James 1:27 in action!

Saturday 8/15 was like James 1:27 in action! We had a big feeding for the orphans (we didn’t do the cooking) in Musana – sudsa, beans and veggies (I don’t know what they are called in Zim…they are called skuma in Kenya).

The widows group also came and most of us hung around with them. Some of the ladies pulled out the cross necklaces left over from VBS and that was a huge hit! It was cute to see all of them with their colorful crosses around their necks! They were such awesome women, full of life! I love the way African women greet each other….they give each other a kind of handslap that actually stings a little for those of us with non-callused hands, and throw each other around a bit. They greet me the same way sometimes and I am literally lifted off the ground…which they think is really funny! They laugh and talk about me which I can’t understand of course!
At the end of the day we handed out undies and candy to the orphans and seeds to the women.


Sunday started off going to Musana for church service. It was a typical crazy and amazing African service. We all loved it and were sad to go when we had to rush out to the next place. We sang a coupld of songs for them – one in English and one in Shona. They loved it! It really felt like we were pary of their community! We did hear sad news that after we left, a fight broke out over something someone gave as a gift. It was a good lesson that “stuff” isn’t always the answer and that they are still human. We like to see their resilient faith despite hard circumstances, but when it comes down to it, we all struggle with some of the same issues. It was sobering to hear that news as we headed out of the country…but last we heard the situation was talked over and resolved. Hopefully it doesn’t hurt any ministry there in the long run!
Before we left, Emmanuel and Betty told us the story of how ministry in Musana started. Bettys parents lived in the area and it had previously been known as a dark and dangerous place. One night, Bettys parents were robbed and beaten….her Mother lived but her Father died a few days later from his injuries. They did find the men responsible but also decided that they wanted to bring light to this dark region. In the time they have been doing ministry there, there has been a radical change! What a great picture of forgiveness and restoration! It was a great story to soften the news of the fight….God can restore any situation!

Leia Mais…

VBS in Zimbabwe

Tuesday 8/11 we left at 8am to Musana for what we thought would be our first day of VBS and construction. When we got there we were told that the kids would not be coming until Wednesday! Interesting start since Monday had already been a national holiday so we weren’t able to do anything. There were a few kids around and some women. The men were able to get a “plan” together for the construction project and the VBS crew could scope out where we were to hold VBS.
We took a walk with some of the women and they showed us around “town”…which was a couple of shops, a grinding mill and a well. It was a fun tour around and some good time to get to know some of the women of the church.


Wednesday, finally, was our first day of VBS! We arrived about 9:30 and the kids trickled in between 10 and 11. At 10:30 we had 60 and by the end we had 99…best we could count anyways! I told the bible story, Creation by drawing pictures with the children drawing with me (I call this the Marilou method!). It went pretty well for my first try! It was a good first VBS day! That afternoon we spend some time with the women’s fellowship, who were having their weekly meeting. They were dancing, singing and praying…it was great and very African! I love it! They asked us to bless a new baby so we prayed for him – he hadn’t even been named yet! After lunch, we joined the guys “helping” with the building. We moved & cut some rebar, hauled bricks and just handed some things into the trenches when needed. We were all so sweaty and dirty by the time we were done! It was fun!

Thursday was day #2 for VBS. The story was Jonah/obedience and Mark 12:31. More kids and another success! After VBS we visited the school with some teachers and the headmaster while the kids were fed sudsa. The only manual labor I did this day was to mark the rebar with a white crayon….but it was very important I’m sure!

Friday was our last day of VBS and there was also a clinic being held for the day. My story was the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus and I also did the closing ceremony since Kathy was already in the clinic….that was pretty fun and I got some good video!
After VBS, I went to the clinic for the rest of the day. It was so much fun! We didn’t have too many drugs to work with but made due. Some many people could have used antibiotics so it was a little frustrating that we didn’t have any! We saw 223 patients total! Phew…what a day! We had no idea we would be doing a clinic but it turned out to be a great experience!

Leia Mais…

Arrived in Zimbabwe!

We arrived safely in Zimbabwe! I have a 7 hour layover in Johannesberg and the rest of the team arrived just as we were boarding!
Monday and Tuesday are holidays in Zimbabwe so we can't start VBS until Wednesday, which was a bummer! Today we went out to Musana where we will do VBS and got organized and met the paster and all his helpers. I LOVED Musana! It reminds me of Eburru and the pastor there has similar visions! VBS should be fun!
And I found out this morning that I get to help with a mobile clinic on Fri/Sat and do some teaching on clean water and hygeine! It's going to go by fast and be so much fun!

We are staying at a really nice house in Harare. Our hotel fell through and it's where we landed...but we are definately not complaining!

The team blog is also http://www.lscczimbabwe.blogspot.com

Leia Mais…

Home sweet Kibera!

Thursday 8/6, we headed back to Nairobi. I was a little sad to leave Kijabe since I was having such a great time at the hospital, but still so excited to see some friends. As we got closer to town, I got more and more excited! Funny enough, the orphanage I am staying at is sponsored by AIM and resides in the house I used to live in! So literally…it felt like home! We pulled onto Karanja road and the sights and smells were so familiar! I just love it here!

The housekeeper of our landlord (the Mzee) was right at the door when I got there so I sat with her for a while and then hopped on a matatu and made my way to Nakumat (the grocery store). …had some dinner and picked up a few things for my next journey. I found my way home – the familiarity of riding around in a matatu was awesome! Always an adventure! It quickly felt 100% normal!
So, I’m just here for the day and heading out to Zimbabwe in the morning…..it’s a packed day full of visits and some good quality time at the internet cafe!

Zimbabwe won’t likely have much internet service so I probably won’t be able to do any updating again until we are back in South Africa….August 17th.

So, I’m off to a great day in Nairobi! I am so blessed to be here and loving every second!

Leia Mais…

Kijabe Hospital

We arrived back to Kijabe on Wednesday night and the next couple of days were pretty relaxed. Mary had wanted me to start working at the hospital on Thursday but the right person wasn’t in so we had to wait. I was sick on Friday which left me home over the weekend instead of going back to Eburru. I left Eburru thinking I was going one more time so I didn’t get the chance to see a few people. I was also supposed to speak at church on Sunday….so it was a bummer I couldn’t go. I ended up spending some good time with a couple of friends and went to church with them.

Monday, I finally started working at the hospital…..and I so wish I could have started sooner! It was one of the best experiences of my life!
I started off in the “nursery” which is the neonatal unit. The nurses and nursing students were so great! They showed me everything and let me do anything I was comfortable doing. There were about 20 babies with various conditions. Premature, post-surgery, serious infections, jaundice, hydrocephalis etc. They were so tiny and fragile! About an hour after I arrived, a physician brought in a baby that was no more than a skeleton. He couldn’t breath on his own…he was severely malnourished, weighing less than 3lbs with a huge head from the hydrocephalis. He was a twin and the other was chubby and healthy. Apparently he was severely small at birth and has continued to have problems. Over the next two days, he improved some…managed to breath on his own and had gained a very small amount of weight. I loved the nursery and spent a lot of time there over the three days I was in the hospital.
That afternoon, I went over to the delivery unit. They were all standing around with little to do when suddenly several patients were brought in. We were transferring one very sick post-uterine rupture woman to a bed when another woman was brought in behind us. When we ran into to delivery room where she was, the delivery was already in full gear! It was breech so when she got on the table, there were little feet visable…..it was a very quick delivery! The afternoon continued on in similar fashion with one crisis after another! They were having me jump in as if I had been there for years…it was great!

Tuesday, I started in the ICU and the pace was a bit different. Oddly enough, the patient I was caring for in the ICU had been a patient in delivery the afternoon prior! I ended up spending a lot of time with her and her newborn son who was in the nursery. I was in delivery again that afternoon with several more deliveries! The nursery was just down the hall, so I could pop in there to help out and visit my new little friends.


Wednesday 8/5, I started in the “theater” which is the OR. I watched several surgeries, and changed a wound dressing on a 9 year old burn victim. After lunch I just happened to be walking by the delivery unit and a new patient walked in….twins!! The first baby, a boy, was delivered fine but the second wasn’t so easy and wasn’t presented well…..so they sent her to the theater for a c-section. I went with her and watched the procedure. It was amazing! They asked Mary if I wanted to scrub in (meaning to assist the surgery) but she told them she hadn’t asked me….I think she didn’t want to put me on the spot. Shoot! That would have been so cool! Baby #2 was a perfect little girl! What a way to end my rotations at the Kijabe hospital!

All in all it was an incredible experience! I was able to do things that nursing students in the US would NEVER be able to do! They were so patient with me and gave me a lot of opportunity to learn. I made several new friends and know that I would be welcome back anytime! 3 days was just not enough!

Leia Mais…

Eburru!

Friday 7/26 we left for Eburru….we were supposed to leave at 9 but didn’t leave until 12:30! I was a long morning of waiting…and then more waiting in Naivasha to run some errands before heading up the mountain! It was so great to finally arrive in Eburru! The clinic is huge and they are using the 2nd floor as a preschool. Next door is a maternity unit and a couple of other buildings that house a couple of people and likely have another future use. All the huts are cemented along with the walkway in between….there are even flowers planted! To my dismay, the squatties remained the same. Bummer!
Steve took me to the Morgan property which is on 10 acres…very cool! The old house is beautiful but needs a lot of work. The property is fenced and sectioned off for the orphanage. They want to refinish the house into a lodge that will support the orphanage. The house is an old british colonial house build in the 1930’s. It is a beautiful house that is just run down after not being lived in since the 70’s. They have great things planned for Eburru!
A team arrived from Kijabe who all work at the hospital with Mary and will be doing some outreaches in Eburru. I was so tired that night and they typically don’t start dinner until 7 or so…and it’s a 3 or 4 hour job peeling and chopping so I was literally falling asleep while peeling potatoes….and really wasn’t doing a very good job anyways. We finally ate dinner and I could head off to bed….I thought I might die of exhaustion! I’m staying in one of the huts by myself which is a little scary…the worst part being venturing to the squatty during the night!

Saturday 7/27 was a packed day! We had planned to leave for Noabibi at 9am for a medical clinic….but we didn’t leave until 11 (there is a pattern developing here!). It took over an hour to get there…down and around the mountain. It was beautiful! The drive went through a couple of small towns and was like an impromptu safari! We saw giraffe, zebra, eland, gazelle, monkeys, baboons and all kinds of other animals…amazing! There are not too many other places where you see that while driving down the road!
We arrived at the AIC church in Noabibi and found a group of people already waiting for the clinic. We set up in the mud hut church with a waiting area, an area for vitals, for the exam and the “pharmacy”. The people can and had their vitals takes by Milli, Mary examined them and discussed their complaints, wrote a prescription and sent them to me at the pharmacy. It was the best place for me since I don’t speak Swahili but it was still a bit frustrating since some of the drugs have different names than in the states and their medical terminology was different – not to mention their horrible hand writing! I spent a lot of time organizing and familiarizing myself with the drugs. I had to ask a lot of questions but made it through the day! It was fun by exhausting…we saw 32 patients!
We headed back in a crowded car and as soon as we pulled up to the clinic, someone came running to the care with supplies for Mary to go to a delivery. She grabbed me and we went running (literally) up to the house in town. By the time we arrived, we had missed the delivery by about 45 seconds…so there on a chair was a tiny newborn African baby! I don’t think I have ever seen a baby that new in real life. Mary took care of the mother and Milli took care of the baby. I think Mary had intended for me to do what Milli was doing but since she has been a nurse for a while she just dove right in…which was okay. It was a good chance for me to observe…though I felt a little useless. According to Mary, they have several births a week so hopefully I’ll get the chance to help!

Sunday we went to church and it was amazing! They have a building now! It was corrugated metal with a dirt floor and wooden benches. It is so amazing what God has done there in the last 5 years! When I walked in they were singing and dancing…I got some video but it doesn’t do it justice. It was a typical 4 hour service…all in Swahili except for my own small talk. There were many special numbers and different testimonies. I was completely covered in little ones who all wanted to be touching me – and they were filthy so I was as well by the time we left.
After service, I found some friends from over the years and was able to visit for a bit. Pretty much every time I was introduced to someone new, someone would add “she brought her parents with her once!”….I thought that was hilarious! I guess I’m extra rememberable because of that?

Monday I started helping Mary in the clinic and was an interesting experience. For the most part, I just watched how things worked, read over “charts” and occasionally filled some prescriptions. Throughout the day we saw about 15 patients of all ages…it’s a busy place! We had some funny house visits with various patients and the clinic is pretty much open all the time. Mary’s cell phone is on the clinic contact list so they call her and she runs down there.
Tuesday 7/28 was a crazy day! At 41am, I thought I heard hooting (Kenyan term for honking) and the guard yelling but thought it was a dream and went back to sleep. I got up at 7 and was getting dressed when there was a pounding on my door with someone saying I was being called. So I walked down to the clinic and walked in on another delivery! Thank Goodness Mary was around that day! I walked in about 2 minutes before the baby was delivered and once he was, we couldn’t get him to breath. We rushed him to the other room so we could try and use an ambu bag to breath for him. He had a strong heart beat so we could continue for some time. The grandmother and Aunts came in, saw what was happening and were on the ground praying and crying in Swahili. I just prayed outloud for that baby as Mary kept pumping air into his body. After about 10 minutes he finally breathed on his own! The ladies ran around finding blankets and a jiko (charcoal cooker) to warm him up. It was pretty chaotic for a while! Mary went back to the mother and left me to care for the little guy. He had great reflexes and was opening his eyes so seemed he would be okay. He was so sweet and I held him for a couple of hours while we gave him some meds and fed him some glucose. Mary brought the mother out (she’s only 15!)…she was still in shock from the whole experience. The rest of the day we just watched over them while we saw other patients …about 20 in all! It was a long but fun day!

In Experiencig God, which was one of the books we used when discipling the student teams, the majority of the premise is “find where God is at work and join him.” That seems to be exactly what is happening in Eburru – so it’s most definitely a privilege to be a part!

Leia Mais…

Finally in Kenya!

I made it to Kijabe safely! My flight was just perfect & Pastor Steve and Mary met me at the airport. It took two hours to get to Kijabe and in typical Kenyan fashion, we picked up someone along the way and were stopped at two check points. I think it helped that the officers saw my face in the window… so no trouble or bribes thank goodness.

Today I have realized that I forgot a sweatshirt (or anything warm really), shoes (other than my flip flops), my water bottle and my Swahili phrasebook!

It is very dry here – I have sat on this spot of grass before overlooking the rift valley and it has been soft and green. It’s pretty dry and hard right now…but still beautiful!

I can see 3 IDP (internal displacement) camps from here….which are sprawlings of white tents. It’s been 18 months since the political clashes and people are still telling tales of where they were, what happened to them and their loves ones and especially how God protected them. I’m told there isn’t any more fighting but there is still a lot of displaces people. They have nothing but what they carried and their white tent which was provided by the government along with 10,000 shillings. Some people bought land together but are still having trouble starting life beyond that.

Kijabe is home to the Rift Valley Academy, a boarding school for missionary kids from around the world and Kijabe hospital which is partially staffed by missionary health care workers. It’s a beautiful, peaceful, safe place that overlooks the rift valley…I can even drink the water!

Eburru is up in the mountains above a city named Naivasha (where I currently am sending this). We are headed there now and returning to Kijabe on Wednesday. Mary was telling me on the way home about all the things happening in Eburru. The clinic is running fully with Mary’s brother working Mon-Thurs and Mary Fri – Mon. They have Lucy, who is their lab technician and a teacher for the day care that recently opened. There are 26 children in the day care (which has a full school program now) and plan to open an orphanage in January. Last fall, they were given an old plantation house with 10 acres for that purpose. It was nothing short of a miracle! They have fenced it and are now looking to renovate the building so it’s suitable for the orphans. Mary wants to buy a plot of land to grow food that will both feed the orphans and allow them to work. She also has a vision for chickens, cows and goats. With those they can feed the orphans and sell the eggs and milk for other needs. She wants their ministry in Eburru to be self sustaining so they are not fully dependant on groups. Instead of paying school fees for all the orphans, they will pay for a teacher to teach up to grade 8. Mary hopes the children will be able to learn a trade, to know the Lord as well as basic life skills…so they can make it on their own, contribute to society and serve the Lord once they leave the orphanage. It’s amazing what the Lord has done in 5 years since ministry started in Eburru. I love that I have been a part since the beginning! Pastor Steve just stumbled across it one day and they have now dedicated most of their resources to ministry there. They have an amazing vision for Eburru ! I’m excited to see all the changes that have occurred over the last 3 years!

I am so thankful to be here! It’s only the first day of a great journey! I hope to learn and grow in the Lord, serve God and develop a heart of compassion for God’s people.

I walked out of the airport to the familiar smell of Africa. It’s hard to describe…some combination of dirt, sweat, grass….who knows, but I have grown to love this unique smell. Just life Africa itself, it lodges itself in your heart. As I sit here, there are sheep, monkeys, birds and goats making all kinds of noise, my feet are filthy, my hair is fuzzy, my neck is sunburned and I’m already blowing dirt out of my nose. I have officially arrived in Africa and LOVE it!

Joyfully in Kenya,
Amy Jo

Leia Mais…