Serving With :

SIM

Background:

Luke grew up in northwest Kenya, among the Pokot people. He attended Rift Valley Academy in Kijabe and boarded there from fifth grade through his high school graduation. He loves Kenyan culture and is fluent in Swahili. Amanda grew up in southwest Michigan, in the country. They met at Trinity Christian College outside of Chicago, and were married between their 4th and 5th years there. Amanda graduated with a BA in elementary education and Luke graduated with a BA in church and ministry leadership.

After their schooling was completed they moved to Florida, where Luke earned his Masters in occupational therapy from Nova Southeastern University. Luke accepted a position at an outpatient pediatric rehab facility in northwest Indiana, and they lived in the Valparaiso area for nearly seven years. Now they’ve made the big move to Kenya. Luke and Amanda love to travel together, go on bike rides with the kids, and take on projects together.

Ministry:

As a pediatric Occupational Therapist, Luke uses rehabilitative therapy to help children attain skills they need to be as independent as possible.  He serves as the Program Head for the Pediatric Occupational Therapy program at AIC Kijabe College of Health Sciences and is also the Lead for the School of Allied Health. Luke is working on developing discipleship and training programs for therapists as well as treating children with special needs and caring for their families. He is also working on expanding the Occupational Therapy department at AIC Kijabe Hospital. Amanda is a second grade teacher at Rift Valley Academy. We are parents to five children (Caden, Reuben, Aniah, Eli and Tobias). 

"Our team treats nearly 4,000 patients per year. Each of our families that come to bring their children to receive nursing care, therapy, social services, and parent-to-parent mentorship. This is another area where we see tremendous change ... as we are able to show the love of Christ and share it with them as we interact. One of the unique things about therapy is that often we require a significant number of return visits and with this, we can create a strong relationship with our families. This relationship allows us to be able to share on a deeper level with these families." ~Luke

Prayer Requests:

• Amanda and their children in their teaching and education
• Thankfulness for a recent family vacation
• For gospel relationships to be built with Luke's patients, their families, and other staff members