Two years ago, Amelia and I had the privilege of meeting Dan Poenaru, a soft-spoken missionary pediatric surgeon serving long-term with his family in Kenya. We had traveled from Denver to Louisville for the Global Missions Health Conference, with the specific purpose of meeting Dr Poenaru. The cross-country trek proved to be well-invested. We talked for quite a while, we prayed together, and he invited us to join him at Kijabe Hospital for a short-term mission as a warm-up to a longer stint once my residency is complete.
With that in mind, Amelia decided to take six weeks ‘off’ between finishing fellowship and starting her new job here in Denver so that we could go to Kenya during my final year of research. We are leaving in just under a month. And we can’t wait. (You can see our travel schedule below).
We are excited to serve at Kijabe Hospital. The first hospital at Kijabe mission station was established in 1915, twenty years after the first missionaries landed in Kenya, and there has been continuous medical care at Kijabe ever since. The hospital is run by the African Inland Church, which arose from the work of African Inland Mission. Today, Kijabe is a thriving hospital complex, with 250 beds and over 800 staff serving in inpatient, outpatient, maternity and pediatric units.
As I understand it, I will be working primarily alongside Dr Poenaru and Dr Dick Bransford, both career missionary surgeons who specialize in the surgical care of children. I expect my role at Kijabe to be very similar to that of a chief resident in the States, and I hope to be helpful to the pediatric surgery service in that role. Extra hands are always useful on a surgical service.
It sounds as though Amelia will be taking a more front-line role. She will likely be ‘running’ the NICU while we are there, and we are under the impression that she may be the only pediatrician at the hospital during our stay. That should be exciting.
We don’t really know exactly what we are getting ourselves (and Josi) into, but we are eager to serve in whatever capacity is most needed and in whatever way we can make the most impactful contribution. We are extremely thankful to be working alongside a team of career missionaries who are committed to the twin calling of medical missions: disciple-making (Mark 16:15) and mercy ministry (Matthew 25:34-40). It is our privilege to serve them and support their stated mission: “Health care to GOD’S Glory.”
Some of you have asked for a support letter to be sent so that you could join us financially in this work. For others this is the first time you have heard about the trip. We greatly appreciate any support that any of you can give. The total cost of the 6 week mission for the three of us will be somewhere around $6,000. The budget outline is attached below.
We will be serving as short term missionaries with World Medical Mission (WMM), the medical arm of Samaritan’s Purse, and they are handling all of the financial/logistic aspects of the trip. If you are interested in helping us finance this work, you can send donations to WMM at PO Box 3000 Boone, NC 28607. Our account number is #003875. You can also call WMM (Sandra Shupe 828-278-1373) if you would like to make a credit card donation.
Whether you are able to support us financially or not, we do hope that you will pray for us and keep in touch. We will try to keep the blog updated frequently so that you all know what is happening with us and so that you can share in the adventure.
Grace and peace to you all—
Jim, Amelia, and Josiah
Nairobi Time