Soccer, Balloon Animals, Mud Hut Helpers

A busy afternoon on Monday--the team went back to the hospital for more shadowing and then met back up for tea at 4:00 for a presentation with Angela on Tabitha Ministries, which is coordinating the mud hut building outreach happening Tuesday. 

Walker, Zander, Brooke and Kate got in on a soccer game this afternoon with some local kids and some of the missionary kids and it was so fun to watch! I've tried to link a video below.  If it doesn't load, click here.

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Here is Angela, beginning a presentation on Tabitha Ministries.  One of the leaders of Tabitha couldn't be with us so Angela filled in.

Angela explained how Christianity is considered the main religion in Kenya, but many times it isn't a true faith in terms of being lived out in the lives of those who claim it.  One way this is evident surrounds issues involving women.  Often, wives of pastors wouldn't even have their own Bibles because they were assumed to depend on their husband's knowledge of Scripture. Tabitha was formed as a Bible study network for women of all denominations which has a Scripture memory program so women can earn their own Bibles, which is very exciting for them!  It has grown into a network of over 500 small group Bible studies in Kenya, reaching out to the farthest corners of the regions.  Compassionate outreaches develop through this network and seek to partner with local churches to encourage and help the poor through gifts of seed and fertilizer, cows and housing for the needy.  All of this gave more meaning to the house mudding we were to take part in on Tuesday!

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Melissa announced there would be a balloon animal contest at the Manys' on Friday night after dinner, and the winning team would win a massage at the Fairmont when we go on safari.  Game on.  Wifi was not on our side for tutorials but Melissa taught us all to make dogs and then we just used our imaginations and got creative while practicing.  We eventually had to call it quits because after the 11th balloon popping in our ears and simultaneously all screaming in alarm, we all needed to decompress and get some alone time.

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There are no photos, but it should also be mentioned that our team greatly ministered to the mother of the triplet babies by going to the hospital and helping her do feedings every three hours last night. The team went by twos, even reporting in for the 3am feedings.  They shared today they could tell it meant so much to her to see them continue to show up to help and every time they go, she gets more friendly and open!

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The big event of today was our journey to help with the house-mudding of a Tabitha Ministries home for a lady named Alice.  We drove over an hour from Tenwek, a good thirty minutes on one of the bumpiest roads we'd ever driven on.  Everyone was glad to get out of the vans when we arrived.  

Alice's mud house was being built on a family compound which already had some other mud buildings in place, presumably where others in her extended family lived.  Alice is a widow and had been sleeping in a shed-like structure while she saved enough money to purchase a cow, which she now has.  Tabitha Ministries helped her get the cow and has now helped her with her own mud house.  When we arrived, they asked us to sit and served us chai tea and a tortilla-ish snack called, "chapati."  Several leaders from Tabitha served us--Betty, Beatrice, Jess and Jen.  The giant metal teapot with the piping hot chai was a beautiful sight and the tea was so sweet and comforting.  It is basically a black tea with generous helpings of milk and sugar.  And very appropriate as we passed huge, vibrant green, leafy tea fields on the way to the house-mudding.  Kenya is the largest exporter of tea in the world, in case you weren't aware (I wasn't)!  

Men from the church had already built the frame of the house which consisted of regularly placed posts set in the ground, tree limbs nailed in place as a frame that went around the perimeter and a good quality metal roof which will protect the mud.  There are three layers to a house mudding and we were there for the first layer.  Similar to an old chink-style log cabin, the mud went in between the stick framing and was then shaped and patted into place.  The mud came from the dirt which was dug out to make room for a resting place for the house. 

Our team was awesome.  They worked so well and with joy!  The longer they worked, the more the "crowd" grew who were watching.  As they gathered, we tried to communicate with smiles, gesturing and a little translation from Beatrice (with Tabitha).  They were so interested in us and the children especially drew us in with their big, beautiful eyes and--once they conquered their shyness--their smiles.  

These people live to survive, one day at a time.  Their lives consist of little more than food, survival, family and faith.  Their entire days are spent working their land, growing their food, using products from what little livestock they may be blessed enough to own, hauling water--sometimes for miles, chopping wood to cook for fires to cook food.  In many ways, it reminded us of what early pioneer days in the US would've looked like.  Especially in terms of options for women and what little power they have, it's also reminiscent of Bible days.  Coming from America and all its modernity, it's really unbelievable to witness.

After our part of the house-mudding was complete, Melissa brought out bubbles, which the children LOVED.  Their smiles and squeals of sheer delight were just awesome.  Then the ladies served us a hot lunch of rice with tasty broth, boiled potatoes and a small amount of meat.  Even for people who have so little, they so desire to share what they have.  

Beatrice led a dedication ceremony for the house and Alice spoke about how thankful she was to us for coming and helping her.  Angela and Melissa also spoke as Beatrice translated and Lesli closed with a prayer.  Melissa brought lollipops to hand out to all the children and they basically went crazy for them.  Angela later said sometimes the only English phrase those children know is "Give me sweet!"  They were thrilled with their sucker.      

If any of you aren't yet linked to the Kenya Google photos album, there are so many more photos there.  Click here to join that album.  I know this has been a lengthy post!  Below, to close, are some photos from the house mudding today. Thank you for continuing to pray for us--for our health, that we would walk by faith and not by sight, that Jesus would shine through us onto others and our eyes would be open to what God wants us to know and learn while here.  

  

Day 1 at the Hospital

Good morning from Tenwek!  Lesli Douglass here, Truman's mom/Dean's wife, and I am going to be helping Melissa with the blog.  

Last night, the team had dinner at the Manys' home.  Angela pulled out all the stops--two kinds of chili, fresh avocado and all the toppings, Kenyan sodas and chocolate sheet cake with whipped cream for dessert!  We went around and had a get-to-know-you session, mainly for the benefit of Heath and Angela who weren't familiar with everyone on the team--but it proved very entertaining with everyone sharing something "true, but unbelievable" about themselves!  Lots of great stories were told and connections made.  Also loved meeting the Manys' pets which include two dogs and four tortoises! 

Today is the first morning that the team set out to shadow physicians up at the hospital.  It is also the first day on the job for both Dean and Josh.  If you haven't met them, Dean Douglass is a physical therapist and Josh Campbell is an oral surgeon, both CAK dads who came along on the trip to assist Tenwek staff and use their gifts and skills with patients at the hospital.  They will be getting settled in each of their areas today while the students get the opportunity to be in the hospital.  As I write, I'm anxiously awaiting the stories they will all have when they return this afternoon!  

Because more of my free time is during the day, I will be adjusting the timing of writing on the blog so that I am writing during the day, rather than at night.  This means you will almost always have a blog entry to read when you wake in the morning (pending good wifi)! Below are a few photos!

The Greenhouse is a retreat-style area where most of the team are staying while at Tenwek.  The large, round building is a meeting area, beyond that is a dining hall and toward the end of the path are cabin-style bunk rooms.  

Tenwek campus, leaving hospital to walk back to the Greenhouse.

There are several boarding schools in and around Tenwek village.  These students kept looking at us and waving and laughing.  I asked them if I could take their picture and they couldn't strike poses fast enough.  Aren't they beautiful?

One of the Manys' four tortoises.  Not shy and moved around pretty quickly!

Caroline, Mary Taylor Many, Mamie Douglass, Truman and Zander going through the line for dinner!

In scrubs and ready to start the day!

Quotes from everyone at lunch about the day so far:

Caroline:
I got to observe a laparoscopic appendectomy.  It was cool.  I liked how the Manys explained everything to us.  I didn't love the smell.

Brooke:
Same as Caroline because we observed together.  I really liked walking around and just being able to observe all the surgeries taking place.  It was cool.

McKinley:
I loved being hands-on with the babies!  There was a set of triplets and quadruplets.  Probably 30 babies total in the maternity ward.  I got to feed one of the triplets!  It was really hot in there.  They keep it hot for the babies.  I was sweating.

Melissa:
I loved watching how exited the students were, they just jumped right in!  I loved talking to one of the visiting doctors who happens to be from Indianapolis, which is where I am from.  He's been coming here for 28 years.

Zander:
Very interesting seeing the actual insides of people, very cool.  Dr. Many was great to explain everything.  I didn't like that the guy kept waking up during the surgery.

Kate:
Loved how exposed everything is--you can just see everything happening as you're walking around the hospital.  A little shocked seeing all the bare-breasted women in the maternity ward. They were using their hands to pump their own milk.  Didn't know you could do that.

Truman:
It was cool.  Skin graph machine makes a scary noise.  And when it hits the skin it's like, "Eeeghhhhughghhh" (rough translation).  When they finished the surgery and the guy was just lying there naked on the table, it wasn't even weird.

Dean:
There were probably 50 patients lined up outside the clinic when I got there today.  The need is so great.  I treated a shoulder, neck and back.  Solomon is the main PT and he is basically an orthopedic surgeon without doing surgeries.  He's been here for 20 years.  There are 2-3 other therapists there who basically just do what Solomon tells them to do.

(No quote from Josh because we didn't see him at lunch)

That's all for now!  Everyone headed back out for afternoon rounds and the team is meeting with Angela during tea this afternoon to hear more about the ministry which coordinates the mud hut outreach.  They've scheduled us to help with the first layer of a mud hut tomorrow (Tuesday)!  Will write more after we get back from that...

  

Karibu Kenya! (Welcome to Kenya)

Our journey began EARLY on Friday, June 14 at 4 am in Knoxville! From there, it was 33 hours of travel to Tenwek Hospital here in Bomet, Kenya. Our flights went well with no delays and all of our luggage arrived! Our drivers, Timothy and Charles, were waiting for us and all of our bags--24 between the 13 of us! It was an interesting game of Tetris as we crammed all of us and our bags into two vans. 

Upon our arrival at the airport, we met Drew Brees (quarterback for the Saints) who was going on safari with his family. Kate bravely asked if we could get a picture!

We met the Many family at a mall in Nairobi where we shared a meal and enjoyed the delicious Kenyan Fanta--which is WAY better than any Fanta in the US! Our server was very pleased that we enjoyed it so much and that we thought it was better than the US. He said he would tell his friends that Kenya had better soda!

While on the long and winding road to Tenwek, we stopped in Narok for some amazing milkshakes--mocha, chocolate, and vanilla! It was a welcome rest stop after the bumpy roads. Our drivers stopped at a beautiful overlook on the way, where we looked out over the Great Rift Valley. 

Once we got to Tenwek at about 8 pm local time, we were all ready for showers and a real bed! Some of the girls experienced an ice cold shower before we figured out how to turn on the hot water. We all collapsed into our bed and slept like rocks!

This morning started with a hearty breakfast of french toast with honey and yummy chai (Kenyan tea). We walked up the hill to church where they were celebrating Father's Day! They really did a great job celebrating fathers, including several poems read by church members. At one point in the service, they had all the fathers come to the front and sing a hymn for the church! Dean, Josh, and Heath (Dr. Many) did a great job. After the service, our team helped pass out cake. 

The Manys took us on a tour of the hospital, explaining certain wards and parts of the buildings where the team will start shadowing tomorrow. 

View from our front porch!

After lunch, we spent some time resting or exploring our new neighborhood! Zander brought a drone and got some incredible shots of the river and waterfall, which actually is used to power the hospital through a hydroelectric dam.

Tomorrow starts our first day in the hospital! The students will suit up in scrubs and surgical caps and shadow doctors on rounds and during procedures. They will get to follow several different doctors and choose from fields of medicine that interest them. 

Keep our team and the missionary doctors and health care providers in your prayers! Goodnight from Kenya!