An Anchor in the storm

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

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

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....

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.....