PT with a Purpose: Anabelle’s Mission in Kenya

When Anabelle Bryant landed in Kajiado, Kenya, this past July, she was ready to work. As a second-year Doctor of Physical Therapy student at Hardin-Simmons University, she’d joined the Joni and Friends Wheels for the World team to customize wheelchairs and provide hands-on PT care.

What she wasn’t ready for? How much Kenya would give back to her.

On the first day, Anabelle’s team spent hours with a young boy, fitting his wheelchair, treating his symptoms, and teaching his mom how to continue his care at home.

As she walked away to snap a group photo, the boy’s grandmother gently caught her arm. She removed her handmade Maasai necklace and tied it around Anabelle’s neck.

“She told me we had done more for her grandson than she could ever repay,” Anabelle says. “I was just doing what felt like basic care, but to her, it was life-changing.”

That moment recalibrated everything. After that experience, Anabelle approached every encounter with the same intentionality, knowing she wasn’t just treating bodies, she was changing lives.

Kenya also turned Anabelle into a master improviser.

Seatbelts became gait belts. Pool noodles became cushions. Bags became harnesses. A grassy field or rocky road? That was the treatment area.

“I learned that resourcefulness is just as important as clinical knowledge,” she says. “Now I know I can provide excellent care anywhere, with whatever’s available.”

She also saw dedication up close: families traveling four-plus hours so loved ones could receive care and get a wheelchair that would connect them to the world.

Anabelle and her husband have long felt called to international mission work, and she knew she needed a PT program that would prepare her for that.

“I prayed for God to make it clear where I should go,” she says. “I needed a school that would teach me to be a great PT and equip me for the mission field. HSU did both.”

The partnership with Joni and Friends sealed the deal — she knew this was where she’d be trained to serve anywhere.

After graduating in December 2026, Anabelle plans to build diverse clinical experience and get ready for wherever she and her husband are called to serve. Kenya’s at the top of the list.

“I left a huge piece of my heart there,” she says. “I know we’ll be back.”

She still wears the grandmother’s necklace — a daily reminder that PT isn’t just a job. It’s a way to love people around the world.

Interested in a physical therapy program that prepares you to serve anywhere? Learn more about HSU’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program and our international mission opportunities.