozen possible assignments for French-speaking couples, the Merrells were sent to Toulouse, the same area where Craig had served his own youth mission 35 years earlier. His voice cracked with emotion when he spoke of renewing acquaintances with old friends from those days.

His experience as a physician and as a father of eight was a factor in his role as leader and mentor to the young men and women serving in his mission.

Currently, more than 53,000 young adult missionaries are serving as volunteers around the world, as well as more than 3,000 senior missionaries who take on volunteer assignments related to their careers.

"The missionaries often stayed with us and I cooked a lot," Teresa said. "And we watched a lot of lives change."

During their three-year tour, the Merrells drove about 157,000 miles traveling to 35 cities with Craig conducting more than 3,000 one-on-one counseling interviews with the young missionaries.

The family felt at home in Southern France where their house had a view of the snowcapped Pyrenees Mountains, and where every city seemed to have at least one castle. The children learned the language and the family adapted to the smaller French houses, narrower roads and tiny parking spaces.

"But Joshua was sure the parking lot owners were in cahoots with the body shop owners," Craig said.

French restaurants serve smaller portions, they learned, and have not heard of "doggy bags." The one time Teresa requested a take home box, the waitress packed her meal into a china casserole for the Merrells to take home - and keep.

"The food was great and the people, wonderful, but this is home," Craig said. "Every American flag you see is a reminder of who you are."

The family returned home in July to a few surprises of their own. The trees around their house had grown spectacularly - as had North Suffolk. New commercial and residential development had sprung up in fields vacant when they left.

Shortly after their return, their daughter-in-law, Rachel, gave birth to the couple's first grandson.

Craig, who had maintained his certification, was back in practice two weeks after his return, adding new staff to his office in the Bon Secours Health Center in Harbour View and fending off good-natured jibes about his absence.

One patient greeted him with "So they finally let you out!" And others thought he had retired. Not likely, he said, with three teenagers still at home.

Allyn Miller of Chesapeake, was just happy.

"When he left, he left me in good hands," she said. "But I kept asking everyone here when he was coming back."

Phyllis Speidell, 757-222-5556, Phyllis.Speidell@pilotonline.com