Reflecting on the last four weeks in Kenya I think about the beauty and warmth of the area (relative to Minnesota that is), and the many diseases that I saw either for the first time or hadn’t seen for quite some time. I think about the interesting food that I consumed and morning training runs accompanied up the hills by very interested Kenyan children wondering what the mazungu was doing that early in the morning. I think of the many tragedies that I saw including many untimely deaths of a young mother and premature infants as well as the financial hardships faced by most of the people that I was serving. However, what I think most about are the many people that I met and how they helped me or impressed me in so many ways. This blog is for you. I wish that I could thank all of you but time does not permit. For those not mentioned here I send a heartfelt “Asante Sana” (Thank you very much) and “Mungu akubariki” (God Bless You).
First for the countless Kenyans I met I would like to thank our gracious housekeeper Ednah. You are a humble, warm and hardworking women. Thanks for the invitation to your house. I’m sorry that I couldn’t make it but the kids loved their time there. Thanks also to the chaplains at the hospital. Thanks for tirelessly helping me with the many spiritual and emotional issues that I faced while taking care of patients. In particular, thanks to Pastor Charles and your lovely wife Jane for opening up your home to us. We enjoyed the food and fellowship and will be praying for your sister Eunice as well.
Thanks to Doctor James Kenua for giving me a mini-fellowship on managing HIV patient in Africa, as well as TB and various other illnesses germane to your country. I wish you well with your upcoming marriage and as you pursue training as a surgeon. Working with you the first two weeks made the rest of my time much easier as I was better prepared to treat the medical patients that I saw. Thanks also to Dr. Wilfred Kimosop for your help with the very young and very small babies in Kapsowar. You do a wonderful job with those little patients and and I wish you well as you eventually move on to become a Pediatrician.
Thanks to Michal Yano for not only having us over to your house two times, but for also teaching the kids how to make chipati. That is a skill that will come in handy at our home for years to come. You are a very welcoming and giving person and you taught us all a lesson about what it means to serve others. Thanks to Mama Brian for help with the trek up Mt. Kipkannur and for your shopping advise. You are a survivor, with God’s help. Don’t lose your focus on Him as you move forward raising your young son.
Thanks to the people of the Rorok church. We felt very welcome there and enjoyed the teaching and worship. We will pray for you as you minister to your community and to the kids at your school. Thanks to the teachers at the Shammah school for letting the kids have so many ministry opportunities there. They enjoyed their time working with the kids and meeting each of you.
Thanks to the many translators that I had for the Swahili and Kalingen speaking patients. In particular, thanks to Elizabeth on the men’s wards. Thanks for taking the time to talk with Jonah. I pray that that discussion produces fruit. Thanks also to Alex for teaching me many things about your lovely country. You are a good student and excellent translator. I trust that God will help you as you continue your education at the nursing school. Thank you Festus as well. You are a hardworking and dedicated nurse for the laboring mothers and their precious babies. I hope the stethoscope comes in handy with your future resuscitative attempts. Thanks to Wilson on the Women’s ward. You too, are a hard working and trustworthy nurse. Kapsowar is fortunate to have you working there.
I could go on and on about the many nurses and other staff that I worked with on a daily basis. You all made me feel welcome and made my work at the hospital much easier. You take care of very sick patients with limited resources for the Glory of God.
I turn now to the many wazungu friends that we all made in Kapsowar. First to Drew for being one of my running partners and for your help on things electronic. I will be praying for you as you decide on a career path and practice location. God has obviously given you gifts and I pray that you will use them for His glory. Thanks to Christina for making us feel very welcome at your home for dinner and movies and games. We all looked forward to those times. We missed you when you were in Kijabe. I’m glad that me being there helped you to be able to go. Thanks to Kyle as well. You are a very smart and humble young physician. I learned a lot from you and enjoyed being your colleague. My prayers are for you and your young family as it gets used to life in Africa.
Thanks to “the girls”. I’ll be praying for the match for you Kristen and for your father. Thanks for your help with rounding on the maternity patients. You are a hard-working and dedicated student. I’m sure that you will do well as you further your education. Thanks to Amber for her help with the patients in the hospital and friendship as well. I’ll send some SI and TMJ patients your way now that I know a trustworthy therapist living in the same state. My prayers are with you as you seek God’s guidance for your next adventure. Thanks to Ariella for your indispensable help with the mural and for your meals and laughter and friendship. My prayers are with you as you decide on your career path as well.
Thanks to Dave for being my daily running partner. Don’t settle for a 5K in Alaska. I look forward to seeing photos of the completed project. If I ever get up to Alaska I’ll contact you ahead of time to try to get together and get travel advise.
Thanks especially to the Bill and Laura. You are a very warm and welcoming couple. You both set a Christ-like example for the entire staff. It was a joy getting to know you and work with you and learn from you both. Your testimonies are compelling and your lives are lived for God’s glory. I pray that my life can be the same.
Thanks ultimately to God for many answered prayers. Answered prayers for safety and provision. Answered prayers for ministry opportunities and new friends. Answered prayers for redirecting priorities that are more eternally than temporarily centered. God is so good.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Kapcheswes
Kapcheswes (cap chess wes) is a children’s home about 2 miles away from the hospital. There are 35 boys and girls living there. They are essentially orphans, but not adoptable for various reasons. There is a board of directors that oversees the home. There have been various adults there that provide some sort of supervision and mentoring for the kids. However, the children are essentially self-sustaining. They harvest their own food, milk their own goats, wash their own clothes, etc. They attend school through the 8th grade. If their score is high enough on the national exam they are given the opportunity to attend secondary school and even a university because of funds provided from outside sources.
I made my first trek up there last night. The rest of our group has been there several times. They have been painting a “study” at the home. The ultimate goal was to paint a picture of the world on one of the walls. That is a major undertaking without brushes suitable for that purpose. We had to purchase paint from Eldoret because adequate quality water based paint is not available in Kapsowar. There are no paint rollers available nor masking tape nor drapes for the floor. All of the equipment has to be transported up there by foot, including the paint and the water to clean the brushes.
Life there is hard for the kids. I don’t even know if they have kerosene lanterns for light at night. There is no running water, nor electricity. There is minimal security. However, the community and local church looks out for the kids. Despite the circumstances, it is basically a safe place to live.
The plan was for the kids to spend the night last night and finish the job today. Everything was being prepared when Laura Rhodes came with terrible news. She did not feel it was safe for the kids to spend the night there. She had just heard that the male adult who was providing some of the supervision for the kids had alledgedly raped one of the girls at the home. Additionally, the female supervisor of the girls had been released because it was believed that she was stealing food from the children.
We found the kids there in remarkably good spirits. They enjoyed having us come and spend the time with them. They watched us fill in the map, one country at a time. We had purchased the primary colors (blue, red, and yellow) and mixed them together to provide contrasting colors for each country. We made small paint brushes by cutting bristles off of the larger brushes we had purchased and used rubber bands to secure the bristles to sticks. We cut a water bottle in half, the long way, and made two paint containers for the paint. We nearly finished the map, but it was getting dark and we had to leave. The job will be finished next week by Amber (a physical therapist visiting here from Minnesota) and Ariella (a pre-med student from Harvard).
Before leaving we handed out shoes and clothes for each of the kids. These were either brought to Kenya by the kids, or purchased here. Anjaela sent a dress and we gave it to a little girl. She was very pleased to receive it. All of the kids were excited with their gifts. They did not hoard the clothes. They looked out for each other, making sure that each child got their fair share.
We then left for home to share a meal with friends in our modest home with running water, electricity, refrigerator, etc. They likely went to bed not long after we left. The sad thing is that they went to bed alone. There are no adults there now to look after them. The board of directors needs to find trustworthy adults willing to live in that situation, essentially functioning as a volunteer. A miracle is needed.
Please pray for the children of Kapcheswes. Pray for wisdom for the board of directors. Pray for the emotional and physical protection of the girl affected by the tragedy. Pray for the perpetrator as well.
We leave tomorrow for home with the people of Kapsowar and the children of Kapcheswes in our hearts. We long to be home as well. Thanks again for your interest in this adventure of ours.
I made my first trek up there last night. The rest of our group has been there several times. They have been painting a “study” at the home. The ultimate goal was to paint a picture of the world on one of the walls. That is a major undertaking without brushes suitable for that purpose. We had to purchase paint from Eldoret because adequate quality water based paint is not available in Kapsowar. There are no paint rollers available nor masking tape nor drapes for the floor. All of the equipment has to be transported up there by foot, including the paint and the water to clean the brushes.
Life there is hard for the kids. I don’t even know if they have kerosene lanterns for light at night. There is no running water, nor electricity. There is minimal security. However, the community and local church looks out for the kids. Despite the circumstances, it is basically a safe place to live.
The plan was for the kids to spend the night last night and finish the job today. Everything was being prepared when Laura Rhodes came with terrible news. She did not feel it was safe for the kids to spend the night there. She had just heard that the male adult who was providing some of the supervision for the kids had alledgedly raped one of the girls at the home. Additionally, the female supervisor of the girls had been released because it was believed that she was stealing food from the children.
We found the kids there in remarkably good spirits. They enjoyed having us come and spend the time with them. They watched us fill in the map, one country at a time. We had purchased the primary colors (blue, red, and yellow) and mixed them together to provide contrasting colors for each country. We made small paint brushes by cutting bristles off of the larger brushes we had purchased and used rubber bands to secure the bristles to sticks. We cut a water bottle in half, the long way, and made two paint containers for the paint. We nearly finished the map, but it was getting dark and we had to leave. The job will be finished next week by Amber (a physical therapist visiting here from Minnesota) and Ariella (a pre-med student from Harvard).
Before leaving we handed out shoes and clothes for each of the kids. These were either brought to Kenya by the kids, or purchased here. Anjaela sent a dress and we gave it to a little girl. She was very pleased to receive it. All of the kids were excited with their gifts. They did not hoard the clothes. They looked out for each other, making sure that each child got their fair share.
We then left for home to share a meal with friends in our modest home with running water, electricity, refrigerator, etc. They likely went to bed not long after we left. The sad thing is that they went to bed alone. There are no adults there now to look after them. The board of directors needs to find trustworthy adults willing to live in that situation, essentially functioning as a volunteer. A miracle is needed.
Please pray for the children of Kapcheswes. Pray for wisdom for the board of directors. Pray for the emotional and physical protection of the girl affected by the tragedy. Pray for the perpetrator as well.
We leave tomorrow for home with the people of Kapsowar and the children of Kapcheswes in our hearts. We long to be home as well. Thanks again for your interest in this adventure of ours.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Jonah
Jonah is a 19 year old young man with Diabetes. He was diagnosed with disease that when he was in 10 years old. He takes daily insulin, when he can afford it. Because of his diabetes, and likely for other reasons, he only completed the 5th grade. He lives at home with his parents and two siblings. No one at home is employed.
He presented to the hospital nearly comatose. His blood sugar was very high. He was severely dehydrated. He hadn’t taken his insulin for 1 week, having ran out of it. He also had pneumonia. Basically, he was very sick. His pneumonia was treated. His blood sugars were lowered. His dehydration was also treated. He was treated in the hospital for 4 days. His bill was 13,000 Shillings ($170). After discharge he remained on the ward. He didn’t have the money to pay the bill. He just waited to see if his family would be able to come up with the money. In Kenya, you can’t leave the hospital until the bill is paid. There are no insurance companies to pay for the majority of the patients, nor are there collection agencies to track down people who can’t pay the bill. It is generally up to the family and patient to find the money to pay the bill. Until that is done, patients wait, sometimes for months, before they can go home.
The family had little resources. There was a small piece of land that they had left for Jonah to have when he left the home. That was basically his only major possession. They tried to sell that property to pay the bill but were not able to do so. So he sat on the ward for four extra days waiting. Waiting for visitors that did not come. Waiting for family members with news about the bill.
I knew about his medical problems, having been his treating physician. I noticed that he was still on the ward after discharge and learned more about his situation. My church (West Cohasset Chapel) had given me money to help with such problems. I found Elizabeth, a patient attendant (essentially an LPN) who worked on the ward. She spoke excellent English and Kalingen (his tribal language). We brought him to a private place and talked with him about his situation. I told him that my church back home wanted to pray for him. I did not tell him, nor Elizabeth, of my intentions of paying for his hospital charges. I asked him what he would like me to have them pray for.
He gave me the above history. He also said that he was having “bad thoughts”. By that he meant feelings of worthlessness and abandonment. My heart went out to him. Here was a young man, in the prime of his life. He had a serious life-long disease. He had minimal education and a poor support system. His job outlook was poor. His prospects for the future were not good.
I asked him if he knew who Jesus was. He did, having attended periodically a local non-protestant church. I asked him if he knew why Jesus came to earth. He said that he did not because his church did not talk about that. I explained, with the help of Elizabeth, that Jesus was God’s son, and that he came to earth in order to forgive the sins. That his sins separated him from God and that the only way to God was through belief in Jesus, and for forgiveness of his sins. That following Jesus did not guarantee that life would be always good, but that his life would have purpose. We had the opportunity to pray. He was happy that my church would be praying for him as well. He made no decision about Christ at the time. Without fanfare he learned the next day that his bill was paid and he went home. I didn’t get the chance to tell him goodbye.
Please pray for Jonah. His prospects in this life are bleak at best. He has a poor foundation to build his life on without Christ. Having said that, he now has heard that his life can have a purpose. That he can find acceptance and forgiveness in Christ. I hope that the debt that was paid for him will cause him to think of a debt that he has that no one on this earth can pay. The debt caused by his sins that causes separation from God forever without the forgiveness that he can have through Christ alone.
Please also pray for me as I finish my work here. Pray that I’ll use my time effectively. Pray that I’ll be sensitive to the opportunities that God gives me to do more than take care of the physical needs of my patients. Pray that what I do here brings glory to God and not to myself. Pray for my family back home who I miss dearly and who are also experiencing joys and occasional trials on a daily basis. Thanks again for your interest in this journey of ours. Your prayers and concerns for us mean more than you can ever know. Wish you were here.
He presented to the hospital nearly comatose. His blood sugar was very high. He was severely dehydrated. He hadn’t taken his insulin for 1 week, having ran out of it. He also had pneumonia. Basically, he was very sick. His pneumonia was treated. His blood sugars were lowered. His dehydration was also treated. He was treated in the hospital for 4 days. His bill was 13,000 Shillings ($170). After discharge he remained on the ward. He didn’t have the money to pay the bill. He just waited to see if his family would be able to come up with the money. In Kenya, you can’t leave the hospital until the bill is paid. There are no insurance companies to pay for the majority of the patients, nor are there collection agencies to track down people who can’t pay the bill. It is generally up to the family and patient to find the money to pay the bill. Until that is done, patients wait, sometimes for months, before they can go home.
The family had little resources. There was a small piece of land that they had left for Jonah to have when he left the home. That was basically his only major possession. They tried to sell that property to pay the bill but were not able to do so. So he sat on the ward for four extra days waiting. Waiting for visitors that did not come. Waiting for family members with news about the bill.
I knew about his medical problems, having been his treating physician. I noticed that he was still on the ward after discharge and learned more about his situation. My church (West Cohasset Chapel) had given me money to help with such problems. I found Elizabeth, a patient attendant (essentially an LPN) who worked on the ward. She spoke excellent English and Kalingen (his tribal language). We brought him to a private place and talked with him about his situation. I told him that my church back home wanted to pray for him. I did not tell him, nor Elizabeth, of my intentions of paying for his hospital charges. I asked him what he would like me to have them pray for.
He gave me the above history. He also said that he was having “bad thoughts”. By that he meant feelings of worthlessness and abandonment. My heart went out to him. Here was a young man, in the prime of his life. He had a serious life-long disease. He had minimal education and a poor support system. His job outlook was poor. His prospects for the future were not good.
I asked him if he knew who Jesus was. He did, having attended periodically a local non-protestant church. I asked him if he knew why Jesus came to earth. He said that he did not because his church did not talk about that. I explained, with the help of Elizabeth, that Jesus was God’s son, and that he came to earth in order to forgive the sins. That his sins separated him from God and that the only way to God was through belief in Jesus, and for forgiveness of his sins. That following Jesus did not guarantee that life would be always good, but that his life would have purpose. We had the opportunity to pray. He was happy that my church would be praying for him as well. He made no decision about Christ at the time. Without fanfare he learned the next day that his bill was paid and he went home. I didn’t get the chance to tell him goodbye.
Please pray for Jonah. His prospects in this life are bleak at best. He has a poor foundation to build his life on without Christ. Having said that, he now has heard that his life can have a purpose. That he can find acceptance and forgiveness in Christ. I hope that the debt that was paid for him will cause him to think of a debt that he has that no one on this earth can pay. The debt caused by his sins that causes separation from God forever without the forgiveness that he can have through Christ alone.
Please also pray for me as I finish my work here. Pray that I’ll use my time effectively. Pray that I’ll be sensitive to the opportunities that God gives me to do more than take care of the physical needs of my patients. Pray that what I do here brings glory to God and not to myself. Pray for my family back home who I miss dearly and who are also experiencing joys and occasional trials on a daily basis. Thanks again for your interest in this journey of ours. Your prayers and concerns for us mean more than you can ever know. Wish you were here.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Aaron's Feb 11, blog
Yesterday was an awesome day! The school that we have been helping at for the past week and a half had a tournament with another private school. They had a girl’s soccer game and then a boy’s soccer game. We lost both games but it was fun. When someone scored the rest of the teams school would all start screaming and jumping. It reminded me of like a professional football game or something.
I loved hanging out with the kids who weren’t playing. It looked really funny because on the hill that we were sitting there would be one of us wazungus sitting down with ten other Kenyans sitting on top of us. They found it really funny how much I could “change my face”, they thought that it was amazing that my tongue could turn all the way around in my mouth too. They all tried to copy me and got a kick out of it… and people say I know too many useless skills.
We went to the school today they told us that they were taking a day off to rest because all the teachers were tired from the game. So we just hung around and played with the kids who were done with their school work until the day was over.
Tonight we had a party for Kristen’s 26th birthday. Kristin is a fourth year medical student visiting here for a month from Wisconsin. Hudson and I made some oatmeal muffins for the party… but we didn’t get to bring them because they burned :P. Tomorrow we are getting up early in the morning to teach the kids at the school a Bible lesson before they start. We decided to do a skit on the watchman in Ezekiel. After that we will be going to the children’s home to work on our painting project. We’ll finish the project sometime next week. We are planning to spend the night at the orphanage so we can finish painting the walls white and finish painting the picture of the world.
I really love all the things that God is doing in and through me, and I love the attitude of the people here. They care for others usually more then they care about themselves. Yesterday I saw a girl (Shannon) who I met probably two Mondays ago. She was in the O.R. when I met her and then again yesterday. She saw me and noticed that I didn’t have my brace on so she kind of waved me down and then asked me about it and was concerned about me, and then she was happy for me that it was mostly better. I then asked her about her foot which she had something growing on it that she had scraped off when I first met her. She told me it was fine and that it was getting better, then she took off the gauze to show me and she had a huge hole on her ankle like 5 by 3 inches! It was down to almost her bone and she had no problem with it. It’s amazing to think of the kind of things we complain of in America.
I loved hanging out with the kids who weren’t playing. It looked really funny because on the hill that we were sitting there would be one of us wazungus sitting down with ten other Kenyans sitting on top of us. They found it really funny how much I could “change my face”, they thought that it was amazing that my tongue could turn all the way around in my mouth too. They all tried to copy me and got a kick out of it… and people say I know too many useless skills.
We went to the school today they told us that they were taking a day off to rest because all the teachers were tired from the game. So we just hung around and played with the kids who were done with their school work until the day was over.
Tonight we had a party for Kristen’s 26th birthday. Kristin is a fourth year medical student visiting here for a month from Wisconsin. Hudson and I made some oatmeal muffins for the party… but we didn’t get to bring them because they burned :P. Tomorrow we are getting up early in the morning to teach the kids at the school a Bible lesson before they start. We decided to do a skit on the watchman in Ezekiel. After that we will be going to the children’s home to work on our painting project. We’ll finish the project sometime next week. We are planning to spend the night at the orphanage so we can finish painting the walls white and finish painting the picture of the world.
I really love all the things that God is doing in and through me, and I love the attitude of the people here. They care for others usually more then they care about themselves. Yesterday I saw a girl (Shannon) who I met probably two Mondays ago. She was in the O.R. when I met her and then again yesterday. She saw me and noticed that I didn’t have my brace on so she kind of waved me down and then asked me about it and was concerned about me, and then she was happy for me that it was mostly better. I then asked her about her foot which she had something growing on it that she had scraped off when I first met her. She told me it was fine and that it was getting better, then she took off the gauze to show me and she had a huge hole on her ankle like 5 by 3 inches! It was down to almost her bone and she had no problem with it. It’s amazing to think of the kind of things we complain of in America.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Tyler's belated blog post (Feb, 4, 2010)
Well, this has been cool. I am a little tired right now but I think that’s because I only got about 5 hours of sleep last night. God is good and He totally made this place awesome!!
So a lot has gone on since I wrote last. Let’s see, the day after I wrote we hiked Mt. Kipkannur, which took about 3 and a half hours to get to the top. That was pretty difficult. It was weird though, because my legs weren’t really sore the next day, only my rear. So that was interesting. Mama Brian was our guide and she cut us bamboo walking sticks with her machete. Those were cool. The top was amazing and the walk was awesome and it was all bomb diggidy!!
That night we went to Nehemiah’s house which was also sweet! We found out that his mom works at the hospital and she found out that he had invited us to his house so she told my dad that we all should come. That was probably the most food I’ve had since I’ve been here. I went up 3 or 4 times to fill my plate. She was happy that I enjoyed it so much. My dad commented to her about her knowing so many wazungus, and she said that she invites them over so they can say thank you. I thought that was pretty cool. As the night wore on, my dad suggested going soon but Nehemiah thought it was too early to leave, so we stayed a little later. Nehemiah’s parents were able to afford his high school so he was leaving Monday morning, so Aaron and I visited him for a bit the next day to say bye.
Umm, and a lot more happened between there.
Last night there was something scratching and clawing and crawling somewhere through the ceiling. That kept us up pretty late. In the morning Hudson and Jude came over and walked into Aaron’s and my room. It was about 10:30 so we should have been up but we didn’t get very much sleep. They wanted us to play with them while they crawled all over us as they were explaining this. We explained to them why we were so tired and Aaron told them that we needed to eat breakfast anyway when we did get up. Jude thought that some part of that sentence was pretty hilarious. They then just sat on our beds and were going to wait till we got up. We finally convinced them to go home and have fun and we would play with them later. Those kids crack me up. I guess it was kind of a nice alarm clock.
Later today, we went to a Lutheran private school and chilled with them for a while. We had met the third grade teacher, Philemon, the day before who had asked us if we would visit. We joined the kids during phy-ed. That was pretty fun. First we started running laps, and then we played this game where we all had to run around all crazy like and then when Philemon yelled a number, we all had to quickly get in groups of that number. It was weird because Philemon told everyone that if they weren’t in a group, he would beat them with his stick till they found a group. We started and after the number was called, Philemon just chased kids around and wacked them in the rear till they got in a group. Everyone was having a great time though. It was pretty funny.
Then we played tug of war. While I was waiting for the class’s turn that I was with, a bunch of the kids were sitting around me holding my hand or just staring at me waiting for me to do something so they could break out in laughter at me. They all thought it was pretty fascinating that when they stretched my skin it turned white and when they let go it turned back to red. They also kept feeling my arms because I had hair on them and they thought that was pretty cool. After games we had chai and then we went to sing songs about God. The songs were pretty sweet, and the end of one of them consisted of us raising God higher and stomping Satan to the ground. This whole time one of the teachers was holding Hannah’s and Bethany’s cameras and was having a blast taking pictures. He asked me later if, when I went back to the states and then came back again, if I could hook him up with one. I told him that I didn’t know.
After school, Philemon took us through the center and introduced us to his mom and his wife. That was pretty cool. And we just got back from a movie night at Christina’s, and now I’m going to go to bed. I hope those things in the ceiling died or something. They can go down to the valley and live a long happy life there. Haha well goodnight everyone!! God bless!!!
So a lot has gone on since I wrote last. Let’s see, the day after I wrote we hiked Mt. Kipkannur, which took about 3 and a half hours to get to the top. That was pretty difficult. It was weird though, because my legs weren’t really sore the next day, only my rear. So that was interesting. Mama Brian was our guide and she cut us bamboo walking sticks with her machete. Those were cool. The top was amazing and the walk was awesome and it was all bomb diggidy!!
That night we went to Nehemiah’s house which was also sweet! We found out that his mom works at the hospital and she found out that he had invited us to his house so she told my dad that we all should come. That was probably the most food I’ve had since I’ve been here. I went up 3 or 4 times to fill my plate. She was happy that I enjoyed it so much. My dad commented to her about her knowing so many wazungus, and she said that she invites them over so they can say thank you. I thought that was pretty cool. As the night wore on, my dad suggested going soon but Nehemiah thought it was too early to leave, so we stayed a little later. Nehemiah’s parents were able to afford his high school so he was leaving Monday morning, so Aaron and I visited him for a bit the next day to say bye.
Umm, and a lot more happened between there.
Last night there was something scratching and clawing and crawling somewhere through the ceiling. That kept us up pretty late. In the morning Hudson and Jude came over and walked into Aaron’s and my room. It was about 10:30 so we should have been up but we didn’t get very much sleep. They wanted us to play with them while they crawled all over us as they were explaining this. We explained to them why we were so tired and Aaron told them that we needed to eat breakfast anyway when we did get up. Jude thought that some part of that sentence was pretty hilarious. They then just sat on our beds and were going to wait till we got up. We finally convinced them to go home and have fun and we would play with them later. Those kids crack me up. I guess it was kind of a nice alarm clock.
Later today, we went to a Lutheran private school and chilled with them for a while. We had met the third grade teacher, Philemon, the day before who had asked us if we would visit. We joined the kids during phy-ed. That was pretty fun. First we started running laps, and then we played this game where we all had to run around all crazy like and then when Philemon yelled a number, we all had to quickly get in groups of that number. It was weird because Philemon told everyone that if they weren’t in a group, he would beat them with his stick till they found a group. We started and after the number was called, Philemon just chased kids around and wacked them in the rear till they got in a group. Everyone was having a great time though. It was pretty funny.
Then we played tug of war. While I was waiting for the class’s turn that I was with, a bunch of the kids were sitting around me holding my hand or just staring at me waiting for me to do something so they could break out in laughter at me. They all thought it was pretty fascinating that when they stretched my skin it turned white and when they let go it turned back to red. They also kept feeling my arms because I had hair on them and they thought that was pretty cool. After games we had chai and then we went to sing songs about God. The songs were pretty sweet, and the end of one of them consisted of us raising God higher and stomping Satan to the ground. This whole time one of the teachers was holding Hannah’s and Bethany’s cameras and was having a blast taking pictures. He asked me later if, when I went back to the states and then came back again, if I could hook him up with one. I told him that I didn’t know.
After school, Philemon took us through the center and introduced us to his mom and his wife. That was pretty cool. And we just got back from a movie night at Christina’s, and now I’m going to go to bed. I hope those things in the ceiling died or something. They can go down to the valley and live a long happy life there. Haha well goodnight everyone!! God bless!!!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
What I have learned in Kenya-Part 2
Feb 9, 2010
Kenyan parents are generally quite calm as their children are being treated. Last night I was admitting a 5 year old boy who had been vomiting blood and whose hemoglobin (protein in the red blood cells) was 5.3 (about 40 percent of normal). His mother was very calm as I evaluated him and explained what I was going to do. Another mother’s boy had accidentally ingested several of his grandfather’s psychiatric medicines. She too was quite calm and patient as the nurses hurried to take action to treat her young son. The calmness of the parents spills over to their children. Therefore, the kids generally do not put up a fight when their blood is drawn or tubes are put in various parts of their bodies for treatment. All of this makes it much easier to treat them since a calm patient and calm parents make for a calm caregiver (doctor or nurse).
Kenyan doctors are very good at taking care of what they see very often. I am learning a tremendous amount from the two Kenyan physicians on staff at the hospital. Taking care of sick patients with AIDS related illnesses (Tuberculosis, Typhoid, Meningitis, liver abscesses, etc) is common for them. Just as taking care of diabetics and heart patients is germane me. I am thankful for having them here as consultants and I hope that I have been able to teach them a little as well.
Kenyan kids are very curious about wazungus. I run most mornings at 6am. Every morning I am followed at least part of the way by 2-3 Kenyan school children as they are heading for school. They think it is unusual for a person to be running simply for exercise. They run alongside me, usually on the uphill portion and just laugh and talk with me in Swahili. I have no idea what they are saying, but they certainly seem to be having fun. Generally they are bundled up in a sweater or coat with a warm hat on as they walk to school at that hour. I’m wearing running shorts and a t-shirt. That is probably unusual for them as well.
Kenyans value their education; seeing it as their only chance for a better life for themselves. They want to know about how children in America are educated. They are very respectful in their questioning and a joy to talk to. They have to get a certain score on a national exam at the end of 8th grade to move on to a good secondary school. All of them seem very intent on scoring well. Having said that, since secondary school is not free for Kenyans, they can only move on if their parents can pay for their childrens education. I spoke with a 14 year old boy last weekend who proudly told me that he had the 3rd highest score on the national exam in his school. When I asked him about moving on to secondary school he said, “if it is the Lord’s will”. He smiled as he said that, fully acknowledging that scoring well enough wasn’t the only hurdle that he faced with his education.
Kenyans take care of their family and their community. Culturally, the youngest son will be responsible to take care of the parents when they are old. If he is unable then his wife has that responsibility. The people that I have talked with take those responsibilities very seriously. When a patient is discharged they have to pay their hospital bill before they can leave. If the family does not have enough money then the community comes together to help. The community schedules a “Harambee”. That means “come together”. Basically, people are invited to what essentially is a fund raising event. If invited, you are expected to show up and pay up. It is not coercion. It is accepted as part of life in Kenya and fosters cooperation and unity.
Lastly, for today, Kenyans are very thrifty. They reuse anything that they can and throw away very little. It is hard to find scrap paper at the hospital to write notes on because nothing is wasted or thrown away. Parts of elastic gloves are used as tourniquets. They reuse empty vials that formerly contained medicines. These vials later will be used to help transfer urine samples, pathology specimens, etc. This generally is a good thing. However, last weekend we were transporting some pathology specimens from Kapsowar to Eldoret. They subsequently would go to another mission hospital that has a pathologist to examine the tissues. There were several specimens in the box in recycled vials that were intended for other purposes. Therefore, the seals on the vials weren’t ideal for the purpose of holding biopsy specimens floating in a preservative. Halfway to Eldoret, I noted the unmistakable smell of formaldehyde. My eyes started watering and my sinuses cleared. We quickly put the box on the top of the vehicle.
I trust the samples got to their final destination safely. I pity the person who had to open the box. Life in Kenya can be interesting indeed. Wish you were here!!
Kenyan parents are generally quite calm as their children are being treated. Last night I was admitting a 5 year old boy who had been vomiting blood and whose hemoglobin (protein in the red blood cells) was 5.3 (about 40 percent of normal). His mother was very calm as I evaluated him and explained what I was going to do. Another mother’s boy had accidentally ingested several of his grandfather’s psychiatric medicines. She too was quite calm and patient as the nurses hurried to take action to treat her young son. The calmness of the parents spills over to their children. Therefore, the kids generally do not put up a fight when their blood is drawn or tubes are put in various parts of their bodies for treatment. All of this makes it much easier to treat them since a calm patient and calm parents make for a calm caregiver (doctor or nurse).
Kenyan doctors are very good at taking care of what they see very often. I am learning a tremendous amount from the two Kenyan physicians on staff at the hospital. Taking care of sick patients with AIDS related illnesses (Tuberculosis, Typhoid, Meningitis, liver abscesses, etc) is common for them. Just as taking care of diabetics and heart patients is germane me. I am thankful for having them here as consultants and I hope that I have been able to teach them a little as well.
Kenyan kids are very curious about wazungus. I run most mornings at 6am. Every morning I am followed at least part of the way by 2-3 Kenyan school children as they are heading for school. They think it is unusual for a person to be running simply for exercise. They run alongside me, usually on the uphill portion and just laugh and talk with me in Swahili. I have no idea what they are saying, but they certainly seem to be having fun. Generally they are bundled up in a sweater or coat with a warm hat on as they walk to school at that hour. I’m wearing running shorts and a t-shirt. That is probably unusual for them as well.
Kenyans value their education; seeing it as their only chance for a better life for themselves. They want to know about how children in America are educated. They are very respectful in their questioning and a joy to talk to. They have to get a certain score on a national exam at the end of 8th grade to move on to a good secondary school. All of them seem very intent on scoring well. Having said that, since secondary school is not free for Kenyans, they can only move on if their parents can pay for their childrens education. I spoke with a 14 year old boy last weekend who proudly told me that he had the 3rd highest score on the national exam in his school. When I asked him about moving on to secondary school he said, “if it is the Lord’s will”. He smiled as he said that, fully acknowledging that scoring well enough wasn’t the only hurdle that he faced with his education.
Kenyans take care of their family and their community. Culturally, the youngest son will be responsible to take care of the parents when they are old. If he is unable then his wife has that responsibility. The people that I have talked with take those responsibilities very seriously. When a patient is discharged they have to pay their hospital bill before they can leave. If the family does not have enough money then the community comes together to help. The community schedules a “Harambee”. That means “come together”. Basically, people are invited to what essentially is a fund raising event. If invited, you are expected to show up and pay up. It is not coercion. It is accepted as part of life in Kenya and fosters cooperation and unity.
Lastly, for today, Kenyans are very thrifty. They reuse anything that they can and throw away very little. It is hard to find scrap paper at the hospital to write notes on because nothing is wasted or thrown away. Parts of elastic gloves are used as tourniquets. They reuse empty vials that formerly contained medicines. These vials later will be used to help transfer urine samples, pathology specimens, etc. This generally is a good thing. However, last weekend we were transporting some pathology specimens from Kapsowar to Eldoret. They subsequently would go to another mission hospital that has a pathologist to examine the tissues. There were several specimens in the box in recycled vials that were intended for other purposes. Therefore, the seals on the vials weren’t ideal for the purpose of holding biopsy specimens floating in a preservative. Halfway to Eldoret, I noted the unmistakable smell of formaldehyde. My eyes started watering and my sinuses cleared. We quickly put the box on the top of the vehicle.
I trust the samples got to their final destination safely. I pity the person who had to open the box. Life in Kenya can be interesting indeed. Wish you were here!!
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Bethany's Blog 2
Bethany 2/04/10
Today was a great day! Aaron, Tyler, Hannah and I were able to help at a private primary school called Shammah, which is very close to where we live. When we first arrived we met Philemon, who is one of the teachers there. He invited us to join him and some of the other teachers for a meeting. We were very welcome there and the meeting was actually very interesting.
When the meeting finished, it was time for PE. The kids were all very excited to see us “wazungu” and immediately ran to grab our hands. We started out with running three times around the church, which is placed right in the middle of the school grounds. Boy, was I tired after that! I think I’m too accustomed to the altitude here now to use that as an excuse any more. I’m just plain out of shape. :)
After that we did some stretches and played tug of war and a couple other games. The teams were divided by their classes, and I was on the class three team. As our team sat out to wait our turn, I got to talk to some of my teammates. They asked me where I was from, and I told them I was from America. After a bunch of “oohs” and “aahs”, one of the girls asked me if I knew a girl named Diane. I told her no. She said, “You don’t? She’s from Canada.” She was surprised that we were from the same continent and we didn’t even know each other. Then she started to list off all of the wazungus she had ever met, asking me if I knew any of them. I told her I didn’t, and she said, “Well you don’t know very many people then!” I told her that I do know a lot of people, but there’s a lot of people in America and I can’t know them all. “No, you don’t know very many people,” she said. Call me a sheltered homeschooler I guess. ;)
When the games were finished, we took a quick chai break. Then we all stood in rows and sang a few songs. At the end of the last song, all the kids said at once, “Our school motto is ‘rise and shine for the Lord!’” Then they all ran out the gate and went home. I would be antsy to go home too if I had to be at school until four o’clock!
After the kids had left, the teachers invited us to have Fanta and chai with them in their staff room. Julius, one of the teachers, was fascinated with my camera and was taking a bunch of pictures with it. He asked me if I could print some of the pictures off for them so that they could keep them in the office and always remember us. Philemon wants us to paint pictures and our names on the wall in one of the classrooms so the kids can remember us too. All the teachers were so grateful that we were there, and all we did was play with the kids for a few hours! I’m glad that such a little thing we could do was such a blessing to them. I’m really excited to go back again!
Today was a great day! Aaron, Tyler, Hannah and I were able to help at a private primary school called Shammah, which is very close to where we live. When we first arrived we met Philemon, who is one of the teachers there. He invited us to join him and some of the other teachers for a meeting. We were very welcome there and the meeting was actually very interesting.
When the meeting finished, it was time for PE. The kids were all very excited to see us “wazungu” and immediately ran to grab our hands. We started out with running three times around the church, which is placed right in the middle of the school grounds. Boy, was I tired after that! I think I’m too accustomed to the altitude here now to use that as an excuse any more. I’m just plain out of shape. :)
After that we did some stretches and played tug of war and a couple other games. The teams were divided by their classes, and I was on the class three team. As our team sat out to wait our turn, I got to talk to some of my teammates. They asked me where I was from, and I told them I was from America. After a bunch of “oohs” and “aahs”, one of the girls asked me if I knew a girl named Diane. I told her no. She said, “You don’t? She’s from Canada.” She was surprised that we were from the same continent and we didn’t even know each other. Then she started to list off all of the wazungus she had ever met, asking me if I knew any of them. I told her I didn’t, and she said, “Well you don’t know very many people then!” I told her that I do know a lot of people, but there’s a lot of people in America and I can’t know them all. “No, you don’t know very many people,” she said. Call me a sheltered homeschooler I guess. ;)
When the games were finished, we took a quick chai break. Then we all stood in rows and sang a few songs. At the end of the last song, all the kids said at once, “Our school motto is ‘rise and shine for the Lord!’” Then they all ran out the gate and went home. I would be antsy to go home too if I had to be at school until four o’clock!
After the kids had left, the teachers invited us to have Fanta and chai with them in their staff room. Julius, one of the teachers, was fascinated with my camera and was taking a bunch of pictures with it. He asked me if I could print some of the pictures off for them so that they could keep them in the office and always remember us. Philemon wants us to paint pictures and our names on the wall in one of the classrooms so the kids can remember us too. All the teachers were so grateful that we were there, and all we did was play with the kids for a few hours! I’m glad that such a little thing we could do was such a blessing to them. I’m really excited to go back again!
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