Last Day

It’s hard to believe we’re finally going home.  Susie and I have been in Kenya for almost three weeks.  The medical team has been here for a week, but they are ready for America, too.  Our only task today was to get to the airport from Nakuru before dark, so we decided to drop in on our friends at the Kikitemo IDP camp and introduce our doctors and nurses to Grace and her big family.

We had some extra medicines, and we stopped at a wholesale chemist in Nakuru to pick up some basic medicines to help people who have been living outdoors for three years.  We took anti-parasitic pills, antibiotics, skin ointments, and eye drops.  When we arrived, the kids saw us first.  They recognized our vehicle from our previous visits and immediately broke into cheers and singing.  Grace and the other widows and elderly folks also came out to meet us.  We showed our medical team around the camp so they could get an idea of the conditions these people have been living in.  Then we went to their church under the trees and they sang to us.  Then I spoke, which was hard through a veil of tears.  I told them that their God has not forgotten them, that we will never forget them. 

Afterwards, we met with Grace in their “Office” hut and told her how to use the medicines.  When Ben was through with his explanations, Grace looked at both of us and said,

“When my husband died, I know that God had a different plan for me than what I had expected.  But I swore that I would follow him all of my days and I will.  When we arrived in this place and things were so bad, I prayed that God would send a deliverer and He did.  He sent John Kariuki and he sent you.  You have blessed us so much we will never be able to repay you, but God will.  I don’t know how, but I know that he will.  It may be that he brought you here to show you that all the things you have are not really yours, but His.  Whatever he has in store for you, I pray that it is a blessing.  We will be praying for you, please pray for us.”

Needless to say we were all in tears by the time she finished speaking.  These people had shown us the face of God in their innocent children’s faces.  We learned what it means to be in community through Christ with complete strangers.  We learned what it means to be rich and to help the poor.  I’ve learned that all the joy that I have been chasing through things and toys is meaningless.  This is the true joy in life, to do the good works that God has planned for us.

After we left the camp we drove into Nairobi and met Francis at the Java House.  Here we said goodbye to Arrington, our driver this week.  He is really a great guy, working hard for us and playing with the children everywhere we went.  After a last Java House lunch, we hit “The Triangle” a hawkers-market filled with every souvenir of Africa you could want.  We also shopped at the Sarit center across the street, loading up on coffee, tea, and Bata shoes.  Then we were away to the airport, and here we sit, roasting in the heat of this un-air-conditioned building.

This trip has truly been amazing.  We have had so many new, unique experiences and deepened our friendships with our Kenyan brothers.  From the wonders of God’s creation in the Masai Mara to the fascinating culture of the Pokot, to the amazing God encounters at our orphanages, feeding stations and the IDP camp, God has truly been with us.  He has kept us safe, shown His glory, taught us how to love, and blessed others through our hands.  Susie and I have been able to share these experiences together, deepening our love for each other.  I don’t know what more I could have every wanted.  I hope you have been blessed reading about our travels, the prayers and support have been felt and are greatly appreciated.

Last Day

Kipsenende

Today was our last day based in Eldoret.  That meant we had to load the truck with ALL our gear and baggage.  This was the first time we had to do that, as we had a cargo vehicle for the drive up.  The plan was we would use a lot of the supplies up and bringing it back would be easier.  It wasn’t.  Our driver, Arrington, did a great job of tying almost all of it on top.  We looked like a mutatu, but we got to Kipsenende with everything we needed.

Kipsenende is a feeding station recently established at a church Bernard founded.  They have built a dining hall, which also serves as a meeting place for the church, a kitchen, and a widow’s dorm.  The place looked great, and the kids were a lot of fun.  We ran through our now-familiar routine of setup and worked through the orphans pretty quickly.  Brad says they had the best teeth of any place we had been.  Ben saw several kids with parasites, so we treated the entire population for that. 

Later, the team helped some community people while Maureen, Bernard, Cherie and I slipped away to Ngenymesut to have the board meeting that I would have had yesterday but for the Pokot visit.  That meeting went well.  I am always impresses with one or two people in these meetings.  They ask great questions and seem to have orphans best interests at heart.  There was one guy who asked for a scholarship for himself, but there’s one of those in every crowd, too.

We packed up early as this place was pretty small and we were done.  After the ceremonial tree planting, we loaded up and headed out for Nakuru, last stop before Nairobi and then home.  On the highway we had a near miss with a pedestrian when a drunk man carrying four chickens walked out in frint of us.  Arrington was able to stop in time, which is good because the drunk man was not moving out of the way.

So now we are safely in the Kunste Hotel in Nakru.  What a blessing this trip has been, th medical part especially.  We’ve learned a lot, made new friends, and did some of those awesome “good works” that the bible is always talking about.  Very cool.

Kipsenende

Ngenymesut - by Susie Neale

Today was amazing.  I have said that before but this is different.  I got to see incredible people coming together to care for widows and orphans in ways I never imagined. 

We were set up in the dining hall at Ngenymesut.  Ben Doke was at one end and Brad Sears at the other.  In the middle were the waiting area, eye exam, and fluoride treatments.  Children would give their names to Mauryn and either Leslie Doke or Deborah Sears then move to the waiting area for Ben or Brad.  I have never seen 20 – 30 kids sit in a circle for more than 30 minutes patiently waiting for their turn.  There was no fighting, pushing or turmoil.

The dental team sang songs to calm a little girl while treating her.  Ben listened patiently while some told life stories of illnesses and injuries years old that surely were the cause of today’s visit.  The orphanage staff and church leaders helped anywhere and everywhere.  The World Bible School Worker Bernard and Orphanage Director Steven  instructed kids on the fine art of teeth brushing and fluoride rinsing while the nurse conducted eye exams.  One church member interpreted for all the dental patients – she would calmly give instructions and watched all the procedures without passing out. Other church members interpreted for Ben and moved children through each station.  Guards kept everyone in lines and helped locate the ones in most need.  Older orphans walked with the younger ones and helped keep small children calm.  It was true community at its best.  The way God intended.

Then we met a special young man I will never forget named Rueben.  He is a 16 year old.  He was in line with a small girl and boy.  I thought they were siblings so seeing him wait with them was no surprise.  But after seeing him with the 4^th child, I had to ask who he was and why he was helping so many different kids.  He said he lived with and helped care for many children.  He waited patiently with at least 12 children.  Later we learned he is one of our orphans.  He said he was very thankful to see the doctors.  When I hugged him and said how blessed I was to get the opportunity to met someone like him, he simply said, “I am doing what God says.  You are the ones blessing people and saving lives.” 

Saving lives, feeding children, loving widows….what more can we do?   

Ngenymesut

Pokot

I was feeling a lot better this morning; no midnight migraines had appeared last night.  I went downstairs at 6am to meet Wilson and whatever transportation he had lined up for me.  I was pleasantly surprised to find two Americans, Wilson, and another Kenyan in a great 4 wheel drive Mitsubishi.  The Americans were David O’Neil, a former missionary here and his son Carl.  The Kenyan was Poteous, who works with David here in Eldoret.  David had worked in this area for years and knew absolutely everything about mission work and Kenya as well as knowing everyone we met along the way.

The drive was beautiful.  Amazingly beautiful.  We crossed theses small mountains to get to the valley where the Pokot live.  The descent down the mountain was like something out of a storybook.  Mountains covered in dense, green vegetation, rolling clouds shrouding parts of the mountains, grand vistas that went on for miles and miles, and not a power line, or any other sign of man to spoil the view.  It was like God had painted a beautiful picture just for us.  Once we reached the valley floor, the view was much different.  The flat lands are strewn with rocks.  Millions and millions of them.  The land if so rocky, practically nothing can be farmed here.

The Pokot and the other two tribes that live in the area have been nomadic herders of goats and cows.  They are pretty much settled now, but rely on good herds of goats to eat and sell to keep them fed.  They are coming out of a drought so times have been very hard for them.  Wilson has been working to evangelize the area.  A small church had been established by the work of David O’Neil’s team, and Wilson’s work to expand it has been very successful.  There are now three strong churches in this area.

We have an unusual feeding station arrangement here.  Because the land area is vast and population density is low, we have two small feeding stations on leased land, and we visited both of them.  The stations looked great.  We stopped at Wilson’s house for a snack and then went on to the site of the largest church.  There about 300 people, mostly kids from the area including the feeding station kids, singing and praising God.  The local chief, who is also a church elder, emceed the proceedings.  There were choirs, speeches and a short sermon from David.  All in all, it was very satisfying.

After a quick lunch we were off for home.  It’s a long way there and back, about 4.5 hours each way, so we didn’t get back to Eldoret until 8pm.  Tonight we pack up for tomorrow we’ll be in a different hotel, the Kunste in Nakuru.  Susie will write a blog post for the Ngenymesut medical visit and post it later.  We’re having some trouble with reliability on the internet side from Safaricom, so please forgive if you are getting these late.

Pokot

Kapsabet Day 2

My day began at 2:48 AM when my head exploded, or at least it felt like it.  I suffered only my second migraine ever last night.  I was really touch and go to make our 6AM pickup for our trip to Pokot, but Susie and I were downstairs, waiting on time.  Unfortunately, Wilson Kiptoo never came.  A call from Maureen discovered that we had had a miscommunication about the date; he had made arrangements for Thursday, not Wednesday. So I will go tomorrow.  Since the medical team will have a tough day tomorrow, Susie will stay with them.

Today, we went back to Kapsabet.  Yesterday we say all the orphanage kids and widows, over 150 of them.  Today we saw the feeding station kids and some of the community.  What a difference a day makes.  We were better organized, as we had learned a lot yesterday, but the kids were different as well.  Feeding station kids receive only two meals a day from us.  We do not house them, or provide educational support or medical support.  Our goal is to keep them alive, and the difference between how these kids looked versus the orphanage kids was noticeable.

We saw over 200 people today, including 90 feeding station kids and community folks.  Their problems ran the gamut from scabies, to asthma, to scoliosis, and ALS.  And we pulled a lot of teeth.  Many of their medical problems we can do nothing for.  We cannot transport the whole US medical system to Kenya, only a couple or doctors.  We had Cherie Creech and Maureen screening community people for the doctors.  They were able to weed out most of them who had complaints that were not something we could help with or where trivial.  We joked afterwards that Cherie saw more patients than all the others combined! Dr Doke was able to identify and treat many problems for people including draining a cyst, and removing a nasal polyp a well as countless cases of parasites and heart burn.

Dr Doke remarked one of the differences in treating people from this culture, is the different way the give their medical history.  Here is a typical one: “What can I do for you today?”  “I have this pain in my hip.”  “When did it start?” “It all started when I got the flu when I was 12 years old.”  “Really?”  “Yes, that led to my first broken leg when I was 23, and then there was that bad case of ringworm when I was 34.”  In a story-telling culture, everything can be seen to be causal, even when we know it isn’t.  It makes for some interesting medical histories and some interesting outcomes.  One patient was convinced that all of her aches and pains were caused by the appearance of this cyst on her neck.  Dr. Doke was able to remove the cyst, then he asked her what other problems she had.  She replied that they were all going to go away now that the cyst was gone.  Try arguing with that logic!

I again helped Dr Sears as he refined his teeth pulling, cavity filling operation.  Some of the cases there were very bad.  I watched him face a small girl, maybe four years old, and experience sadness, frustration, and anger all within a few seconds.  She had seven baby teeth that were beyond hope.  There is no way he could pull them all at one time, and she needed some teeth to eat.  In the end he pulled the worst one and gave her antibiotics and pain relievers.  Hopefully  she’ll be able to get by until her permanent teeth come in.  She took it well, they all do, laying there still as can be while the needle goes in.  Never a wimper or cry, only a silent tear.  It’s amazing to watch.  These really are remarkable people.

Tomorrow, Pokot, I promise.

Kapsabet Day 2

Kapsabet Day 1

What a day.  I seem to say that a lot, lately.  Today was the first day for the medical portion of our trip.  We were all very excited to see what God would do with us.  As usual, He did not disappoint.  We arrived at Kapsabet around 9 and Bernard Kibet, our WBS worker for this area showed us around.  Kapsabet was the second orphanage built, and it has the easy, comfortable feel of Dirubi and Ndhiwa.  We met the nurse, saw the clinic and decided that Ben Doke, our MD, would set up there.  Bernard had rented a large tent for us in the compound and Leslie Doke, with Maureen assisting, set up registration there.  Brad Sears, our dentist, set up in the dining hall.

We asked the widows to help us identify those kids with known problems so we could see them first.  After some organzing of instruments we got to work.  Thus began a long grind of one child after another, pointing to where it hurts and compliantly waiting for the doctor to make it better.  On the dental side, that usually meant a filling or extraction, with anesthesia, something Kenyans almost never get.  I assisted Brad as a sterilizer, (I washed bloody instruments) while Deborah assisted Brad with the patients.   My first observation was that Kenyan kids are tough.  They don’t whine or complain or refuse to open their mouths.  They just lay there and take it.  American kids are not like that, according to Brad, and I believe he is right.  Brad saw dozens of kids and widows today, and pulled teeth and filled cavities like a champ.  One of the widows had problems so bad that Brad said she must have been in pain for years.

Dr. Doke saw the medical patients, and that was a little tougher.  Many of the problems the adults have he can do nothing for.  My back hurts, my chest gets tight when it’s cold, I have cataracts; these are far beyond a simple medical screening.  He did identify one child with a parasite and one with a previously undiagnosed heart arrhythmia.  There were infections and eye problems and vision needs aplenty.  He made a list of medicines needed for all those he could help and we picked them up this evening at the pharmacy that Bernard uses in Eldoret.

Everything went very smoothly.  We had no particular plan about how to set up when we arrived, but we were able to fall into a rhythm fairly quickly.  I floated between each station, putting out fires and encouraging our people.  After lunch, I met with the orphan’s board of Kapsabet and got many things accomplished. Susie took amazing pictures, and Cherie played with kids and helped with vision screening.  Maureen translated everywhere and was incredibly useful as usual. All in all it was a very satisfying day. 

Tomorrow we will be back at Kapsabet, well, at least the medical team will.  Susie and I are headed off to visit the Pokot.  They are a nomadic tribe that lives much as they have for centuries, raising cattle and wandering the arid areas east of Eldoret.  Our worker Wilson Kiptoo, felt a calling to minister to them and now lives among them half the time.  He will be taking us to meet them for the first time.  It’s a long, six hour drive over very bad roads so we will not be staying there very long.  If all goes well we will be back in time for dinner tomorrow night.  It may be too late to blog by then, so don’t panic if I’m a little late with tomorrow’s report.  Our blessings to all of you back in the US, we miss you terribly.  Be thankful for what you have; there are things that you haven’t even thought of that are blessings laying all around you.

Kapsabet Day 1

Arrivals and Departures

I’m feeling a little guilty for not blogging yesterday, so this will be two days worth.  Sunday, we worshiped with the Mbuvi’s and Coulstons at the Kamulu Church of Christ, which is always a fun experience.  After lunch we set out for Nairobi one more time to check into our hotel for the evening, Grace House, and prepare for the medical team’s arrival.  Next to the Grace House is Yaya Center, a small upscale mall.  As we pulled into the parking lot I saw what I most feared, another “market day.”  At these nightmarish events, vendors selling all manner of African curios line up in stalls and beg you to, “please sir, just look here.”  I HATE these things, and of course, Susie and Maureen LOVE them. 

We have already purchased every possible kind of souvenir; soapstone, jewelry, textiles, etc.  We have so much that I really fear for getting it all home because of airline weight limits.  Susie is undeterred.  She blazes a path through the merchants, leaving them dazed and bewildered.  They are no match for her superior negotiating skills and endless patience.  I am dying.  Finally, Francis and I convince the women to come in for dinner, and on the way into the mall, Susie calls out, “Just one more!” We wait for 10 or 15 minutes and I have had enough, I’m going out to retrieve my bride.  We found them haggling a man over a hand carved mahogany end table.  Susie says, “Maureen really wants this one, she’s got him down to 4,000ksh.”  Finally when the deal is struck, Maureen turns to Susie and says, “There, I got it for you.  Pay the man.”  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  Not only is it expensive, it weighs 30 pounds!  How will we ever get this home?  My pleas fall on deaf ears; I am outnumbered and outclassed.   Agggh.

After dinner, we dropped Susie and Maureen at the hotel and went to retrieve the medical team from the airport.  We waited outside the baggage claim until almost everyone had cleared out, and still there was no team.  Finally, I caught sight of them trailing a load of bags, all there save one, Leslie Doke’s.  After filling the missing bag report, we were ready to head out when a man came down the hall trailing the missing bag.  He had taken it all the way home and discovered it was the wrong bag and brought it straight back to the airport.  What luck!  So we loaded it all and sped away, for some much deserved rest.

This morning we parted with Francis, who took a mutatu back to Kamulu, and met up with Addington, our driver for the week.  We’ve used Addington before when we needed more than one vehicle, and we know him to be reliable.  Today, he drove us to Eldoret where we will be based for the next five days.  We will be providing basic medical and dental care to our orphanages and feeding stations at Kapsabet, Ngenymesut and the surrounding area.  The team consists of Ben and Leslie Doke, Brad and Deborah Sears, and Cherie Creech.  So here we sit at the beautiful Sirikwa Hotel, under the same roof with the US ambassador to Kenya, who arrived at the same time we did.  Pretty cool.  Tomorrow we get started with Kapsabet Orphanage.

Medical Team Arrives