“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Isaiah 41:10
In Kenya, Hugh and Helen are serving at Kijabe Hospital, where they share the love of Jesus through medical care.
Hugh works as a neurosurgeon, and his main job is co-leading a training programme that equips doctors to become neurosurgeons, whilst being discipled and taught how to share their faith in a healthcare setting. Helen is a kidney doctor, currently focusing on getting the family settled into life in Kijabe.
Before meeting each other, both Hugh and Helen knew they felt a desire to serve overseas, and mission was part of their lives in different ways. Helen did a gap year with Mercy Ships, having grown up with their ministry close to her heart.
“Since starting medical school, serving overseas was something I felt I might be ‘called to’. The passage in Isaiah 58:6-11 has always been close to my heart, and verse 10 says:
‘… and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.’”, shares Helen.
Being surrounded by families that were going to serve God in various locations around the world certainly wasn’t a foreign concept for Hugh, whose family used to host AIM mission workers on the top floor of their house:
“We really loved having them and seeing what life looked like for them,” Hugh says.
Shortly after getting married, Hugh and Helen spent six months serving in Uganda. They knew after this that using their medical skills overseas was something they both wanted to pursue. Before their move to Kijabe, Hugh and Helen spent two and a half years serving at Tenwek Hospital.
“As countries are developing and their health care systems are too, opportunities to serve in different specialities are increasing – there’s really no speciality in medicine that can’t be involved in mission medicine now,” shares Helen.
Serving in medical ministries anywhere in the world comes with many highs and lows, as mission workers and other staff face challenges with things like staffing, equipment, and treating patients who may have put off getting seen by a medical specialist, due to travel restrictions or being able to afford treatment.
Amidst both the challenges and opportunities serving at Kijabe hospital, the reliance on God’s sovereignty is clear. One day, Hugh had to break the incredibly sad news to a family that their four-year-old son had died during an operation for a brain tumour.
“I remember his dad,” says Hugh, “he was obviously devastated, but he thanked me and wanted to pray for me.”
The father quoted some verses from Job about how the Lord gives and takes away, and his strong relationship with God shone through his words and his actions. Nobody was blamed for what had happened, and nobody questioned what had gone wrong. Instead, the family accepted that God holds control in all situations, using the doctors and nurses as his hands and feet.
“The boy going to be with the Lord at such a young age was devastating, but it was held in that perspective.”
“As a place to work, it’s truly wonderful because you’re often working with people that do count the Lord as their Saviour and trust in him. It’s a real gift to be able to practice medicine here,” Hugh shares.
Helen echoes this: “I think it’s probably the most encouraging thing for us, that we get to practice medicine, but at the same time point people to Jesus and pray with them.
The patients know that we’re doing our best, but ultimately, they also know that God is the one in control and the glory goes to God.”
Please pray:
- for Hugh and Helen and the family, as they settle into life and work after a period of change and transition;
- that Helen will feel God’s guidance as she looks into work opportunities, alongside looking after their two children;
- that every person who visits the hospital will have an opportunity to hear about the love and hope found in Jesus.
Get involved:
Browse our opportunities to serve in Kenya and healthcare ministries.
As the hospital community at Kijabe rapidly grows, the need for housing does too. Watch the video below from Teresa, one of the neurosurgery residents, who talks about the realities of living off site:
The Kijabe Education Housing Project has been set up to provide all senior trainees and their families safe housing on the hospital campus, which will help people like Teresa live in community and improve discipleship.
Click to give via Stewardship. In the message of support box, please write: “Education Housing Project”.