Dr. Michael Mitchell will be working at ECWA evangel hospital, a 150 bed hospital with 4 operating rooms. He will be training Nigerian family practice residents who rotate through his service. He will also be helping establish Dr. Aboiyar, a Nigerian family practioner who is doing an "ENT fellowship" in Lagos and will be returning in Nov 2008. Dr. Mitchell will be practicing a wide range of ear,nose,throat, head and neck medicine and surgery. The practice will be similar to his American practice in many ways. There will however be the occasional massive face tumor and extreme facial trauma that is not seen routinely in the US. In addition, he will be involved in the community and hopes be an encouragement to the expatriates as well as the Nigerians.
Lisa will be establishing the home first. Then she will be finding opportunities to teach English as a second language. The VVF clinic is a ministry that helps women who have been outcast because they drain urine and stool as a complication of child birth at a very early age. They are generally uneducated and have few opportunties because they often do not have any family support. Another place may be Gidan Bege (House of Hope). This is a shelter for homeless women and children. An opportunity for teaching advanced English may be available at the local seminary, where students have a wide range of English skills.
Emily has taken a leave of abscence from Willamette University where she is a premed student. She has already spent 2 months in Indonesia and she really loves living in developing country. She wants to work in the hospital with Dr. Mitchell and his colleagues. It will be an eye-opening experience for her. If she continues her pursuit of medicine, her experience in a hospital will help her application.
The three younger children will be attending Hillcrest School. Hannah will be a senior in High School, Sterling a sophomore, and Camille will be in 8th grade. Hillcrest is an international school. It is the only high school in Nigeria with an American curriculum. Recently 29 nationalities were represented there. Only one fourth of students are American. Sterling and Hannah are already communicating with future classmates.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
Amazing Confirmation
We have seen some amazing confirmation as things have started falling into place. We would love to quickly share just a few of them with you:
Putting the cart before the horse – Before deciding whether to pursue the position at Evangel Hospital, we felt that we needed the approval of both our families and our pastor. We sought our pastor’s counsel only, but received much more. What a blessing to have half of our support promised before we even began raising it!
Sterling and the unlikely classmate - What are the chances of two high school students in a German class in Vancouver, WA having a Jos, Nigeria connection? Sterling happened to mention our plans to Ben, a boy he didn’t know very well. It turns out that Ben returned from Jos two years ago and went to the very school Sterling will be attending. Ben has since connected him with future classmates through Facebook. Ben’s family and two other families in the area have helped to provide our entire family with a great introduction to the life and the people who await us in Jos.
Michael’s concerns put to rest - If you had a family of six (with one in college and three more coming), would you be a little concerned about quitting your job for a position that you had not been officially accepted for? Would you be concerned that you had no job prospects upon your return? This is exactly the place Michael found himself in, and his concerns were quickly put to rest when not one, but two unsolicited job offers came his way.
Lisa’s unrealistic prayer - Eyes rolled when Lisa let it be known that she was praying for a renter whom she knew and trusted and who would pay for the house with all furnishings left in place. After all, two months is just too short of a time to care for a family of six, student teach, and pack up leaving a house in near perfect condition for a rental company. Her prayer was answered: friends are renting our furnished home for the year!
We hope this little glimpse into some recent events in our lives will encourage you as much as it has us. We would love to meet with each of you and show footage of the hospital and people we will soon become familiar with. We are excited about serving in Nigeria and hope to share that excitement with you as well.
The Mitchells
P.S. If you have not already received a hard copy of our prayer card pictured above, let us know. We would love to send you one.
Putting the cart before the horse – Before deciding whether to pursue the position at Evangel Hospital, we felt that we needed the approval of both our families and our pastor. We sought our pastor’s counsel only, but received much more. What a blessing to have half of our support promised before we even began raising it!
Sterling and the unlikely classmate - What are the chances of two high school students in a German class in Vancouver, WA having a Jos, Nigeria connection? Sterling happened to mention our plans to Ben, a boy he didn’t know very well. It turns out that Ben returned from Jos two years ago and went to the very school Sterling will be attending. Ben has since connected him with future classmates through Facebook. Ben’s family and two other families in the area have helped to provide our entire family with a great introduction to the life and the people who await us in Jos.
Michael’s concerns put to rest - If you had a family of six (with one in college and three more coming), would you be a little concerned about quitting your job for a position that you had not been officially accepted for? Would you be concerned that you had no job prospects upon your return? This is exactly the place Michael found himself in, and his concerns were quickly put to rest when not one, but two unsolicited job offers came his way.
Lisa’s unrealistic prayer - Eyes rolled when Lisa let it be known that she was praying for a renter whom she knew and trusted and who would pay for the house with all furnishings left in place. After all, two months is just too short of a time to care for a family of six, student teach, and pack up leaving a house in near perfect condition for a rental company. Her prayer was answered: friends are renting our furnished home for the year!
We hope this little glimpse into some recent events in our lives will encourage you as much as it has us. We would love to meet with each of you and show footage of the hospital and people we will soon become familiar with. We are excited about serving in Nigeria and hope to share that excitement with you as well.
The Mitchells
P.S. If you have not already received a hard copy of our prayer card pictured above, let us know. We would love to send you one.
Monday, June 2, 2008
We are now officially going to Nigeria
We attended the SIM Start course in 14-18 May and have been officially accepted as "Short Term Associates" (STA). We are now in a flurry of making travel arrangements and visa applications. Lisa has done most of the work. Some friends are helping us out by leasing our house furnished.
We leave on July 28, 2008. We will fly through Frankfurt to Abuja, Nigeria, where we will spend the night before making the 3 hour drive to Jos.
We are also in the process of raising additional financial support. Our church and friends have been very generous. We have definite promises that amount to 60% of our minimum expenses. Many other family members and friends have graciously expressed interest in helping, though we don't have any specifics. I hope to raise additional funds to help care for patients. I will be seeing patients who can pay the initial $5 for evaluation, but cannot pay the additional $150 for the necessary surgery. Many have no family to help them come up with the money. Having a reserve of "ministry funds" allows me the opportunity to offer to pay their hospital expense and perform the necessary surgery.
In addition, I am trying to get some supplemental supplies and equipment donated by various medical companies. Joel Anthis, MD is my predecessor and the trailblazer for ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) care at Evangel Hospital. He managed to superbly stock the hospital and clinic with ENT-specific supplies and equipment. However, restocking is necessary, and some equipment needs to be replaced.
Keep us in your prayers.
Michael Mitchell, MD
We leave on July 28, 2008. We will fly through Frankfurt to Abuja, Nigeria, where we will spend the night before making the 3 hour drive to Jos.
We are also in the process of raising additional financial support. Our church and friends have been very generous. We have definite promises that amount to 60% of our minimum expenses. Many other family members and friends have graciously expressed interest in helping, though we don't have any specifics. I hope to raise additional funds to help care for patients. I will be seeing patients who can pay the initial $5 for evaluation, but cannot pay the additional $150 for the necessary surgery. Many have no family to help them come up with the money. Having a reserve of "ministry funds" allows me the opportunity to offer to pay their hospital expense and perform the necessary surgery.
In addition, I am trying to get some supplemental supplies and equipment donated by various medical companies. Joel Anthis, MD is my predecessor and the trailblazer for ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) care at Evangel Hospital. He managed to superbly stock the hospital and clinic with ENT-specific supplies and equipment. However, restocking is necessary, and some equipment needs to be replaced.
Keep us in your prayers.
Michael Mitchell, MD
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