Leadership & Partners
Soddo Christian Hospital is guided by a diverse community of Ethiopian leaders, long-term missionaries, and international partners united by a shared mission: to provide excellent medical care with compassion in the name of Jesus Christ.
Hospital Leadership (Ethiopia)
Addisu Wolde
Head of Emergency Medicine
Amsal Harbaso
Head, Orthopedics Department
Wubalem Waleign
Head, General Surgery Department
Long-Term Volunteers
Rachel is a board-certified general and critical care surgeon, and Luis is a registered professional civil engineer with a healthcare MBA. They believe that God has called them to serve the people of Ethiopia. Together with their four children: Daniel, Emma, Isabelle, and Joshua, they partner with Soddo Christian Hospital to disciple local African doctors and local believers to become faith leaders to heal and build up their communities.
Mark and Allison Karnes are from Muskegon, Michigan where Mark practiced as an Ob/Gyn for 25 years. The Karnes first served in Africa in 1975-1980 working at a mobile clinic in Cameroon. Africa had always tugged at their hearts since that time, and they returned, coming to Soddo in 2011. The Karnes have five children and many grandchildren. The Karnes serve through Global Outreach.
The Love family is excited to follow God’s call to serve as missionaries in Ethiopia. Tim and Laura met during an internship in Ethiopia while in college and after more than 16 years of deciphering their call and preparation they arrived with their family in August 2019.
Tim is a board-certified general surgeon with an additional masters degree in public health. Laura has a masters in social work and currently stays home with their children after working for many years in international adoption.
The Loves spent several months in Addis Ababa engaged in intensive language acquisition before moving down to Soddo to join the Jeffcoaches to help lead the Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS, www.PAACS.net) surgical training program.
Please visit their website and/or blog to learn more: www.LoveEthiopia.org
If you desire to donate directly to their ministry, please visit: https://www.mtw.org/missionaries/details/love-dr-tim-and-laura
Joy is a nurse practitioner certified in both family and acute care. Originally working in orthopedic surgery, Joy was living in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic and had the opportunity to help in the ICU during the height of the pandemic. This sparked an interest in critical care and she found it a privilege to care for patients and their families at such a vulnerable time. She subsequently transitioned to practice in critical care.
Joy now serves at Soddo working in the ICU with a particular focus on training and education of the nursing staff.
We are David and Sonja Selbach from Germany. When we were students God gave us the opportunitiy to spent a couple of month in Africa (Uganda, Kenya, DR Congo). We both independently felt God`s call in our minds and hearts to follow him to serve in Africa as missionaries.
David is a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon with an additional sub-specialty degree in Hand Surgery. He is excited to train young collegues in his special fields of surgery in the Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS, www.paacs.net) surgical training program.
Sonja is a pharmacist and loves to teach and train people. She currently stays home with our 3 children Aaron, Josua and Nathan.
Our german faith-based missionary sending organisation is Coworkers international (www.coworkers.de/en).
For more information about us:
Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sinta_jump/
Send an email to selbach@soddo.org to receive our newsletter (in German)
Nate and Cheryl Ross were both raised in Indiana and spent 20 years working in Birmingham, Alabama. As an OB-GYN, Nate focuses on caring for women’s health needs and training young physicians. Cheryl has served as college instructor of communication and leadership, as well as on a church ministry staff. Together they enjoy serving in churches through small group ministry and discipling college students. In their free time, they are both avid runners.
Their sending agency is Fullness Christian Fellowship. You can visit their blog here.
The Yates family is from Ventura, California. Michelle is a family physician and Adam is an electrical engineer. Michelle and Adam are passionate about improving the lives of Ethiopians by improving the care at SCH through training, disciplining and empowering our staff in their fields. They have three children, Cole Leah, and June. They have been serving at SCH since 2014 through Christian Health Service Corps.
St. Luke’s Health Care Foundation
Based in Wheaton, Illinois, St. Luke’s Health Care Foundation is the U.S. nonprofit that owns and supports Soddo Christian Hospital. The Foundation ensures accountability, stewardship, and financial transparency for all donor contributions.
Guided by a dedicated Board of Directors, St. Luke’s helps fund the hospital’s operations, expansion projects, and medical training initiatives — including its PAACS surgical residency. Every gift given through St. Luke’s directly supports compassionate, Christ-centered healthcare in Ethiopia.
What the Foundation Does
- Provides financial oversight and U.S. compliance for donor gifts
- Transfers funds to SCH and reports impact to donors and partners
- Supports capital projects (e.g., Hope Center for Women & Children)
- Enables training & PAACS through scholarships and program support
Through these functions, St. Luke’s enables your gift to carry weight and accountability — ensuring that support is channeled faithfully into patient care, training programs, and compassionate expansion across Ethiopia.
Contact
St. Luke’s Health Care Foundation
PO Box 4465
Wheaton, IL 60189-4465
630-235-7498
info@soddo.org
Board of Directors
- Amy Hinrichs
- Carolyn Adolph
- David Allen
- Dr. Nathan McLean
- Dr. Bjarte Tidemann Andersen
- Dr. Harold Adolph
- Dr. Michael Szostak
- Dr. Zach Brumbach
- Ken Amstutz
- Marylyn Grise
- Pastor Steve Harling
Our Partners
We’re grateful to serve alongside ministry and training partners who share our commitment to Christ-centered, excellent healthcare. Together we train leaders, expand access to care, and extend hope to communities across Ethiopia and beyond.
Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS)
Through PAACS, Soddo Christian Hospital trains African surgeons to serve their own communities with skill and compassion. Each resident receives world-class surgical education and spiritual discipleship, multiplying the reach of Christ-centered care across the continent.
As one of 21 PAACS programs in 12 countries, Soddo has already graduated over 80 surgeons — each equipped to heal, teach, and lead in hospitals throughout Africa.
We serve alongside trusted organizations which share our mission and amplify our impact.
Partner With Us to Advance Healing & Hope
Your support strengthens governance, equips resident training through PAACS, and sustains compassionate, Christ-centered care at Soddo Christian Hospital.
St. Luke’s Health Care Foundation is a proud member of ECFA. Gifts are stewarded with accountability and transparency.