We know you must have SO many questions (we do too!) and would love to answer all that we can to the best of our ability. Below you can find some answers to what seem to be the most common questions:
- Where are you?
- We are in Chogoria, Kenya serving at PCEA Chogoria Hospital. It is a 295-bed hospital with four main wards: Medical, Surgical, Pediatric, and Maternity. There are two main operating theaters with an outpatient theater as well. We live on a compound next to the hospital with other hospital staff. We are a 3-4 hour drive from Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.
- We are in Chogoria, Kenya serving at PCEA Chogoria Hospital. It is a 295-bed hospital with four main wards: Medical, Surgical, Pediatric, and Maternity. There are two main operating theaters with an outpatient theater as well. We live on a compound next to the hospital with other hospital staff. We are a 3-4 hour drive from Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.
- What is Kenya like?
- At an elevation of 5,000 feet, the climate is pleasant and temperate. We are also extremely close to the equator (we crossed over it going to the nearest big city just north of us… we’ll try to get a pic next time!) so there aren’t traditional seasons that you would expect. There are two “seasons”–rainy and dry. There are rains from March to May, warm weather in June, cool weather in July & August, and warm weather in September & October. Rains occur again October to December (with daytime temperatures in the 80’s and nighttime temperatures in the 50’s and Amy freezing), and the hottest period of the year is in January and February. August is the coolest month. We are also located at the Eastern base of Mount Kenya so we have a nice view of the mountain when the weather affords.
Sunday afternoon hike to a local waterfall.
- At an elevation of 5,000 feet, the climate is pleasant and temperate. We are also extremely close to the equator (we crossed over it going to the nearest big city just north of us… we’ll try to get a pic next time!) so there aren’t traditional seasons that you would expect. There are two “seasons”–rainy and dry. There are rains from March to May, warm weather in June, cool weather in July & August, and warm weather in September & October. Rains occur again October to December (with daytime temperatures in the 80’s and nighttime temperatures in the 50’s and Amy freezing), and the hottest period of the year is in January and February. August is the coolest month. We are also located at the Eastern base of Mount Kenya so we have a nice view of the mountain when the weather affords.
- What do you plan on doing in Kenya?
- We plan on serving the Lord in whatever capacity we can. Given our specialties in medicine (surgery for Amy and nursing for Nathan), we are primarily going through Samaritan’s Purse Post-Residency Program so that Amy can be mentored in comprehensive surgical care at the hospital and get exposure to other surgical procedures (orthopedics, gynecology, etc.). Nathan (the always flexible) has intentionally left his plans somewhat variable in order to be able to meet the needs of our home life and working with nurses at the hospital/nursing school. Regardless, for our first three months we will be learning Swahili so that we can better communicate with staff and patients. (The documentation and staff communications at the hospital are in English, but patient interactions can be in several different languages including English, Swahili, Kimeru, and other tribal languages. Nurses and other staff also provide translation as needed.)
- How long do you plan to stay?
- Through Samaritan’s Purse’s (SP’s) Post-Residency Program we are slated to serve for two years at PCEA Chogoria Hospital. However, we feel called to long-term medical service overseas and anticipate continuing to serve overseas. We’ll keep you posted.
- How are you raising funds?
- We are incredibly blessed that the SP Post-Residency Program includes a stipend, providing housing and covering several other major expenses (Amy’s plane tickets, license, etc.) for the duration of the program (until October 2020). We must raise support to cover expenses for Nathan and Amy’s medical school loans. We are exploring options to lessen these loans but for now they remain substantial as the biggest item in our monthly budget. As such, our church family, family, and friends are partnering with us to make this move possible. Please see the “Partnering Through Donation” page for more info.
- What happens after you finish your two years at PCEA Chogoria Hospital with the Samaritan’s Purse Program?
- We’ll have to wait and see! We are open to God’s will regarding possible continued service anywhere. What we do know is that, at that point, we will be on our own to raise up financial partners to continue our service. One of the really neat things about Samaritan’s Purse is that no commission is taken from donations given through them to our program account and, following our two-year assignment, any extra funds raised will be transferred to our new sending agency.
- Can I/we come visit you?
- We are getting settled in and have an extra room available! We are in language school at the moment so it might not be the most exciting time to visit (or maybe it would be the perfect time!). We will be looking into how others can come visit us and ways for you to be involved here in Chogoria. If you are interested, please just ask.
- If you are looking for the least expensive airfare to visit us (or to go somewhere else God has called you), goldenruletravel.com is a really awesome site for getting tickets for Christian mission trips or foreign adoption.
If you have other questions please ask. If you’re curious, other people probably are as well, and we might just add your question/answer to our list.
Hitchcock Happenings 