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.