Waiting on the Lord

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!!!!!!