God has faithfully carried us through this challenging past
year of home ministry assignment (HMA) in the states, and we are now immersed
in our preparations to return to Kenya on August 15th! We are excited about our return and wanted to
update you on some new directions in which God is leading our family. The past few years, we have become increasingly
aware that our children have some critical educational needs that have been
challenging for us to meet in this life of missions. As you know, since first arriving in Africa
in 2008, our family has been serving at Tenwek Hospital (on the west side of the
Great Rift Valley). When our kids were
young, homeschooling (supplemented by the Tenwek co-op) was the best (although
not always easy) option. But as they
grew, and entered middle school and high school, we saw a growing complexity in
terms of their educational, social, spiritual and relational needs. The only real option for a secondary
classroom education while serving at Tenwek is to send our kids to the Rift Valley Academy, a boarding school about 3-1/2 hours drive from Tenwek (on the
east side of the Great Rift Valley).
Jeremiah graduated from RVA in 2015, and Claire and Emma have both sent
time there as well. While most families
at Tenwek have done well with sending their kids to RVA, it is becoming evident
that this boarding school environment is no longer a viable option for our family. In addition, we have been counseled (and we
agree), that our family, at least for this season in life, needs to remain together.
As such, after much prayer, and seeking wise counsel from
others with much more experience and knowledge than us, we have made the
difficult, yet confident, decision to relocate our base of ministry to Kijabe Mission Hospital, which is on the same campus as the Rift Valley Academy. In this way, our kids will be able to
continue their education at RVA, but now as day
students rather than as boarding
students - which also means that we will be able to keep our family together
during these important years. In
addition, I will be able to continue my calling to serve “the least of these”
through orthopaedic medical missions and resident education/discipleship.
Kijabe and Tenwek are similar (almost sister) hospitals -
Christian mission in focus, and dedicated to the surgical education of African
nationals. Kijabe’s orthopaedic
residents have rotated at Tenwek as part of their education for years, and we
have recently started sending our Tenwek orthopaedic residents to CURE Hospital
(located at Kijabe) for paediatric orthopaedic training. Because of this already established
Tenwek/Kijabe connection, even though our Galat “base of operations” will be at
a different location (at least for the time-being), we very much view this as
an opportunity to expand our current ministry in new and exciting ways.
Nevertheless, as is so often the case in this life of
international missions, our emotional response to this decision has been quite
paradoxical. While we are thankful for
this opportunity to be together as a family, we are sad to leave our family at
Tenwek, and our home, which we just recently rehabbed (our house at Kijabe
will be quite small in comparison– three bed and one bath!). However, we are thankful that another large
family will have the opportunity to live in our house while we are away. And while we are excited at the opportunity
to broaden the scope of orthopaedic training at Kijabe, I will miss the
day-to-day interaction with the consultants and residents at Tenwek whom I love
deeply and view as family. Thankfully,
God has ordained two very qualified, talented and skilled orthopaedic surgeon
consultants - Drs. Kiprono Koech and Dylan Nugent - to continue the work at
Tenwek (as they have done even this past year while I have been stateside). As I mentioned, I will remain closely tied to
Tenwek, even while stationed at Kijabe, on multiple levels.
Some have wondered how this move will impact giving and
support of the Galat Family Ministry going forward. Although our ministry base of operations will
change to Kijabe, we will continue with World Gospel Mission as career
missionaries, so no change in giving is necessary. Funds given to the Galat Ministry Account(125-03814) will continue to support our family, the orthopaedic work at Tenwek
AND now the orthopaedic work at Kijabe as well.
Funds earmarked for the Orthopaedic Residency Fund (125-25240) will
continue to support resident education at Tenwek, and now also at Kijabe going
forward. Thank you for being a part of
our Galat Family Ministry in Kenya with WGM over the years. Your partnership has enabled us to continue
strongly in our calling to serve people in the most needy areas of the world
through compassionate healthcare, and though the education, training and Christian
discipleship of African orthopaedic surgeons.
Your support and giving is making a tremendous difference in the lives
of countless people (directly, through surgical care, and indirectly through training
of national surgeons)!
Please keep us in prayer over the next several weeks as we
make this transition back to Kenya, and to our new home at Kijabe. Pray for joy and peace as we pack (yet
again!), say our goodbyes in Phoenix, and then enter a season of traveling with
two little girls in tow! Pray for
Jeremiah, as he remains behind to continue college at ASU, and for Emma, as she
continues for another 3-6 months at a wonderful program in Nashville, TN called
Mercy Multiplied before joining us in Kenya.
Finally, pray for provision of all the orthopaedic needs (consultants,
implants, residents, etc.) at Tenwek and Kijabe…the work is massive at both
places – and in the entire developing world – and resources are so few. This is a work that only God can
sustain. Thankfully, He is able to do
immeasurably more than any of us could ever ask or imagine! Thanks
for all your prayers and support!!
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