Karibu (welcome) to Kenya

Jan 25, 2010

The trip to Kenya was uneventful. It was exciting landing in Nairobi and actually being here. The temperature is about 70 degrees and no jackets were needed as we went outside to pack our ten checked in bags, five carry on’s and the five of us on a van to head to the Mennonite Guest House for an overnight stay. Then to bed at midnight and up at 6:00 am for a quick trip back to the airport to travel to Eldoret by plane (45 minutes) and then on to Kapsowar by vehicle (two hours in the hospital ambulance).

Among the ten checked bags were several pounds of items that we will leave in Kenya. This included gifts for the permanent missionaries here sent to us from friends for quick and safe delivery. Also included were several pounds of books donated to the nursing school here. Additionally, I brought along hundreds of sutures donated from the Deer River Healthcare Center which were badly needed.

One other item that we will leave here is a wheelchair that was given to Lois Patton that she cannot use. Hannah and Lois found a blog about a children’s home in the area that deals with handicapped children. They surmised that most likely a wheelchair would be helpful.

We were met at the Eldoret airport by Laura Rhodes. She is the wife of Dr. Bill Rhodes, a long-term surgeon in Kapsowar. They have lived here nearly 12 years, home-schooling their four kids. The last just graduated from high school. She graciously gave up most of her day helping us pick up needed items at the market in town and explaining a little more about life in Kapsowar. She has big plans for the kids as well. After stating several things that they could do she then said “You are only limited by your imagination”. If you know anything about the boys and their imagination, they are in for a wild four weeks.

At the airport Laura noted that we had brought the wheelchair. She then explained that only two days prior she had spent much of the day unsuccessfully trying to locate a wheelchair in Nairobi for a child in the hospital with cerebral palsy who had also been burned badly enough to further hamper her mobility. I noticed that Hannah was grinning from ear to ear as Laura explained the story. God had put on Hannah’s and Lois’s heart to bring the wheelchair and it was meeting a very present and pressing need. Laura was pretty excited as well. The wheelchair is now reassembled and ready for delivery before the girl is discharged from the hospital.

We had a wonderful time of fellowship and bible study at the Rhodes home at night. Much of the medical staff were there. Bill (Rhodes) led the study, predominantly from the Old Testament, about how God over and over, through various prophets, puts a high value on about taking care of widows, orphans (fatherless) and aliens. I read ahead in James 1:27 which reads “Religion that God our father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world”.

That immediately took my mind back home to what my wonderful wife is doing nearly a half a world away. For information on that check out . I’m not sure why God has us ministering to other’s needs on separate continents being separated for such a long time. However, He is helping us as we do this and stretching us and strengthening our faith. Thanks for your interest in these journeys of ours and particularly for your prayers.