Go with the Flow

The Way Forward

2015-03-19T16:55:00.000+03:00

So much has happened in the last month (including writer’s block)!

Thank you to everyone who prayed for me and sent me advice. I really appreciated it!

God made it clear which path I should take. I am returning to the United States at the end of this month. I will be living in North Carolina with my family for the time being.

So let me back up a bit. I met via skype with the founder of LIMBS International on February 15th. When I told him of my decision, he gave me just ONE MONTH to wrap up the last four years of LIMBS work in Kenya and leave. This was my biggest shock! 4 weeks does not seem like enough time to wrap up 4 years of work! But God is good; He will not give or ask of me more than I can bear.

Although I have been extremely busy over the last few weeks, I am almost finished. Between February 16th and March 15th, I collected all the unused LIMBoxes and closed the programs at 5 clinic locations. This week I delivered 18 LIMBoxes to an organization wishing to purchase them for their work in East Africa. All that’s left is to follow-up on a few stories.

The last 4 years have been quite a learning experience for me and no matter how hard it got, I wouldn’t trade them.

Here are some things I have learned:
1. Africa does not run on American time. Africa runs on relationships and relationships take time.

2. Standing and refusing to pay bribes can be very hard. It may mean delays or even the failure of a program in a needy area. But when you stand your ground, God can also do amazing things.

3. TEAMS ARE IMPORTANT. Over the last three years especially, I have realized just how important it is to have a supportive support network in place. I have gotten a lot of demands but not a lot of support from LIMBS while I have been on the field. This has led to frustration, depression, loneliness, and burn out.

4. It is important to have a clearly defined position and role when entering a partnership with a Kenyan Organization or hospital. Because my role was not well defined when I came to Kenya, I have had numerous problems and conflicts within my work at CURE hospital. This is not CURE’s fault. The problem lay in finding out exactly where I fit into the workings of CURE. Where did I fit in the hierarchy? Who was my supervisor? Etc..

5. You can’t win every battle. Sometimes you have to lose a few battles to win the war.

6. Corruption is everywhere. It may wear a different mask but it exists at home and abroad.

7. Being the guinea pig is not easy, but if God puts you their He will help you through. I have been the “guinea pig” many times in my life (Family, Coop, job, etc). It has never been easy but when I look back I can see all the ways God has helped, taught, and grown me.

8. Packing and saying good bye is hard. I insisted that I have at least a week after shutdown to pack up my house, but saying good bye started at the beginning of March. I have said good bye to the people I have ministered with, worked with, and socialized with during my time here in Kenya. This is still ongoing.

I have focused exclusively on packing for almost a week now and my house is starting to look empty. The TV is gone, the dressers are gone, the shelves are sold, the mixer is sold, the microwave is sold, my linens and matress is sold. Also, I continue to struggle with a specific person taking things without asking and only finding out about it after she is unavailable. The things she takes are things I would not readily miss but will notice after a week or two. Oh and she is a master manipulator, prayers appreciated! Please pray that I would remember God owns everything and if something is stolen it is not a huge deal since it was God’s originally anyway. Thanks!

On the bright side, the last few weeks have not been all work and no play. I decided that if I had to leave Kenya, I was at least going to do some of the things I had been putting off.

First, a visiting physical therapist and I went to Hell’s Gate National Park. I don’t know for sure, but I think the name comes from the geothermal activity in the area. We took matatus to the park and walked from there. There are no man eating predators in the park so it is safe to walk. Let me tell you this, walking gives you a whole new perspective in terms of wildlife. Did you know that an Eland is the size of a large horse? Or that a giraffe foot is twice the size of mine?

However, the real adventure started when we got lost. During the last year, a new road has been added for better access to the nearby geothermal plants. It cuts right through the old trails in the park! We had a map but this road, obviously, was not on it. Also, right about this time, we reached the end of our water supply and had been walking for around 5 – 6 hours in the bright hot sun. Several prayers and phone calls later, an Icelandic man stopped and helped us out. He even gave us a ride out of the park and back to the main road where we could get a Matatu home.

All I can say is GOD’S PROVISION!!!!!

Last weekend, we went to the Elephant Orphanage, Giraffe Centre, and Animal orphanage. The baby animals at the orphanages are SO CUTE! At the elephant orphanage, we saw 29 orphans ranging from 7 months to three and a half years. The 7 month olds’ backs reached my knees and the 3.5 year old’s back reached my shoulder. Also, the elephant orphanage works to rehabilitate and release their orphans back into the wild once they are old enough to fend for themselves.

Nothing like good milk

See the little one in the middle?

The keeper with his "babies". Notice the difference in size between the 7 month old (middle) and the 18 month old (right).

This is NOT photo-shopped. The baby really was that close!

The animal orphanage houses other animal orphans that are harder or impossible to reintroduce back into the wild. Some of these orphans were confiscated from smugglers in Mombasa, some were abandoned, some were badly injured, and still others lost their parents due to poaching. Patas is a white-spot nose monkey from West Africa. He was rescued from smugglers in Mombasa when he was just a few weeks old. He can never been reintroduced to his native environment because he has passed through so many African countries and risks spreading/introducing disease to the native population back in West Africa. All the animals I saw had a story to tell, but not all had them posted for public display. I also found out the orphanage feeds the animals at 2:30 pm six days a week (not Monday), so I stayed around to watch. It was quite a scene. The keepers train the animals from an early age what to do during meal times. The lions and other aggressive animals have to go into their sleeping quarters before the keepers bring in the food/meat. However, on Sunday, one of the lionesses decided she wasn’t hungry so why did SHE have to go to the sleeping quarters? After some cajoling, she finally went where she was supposed to go, but on release she just went back to lie down in the shade and her mate ate a double portion.

This 8 month old giraffe was so friendly!

Great African Crane

Who says there is a difference between house cats and lions?
Both love sleeping with their paws against the wall!

This little guy was trying SO HARD to get to the leaves on the upper branches.
So I gave him a hand!

Lunch anyone? =)

The giraffe center was started as a breeding program for Rothchild giraffes to save them from extinction. It has been widely successful! If you ever go to Nakuru National park, most of the giraffes you see there probably came from the giraffe center at some point. (This is also probably the reason they are so friendly!) At the giraffe center, we got to feed the giraffe from a raised platform and even get them to eat from your mouth! There are three types of giraffe in Kenya; the masaii giraffe, the reticulated or common giraffe, and the Rothschild giraffe. The masaii giraffe has flower-like patches, the Reticulated giraffe has brick red block like patches, and the Rothschild giraffe has patches with darker spots in them. So the giraffe center only has Rothschild giraffes but if you go into the gift shop, all the giraffes on display are reticulated giraffes. How ironic!

Stacy was SO hungry!

The warthogs hung around eating the scraps and dropped food at the Giraffes feet.

While I will miss Kenya greatly, I am looking forward to what the future holds.

Here is what I know so far.

Here is what I need to do once I get to the USA:
1. Renew my driving license

2. Attend a debriefing and reentry seminar

3. Prepare to take more college classes.

4. Take said college classes

5. Readjust to American life

6. Change my health insurance coverage

7. Find a source of income

Prayer Items:

1. Peace and packing. As I pack up my life here in Kenya and prepare to move to North Carolina, please pray that I would have peace. Change has NEVER been easy for me.

2. Please pray for the debriefing and reentry seminar I need to attend. Because I have been so immersed in Kenyan culture for the last 3.5 years, I know I will face challenges reintegrating into American life. I am not the woman I was in 2011! Also, please pray that God would provide the $500 plus travel that I need in order to attend the seminar.

3. God has “blessed” me with unique difficulties when it comes to learning in an academic environment. Please pray for me as I do the proper testing and fill the proper forms in order to get the help I need while taking more college courses.

4. God is leading me towards pursuing training in Prosthetics and Orthotics. In order to do this I have several prerequisite classes that I need to take. Please pray for God’s provision in all aspects of this pursuit.

5. Due to Healthcare reform, I have had to buy US health insurance that I never use. Now that I am moving back to NC, I have to change my address for health care as well. (Previously, my address was listed in TX). Please pray that this all goes smoothly!

6. College tuition is not cheap. Pray for God’s Provision and that I would trust it.

Thank you so much for your support these last 4 years.

PRAISE:

LIMBS International will send me any donations that come in before April 15th. So if you feel led to contribute and help with my relocation expenses you can do so through them as long as they are received before April 15th.

LIMBS Address:

500 W. Overland, Suite 230
El Paso, Texas 79901

(Put my name in the memo line)

To donate online:

www.limbs.org

(Click "donate online", then enter my name in the memo line)

GOD BLESS!

Attention Prayer Warriors

2015-02-08T19:07:00.000+03:00

Hello Team,

It's hard to believe it is already February. I spent most of January reopening communication channels with my contacts in Kenya. Almost all business closes down in December so January is like a month long Monday. The best way to describe how I felt this month is, "the days dragged by but the weeks flew by."

There have been a few new developments in my life. I am in contact with an orthopedic technologist in Zambia and they may be interested in using the LIMBS system, but we will see. Also, there are a handful of people inquiring about LIMBS and their work in Kenya. It is a slow start but it is something.

Now, here is my main reason for writing. I need you to pray diligently for the next week. LIMBS International has asked if I am willing to relocate to Mexico or Bolivia where I might be better utilized and could oversee their community based rehabilitation program. However, I have to learn Spanish. I asked for a week to pray about it.

As many of you know, things have not been going very well in Kenya. Even though I have been here for the last 3+ years, patients and technologists are still slow to catch on to the project and despite my efforts, only a handful patients are fit with the leg each year. However, else where in the world the system is thriving. So, because we have limited funds, LIMBS is trying to best utilize it's people by putting them where the most action is.

The following are the options going through my mind these days. So while I know the final decision is mine to make, Proverbs 15:22 says,"Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed." Therefore, I am asking you to pray with me and provide counsel as I discern what God would have me do.

Options:

1. Stay in Kenya and trudge on.

2. Leave Kenya, return to the USA, and pursue a masters degree in Prosthetics and Orthotics. Then later return to Africa to help those with physical limitations lead a more normal life.

3. Leave Kenya, and move to Mexico or Bolivia.

4. None of the above.

As an engineer I like to make charts and tables to analyze things. See the chart below explains my current thoughts and concerns about each of the above options:

Please pray for discernment and let me know if you have any advice.

God Bless!!!

Burnout and Recovery

2015-01-13T20:15:00.001+03:00

The last 3 months were a haze. I basically worked on autopilot from mid-November until mid December. Anyone who knows me well knows that I can be EXTREMELY stubborn. However, even I had to admit I was burning out. I didn't realize how burned out I was until later.

Isn't it funny that God always has a plan even when we don't see it? Due to finances, I was unable to go to the USA for the holidays this year. Instead, I went to Rwanda to visit one of my best friends from when I was growing up. She works as the librarian in an international school in Kigali. But wait, I am getting ahead of myself.

2014 was a hard year for me. I was told that if the LIMBS work did not pick up here, then LIMBS would pull out of Kenya. I did not want to see that happen. There are too many people in need of legs, but not adequate networking to reach them yet. But no matter how much networking I did, there was little improvement. Yes, we trained more technologists about how to use the LIMBS system, but the going was slow. In fact, the strain in relations between LIMBS (me) and the orthopedic department at CURE reached an all time high. It felt like the LIMBS program was in ICU all year. BUT GOD had a plan! Just as I was preparing to close down the program in Kenya, God provided a new lead. Another nonprofit heard about LIMBS and wanted to partner with us to get above knee prosthetic legs to those who need them most in remote areas of East Africa. I met several times with the gentleman who contacted us (LIMBS) and there is hope. Then the week before CURE slowed down for the holidays, the head of the orthopedic workshop, the one giving me so much trouble, was forced to leave CURE; maybe there is hope for CURE after all. (I felt guilty that I was so relieved at his departure) After all the uncertainty over the last 11 months, I was drained. My goal became make it to December 12th.

I did, of course. My home church in North Carolina, Providence Baptist Church (PBC), sent a team (which included my sister, Martha) to Kenya for a week starting on the 12th December. Very little happens work wise from the middle of December until the beginning of January, so I was able to join the team during the time they were in Kenya. They came up Friday afternoon/evening, December 12th, and I joined them the next morning.

We spent Saturday distributing Christmas bags to those in Kijabe hospital (the hospital next to the one we're I am stationed),starting with the children's ward, then working our way through the maternity, women's, and men's wards. I was so excited spending time with these children (and later adult patients) and talking to them, that I forgot to take many pictures. The smiles on their faces were priceless. I think my favorite part of the day was ministering to those that the world considers the hardest; the young Muslim lady who had just had a miscarriage, the woman that was almost non responsive in the high dependency

Giving out gifts

unit, the boy with a chest tube and suction, the old woman with mental limitations that just wanted a "dolly" to hold, and the young paraplegic lady who was in the hospital because she had pressure sores from sitting in an inappropriate wheelchair for so long. These are the patients that impacted me the most. However, I think the hardest ward for the entire team was the men's ward. This was the last ward we went into and also the smelliest. I have to go in there from time to time for my LIMBS work or when helping the orthopedic department fit a spinal brace, but the stench still gets to me. Picture a rundown nursing home, the stench of urine and other bodily fluids permeates everything. I get used to it over time, but I still remember the first time I visited. The team invited me to join them for dinner and gave me the suitcase containing gifts and things from my parents and the Berean Sunday School class.

The next morning we all went down to one of the small African Inland churches in the valley below Kijabe. Little did I know, this was the church one of CURE's guards had invited me to and where he was pastor. Needless to say, he was very excited to see me. In Kenya, guests are invited to introduce themselves during the service. Well..... He singled me out and introduced me himself from the pulpit. Can you say embarrassed? I was only trying to be part of the team, no one special but I was singled out! Anyway, Pastor George, the mission pastor at PBC and team leader of the team, preached and afterwards the church fed us the best nyama choma (roasted meat, Turkana style) I ever had. After picking up our bags in Kijabe, off we went to Nairobi. The afternoon was spent resting and preparing for the next day.

Pastor George is such a considerate man and he decided to room my sister and I together while we were in Nairobi. I wasn't sure how it would work out, but it was definitely a blessing. Martha taught me how to use FaceTime on my new IPad mini (a gift from my parents so I could read more books), set up a call with my other sister Rachel, and the time alone allowed us to debrief on each other without offending anyone else on the team. I love my sisters so much and am very impressed with what wonderful wise women they have become. (Now I just have to figure out how to stop mothering them and just be a sister and friend)

After and quick breakfast Monday morning, we headed to Nairobi Language Institute in Kalangware for a one-day VBS program. I was originally supposed to help with the crafts, but instead I helped with the youngest group where an extra set of hands were needed. After the program, we helped serve food and wash dishes for those in the feeding program. The ladies in the kitchen were very sweet and one of the cooks, Theresia, even sent me with greeting to take back to the spiritual department at CURE. You see, the week before the PBC team was there, Theresia was working in another part of Kalengware with an evangelism team from CURE. Small world!

The next two days we spent on the outskirts of Kibera, the second largest slum in the world. The hardest part on this site were the numbers. We had planned on around 150-200 kids and instead all the kids in the neighborhood tried to join and we had closer to 350 kids. What made it so hard was we only had craft materials for 200 kids but we didn't want to keep kids from hearing the Word of God. By the beginning of the second day, we had revised our plans and the program went much more smoothly.

This is Caleb. He was 3 years old when I
first met him. Now he is 14!

The last day, Thursday, we went a couple of hours outside Nairobi to conduct a one day VBS at a Bible Club. That day I remembered to take more pictures because there was not enough room in our, my sister and I's, craft room. I feel like I am losing my touch with kids. Martha is SO much better than I am!

Some of these kids were very creative with their stickers!

After VBS,we returned to the guest house. I had packed earlier the night before because due to some miscommunication my flight to Rwanda was almost 24 hours after the rest of the team flew out and I needed to catch up with a friend I was going to stay with before dark.

The place where I was meeting my friend's mother was surprisingly close and inexpensive to get to. The taxi cost about $8. This was really a blessing because I was taking a rather large suitcase to Rwanda and I was not looking forward to carrying it on the matatus.

I had a wonderful time with my friend and her family. I even got to meet her fiancée. Friday evening I went to the airport and took my flight to Rwanda. The adventure begins......

Rwanda is an hour behind Kenya and the landscape is very different. There is a reason it is called the "Land of a Thousand Hills." Right now, many foreign investors are pouring lots of money into this country and you can tell. The road are flat, well paved, and well maintained. There is no trash on the streets. Because the French and Belgium first colonized Rwanda, everyone drives on the right side of the road. When I got there Rwanda had just gotten some rain so everything was green and lush looking.

Katharina, one of my best friends, met me at the airport and as soon as we arrived at her townhouse, I went to bed. Saturday morning we relaxed and stopped by the Library at the school to check on some things and check out a couple books. Having a friend who is a librarian has some advantages, she can find books that catch your attention and keep it to the last page, even if you are not big on reading. Over the next two weeks, I read six books. Saturday evening we went to the "mall" and ate dinner before going to see Night at the Museum 3 in the theatre. By eating at a certain place before the movie, we received vouchers to see the movie free. Win-win situation!

Early the next morning, we met the driver we hired and headed to Nyungwe National Forest, the largest rainforest left in Africa. It took almost all day to get there because we stopped at a couple museums and the Kings palace replica on the way. That night we had a little church service among ourselves huddled in blankets. Boy was it cold at night!

Monday morning we headed off to see the waterfalls. Although it was rainy, we throughly enjoyed the hike and seeing all the flora along the path. We got to see touracos which love the rain and hear many other types of birds. On the way back to the entrance we had the opportunity to talk to our guide about Christ. He is a catholic and believes as long as he goes to the confessional every week and confesses his sins to the priest, he will be saved. We were able to explain that it is not what we do or have done that gets us to heaven but what Christ did for us. I don't remember what I said or how I was able to hike up hill while talking the whole time, but God gave me the words and the strength to do it!

The next morning, we went on the canopy walk. As the name suggests, part of this hike is located on suspension bridges stretched over the valley. The scenery is beautiful and the sky was clearer that day. We heard many birds, one of which was called a tinker bird. After the canopy walk, we headed back towards Kigali.

This is the only picture I have at the memorial.
The sign in the foreground shows where the french
played volley ball. The sign in the background marks
the mass grave where the murdered Tutsi were buried.

On the way we stopped by a genocide memorial. It should have been a technical college not a slaughterhouse. During that visit I learned a lot about the Rwandan genocide. For one, it could have been prevented. The genocide was not a random act, it was carefully planned and administered. Also, the genocide did not happen in a day or even a week. It lasted months. Trouble stirred up by the Belgiums and leading political party at the time can be traced back to more than a year before what we know as the genocide. Many Hutus were pressured into murdering their Tutsi neighbors or face torture and death themselves along with their families. And the West did nothing to stop it. In fact, the memorial site we visited was supposed to be a safe haven for the Tutsis, at least that's what they were told, instead it was used to round up all the Tutsis into one place to torture, slaughter, and mass bury them. Now the Tutsi and the Hutu are two tribes right? WRONG! The difference between a Hutu and a Tutsi was the length and with of their nose and the diameter of their head. That's all. In fact, two Hutus could have a Tutsi. Almost a year after the genocide, the mass graves at this site were dug up and the dead were buried with dignity. I can see now just how close Kenya came to the same fate after the 2007 elections. But Rwanda is rebuilding. Twenty years after the end of the genocide, Rwanda is a united nation. Tourism is booming. The wild animals that were poached to extinction in Rwanda are slowly being replaced as much as possible. Within the next few years, they plan to buy a lion for the game park (more on the park later).

After we got back to Kigali, we spent the evening with some of Katharina's

co-workers and friends watching Elf then Die Hard (it takes place at Christmas so it must be a Christmas movie, right?). We went to the Christmas Eve and Christmas morning service at Katharina's church and I even got to hear a special arrangement where Katharina played the flute.

After church on Christmas, we went to a potluck brunch and later Katharina and I exchanged gifts, relaxed, and built a puzzle.

Completed puzzle

The following weekend we took a bus to Gisini on the coast of Lake Kivu. Inzu Lodge were we stayed was gorgeous! We stayed in a safari tent with two cot beds and electricity. The view from our porch outside the tent was amazing. We just relaxed, read, and rested. It was about this time I started feeling alive and refreshed again. We returned to Kigali two nights later.

Our Tent

My Bed

View of Lake Kivu from our tent

View of the lake during a walk

New Year's Eve we went up to Akagara National Game Park Reserve. During the genocide, poachers from Tanzania came into the park and killed all the rhinos and elephants. After the genocide the locals in the area killed off all the lions because they feared for their livestock. Now, the country is repopulating the game reserve while working with the locals on conservation measures. Akagara National park is small but contains more diversity than you can find in many other places. The park has woodlands, bush lands, marsh lands, and savannah. The biodiversity allows a large number of different animals to live and thrive within this small area. Since reintroducing elephants to the park several years ago, the elephant herd has grown to over a hundred. We saw topi (they look like antelope in blue jeans), antelope, zebra, giraffe, Cape buffalo, wildebeest, water buck, and a small terrapin (a turtle that lives on land and in the water).

Hippos

Crocodile

See the three little babies?

Guinea Fowl

Topi (see the blue jeans?)

Velvet monkey

Waterbuck

On dry land at last!

Our little turtle

Storks

When we got back to Kigali, we were tired and by 9pm we were asleep. I know, I know, we were spoilsports for not staying up until midnight but we left the house at 4:50am that morning. New Year's Day we slept in. Later we started a puzzle. I never got to finish it before I left to return to Kenya but Katharina finished it after I left.

Katharina took me to the airport late Saturday morning. Everything in that airport took forever. The check in desk only had one working computer for three flights. Immigration has two agents working with really slow computers. Then security had two short baggage scanners for three flights. But I made my flight. Two others weren't so blessed. The flight attendants held the flight as long as they could, but in the end, we had to leave without them. Did I mention that a third to half the flight consisted of minors? In fact, out of the six exit row seats available, four were originally assigned to minors. I don't envy that flight attendant's job of reseating and rearranging everyone! Ten to twelve of the passengers on the flight were students from RVA. This was actually a double blessing because it made getting my checked bag easier and the RVA guy meeting them offered to take my large suitcase back to Kijabe for me. (Remember how I don't Ike trying to drag it around on matatus?) The same friend who dropped me off at the airport, picked me up. After stopping by her house and getting cleaned up, we had a nice night out with another friend.

After much debating, she convinced me to return to Kijabe early Monday morning instead of Sunday afternoon. We spent the evening with her future in-laws making chapatis and throughly enjoying ourselves.

Although I did stop by my house to drop off my other luggage and change clothes, I was at work by 8:30am Monday morning. I spent last week and this starting everything with LIMBS back up and running again. The country is just now starting to get back up and running after the holidays.

So now you are mostly up to date and have heard all the good news.

Here are my challenges for the future:

I am currently under supported financially. Due to different situations, my support went down $70 a month. I was already low on financial support before, now I am REALLY low. Please pray for God's provision!

I still don't exactly know what is in store for me this year. There are opportunities but also many obstacles. Pray for wisdom and discernment. One of my bosses is planning to come sometime in February. Pray everything goes well during his visit.

I get lonely sometimes. Please pray for God's comfort during those times.

If you feel led to give financially you can either donate online here and writing, "Elizabeth Flow Support" in the memo line or to send a check (with "Elizabeth Flow Support" in the memo line) to:
LIMBS International
500 W. Overland, Suite 230
El Paso, Texas 79901

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Prayers and Potential

2014-08-02T21:14:00.000+03:00

The last several months have not been easy for me. Maybe this is part of the reason that I have struggled to write updates because I don’t like to write negative things on my blog.

However, when I am weak, GOD is strong!

When I was growing up, my Mom had a plaque that said, “When we work, we work. When we pray, GOD WORKS!”

Well, because of your prayers I can see God working. This month, August, has the potential to significantly boost the work of LIMBS here in Kenya.

This week, I met with the head of Port Reitz Special School near Mombasa. This school serves at least 10 children with amputations. He was impressed the LIMBS System and hopes to use this system on at least 5 of his students. Even more exciting is that the majority of the funds to provide subsidized LIMBoxes (kits that contain all the components needed for the LIMBS Prosthesis except the socket and cosmetic covers that are individual to each patient) to these children came from children in schools in the USA; so this is children helping children!!!!

Here is what is expected for August:

On August 10^th, an Ethiopian bilateral amputee is scheduled to come to CURE in Kijabe for new prosthetic legs. One will be a LIMBS prosthetic leg and the other a below knee prosthesis.
After a lengthy discussion process, an orthopedic technologist/prothestist from Mombasa who was originally scheduled to attend the training LIMBS had last April but was unavoidably detained, is scheduled to come to CURE August 12^th-15^th and brush up his LIMBS prosthetic skills. There is already a waiting list, including the children from Port Reitz Special School, at least 5 people long waiting for the LIMBS System to come to Mombasa.

Your prayers are working and are VERY important. Keep It Up!!! But the battle is not over yet!! Where there is great potential, there is also great chance for problems. PLEASE KEEP PRAYING!!!

PLEASE PRAY:

Everything would go smoothly for the Ethiopian patient coming on the 10^th. Already, we are running into complications in follow through in our preparations.

For the Orthopedic Technologist/Prosthestist from Mombasa coming to refresh his LIMBS skills. Pray that his transport would go smoothly, that his time in Kijabe would be beneficial, and that he will be able to use these skills to make high quality prosthetics in Mombasa, especially for these children.

That everything will work out between Port Reitz Special School and LIMBS International.

For my relationship with the head of the Orthopedic Workshop at CURE. Our relationship continues to be strained. Please pray for resolution and peace!!

For me and my attitude. Recently, instead of seeing all the potential for LIMBS and ministry God has provided, I see only the possible problems and what could go wrong. Please pray that I will trust in God and HIS will and maintain a positive attitude.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRAYERS!!!!

Waiting on the Lord

2014-07-21T14:43:00.001+03:00

Has it really been 3 months since I last updated? Time has flown by like a whirlwind!

Since April, I have been to 2 conferences, nurtured an abandoned puppy, lost my Ipod, struggled with internet, conducted several “fish or cut bait” meetings, and my computer charger cord died and resurrected.

I have seen God provide, but also challenge me to grow through trials.

At the end of May, one of my good friends, Nancy, had a baby boy. The problem was that she had chicken pox when she delivered. Baby and Mother had to be kept apart until Nancy had recovered. The first night I saw them, the baby was in the ICU and Nancy was in the Private ward. The baby, Russell, was in the ICU not because he was horribly sick but because there was no other place for him. He could not go to the nursery because he had been exposed to chicken pox. He could not be with his mother because she had chicken pox. Then, the hospital made a mistake in their paperwork or discharge procedure and Nancy and Russell had to spend an extra night in the hospital (on the hospital’s tab). The hospital transferred Russell to a private room so they could use the ICU bed for someone else and one of Nancy’s friends stayed the night to care for Russell. Since Mother and son had to be separated, Russell could not breast feed and instead, we had to feed him formula every four hours. Every ounce was carefully measured and feed via a needleless syringe.

I did the 7pm and 11pm feedings and Nancy’s friend did the feedings during the middle of the night and early morning. Also, because I had chicken pox as a child, I served as the go-between between Russell’s room and Nancy’s. As any new mother, Nancy wanted to know everything about her son. How much did he eat? Was he warm enough? What does he look like now? Is he sleeping? Etc... Though tiring, I enjoyed every minute of it. I used her phone to take a picture of him so she could look at him whenever she wanted and even held him up to the window of the room so Nancy could safely see him.

After a week, Nancy was fine and allowed to nurse her son. I visited her and the baby a couple of weeks later.

Holding Russell in the ICU

Russel is ready to travel (yes, he is in there!)

The months of June was so full of meetings and travel that, by the end of the month, I was exhausted. I had meetings and conferences every week and to add to everything else, my Ipod disappeared, with my entire schedule, when I was on my way to the first conference so I had to remember my entire schedule from scratch in my head.

My display at one of the conferences

I am raising a puppy. Two missionaries found him in abandoned in a trash pit near RVA when they were out walking. He was probably about 3 weeks old. He was very hungry, looked malnourished, and had an injured back leg. I volunteered to care for him until we could find his mother and/or owner. This involved feeding him a special milk replacement (There is no actual puppy milk replacement in Kenya, so I made my own based on several recipes I found on websites) every 4 hours for the entire first week. So engineer meets maternal instinct and the puppy ends up nursing from the fingers of my disposable rubber gloves. My neighbors have 4 kids 10 and under and they, along with their friends, decided to name the puppy “Arthur Maxwell”. I had avoided naming it myself for fear of becoming too attached to something I was not sure would survive or stay with me long. But the name stuck and Arthur grew!

After about a month, I took Arthur Maxwell to the vet for a checkup and advice on his leg. I knew he had worms because I had seen them, but the vet said that his bloated belly and lethargy was probably a result of the innumerable worms in his little belly. I got dewormer from the vet and started the vaccination sequence. God provided people to care for the puppy when I had to be out of town overnight and at conferences.

The cool thing about Arthur Maxwell is his relationship with me. Until this week, he stuck right next to me everywhere we travelled together and his favorite position is sitting with his head on my shoulder like a baby. Right now, we are going through the “terrible two’s” of puppyhood. I am teaching him manners and proper behavior. He is “pushing the boundaries”. He loves rearranging my house (read this as clothes, shoes, blankets, laundry hampers, etc..). I feel like I have a toddler, but I would not trade it!

Arthur is now about 4 months old and growing fast. He leg is completely healed. When he came into my house, he was a mere four pounds. Now, he is close to a whopping 20 pounds.

So enough about my puppy, what you really want to know is what I am actually doing in my work. Well, as the title of this post implies, I am in a period of waiting. No, it is not easy. I am not naturally a patient person and I hate not knowing the future.

Back at the end of March, I was given an ultimatum; either get the LIMBS System use up to at least 100 per year in the next 6 months (starting in March) or LIMBS International will pull out of Kenya. Now there is only a certain amount I can do to achieve this goal, most of the necessary action lies with the Kenyans themselves. I believe the LIMBS Prosthetic System is a world class, high functioning, low cost system, but it is the Kenyans that I have to convince to use it. I have received differing amounts of resistance from everyone from the prosthetist to the patient. From an American perspective the complaints are petty. “The knee doesn’t look like a normal knee.” (But the knee is always covered by pants or a skirt) “It costs too much” or “it doesn’t cost enough to be high quality.” “We would love to use the LIMBS System, how much will you pay us to do so” (This is from someone we were offering a sponsored leg) I am basically trying to “teach old dogs, new tricks.”

Four months later, I am trying to finalize a working relationship with the only prosthetics training college in Kenya (KMTC), follow-up with each of our national prosthetists, and promote the system to anyone who will listen. LIMBS International even developed a LIMBox, a box containing everything needed for an above knee prosthesis except the socket and cosmetic covers. This was to combat the most common complaint that it is hard to find the other necessary components for above knee prosthetics.

PLEASE PRAY:

That God’s Will be done and that I will be content with His plan.
If things don’t work out in Kenya, I have been asked if I would move to Asia to work in Bangladesh and India. They are currently making orders in the thousands and LIMBS would like to have someone there as a contact and for quality control. Pray that if God wants me in Asia, I would trust His provision and follow His lead.
That things would work out here in Kenya so I can stay and continue the work God has put in my path.
That I might have patience, but also push those that need to be pushed.
That God would bring stability to the Country of Kenya and LIMBS to those in need.
My hands are covered in scabs from accidental wounds caused by sharp puppy teeth.

Praises:

God gave me a puppy to nurture and raise so I am not so lonely.
God provided someone to bring me a old Ipod to replace the one that was lost and that person lived close to my parents.
God provided the needed rest and restraint after a busy and stressful month.
God gave me wonderful parents to guide me when trouble comes or I "freak out"
God has given me a team of prayer warriors in my home church. I can feel their prayers! (Don't ask me to explain, its hard to describe.)
Even when my ATM account was hacked, God was there and allowed ease of communication during the fraud report process (Also, please pray that all this will be resolved quickly)

GOD BLESS!!!!!!

Home again

2014-04-11T22:50:00.002+03:00

After the whirlwind known as the last month, I am glad to be home in Kijabe.

Between my brother’s wedding and planning and carrying out the LIMBS Training in Nairobi, I was exhausted. Last week, I was running nonstop from 7:30am until 10pm Sunday through Friday managing logistics during this long awaited training. Seriously! I even forgot to tell my parents that my childhood friend from Rwanda was coming to visit me before attending an educational conference in Kijabe. Normally, I would not be able to keep my mouth shut because of my excitement; but not this time. In fact, my head was still spinning when I arrived (via driver) at the airport to pick up Katharina.

We spent Saturday through Sunday watching a family’s kiddos while their parents attended a missionary marriage retreat. Now, before you say poor thing, hear me out. This distraction was exactly what I needed after a LONG HARD week. I was able to cook some great meals (involving LOTS of stress reducing chopping), laugh at the cheesiness of a sci-fi movie with the older girls, and was encouraged by the youngest; a 7 year old, ’s enthusiasm to go with me to the local church’s praise team pre-church rehearsal (at 7:30 AM!).

On Sunday, Katharina and I moved 2 doors over to another missionaries house to watch their dog and housesit this week. Right now, RVA, the missionary school here in Kijabe, is on break and many families are taking this opportunity to take much needed vacations! This can cause a dilemma however, because many of the missionaries in Kijabe have animals and/or pets they have to find accommodations for while the family is away. Enter a single missionary female who loves animals and doesn’t mind house sitting for other missionaries. This is a win-win situation; especially since this young lady has only one bed in her house and has a friend visiting her! Therefore, I had the privilege to watch a VERY laidback dog in a BEAUTIFUL house with high speed internet for 5 days. The house help still came every day so I did not have to do dishes or clean the house. It was an ideal place for me to get my head back on straight! Plus, I got to hike Mt Longonot on Monday with some friends and got to see at least three giraffe fairly close up!

I returned to my quaint little cabin today.

First, I want to tell you all the ways God has blessed me this month. One, God caused my flight to the USA at the beginning of March to be delay by 24hours and by doing so, got me over jetlag very quickly! You see the international flights out of Nairobi are all late at night. Mine was scheduled for just after midnight. At first the plane was just delayed, but finally at 5:30 am, because of mechanical problems, the flight was postponed until the next night. Because I had been awake all night, I was ready to hit the sack and did so after getting something to eat at the hotel that the airline booked us into. So by the time we boarded the plane that night, I was pretty much on Eastern Time. I was even upgraded to main cabin extra for my flight from London to Raleigh, NC. Secondly, the place where the LIMBS team and I stayed during the training last week was wonderful and accommodating. The walk to the school hosting the training was short and my boss even complimented me on my choice of lodging for the team. Also, God arranged that one of my best friends growing up would come and arrive from Rwanda at the same time I was scheduled to travel from Nairobi back to Kijabe so I could pick her up from the airport and we could travel back together. Then, God provided the distraction I needed by watching kids (actually high schoolers and a first grader) and then spending a week house sitting for another family.

I am VERY blessed!

Now it might sound like the last month was not too bad, but with the blessings come the challenges. First, travelling to the USA and back in one week requires a lot of cultural adjustment; fast. Then, add to this the fact that even while I was setting up my brother’s wedding, I was still trying to iron out the details for the training at the end of March (last week). Then, after I returned to Kenya, the mother of my contact at KMTC (where the training was hosted) died suddenly. His substitute did not have contact information or details about one of the patients we were using for the training. During the training, public transport went on strike forcing half the attendees/participants at the training to walk across town to reach the school on foot. One of the demo patients and attendees couldn’t make it from Mombasa; 3 out of 4 of the attendees did not show up for their slanted training sessions. There were misunderstandings about transport between Nairobi and Kijabe during a scheduled team visit. Katharina’s flight from Rwanda was late arriving and even then the arrivals board said, “to be advised.” Meetings from the last week require a large amount of follow-up and drafting. And last but not least, I have been having mini anxiety attacks every evening.

Everything needs to be balanced. I know I have a lot of work and pressure on my during the next few weeks, but I also know that I need adequate rest.

Praises:

The Training went fairly well.
Transport worked out in the long run
I got to spend 4 days with a wonderful friend
My cat was there to greet me when I returned to my little house (in fact he will not leave my side now)

Prayer Requests:

My anxiety seems to be getting more cumbersome. Please pray for peace!
What happens during the next 6 months will determine what happens with LIMBS in Kenya in the future. Pray God’s will be done and that I will be at peace with what He does.
I have several conferences to attend during the next several months. Pray that the details will work out.

Joy comes in the Evening...

2014-02-22T16:20:00.001+03:00

WAIT WHAT!?

Tuesday was my birthday. But the day was far from pleasant. First, I didn't sleep well the night before. Then, when I went to update the LIMBS patient database, several patient bios were missing. After extensive searching I found all but two, which still cannot be found. Both the hard and soft copies have disappeared. The only identifying information I have is the serial numbers from their knees. GRRRRR!! Then, to add to everything else, there was the prospect of spending my birthday evening alone in my house.

By the end of the work day, I had decided enough was enough. Whether I had anyone to celebrate with or not, I was going to make the night special! SO THERE!!!!!

After work, I trekked up to the shops and bought ice cream, meat, and an extra liter of milk; all luxuries for me, bought only for special occasions! On my way to my house from the shops, I decided to stop by and say hi to a friend, a widow from Australia, I've made here in Kijabe. When she found out that it was my birthday, she came down to my house and we had a wonderful evening chatting and celebrating. Her visit and our “party” made my whole day worth it!

Now I am not saying that my family and other friends ignored me. In fact, I heard from every single member of my immediate family, a few friends, and received over 30 facebook posts. But it is not the same as having someone here in person to celebrate with you.

Thursday, started out slow and rough but got better in the afternoon. I usually attend a ladies Bible study from 1-2 pm on Thursdays. Well, right before I packed up to attend Bible study; I got an email announcing a delivery of raspberries to the school up the hill. These raspberries are too ripe to export or even sell in Kenya so somebody at the school has arranged to pick up some and bring them back to Kijabe. We just have to pay transport; about $1 a gallon. WHOA! What a treat! Usually, raspberries cost at least a couple of dollars for a tray of just 12 berries.

Ok, so back to Bible study. Several of the ladies wanted some raspberries but since the delivery was scheduled right smack dab in the middle of our Bible study time. However, I offered to go up and get them. I had already arranged to borrow a container from another missionary at Moffet, so along with the 2 other containers from the missionary at Moffat and 3 from the ladies at the Bible study, up I went to collect raspberries; all 24 liters! (4 liters for me, 8 for the lady who lent me the container, and 12 for the Bible study ladies. FYI: Each container holds 4 liters)

Mercifully, God provided someone to carry me to and from the delivery location so I didn’t have to carry all those raspberries by myself! I did mention that these raspberries are REALLY ripe, right?

DELICIOUS!!!!!!

I caught the tail end of Bible study and afterwards “helped” divvy up the “spoils”! And of course you know “helping” means consuming close to a cup of raspberries in one sitting!! Hehe!!

Oh how I enjoy helping people, especially if I’m already heading in that direction anyway. I don’t know what made me happier; getting the raspberries or helping others enjoy the same!!

As I mentioned earlier, I stopped by a friend’s house the evening of my birthday. The people she is staying with were planning a trip to Nairobi on Friday. As it happens, I needed several things from the grocery store in Nairobi and had been asking and praying for transport into town this week; either Thursday or Friday. I had all but given up hope. Well, God knew what he was doing because what I intended as a polite pop-in to say hello, God meant as a provision for me and my friend’s needs. Not only did God provide me with birthday company and the opportunity to go into Nairobi, but He also provided the opportunity for my friend to get out of the house and spend some time away from her housemates! I had no idea that she was dreading the trip into Nairobi because it meant following her housemates, a couple, around clothing stores all day.

God knew we needed each other and provided in a way only He could do!!!!

PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!

When Trials Come...

2014-02-07T15:35:00.003+03:00

“When I am down and oh my soul so weary, when troubles come and my heart burden be. Then I am still and wait here in the silence, until you come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up so I can stand on mountains, You raise me up to walk on stormy seas. I am strong when I am on your shoulders. You raise me up to more than I can be.

There is no life, no life without sorrow, each restless heart beats so imperfectly. But when you come, I am filled with wonder. Sometimes I think I’ve glimpsed eternity.” (Josh Groman)

These words have meant a lot to me during the last few weeks.

I have struggled quite a bit since returning to Kenya after a month in the USA. Maybe it was exhaustion from such a busily scheduled trip in the USA. Maybe it is the increased stress during the last month. Maybe it is spiritual warfare.

Whatever the case, times are tough. I am having interpersonal relation problems with some of the people I work with in the orthopedic workshop at CURE.

Every time I try and sit down and write this update, I got writer’s block. Recently, it seems as if my head is attached physically, but detached in every other sense.

I can feel myself burning out and at a time when I need more enthusiasm not less. I have a little more than a month to finish planning and preparing for the first LIMBS training to be held since I came to Kenya in 2011.

Also, this year is the 10 year anniversary of the start of research on the LIMBS knee. In celebration of this, LIMBS is providing the prosthetic components to fit 500 above knee amputees around the world. However, there is a catch. As some of you know, LIMBS work here has not gotten off the ground the way the organization would like it to. Therefore, I have been told that if 100 or more knees are not fitted to patients in Kenya this year LIMBS may pull out of Kenya entirely. I have been trying everything I can think of to get the program running here, but with little success. So you can add the stress of sink or swim to my life. Though I know in my head that failure would not be entirely my fault, I still feel like if LIMBS does fail, it would be my fault because there must have been something I could have done to make it succeed.

Also, over the last 5 weekends, I have been unwell three of them. The first was jetlag. The next was over a conference and caused by the food. The last was last weekend and was caused by contaminated water.

Last weekend, I was so sick that once I came home from work on Friday, I barely left the house until Monday morning. Yes, I know I am in a developing country and water systems do get contaminated. But what frustrated me about the whole thing is the lack/refusal of communication about the water situation. Water contamination happens in the USA as well, however, the contamination is communicated quickly and thoroughly so that few people are at risk of getting sick because of lack of communication.

As an American, I like to come at things head on. However, many Kenyans care more about appearances and relationships than solving the issue quickly. They are two completely different approaches to solving problems and are heavily based on the culture they were developed in. Both have their merits and pitfalls.

Having said all this, I still believe God wants me here in Kenya and so I will stay until He tells me otherwise.

Prayer Requests:

Some of these are new and some are ongoing

The LIMBS Knee Evaluation would continue getting off the ground and that it would run smoothly

That I will catch on and learn Swahili quickly
Use of the LIMBS prosthetic system would pick up in Kenya
Better communication between me and those I work with
Patience and Loving-Kindness toward those co-workers that frustrate me
Better interpersonal skills with those around me
That preparations for the upcoming LIMBS training would go smoothly
That the training would run smoothly
That those you are supposed to attend this training will be able to
That I would stay healthy
For God’s provision for my finances
For God’s guidance in my life and work in Kenya
That my new passport would arrive in time for me to go to my brother's wedding in March. I applied for it this week and it should be here by the end of the month, but if anything goes wrong .....)
Strong walk with the Lord
Wisdom in relationships
Punctuality in Updates
Patience under pressure!
Reliable Internet
Good Business Relations with those around me!
Adjustment to life and culture in Kenya
That I will be able to properly write up patient stories and edit their videos
Productivity- I want to make the most of my time here in Kenya
Wisdom-To know when to give money and when not to
My Mental Faculties - That I will remember what I need to buy, where to buy it, and when.
Health and Sleep
Spiritual Growth
That I will make good friends quickly!

Around the World and Back Again!

2014-01-15T21:41:00.001+03:00

For those who don't know, I spent a month in the USA at the end of last year. I left November 22nd and returned on December 31st/January 1st. It was a busy trip. I traveled about every 3-4 days the entire time. While outside Kenya, I spent time in North Carolina (Durham, Winston-Salem, and Charlotte), Texas (El Paso and Longview), Georgia (Rome/Berry)and Grand Cayman.

I wish I had more pictures, however, my camera broke shortly after I left Kenya. Therefore, you will have to rely on my words alone.

First of all, I want to tell you GOD PROVIDES!

Kijabe is about an hour away from the airport. I took 2 large suitcases and 2 carry-on sized suitcases with me to the USA. This made using public Kenyan Transport difficult to impossible. I found a friend in Nairobi that was willing to take me from Nairobi to the airport, but I still needed to find transport from Kijabe to Nairobi. God did one better! He provided me with transport from Kijabe directly to the airport with some other missionaries travelling the same day.

The journey did have its' hiccups. Somewhere between my seat on the plane to London and the International terminal in London, my "total pillow" travel pillow got lost. It was never found. In view of everything that could have gone wrong, this loss was minor. Especially since all my luggage made it and i was met by my entire family at the airport in North Carolina! =)

When I have a chance I will try and tell you more about my adventures during my month outside Kenya. But for now I am focusing on God's provision during my international flights.

Fast forward to December 31st......

I did not sleep much the night before I left to return to Kenya. Even with my mental fog, I made it to the airport to check in with all my bags.

CUE GOD'S PROVISION!

When the ticketing agent checked me and my 6 bags into the system, the extra baggage fees came to about half of what they should have been! That's a savings of $360!

Security went smoothly and I was off.

While waiting at the gate, I checked my messages and email and found out the transportation and lodging I had all planned out before I left Kenya, fell through! I sent off some messages, but because of the time difference I didn't expect anything back for several hours.

My flight of the three leg journey was booked solid so I got assigned the first seat on the small American Eagle Plane; seat 1A. The cool thing about this seat is: 1. You can look out your window and see down the breezeway, 2. The breezeway seems to come straight at you when it approaches the plane, and 3. You can talk to the flight attendant during take-off and landing because he/she is sitting right in front of you, looking at you. Also, Because I was in the very front of the plane, I overheard the exchange between the gate agent, flight attendant, and pilots before the door closed. Apparently, the plane was overloaded (I wonder why? =P Could it be the passenger who checked 340 lbs of luggage?) and the airline wanted to take a British couple off the plane. However, if this happened, the couple would miss their flight connection to London.
By rearranging some carry-ons under two empty seats, utilizing the crew storage compartment, and the pilots working a little "magic", we were finally released from the gate with all passengers on board. The plane took a little extra runaway to take off and land due to the weight, but other than that, everything was fine. I had a good chat with the flight stewardess and when we landed she gave me some water and juice to carry with me. Once I reached the gate for my flight to London, I had a wonderful last american meal of leftover pizza, apples, and the juice from the flight attendant. While I was eating I checked my messages/emails to find out if their was any progress in finding a place to spend the night in Nairobi after I reached the airport.

NO RESPONSES FROM THE GUESTHOUSES!

Before I boarded my flight to London, I called and said good bye to everyone on my US cellphone.

The flight from JFK to London was mostly empty and I had an entire row to myself. Though I still did not sleep well, it was nice to stretch out a bit. In London, I had to change terminals and reenter security at the International Terminal. Security is one of the hardest things about London. Everyone in line has been through security at least once before and probably just arrived off another long haul flight. Without fail, I am always sweating by the time I get through and head to the main waiting area. In London, gates are not announced until 50 minutes before a flight. This means you have to watch the clock because some gates take 20 minutes or more to get to and the gates close 15 minutes before a flight's departure time.

I was in one of the last group to board the flight to Nairobi so the overhead storage above my seat was full. Thankfully, I found some storage a few rows back.

AND STILL NO RESPONSE ABOUT HOUSING OR TRANSPORT!

The flight to Nairobi was full and I was anxious. What was going to happen when I got to the airport? How would I find a place to stay? My phone had run out of credit. As much as I try to trust God to provide, it takes divine intervention for me to actually do it. The flight wasn't bad, though my entertainment system/screen locked up half way through the flight.

As many of you have heard, the international arrivals terminal at the airport near Nairobi burnt down. Therefore, when our flight landed we were loaded onto buses and taken to the temporary "arrivals" area. (Read this as a large warehouse/hanger type building divided into pre and post immigration areas.) Since our flight got in at the same time as another flight, twice the people had to funnel through the makeshift immigration booths. Soon after passing through immigration, I found out that the chaos of the immigration lines was nothing compared to collecting luggage. The airport was only running 2 small carousels, 1 for each flight. Also, they must have been using only one baggage train/cart because it was at least 20 minutes between each baggage offload. It took me over an hour, but I did collect all 6 of my bags!

ENTER GOD'S PROVISION!

There were several other people from Kijabe (RVA) on my flight, a family and two young ladies. The two ladies ended up at end of the immigration line. So rather than checking their trunks every time they passed on the baggage carousel, I pulled them off and sorted each one's luggage into a separate stack. AND GUESS WHAT?! It's 11:30pm and I still don't have transport or a place to stay!!!!

One of the ladies, an RVA teacher, let me use her phone to call the AIM guesthouse, Mayfield, and they had room for me. YES, I found a room! Now I just needed a LARGE taxi to get there!

WELL, GOD DID ONE BETTER!

It turns out that the guy I called to drive me back to Kijabe the next day, was the same guy who was picking the two young ladies up from the airport and then heading straight to Kijabe. They were willing to take as much of my luggage as space allowed so I wouldn't need to carry so much in the taxi. WELL, GUESS WHAT!? All the ladies' luggage fit in the back of the driver's car and ALL of mine fit into the roof rack perfectly. (I mean like JIGSAW PUZZLE PERFECT) Also, because everything fit so well, I was able to ride with them all the way back to Kijabe THAT night and in my own little house by 2:30 am!

Now onto the next adventure......... JETLAG!!!!!!

The Roller Coaster of Life

2013-11-13T18:23:00.000+03:00

It has been too long since I last updated this blog. I got so focused on trying to put together my support letter for my next 2 year term with LIMBS International that my brain burned out. If any of you following this would like a copy of my letter and have not gotten one already, please let me know and I will email it to you.

A lot has happened since I last updated.

I got the opportunity to join the Local AIC Kijabe church on their annual missions trip to Amaya in East Pokot the last week of August. While there, I met a 12 year old boy named Kipilat. He was born with only one leg. His parents

died when he was young and he has been passed from neighbor ever since. Because of his limited mobility and poverty, Kipilat has not had access to education until this year when the local east pokot church stepped in and enrolled him in preschool. Before I arrived, no one knew that anything could be done for the boy. After I told them about the LIMBS prosthesis, the boy was brought to CURE in Kijabe where we measured and fabricated a prosthetic leg just for him. By the end of September, Kipilat was walking on his own for the first time in his life!

Me and Risa's Mother and sisters

Part of my job is following up with patients using the LIMBS leg. Risa is a Maasai who lost his leg when he had an epileptic attack as a child and fell into the cooking fire. Traditionally, the Maasai are a nomadic people moving from place to place, caring for goats and cattle.If a man cannot walk, he cannot herd animals and therefore is a burden to the community. Many with physical disabilities are ignored by the community or hidden away. This was the case for Risa until he got his LIMBS prosthesis.
You see, Risa sustained massive burns across his lower body and right side. Doctors were able to save his left leg. However, the knee is completely fused. Therefore, the only prosthetic option for Risa is a leg with a free moving joint and the LIMBS knee is not only a low cost free moving joint, but also works like a normal knee does, locking when loaded with weight. Once Risa started using this leg, he was able to rejoin his community. I finally got a chance to visit Risa in his homeplace. The community has given him some goats to care for and he watches over both his and his uncle’s animals. He cares for his mother and siblings just like any other oldest son would do. His mother and aunt presented me with a Maasai necklace. I felt VERY honored!

On September 21st, Westgate Mall, outside Nairobi, was attacked and held under siege for 3 days. On this particular weekend, I was in Kijabe looking after a couple children for a missionary family while their parents were away. I did not find out about the siege until they got home and turned on the television. For the next few days, most of us were glued to the television watching as the situation unfolded. Many ex-pats and missionaries frequent this mall so it hit everyone hard. Tension was high during the first hours of the siege as everyone called everyone else they know to make sure they were okay. Only two Kijabe-linked families were in Westgate Mall when the attack started, but both quickly escaped. After the siege was over, some tension was relieved but the attack left the country in shock. Clean-up has begun as lives are moving on. We are healing. Kenya has been wounded but not broken. Nowadays, extra vigilance is taken and many in Kijabe make sure that others know where they are going when leaving Kijabe. LIFE CONTINUES.

October was a busy month. The first week, I went to Malindi, on the coast of Kenya, for an Orthopedic Technology Conference.The only bus directly to Malindi is a night bus. So, because I was presenting on the first day of the conference, I left Kijabe a day early. The extra time allowed me to acclimate to the heat and humidity and spend some time with Orthopedic Technologists working in the Ministry of Health. We visited the Malindi District Hospital, the beach, and had lunch at a local café. God’s provision was evident that day because this informal time with these top government people allowed me to get to know them better and even discuss the future of LIMBS in Kenya. The next few days of the conference were busy but went well. I returned to Kijabe after the conference on Friday so I could be back by Saturday when I was expecting a guest. WELL, I got sick. I was able to entertain a little, but slept most of the day. I spent the entire next Sunday in bed. The rest gave me enough strength to return to work on Monday.

Then sorrow struck, a young translator friend of mine died suddenly from a pulmonary embolism. This young man was only 30 years old. He was working hard to make a difference in his poverty stricken community. His death hit everyone hard. I attended the funeral along with most of his community and some members of RVA (Rift Valley Academy, where he worked as a librarian). Everyone was emotional.

Time helps heal wounds and so have the last couple of weeks.

A few weekends ago, I went to visit a friend’s, Linda’s, family in Nairobi. She is a student at Kenya Medical Training College studying Orthopedic Technology. She is on attachment for 3 months at CURE. I really enjoyed spending time with her family. However, the entire weekend was overshadowed because my wallet was stolen. I lost my Kenyan ID, Credit Card, ATM Card, and some money. Thankfully, I will be back in the States at the end of November so I will only have to live without them for a few weeks. If it had to happen, now is the best time. God is in control so I don’t have to worry about it. God provides!

Two day Vacation

2013-06-17T12:47:00.000+03:00

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been doing a lot of business travel recently with mostly disappointing results. Therefore, I decided I needed to get away for a couple of days to relax before I head to western Kenya on the 18th. It just so happens that a friend of mine is in Mombasa right now, so, on Thursday, I took a bus to visit her. In addition to the comfort of relaxing with a friend, the 80 something degree weather made a nice change to the "high of 60" weather here in Kijabe.

Mombasa is on the coast of Kenya along the Indian ocean. Although the city itself is built on an island, most of the surrounding coastal region is referred to as Mombasa. You may have heard in the news about turmoil in Mombasa. This unrest is not targeted at foreigners specifically, but at the Kenyan Government.

Have you ever heard of Texas pride? Well, that is the closest description I know to the attitudes of Mombasa natives. Like Texas, Mombasa has threatened on multiple occasions to separate from the rest of Kenya and the Mombasa culture is entirely different than everywhere else in Kenya. The people move slower, talk slower, socialize more, and in general take friendliness to a whole new level.

Yes, Mombasa has its problems like any other major city in the world. Almost all, if not all, major cities have areas to avoid at certain times, situations and things to watch out for, and safe & unsafe methods of transport.travel. As long as you know what to look out for and what to avoid, you are fine. My friend grew up in Mombasa and knows all about the city and surrounding area.

I was so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I spent the first day of my vacation relaxing within earshot of the palm trees and the ocean and just reading. It was great to do nothing!! I cooked dinner that night and got lots of compliments from my friend and her friends. What an esteem builder!

Sukuma Wiki, a common Kenyan Dish made
with Kale/Spinach, tomatoes, and garlic or onions.
Usually served over a starch or as a side dish.

Saturday, we moved to Mombasa itself and I went to a bakery, helped my hosts' son build a "tent" (made of towels, chairs, and a broom), and WENT SWIMMING!! I loved being in the water and working out in it, but I also realized just how out of shape I am. One lap and I was winded! Eventually, I built my endurance up a bit and got a great workout! By the end my legs were jelly, but I truly enjoyed my time in the water. One of the things I miss most about North Carolina is swimming. Growing up, I got to swim every summer as well as visit the ocean. In Texas, I got to play a bit in a pool once, but that was all. Kijabe is TOO cold to swim. I don't think the temperature ever rises much above 75 Fahrenheit here. Therefore, this trip to Mombasa was almost like paradise! The ocean, the heat, the pool, the company, etc.

I got back to CURE this morning and am leaving tomorrow for western Kenya until late Thursday night, but last week seems like months ago. I am emotionally, mentally, and physically refreshed. (Ok, so right now I am a little sleep deprived and ate something my body didn't like yesterday, but these are minor things compared to how I felt before.)

Me and the Mombasa Sunset

Prayer Items:

I am headed to Kitale and Eldorat for a mobile clinic tomorrow. Please pray for travel mercies and for those we will minister to both physically and spiritually.
My Alien Registration card is not ready yet. It is supposed to take 5 weeks to process, but it has already taken taken that long. This card serves as my legal ID in Kenya and until I get it, I have to carry my passport with me everywhere I go.
I am discouraged about the LIMBS progress here in Kenya. Other than project sponsored patients, there have been no new patients fit with the LIMBS Knee this year. Pray for guidance!
I am getting over a cold! Pray for healing!

PRAISE THE LORD!

First, God allowed me to get involved with several missionaries (both long and short term) in Kijabe.
MY COMPUTER IS FIXED!!!!!!!!!! Now I just need to find safe transport for it from the USA to Kenya!
God provided the opportunity for me to travel to Mombasa to relax with a friend. AND, and added bonus, I had the best seat in the bus on the way there!

My view (in Nairobi) headed to Mombasa.

I got to the bus station an hour and a half early and therefore, was able to enjoy a cup of tea and read my Bible for AN ENTIRE HOUR before the 8.5 hour bus ride! =)
God brought me safely from Mombasa back to Kijabe!

Full Circle

2013-06-08T15:18:00.000+03:00

The Femural IM Nails I helped modify while at Cedarville.

This week I had the opportunity to travel to Tenwek Hospital near Bomet. Many of you may not know, but this is the hospital we partnered with during my senior design project, resizing and reverse engineering femoral Russel-Taylor nails.
My goal during this trip was to introduce the LIMBS Knee system to Tenwek. However, after discussing with the prosthetic in Tenwek, I realized that the hospital has a steady supply of donated prosthetic components and therefore the LIMBS Knee would be more expensive for patients instead of the free donated components. All was not lost though, I was able to see the finished modified Russell-Taylor Nails. This was important to me because inventorying and shortening the nails was my part of the senior design project and these nails were like my babies! I was almost brought to tears when I saw the results of my hard work; the use of the nails by those who need them most.

Me and Samuel, the person in charge of the
orthopedic implants at Tenwek.

God works in strange ways. While I was looking at the nails, a Japanese missionary nurse approached me and asked if I had had anything to do with modifying the nails. I told her I had, she asked if she could take my picture and went to get her camera. After she took several pictures on her IPad, we struck up a conversation. At the time, I didn’t understand why she had tears in her eyes. However, later, when she emailed the pictures to me she explained how much of an encouragement I had been to her. We had been talking about the challenges of organization in Kenya (and the hospitals in particular) and apparently she had just returned to find the extensive organization work she had done in the basement destroyed by a renovation project. When we were talking, I had no idea just how much my words of frustration about trying to keep things organized and my compliments on how organized the sterile storage room looked would mean to her at that moment. I am not by nature an encourager, but God knew this nurse really needed encouragement at that precise moment. All glory goes to GOD!

I stayed in Tenwek an extra day so I could catch a ride with someone leaving for Nairobi at 5am on Thursday. Therefore, I spent the day sorting and inventorying prosthetic components for Tenwek’s Rehab Department.

Some of the organized prosthetic components
(and rotary grinder on right).

Prosthetic Department at Tenwek.
(That is a standard size oven)

Bright and early on Thursday morning, we left for Nairobi. By 8:30 am I had been dropped in Mai Mahu (which translated means “Hot Water”), the town below Kijabe and was awaiting a piki-piki (motorbike) to carry me up the hill. By 9am, I was back in Kijabe and working at CURE Hospital. That evening I made a cake for a friend and attended praise team rehearsal.

Friday, I went into Nairobi to meet with a patient. The meeting didn’t work out but I did get to meet an incredible missionary couple transitioning between ministry locations.

It had been a busy week, but a fulfilling one.

Prayer Requests

There is a terrible cold virus going around Lower Station, Kijabe. Please pray that those who have caught the virus will get better quickly.
My support is low. Please pray for God's provision.
Please pray for my work here. I have been in Kenya almost 2 years now and yet I am still working on a project that was supposed to take 6 months and only a handful of patients have even used the LIMBS Knee. Please pray that I will know what to do and how to do it.
Because of the frustrations mentioned in the previous request, I have bee feeling discouraged. Please pray for my emotional stability and moods. \
I am planning to visit the USA in November-December. Please pray that the details would be ironed out.

Praises

Praise God I have my voice back. I have had a cold for the last two and a half weeks and the incident with the policeman (refer to previous post) caused me to lose my voice. I was frustrated at not being able to sing, but now I can again!
Praise God for providing transportation for my trips this week and safety while I was travelling.
Praise God for Missionary Friends and community.
Praise God for my cat, Tiger. He provides my with companionship, but also keeps away the vermin.
Praise God for faithful supporters who support me and the ministry both in prayer and finances.

When I am Weak, HE is strong!

2013-05-28T18:30:00.000+03:00

Last Friday I had an anxiety attack in Nairobi.

Now, before you arrange/demand my immediate return to the USA, let me explain.

Thursday evening, I was asked to accompany a missionary and his Kenyan secretary to Nairobi for propriety sake. Since there was not much for me to do in Kijabe on Friday, I agreed to go.

I did not sleep well Thursday night because of incessant nightmares. But all the same, I got up Friday morning and went about my business until the three of us left for Nairobi.

The morning was uneventful, he had a meeting so she and I hung out in the food court at the shopping center. she had a dentist appointment after lunch so we were free until then. I got a little work done on my (temporary) laptop and we walked around a bit. Nothing really exciting.

After lunch, the secretary went to her appointment and the missionary and I went to find a fuse for my converter. After an hour of unsuccessfully searching for the right fuse. We headed back to the shopping center to pick up the secretary.

WELL, then things happened. A policeman waved us over to the side of the road (aka. Our car got pulled over by the policeman.) right outside the shopping center. The policeman told us that we had turned without signalling. (We had signaled, but you never argue outright with a Kenyan Policeman.) He was going to charge us with reckless driving, an offense carrying a fine of over $1,000. He told us we "could finish this right here" and not go to court if we paid him. However, as a missionary, God calls us to follow and obey Him and bribery is wrong, not to mention illegal in Kenya. The missionary (He was driving) told the officer that he was a missionary and would not do anything that would bring shame on someone, even in the appearance of paying a bribe. The policeman told us that we would have to go down to the courthouse and that the missionary would be locked up until he could pay the fine. The missionary said "whatever it takes, do what you have to do." Neither of us had ever met a policeman who was SO insistent on a bribe!
Well, the officer left the window and said he needed to speak with his supervisor.

So, the last paragraph describes the facts. Here is my side. When I see the policeman wave us over, I wonder what is going on. When he leans in my window, 6 inches from my face, I get nervous. When he explains why he pulled us over, I start getting anxious. 100,000 Kenyan Shillings (over $1,000) is A LOT OF MONEY! When the officer starts pushing for a bribe, I get lightheaded and pale. Did I mention his radio at full volume was right beside my ear? I tried to lean my seat back, the officer reacted. I explained about the radio and he turned it off and I sat back up. As the policeman continued to hassle and push for a bribe, I continued to lose my sense of reality and almost passed out once. When the officer left to "speak with his supervisor", I leaned back my seat and before I could stop it had an almost full-blown anxiety attack, in the car, in front of the missionary. I was SOOOOOO embarrassed! The harder I tried to stop it, the worse it got!

I don't exactly know what happened next, but the car started moving and the policeman was gone.

I finally caught my breath and asked the missionary to pray with me and then I was able to calm down. The missionary explained what had happened during my attack and the policeman's reaction. When the missionary saw that I was having an anxiety attack, he felt sorry for me, but thought "this is perfect." He told me I should have seen the look on the policeman's face when he saw me shaking and screaming and asked if I was okay. When the missionary answered no, the policeman told us we could go.

By the time we had found a parking space at the shopping center, I had regained my calm though physically drained. The missionary even had me laughing about the whole situation!

Since the day was hot, I decided to go into the shopping center and help the missionary get the groceries he needed. Thank goodness for shopping carts! They make great walkers when you feel weak!!!!!!! hehe!

The moral of all this is that God uses even the most scary and embarrassing things to His glory! God used one of my biggest weaknesses to show HIS power in getting us out of a potentially horrible situation. Not all police in Kenya are corrupt, but God took care of us when we met this corrupt one.

1 Thessalonians 5: 18 says to "give thanks in all circumstances." Well, I guess that means I should give thanks for my anxiety attacks! I may do my best to control my anxiety and emotions, but I have to be willing to let God use them for His Glory in His Time.

PS. I lost my voice from the screaming.

More on my life soon....

Trust

2013-05-17T14:09:00.000+03:00

Why is trusting SO hard?

How many times has God come through for me and yet I still struggle to trust Him entirely?

It is so much easier sometimes to try and take control yourself, especially when God is not working in your timing.

Being in Kenya has shown me a lot about trust and where it should or shouldn't be placed. There is a saying that goes, "once injured, twice shy." That describes me pretty well in terms of trusting. Unfortunately, I also struggle with generalizing and therefore, if someone breaks my trust, anyone I met at around the same time or in the same situation suffers from that breach of confidence.

Case 1:
Setting: My house
Situation: The contents of my first aid kit and some money are missing
Characters: Two young kenyan ladies from different families

Neither of them admits to taking the money or the first aid supplies. So, in an effort to be fair, neither are allowed any more into my house without close supervision.

That should be the end, right? But no, since my trust in them is broken, my trust in their entire family and their friends is threatened. I have become overly suspicious of anyone entering my home. I struggle to trust even those I know are trustworthy and have an excellent reputation in Kijabe. WHY?

What is trust? Can you trust someone only partially? OR Does it mean that you have full and entire confidence in that person?

Case 2:
Setting: My life
Characters: God and me
Situation: My problems, struggles, and seemingly impossible obstacles

God saw fit to bring me into a personal relationship with Him very early in my life. As I grew older, he taught me more about what it means to be a Christian and how to follow Him. Only by His Grace and help did I make it through my adolescent years. He called me to serve him in missions and then provided me with ways to follow His Calling. God has worked out situations at the last minute, but in His Timing. He supernaturally orchestrated my arrival and ability to work and live in Kenya.

So, if He has come through and worked out SO MANY things in my life thus far, WHY OH WHY do I struggle to trust Him when my computer breaks?

Here's the story:
When my parents came out to Kenya last summer, they brought me over a new laptop because my old one no longer worked. It was supposed to be the toughest computer out there. Within the first few months the back USB port stopped working. Then, a second USB port stopped working with my modem. Now, within the last month, my final USB port started having problems. I have one month left on my warranty, so I called the technical support number.

Another missionary friend had also spoken to the tech support from this company and had warned me of the connection difficulties I might have.

However, when I called and was transferred to the right person, the whole call took less than 15 minutes! And that was even with being put on hold a couple of times!

1 point for God!

In the past, when I have called technical services for my computers, the person is Indian, Asian, or Hispanic, and while I have no problem/issue with any of these people as human beings or people, sometimes understanding them is difficult because of phone connection quality and accent. Imagine my surprise and delight when the man on the other end had a deep southern accent! What I blessing! I could understand every word he said. (Though we had to repeat ourselves a couple of times because of the internet connection.)

2 points for GOD!

This all happened on Wednesday night. All day Wednesday, I had been trying to back up my computer so I wouldn't lose any information when I sent it back to the computer company. Three time the back up had crashed. After talking with Technical support, I started the backing up the computer a fourth time and began worrying that I would never get a full back-up. Why was I worried? Hadn't God already come through for me twice just that day?

I found out that there were three ladies leaving on Thursday and one of these said she was willing to take the computer. Now, if only I could get the computer to backup itself.

Tic-toc, tic-toc. It's past 10 pm and I am still waiting for the back up to finish. It's at 64%. I use the time to talk to my family and a couple friends over the internet. Tic-toc, tic-toc. It is 11:15pm. I am falling asleep, but the back up successfully completed. Praise the LORD!

3 points for GOD!

I left the computer with the guard at CURE because I had to meet the 5am bus from Kijabe to Nairobi on Thursday and didn't know if I would be back in time to get the computer to the lady who volunteered to carry it.

Well, Thursday morning came too fast. I caught the bus (which was early), we hit minimal traffic, and it dropped me off much closer to my connecting station then I expected. The connecting bus filled quickly and I arrived at my destination an hour earlier than expected. Wonderful! Things were moving smoothly!

4 points God!

Now, by this point you should see that God has been providing for me in SO many ways over the last 15 hours and I should be trusting him to get me through the next 15, right?

Well, the Bible says, "The testing of your faith produces perseverance."

Enter testing. The lady who was going to carry my computer started having second thoughts. Once I finished what I needed to do in Nairobi, I hurried back to Kijabe. Half and hour before I arrived, I got a call from the lady saying that she couldn't take it. Now, what was I going to do? No one else from Lower Station Kijabe (where I live and work) was going to the States until mid June and that was too late.

But why was I worrying?
Hadn't God worked things out so far?
Where was my trust?
I know in my heart, but my head isn't following!

I arrived back in Kijabe, picked up my computer and prayed.
Then, it hit me, "What about RVA?"
I quickly called and found out that someone was leaving that very day for the US and might be willing to carry it for me. I tried calling the places the guy might be, but to no avail.So, since I needed to go up to RVA anyway, I picked up my computer and bags and headed up to the school (RVA). I met my Missionary friend, the one who recently sent his computer to the States for repair, and he helped me track down the departing missionary, Lamar. Lamar was very willing to carry the computer and it also gave him an excuse to purchase one of the snazzy RVA computer bags for his computer in the States! (He preferred this option over taking my bag and then having to send it to my parents.) He left last night and my computer is safely on its way to the US. This is an even better situation than the one that fell through before!!!!!

Now, why was I SO WORRIED? Why can I trust God with the big things like salvation from eternal punishment, yet I struggle to trust Him in the little things like getting a computer over the ocean in time for it to be repaired?

GOD ALWAYS PROVIDES! Why do I worry?

I think I need some supernatural help in trusting those who deserve it!

God Bless!

An Anchor in the storm

2013-04-29T16:38:00.001+03:00

Hello Family and Friends!
The last few weeks have been not only busy, but also, very emotionally draining. The first week I travelled and house sitted. Last week, I was representing CURE International and LIMBS International at a christian health Conference. However, during this time three people I knew went to be with the LORD.

Ok, so let's started with the week of April 15th.

On Tuesday, I spent the day in Nairobi interviewing 2 patients, helping 3 patients learn to walk correctly and then filming them. Then in the afternoon, I had a long meeting with the medical training college across the street from the hospital to talk about the possibility of them hosting a training workshop for LIMBS. I left at 7am in the morning and didn’t get back until 7 pm in the evening.
Wednesday, a patient was supposed to come to be evaluated for the LIMBS system above knee prosthesis, but she never showed up.
Thursday was by far my longest day. I accompanied the CURE mobile team to Embu because I needed to meet a patient/client there. We left Kijabe at 5 am and didn’t get back until 8:30 pm. I did get to see the patient and do what I needed to with him and after that I helped around the mobile clinic. One of the things CURE doctors do at mobile clinic is tenotamies (where they cut the Achilles tendon in order to enable it to lengthen and the foot to have better range of motion) on infants with clubfoot that is being treated by serial casting. Some mothers are fine holding their child during this 5 minute procedure, but yesterday the mother looked like she might pass out when the doctor explained what they were going to do to her child. For once, I could see she was very uncomfortable so I offered to hold the baby and let her sit outside. As I held the baby while the doctor and his assistants prepared, the baby promptly peed on the sheet on my lap under him! Go figure! I guess I bring out the best in everyone! The tenotamy went well and the child’s leg was casted in the corrected position. The hardest thing for me when holding a child that is undergoing a tenotamy is feeling the Achilles tendon snap. The feeling is a little freaky. Since Embu is about 4 hours away, when we left at around 4pm I knew we wouldn’t get into Kijabe until after dark. When I got back to the house it felt like midnight! However, it was only 8:30 so I took care of my evening responsibilities and tried to watch a movie. Bad Idea! I fell asleep halfway through!

I addition to my other responsibilities this week, I was house-sitting for a missionary family on vacation. This basically just requires me to feed their 5 cats and lock the youngest two in the storeroom at night. I were kind enough to let me stay in their house when I wanted/needed to this week and that has been a big blessing because they live halfway between my house and CURE so the distance to work is half. All my transportation this week has left from the hospital compound so being that much closer allowed me to sleep more than I could have if I stayed at my house. (For example, yesterday, I was able to sleep until 4am instead of 3:30am, etc.)

Friday, I spent the morning in the house so I could focus on my write ups and admin work. The noise at the workshop makes it hard at times to write up a patient’s story/profile.

I wish I could say that was all that happened that week, but it wasn't. On Monday, I found out that one of my hallmates in college lost her father to cancer. This made me sad and caused me to start prayer for her and the rest the the grieving family. On Wednesday, an AIM missionary and friend of mine, Martha Pontier, had to be admitted to the hospital with a fever of 104 F. I found out on Thursday that another missionary friend of mine in Texas, Joe Comroe, went to be with LORD after fighting the effects of "Agent Orange" for the last several years. Friday, Martha seemed to be getting better, but by Saturday she had to be moved to a hospital room with Oxygen. Sunday morning she was in ICU. AIM worked as hard and fast as they could to get her medi-vacted to South Africa, but to no avail. Sunday night she was moved from Mombasa to a hospital in Nairobi. I got a call right after lunch on Monday, April 23rd, that Martha was in the arms of Jesus. Her illness had lasted 5 days from beginning to end!

Did I mention that this missionary was the sister to the missionaries whose house I was watching?

SO, in the course of a week I lost 3 people I knew. Each one hitting closer to home and more abrupt than the one before. I had only met my hallmate's Dad once, but I knew her VERY well. Joe and I both worked at Missionary TECH during my time in Texas and I got to know him and his family well. But as I said before, he had been suffering the effects of exposure to "agent orange" used in the Vietnam War for several years so his death by cancer was to be expected. Then, there was Martha. I first met her a couple months ago when I visited Mombasa. Then, I had gotten to know her even better when she came to Kijabe to stay with her niece and nephew while their parents, her sister and brother-in-law, were in India on business. The suddenness of her death hit me hard. In fact, I was looking forward to possibly meeting her again last week when I was down in Mombasa helping out her sister and niece with some organizing and renovations down there.

Our exhibit table at the CHAK Conference

Then, there was this last week. Since Martha's illness, my trip to Mombasa had been cancelled. However, I was told Monday morning that the hospital (AIC-Cure International Children's Hospital) wanted me to represent them (and LIMBS International) at an exhibit booth during the annual CHAK (Christian Health Association of Kenya) conference in Limuru, about a half hour from Kijabe, starting Tuesday morning. This was definitely something orchestrated by God. When my trip to Mombasa didn't work out, HE filled my time with something else to keep my mind off the deaths of two dear friends. And you know, God even enabled me to stay calm in the midst of all the disorganization during the conference? The late nights and early mornings forced me to sleep at night and not think to much about the sorrows. The conference ended Thursday afternoon and I was exhausted! After a half hour accidental nap, I went to praise team rehearsal as scheduled, then, returned to my house and slept.

Friday, I spent the day waiting for and building wheelchairs for someone who was supposed to pick them up, but never showed.

"We interrupt this dialogue with a weather update."

"Due to the heavy rains this week and the tremendous rainfall last night [Friday], the tunnel leading to Kijabe is blocked and mud/landslides have blocked many parts of the only major access road to Kijabe and her hospitals"

This is the main road into Kijabe and yes, that is a full sized
railroad pylon at the men's feet!
(about a mile from the railroad and tunnel)

Full-sized tree swept down the hill into the middle of the
main road.

In front of the church. If you blow up the picture, you can
just see the the church gate to the right of the red motorcycle
and the church sign on the ground behind the two fallen trees.

This WAS the RVA fenceline! Everything is wiped
out from here to the gate.

The tunnel before it was cleared.

Above the tunnel/the railroad tracks!
The water went OVER the tunnel/railroad tracks!

The road directly after the tunnel /railroad bridge.

Another landslide blocking the road.

"Now back to your dialogue."

Judy and Me

As mentioned above, Friday nights heavy rain caused mudslides, landslides, and a flash flood that essentially cut Kijabe off from the outside world and on the one Saturday I HAD TO go to Nairobi. I was going to meet a friend that I had not seen in close to a decade and Saturday was our only chance to meet before she returned to Western Kenya to teach. Well, where there is a will there's a way! Since the tunnel was blocked I walked up the hill over the railroad tracks over the tunnel (about a mile) and caught a ride on the other side to Limuru and then on to Nairobi. I had a wonderful visit with my friend, Judy, and by the time I returned to Kijabe, the tunnel was clear and I was able to get transportation all way down to Kijabe. A long day, but it was worth it.

Yesterday was Martha's funeral. Nine of her friends from Mombasa were able to make it to Kijabe to attend. Martha was the manager of Amani Acres, a retreat area for missionaries to escape their hectic lives and relax. Martha was loved by practically everyone she met and therefore many are devastated by her suddeen death. The funeral was full of stories about her hospitality, generosity, and love for Christ. Many of us in Kijabe prayed that the rains would hold off until after the funeral and God answered. The rain did not start until after the final shovel of dirt was laid on the grave! However, it was hard to see Martha being buried and her mother, who traveled all the way from the US for the funeral, was unable to stand in her grief and had her eldest son stand for her to do the necessary things. PLEASE KEEP THIS FAMILY IN YOUR PRAYERS!

Now is a new week and I have more time to think.

Prayer Requests:

For those grieving the loss of loved ones. Not only the ones mentioned above but also for the family that lost three children in Friday night's mud/landslide.
Pray for me as I grieve. Losing two people I am close to in one week is hard and this week not as much is going on and I will have more time to think.
I am trying to arrange a training seminar on the LIMBS knee for sometime this summer. Please pary that the details would work out.
Pray for those affected by the landslide, mud slides, and flash floods here in Kijabe. This is the worst mudslide and flooding Kijabe has had since anyone can remember. Several homes have either been entirely washed away or filled with mud.
Please pray that interest in the LIMBS knee would pick up and that these legs can get to those who need them most.

Praises:

God gave me and those with me safety during our travels.
Praise God that Martha's Family was in Mombasa when she got sick and were able to be with her during her entire illness.
Praise God for keeping my house and my neighbors safe during the flooding.

1 Timothy 4:12

2013-04-09T08:30:00.001+03:00

I realize this is out of order but I wanted to share it anyway.

I help teach AWANA at the local church here in Kijabe on Sunday afternoons. At the beginning of this year, the church started holding prayer meetings on Sunday afternoons for the upcoming elections in March. These prayer meetings started an hour after AWANA did so none of the other leaders could ever attend the meetings.

On Sunday March 2nd, the day before the elections, my phone service provider was acting up. Any texts messages I received were delayed several hours. I arrived at AWANA on time, listened to the verses the children had memorized during the week, and then started game time. Only I and one other leader were there. However, as I was leading games, two other leaders showed up and told me that they had tried to text me that they had cancelled AWANA so they could attend at least one election prayer meeting. This obviously had been a DIVINE miscommunication because we already had many children at AWANA. The other leaders suggested that we just send the kids home, however, God gave me another idea. If it was so important for the AWANA leaders to go and pray for the elections, why not demonstrate the importance of prayer by having our own prayer meeting?

So while the other leader attended the prayer meeting, I divided the kids (ages toddler to 8th grade) into groups with at least 1 or 2 7th or 8th graders in each group to lead. Every group had a different aspect of the election to pray for. One prayed for the presidential race, one prayed for the numerous other races to would be voted on the following day, one group prayed for peace during the election, and another prayed for peace after the election. Once I made sure each group knew what they were praying for, the groups each went to a different part of the field (where we hold AWANA) to pray. I cannot describe the joy I felt watching these young ones pray for their country. The adults of the church may have thought that these children were too young to participate in prayers, but God didn't. The leaders of each group made sure everyone in the group had a chance to pray, even the preschoolers. After all the group had finished prayer, we gathered back together for a final prayer and release the children to go home 15 minutes early.

God definitely had His Hand in the events of that day. He caused the text message cancelling AWANA to be delayed for several hours so I would be at AWANA that day. He gave me the idea to hold our own prayer meeting. He caused there to be the perfect number of 7th and 8th graders to lead the prayer groups and HE enabled even the youngest children to focus and concentrate for a full half hour during the prayers.

I was blessed and I hope this story blesses you as well!

Prayer Requests and Praises April 2013

2013-04-04T14:07:00.000+03:00

Praises

My travels went safely
The Kenyan Elections went peacefully
I am making more missionary friends
My brother got engaged to his long time girlfriend!!!!!!!!!!!!! =)

Prayer Requests

My emotions have been all over the place. Please pray for clarity and control.
I feel like I am in that stage of culture shock where everything foreign is suspect. Please pray that I will have a positive attitude and patience.
I have been told that I am pushing some people too hard. Please pray that I might have patience and show kindness when handling difficult people and stressful situations.
Please pray for LIMBS relationship with the main government hospital in Kenya. The hospital have been dragging their feet for over a year now, yet when you talk to the Head of the Department (HOD), he seems enthusiastic about the project and continued partnership with LIMBS International.
Please pray for my mood. I have been down a lot recently.
I am starting to make plans for going to the US at the end of this year. Please pray that things will go smoothly and that I find cheap airline tickets.
Please pray for my Grandma who isn't feeling well.
Please pray for my friend Nancy and her family. Her brother died last Thursday and they buried him today.

Its Raining, Its Pouring....

2013-04-03T17:02:00.001+03:00

Welcome to the rainy season in Kenya! During this time of year you do your laundry any sunny day possible because no one knows when the next one will be. Last year, it took a week for my shoes to mostly dry.

The last few months we been busy! CURE Hospital (where i am stationed) closes two weeks before Christmas every year so shortly before Christmas, I visited a friend in Rwanda and we spent a couple days by some beautiful waterfalls in Uganda.

We came back to Kenya and two days later she left to visit another friend while I spent Christmas day in Kenya for the first time in my life. I visited friends and rested.

In Kenya, very little business happens after the second week in December so I basically had time off. In January, the country starts moving again and this year that included lots of politics! This is an election year for Kenya. Since the last elections in 2007 resulted in extreme violence, all missionaries were encouraged to stock up on necessary supplies in case we needed to stay in our houses for an extended time.

Praise the LORD there was minimal violence following the March 4th election and following court cases. In Kenya, if you want to contest an election result you take it to the supreme court and they will consider the evidence and make a decision. The presidential runner-up did take the results to court, but encouraged all Kenyans to remain peaceful. Easter Saturday, the supreme court announced that the results were valid and the winner was announced! PRAISE THE LORD there has been minimal violence!

I apologize about the sporadic nature of my posts. Sometimes, I sit down to write and get writer's block. Other times, I am so busy and stressed that I just forget.

Life is going fairly well. I am experiencing lots of what I feel is spiritual warfare. Work is going slow, but somethings are getting done.

LIKE......

THE LOCAL KNEE HAS THE KEBS CERTIFICATION MARK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is so exciting because, as you know, I have been working on this for over a year!

In February, I finally got the chance to travel to Mombasa. It is like another country! The air is hot and humid. People walk at half the speed of those in other parts of Kenya and time is laid back. Mombasa was not part of Kenya before Kenya gained its independence. Mombasa originally belonged to the Amman but was included in the country after the British pulled out. Because of this, many natives of Mombasa do not consider themselves part of Kenya. This segregation is further intensified by the Kenyan Governments disregard for the area when it comes to allotting finances for development and infrastructure. The area is beautiful but there is a major shortage of fresh water. My reasons for travelling there were both business and pleasure. I needed to meet a LIMBS contact down there and see the facilities available for making prostheses. I spent half a Friday meeting with this individual and touring their facilities. They are the best I have seen in Kenya since I arrived. The rehabilitation Center even has a school for children who have to stay as inpatients for rehabilitation.

After finishing my business work, a friend of mine showed me around Mombasa and the Old Town Area. The view is beautiful from the wall by Fort Jesus.

We spent Friday night and Saturday on the coast and I got to go swimming in the ocean for the first time in three years! It felt SO GREAT! Ok, so I did have to watch out for sea urchins and be careful of riptides, but it was fun. I only wish I had my mask so I could see the fish better.

I really enjoyed the trip and was encouraged by the enthusiasm of my contact there.

February is also the month of my birth. I spent my birthday travelling to Meru with the CURE Mobile clinic. When my co-worker found out it was my birthday, he offered to go to the store and buy a cake. WELL, the icing on Kenyan cakes can be harder than rock. See my attempt to cut it below.

I eventually did get it cut open, but it gave us a good laugh! We even considered using the cast cutter if we had to!

After that trip, it was time to stay close to home in preparation for the elections. Even though the elections went peacefully, there was no guarantee of that peace beforehand. We had to be prepared for the worst because if things did get violent, we needed to be prepared.

Like I said before, the elections were peaceful.

I celebrated Easter with another missionary family and relaxed in the afternoon. I never thought Lamb and potatoes could taste SO good!

Life is settling back down to normal now.

Unfortunately, the stress has also gotten to me. For the last couple of weeks I have been stressed out trying to come up with a strategic plan for LIMBS in Kenya, pushing for progress in the assessment, and bridging the gap between Kenya and Texas.

In the week before Easter, I spent all-day Tuesday and part of Wednesday working from my house because I was afraid I might have an emotional breakdown.

I am not sure what is going on with me, whether it is hormones, stress, spiritual warfare, or a combination of all of them.

Some members of my family have told me just to return to the USA, but I know God has called me here and you will have trials and struggles no matter where you are. Plus, I am NOT a quitter. God will provide.

Prayer Requests and Praises are coming in the next post.....

Give Thanks!

2012-11-30T15:49:00.002+03:00

It seems the longer I am in Kenya, the harder it gets to update. The last month has flown by!

Here are some of the highlights:

A LIMBS leg came in for repair. I spent the day making a new top block for the knee. Below is me sanding the block into shape. The black particulate that results from sanding is the same size as sawdust so if I don't cover everything, I get it in my hair, mouth, eyes, shirt, etc.. In the background, you can see the socket of the leg this knee belongs to.

Thanksgiving with Ex-pats

This year I was really blessed! I was invited to join two different groups for Thanksgiving meals. Since Thanksgiving is an American holiday, I worked until lunch and then celebrated the rest of the day.

At lunch, I ate with two missionary families that live about a 10 minute walk from my house.

My lunch plate (clockwise from the top):
Turkey, roll, broccoli casserole, potato gunk, stuffing, and cranberry sauce (imported from USA)

After lunch, we got to talk and fellowship with each other. The host and hostess are engineers working in facilities planning in Kijabe hospital (located next to CURE where I am stationed). The other family that was there is designing a house to build in Kijabe and the former are helping them with the floor plans. Anyway, all that to say, I got to see the plans and offer suggestions as to how to make the changes the family wanted. I guess once you get a taste of facilities planning you always enjoy dabbling in it from time to time. I really enjoyed talking shop with other engineers and eating cranberry sauce (Did I mention that it is one of my favorite holiday foods?)

At around 6 pm, I joined a large group of singles in the boardroom at CURE for Thanksgiving supper.

My plate at supper:
Stuffing, vegetables, crescent rolls, turkey, chicken,
mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and broccoli casserole

I was stuffed after eating but the singles brought A LOT of food so we had lots of leftovers. We gave most of the leftovers to the people on night shift at CURE hospital. However, I am still eating leftovers from that meal (a week later). I have about two meals worth of potatoes left.

This Thanksgiving was so different from last year's. This year, I got to celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday. Last year, I was on a mobile clinic and couldn't celebrate until Saturday. Last year, I knew almost no one. Now, I know many. So many, in fact, that I had to turn some down.

Worked my tail off in the department this week

The orthopedic department is already understaffed so if anyone technologist is out of the department for a day it creates problems. Well, on Wednesday, two technologists were out and Thursday, two technologists and a student were out. Because of this, I sat down for only about 10 minutes between 10 am and 5pm on Wednesday and on Thursday, I didn't leave the department until 8pm. I arrived back at the department today (Friday) at around 7:15 am. Thankfully, all the patients were seen and now I can write this update.

I have been taking care of a 6 month old puppy for the last week. My house is very small and I also have a cat for pest control. A friend in my Bible Study is visiting family in the USA and asked for volunteers to care for her puppy. Two other families volunteered to care for him during the last four weeks she is gone, so I volunteered to watch him the first week. I forgot how time consuming caring for a dog is! After the first 5 days, I found a system that works to care for him. However, my week is now over and now he moves to the next family.

So there you have it, an outline of my life!

PRAYER & PRAISE

Praise

My Christmas shopping is done. All I need to do now is pack it up to send with a friend going to the States for Christmas.
I received an unexpected donation from my home church that will enable me to meet a friend working in Rwanda for Christmas.
I got to talk with my family on Thanksgiving.
I got to celebrate Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving Day!!!!!!!!!1

Requests

There is very little unity in the Orthopedic Department right now. One technologist is tattling on another. Blame is being passed back and forth. There is major under-staffing (which is probably part of what is causing the tension), especially during mobile clinic days. PLEASE PRAY for UNITY in the department.
I have a major decision to make in the coming months that I cannot go into detail about. God knows what it is and that's what is important. Please pray that I will have wisdom and discernment in this situation!
My emotions have been everywhere recently. Please pray that I would remain Christ honoring in all I say and do.
I am planning to fly to Rwanda on December 18th and then travel with my friend through Uganda and back to Kenya for Christmas. Please pray for us as we work out the details and pray for safety in travelling.

God Provides!

2012-10-30T22:18:00.002+03:00

I spent last weekend in Western Kenya. I had LIMBS International business in Kisumu on Friday so I left with Doreen, a Orthopedic technology student on attachment at CURE, on Thursday. It takes 7 hours to get from Nairobi to Kisumu so since we wanted to arrive in Kisumu before dark, we wanted to take the 9 am bus. To do this, we needed to be in Nairobi by 7:30am in order to buy tickets. Nairobi is about an hour from Kijabe. Therefore, we needed to take the early bird matatu that leaves Kijabe at 5:15am! REALLY EARLY!!

Here we saw the hand of God!
Romans 8:28 says, "All things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose." Well, we missed the early bird bus. BUT......... God provided a waiting public taxi to take us up the hill to the main road. And His faithfulness doesn't end there!

Once we reached the main road, we ran into the brother of one of the ladies in the praise and worship team I am a part of. He offered to take us to Nairobi on his way to Thika! Praise the LORD!
We made it to Nairobi around the same time as the early bird matatu would have arrived.

Now to be honest, I don't really like to take the early bird matatu because one of the conductors overloads the vehicle (which is illegal) and I don't know which days he conducts. However, when you need to get into Nairobi early that matatu is the only option unless you want to pay over ten times the price to hire a private taxi (assuming you even have the number for one) to take you up the hill. The next matatu leaving Kijabe is 3 hours later. When I realized we had missed the matatu I was really discouraged, but as I said God provided a public taxi (holds 6 people in a compact car) and then FREE transportation to Nairobi.

GOD IS GOOD!!!!!

We made it to the bus station without further incident and bought our tickets. While we waited, we went to the supermarket and bought some food for the trip. A little after 9am we boarded the bus.
During the next 7 hours we alternated sleeping, eating, reading, and looking out the windows. Mostly, we slept.

We arrived in Kisumu around 4pm. It was great to arrive in during daylight (my first trip I arrived after dark). The Head of the Orthopedic department (HOD) at Nyanza hospital and own of his co-workers met us with a patient's car at the bus station and took us to the guest house where Doreen and I would spend the night. After freshening up a bit, the five of us went out to eat. The evening was enjoyable; filled with fresh fish and good company. I was asleep before I hit the pillow. I must have woken up sometime during the night because I vaguely remember thinking, "I should probably get under the covers."

Friday went well. I got my business done by 2pm so Doreen and I decided to travel. We spent Friday evening in Kakamega visiting some of her friends. Kakamega is 1 hour north of Kisumu. The main method of transport is bicycle, motorcycle, or piki-piki. When crossing the road these two-wheeled transports pose more of a risk than cars or trucks. Doreen's friends live in modest 1-room apartments that are smaller than my university dorm room was. However, the rooms don't seem that small because everyone moves in and around each others rooms and the shared compound. The toilets are communally shared as is the washroom.

Doreen decided to go to Kericho Saturday afternoon. On the way, Doreen introduced me to sim-sim. These are sesame seed balls held together by pure melted sugar and boy do they taste good! The little girl in the picture below was sitting in front of us in the matatu and is enjoying one of these balls.

The visit in Kericho was short but beautiful. Kericho is known for its tea farms and beautiful views.
Here is just one of the things we saw on our way back to Nairobi.

We took a bus back to Limuru and then transferred to a matatu that brought us to Kijabe.


View from our seats out the front of the bus.

What a Journey!

Praises:

Made it to Kisumu, Kakamega, Kericho, and back safely.
I have excellent new neighbors.

Requests:

Getting over a cold. Please pray it disappears.
I lost my phone while transferring vehicles last weekend. Please pray that I can get my contacts back.
I have been struggling to get a good nights rest. Please pray that my sleep would be restful
Work is getting stressful. Pray for patience, follow-through, and efficiency.
There have been a rash of break-ins recently. Please pray for safety, that the intruder is caught and justice is served.
Pray for patience and unity in the Orthopedic department at CURE where I am stationed.

A year in Review

2012-09-25T13:51:00.002+03:00

Well, I have been in Kenya an entire year now.

Here is a summary of what I have learned:

Invest in the lives of those around you, but be careful about creating dependence.
Don't trust anyone unless they've earned it.
Stick to the rules you've made for yourself and others, bending them can lead to trouble.
Don't be afraid to make tough decisions, even when it hurts.
Guard you heart, your husband can have it on your wedding day but not until.
God works all things together for good, even when I can't see the good yet.
The darker the situation, the more you can feel God's support.
Spiders in the house is not the end of the world. In fact, they can be an advantage by keeping away ants.
Water is something you should never take for granted.
Get to know your neighbors.
Sometimes God works in the most unexpected ways.
KENYAN TIME moves SLOWER than AMERICAN TIME. Relationships control outcome, not TIME (ie. the clock)
Cats are a multipurpose household occupant. They keep rodents away, eat moths/big bugs, serve as a bed warmer on cold nights, companion when you are lonely, and alarm clock to tell you to go to bed! Plus, if they are trained to relieve themselves outside, they bury their poop so you aren't walking through it.
God PROVIDES!
I have incredible parents.
Christmas can be celebrated in June!
Organization only works if there is commitment. (I was gone 3 weeks and when I returned, everything was the way it was when I arrived in Sept. 2011)

I will update my prayer requests soon!

Loiyangalani (Part 2)

2012-09-25T13:31:00.000+03:00

After my camera broke at Lake Turkana, Benjamin took a few more pictures of the lake.

Fishing boats

Me in a fishing boat

Seagulls must be an international bird because they were all around the shoreline and fishery.

Pictures from Loiyangalani (Part 1)

2012-09-04T16:34:00.000+03:00

I am now back in Kijabe, land of the green and cold.

Sorry I did not update more while i was up north. The internet is VERY slow up there so I did not have much access to it.

Therefore, I am going to update you using pictures.

Trip from Marallel to Loiyangalani:

Benjamin finally found someone traveling up to Loiyangalani (pictured below).

Transportation North

Waiting to board

My luggage

Benjamin helped load supplies into the Lorry (truck) and then loaded our luggage.

Benjamin (in hat)

Benjamin (standing on my seat) looking out from the "cabin" where the passengers sit.

Once we were on our way, we saw many different animals along the road. Each tribe herds a different type of livestock based on where they are traditionally from in Kenya.

CAMELS. These are the Rendille choice of livestock

Shortly after leaving Marallel, the road was no longer paved. Below is a picture of a good part of the road.

The "good" road up to Loiyangalani.

18 hours later, we reached Loiyangalani at around 5:30 am. We were EXHAUSTED! However, the most memorable part of this leg was not the bumpy, dirt road or the long hours. The most memorable event was watching my first moon rise. I know this may sound like no big deal to some of you, but to me it was incredible. First, because I didn't even know the moon rose like the sun and second, because it was so bright compared to the dark sky.

Anyway, as I mentioned before, we finally reached our destination. Benjamin helped me load a piki (motorbike) with my luggage and off I went to The Master's Mission compound.


The chapel/sunday school room (left) and the church building (right)

I arrived at the compound just in time for breakfast, so after I ate, I joined the missionaries for morning devotions in the chapel. Afterwards, I went to the house I was staying in to unpack and promptly fell asleep.

Loiyangalani is hot. Sometimes the NIGHTS are in the upper 80s. However, when there is wind the climate doesn't seem as warm. That being said, everyone (Kenyans and Missionaries) rests/stays inside between around 1 pm and 3 pm.

Missionary Activities:

The first full week I was there, we helped the missionaries run a VBS for 4th through 8th graders. Benjamin and I were in charge of the 8th grade. We had 3-4 students (one of which was an MK).
Every afternoon (at 4pm) that week, the several young ladies (including me) got together in the church kitchen to make mandazi for the next day's VBS snack. (I am not in these pictures because I couldn't kneed and cut dough and take pictures at the same time.)

Mixing the dough

Rolling and cutting

Frying

Finished Product

In addition to running a VBS during the August school break, the TMM missionary ladies teach literacy for an hour on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Samburu woman and Callie

Scenery:

You have heard that there is gold at the end of a rainbow. Well, in this case, it was spiritual gold!

Chapel/Sunday School room at the end of the rainbow

Land in Loiyangalani is brown and dry except where there is water. (notice the contrast between the foreground and background)

In the late afternoons, Benjamin took me to see some of the places where he grew up.
Below are pictures of Loiyangalani Primary School.

Toilets

The sunsets are BEAUTIFUL!

The Loiyangalani Airstrip:
Benjamin and "Bunyan" were very proud of The Master's Mission (TMM) work on the tie-down pad). It was built a few years ago and still looks almost brand new. The other tie-down area (not shown) was built by someone else 6 months ago and it already looks like its been heavily used for 20 years.
Lesson learned: TMM Missionaries only produce quality work!

Runway

Tie-down pad (Built by The Master's Mission)

Detail of tie-down loop

"Terminal" (aka. waiting area)

Did I mention that the sunsets are GORGEOUS!?

SWIMMING:
During my second weekend up north, Benjamin took me swimming!
The water in Loiyangalani comes from hot springs. Therefore, the water coming from the source is HOT!

Water entering pool from source

The pool

Boy! Did I have fun!

Benjamin and me

Lake Turkana:

The following Monday, Benjamin took me to see Lake Turkana (about a mile away). We saw the fishery where the locals dry out the fish they catch so they can sell them to make money. Then, we went down to the waters edge. We did not swim in it because of crocodiles, but we did stick our feet in. The water is slightly salty, but in a pinch you can drink it and survive.

The fishery

View of the lake from the edge (Porr is the mountain in the distance)

THEN, MY CAMERA BROKE!

(To Be Continued)

Clarifications...

2012-08-11T08:39:00.002+03:00

It has come to my attention that some of the things I said it my previous few blogs could be taken the wrong way.

First, on the way up to Loiyangalani, I said that we stayed at a mission station while we waited for transportation to Loiyangalani. When I refer to a mission station, I am talking about a compound that houses at least one family of Missionaries, a church, and Bible training center, etc. Benjamin statyed at the training center (about half a mile from the missionary house) and I stayed with the missionaries. The Missionaries are from AIM (African Inland Mission).

Second, I did not explain why I am going all the way to northern Kenya with a man only previously mentioned in this blog. I am in Loiyangalani for vacation. Benjamin grew up in Loiyangalani and his spiritual parents were Master's Mission Missionaries. Every year he returns to Loiyangalani to see his "family" and help out on the compound. Benjamin is a good friend of mine and he invited me to join him on this trip. I had met his "brother" and wife (P.A. and Callie) in Nairobi a few months ago and they had also invited me to come visit sometime. So I accepted Benjamin's invitation. I also wanted to meet Benjamin's family.

Master's Mission was started by P.A.'s grandfather many years ago. It started as a training program in the mountains of NC to train missionaries how to live anywhere in the world. Rural or City. You can read more about it here. They have since commissioned many missionaries to many places around the world.

The missionaries up here work hard all day. Their day starts at 7am with breakfast. Compound devotions start at 7:30 am. At 8, everyone disperses to do their various jobs. P.A. is currently digging to find the source of a thermal water source so he can cap it and provide safe, clean water to a new children's home going up on the compound. Callie spends the morning washing and doing dishes. Another missionary woman stays busy teaching her 8th grade daughter school lessons. At 1pm everyone stops for lunch. This is the biggest meal of the day. almost everyone stays indoors between 1 and 3 pm because of the heat. At 3pm, work starts again, more dishes to do and twice a week a literacy class to teach. The men return outdoors to work until sundown. Everyone retires for bed by 8 or 9pm, so they can be ready for the next day. The extreme heat really takes it out of you.

Benjamin is staying with his foster family in town (long story) and I am staying in a missionary house.

The internet is slow here so I cannot post pictures right now, but I promise I will when I can.

God Bless!

Safe in Loiyangalani!

2012-08-09T11:48:00.001+03:00

Well, it was a LONG trip but Benjamin and I are finally in Loiyangalani.The last leg of the trip left late Wednesday morning and arrived at around 5 am Thursday. This was definitely an experience! We rode in the back of a large truck carrying goods up here.

I am learning how hard it is to bring produce up here. Half our bananas didn't make it and we lost some tomatoes and a carton of milk as well.

I will write more later!