I am working at
Kibogora
Hospital
in
Rwanda
,
Africa
. My main jobs are nursing education to improve the skill level of some of the nurses and implementing specific projects that improve the quality of nursing care, like improving the functioning of the pharmacy.
Kibogora is a 235-bed hospital that serves a population of about 190,000. People have been known to 
walk past other hospitals to go to Kibogora because of its reputation--the staff at the hospital really cares for the patients.
I had the opportunity to visit Kibogora for eight weeks in 1998 with my family. We went to remodel a house that hadn’t been lived in since the Genocide in 1994. That was a wonderful summer of meeting people in
Rwanda
and getting to observe some of the work at the hospital. I knew I wanted to be a nurse, so I had the chance to observe surgeries.
When I started in nursing school and had my rotation in the operating room, the nurses were all shocked that I had gone into the operating room in my paint clothes to observe surgeries in
Africa
! When I saw their reaction, I realized I shouldn’t tell them of my dad and a friend who laid a tile floor in the operating room during a surgery!
I worked as a nurse in the
United States
for five years.
First, I was in the hospital float pool, working all over the hospital in different units.
Then I transferred to labor and
delivery.
The winter of 2006 I wanted to go on the Mercy Ships for a month, but they already had all the volunteers they needed.
A couple of days before I found that out, I was looking at the Kibogora website.
I decided if I couldn’t go on the Mercy Ships, I’d see if going to Kibogora would work out.
It did, and I had another wonderful visit!
While there I prayed about serving at Kibogora permanently.
In October, 2006 I was hired by the
Free
Methodist
Church
and moved to
Rwanda
in September, 2007 after raising the needed support. Working here is a blessing and, at times, a challenge, but with God’s help I’m learning new things and trusting Him through the challenges. 
Besides my jobs at the hospital, I am learning French. When better at French, I will also begin learning Kinyarwandan. I also welcome and help settle in all the visitors who come to Kibogora to work.
Interested in more information? Check out these websites!
www.julieyrn.org
www.kibogora.org
www.fmwm.org
