Don't Forget

I don't want to forget.  Surely, I won't forget Kenya. I don't want to forget the people we met or the things we saw.  To forget the joy of the mothers when their babies were returned to them with "fixed" lips would be tragic. Those doctors performed miracles straight from God's hands - Amazing stuff and abounding joy - That kind of joy does not happen every day.  Or does it?  Can it?

You know how when God is trying to teach you something you will hear the same message everywhere you turn?  Well, before I left for Kenya I knew God was telling me and training me to wait and watch for him, to not plan so much of my life, to make room for him in Kenya. He has taught me a few more lessons. While going through the first couple of days there, following three extremely tiring days of travel, Michael decided that the theme for our trip was "God knows what He is doing."  So that became our saying. "God knows what He is doing" was said every time we were caught by surprise by the tragedy of someone's life there or when things didn't go as planned which was a daily occurrence.  Saying that truth forced us to watch for what he was doing or to even expect it.  How would that change all of our lives if we started to watch and anticipate his presence in our lives and in the lives of those around us?

Another message I think God is trying to teach me is that "STUFF" doesn't matter.  This has been a life long lesson for me.  Living in the U.S., I knew before even leaving for Kenya that I'd be shocked by how little the Kenyan people have in comparison.  But the flip side of that is what surprised me most.  I've got a lot of stuff!  And at times I worship that stuff.  Wow, I really hate to admit that, but it is true.  I even have a pile of stuff I bought in Kenya still sitting in the  middle of my floor and I already love it all.  So what's my take home?  Why is God showing me this?  Does he just want me to feel bad?  I think he wants me to ask myself, "Carole, what do you value?"

Wrapping all this up in my head and shaking it around a bit brought me to a conclusion. God wants to "devastate me" with his presence, with who he is.  He wants that to be what "butters my bread" so to speak. He wants that to be the salt in my life.  I'm hungry - can you tell?  We had the chance to go on safari while in Kenya.  The animals were amazing, but what constantly captured my attention was scenery - the views across the plain were truly breathtaking.  My eyes welled with tears as we drove out the final day.  How cool is it that God made his creation so beautiful, so pleasing to our eyes?  He didn't have to do that.  I thought how blessed I am to have seen this. 

Could that be what life is all about?  Could it be that every person we meet, every place we go is really all about knowing Him better?  I met people in Kenya I pray I will never forget.  I saw Jesus in people that live on the other side of the world.  He's big! He is sovereign. He is creator. He alone restores to us the joy of our salvation.  He is all that he says he is!  I pray I don't forget.

As Michael and I looked over our pictures from safari one night.  I commented that God created for us a beautiful place to live.  Michael saw this picture and said, "Wow, God is really workin' it there."

Our Last Day in Kenya

So I'm heading up to the hospital to say goodbye to the last of the patients. I wish you all could be here to experience what I've experienced.  The people of Kenya are as diverse as their tribes.  There are over 40 tribes in Kenya.  Commonly, people will ask "What tribe are you?"  No matter what tribe they hail from, I have found the Kenyans to be a patient, kind, and friendly people. They will wait for several hours after they arrive just to get a bed and this is usually after a long bus ride and/or walk to the hospital.  Often, I would go down into the clinic to see a full waiting room.  Everyone would just sit quietly and wait. Not sure I would see the same in the States. Not sure I would do the same myself.

Today, I look forward the most to seeing three particular ladies and their children. They were blessed to get one of the semi-private rooms with only three beds.  The first of these moms I met was Maurine.  Her daughter, Shangwe, had a lymphatic malformation on the side of her head removed on Tuesday.  Maurine is a teacher and has four children; Shangwe is her youngest.  Several years ago, Maurine was a missionary in Uganda where she taught Bible, sewing, and other such classes to children.  She said there are so many orphans because of the civil unrest there.  She worked with two American missionary who were shot and killed while serving in Uganda.  Maurine's husband is also a teacher and recently got a job outside of the country.  Maurine and the children were to accompany him according to the original agreement, but the company that hired her husband has since backed out of that part of the agreement.  So Maurine is dealing with this major surgery for her daughter alone.  Well, not really alone.  Maurine brought her Bible.

God has blessed Maurine with wonderful roommates.  Deborah is Rachael's mom.  Rachael was in for cleft lip surgery.  I first noticed Deborah as she got up one day in chapel to speak.  She speaks like a preacher and it is obvious that she has studied God's Word.  She spoke of salvation being the work of His blood on the cross, not our workings here on earth.  How often I hear that message out of the pulpit at my church.  How awesome it was to hear it here. 

For the remainder of this week, Maurine, Deborah, and I talked about the Bible, doctrine, issues facing Kenya's churches and ours, and every other topic under heaven.  They are moms just like us who love their children and strive to live a life pleasing to our Lord.  They are aware of the snares facing their country economically and spiritually.  I have to admit they surprised me.  Their knowledge of the truth of God's Word surprised me.  It surprised me how quickly we bonded as mothers and wives.

Now meet Caroline. She is the mother of Elias who had surgery on his palate earlier this week.  She spoke very little English, but she understood plenty of English.  So as we talked of spiritual things, Caroline just listened and nodded her head.  I have a feeling that Caroline learned more than any of us.  Dr. White did Elias' surgery and Caroline quickly sensed his goodness and kindness.  She asked to have a picture of him. 

Remember to pray for these women and all the women we met these weeks.  Their lives are much harder than ours and it burdens me to leave them.  I am comforted that they know Jesus and have fellowship with other believers.  There are many here that don't.  Many Muslims came through the hospital while we were here.  Some were kind to us - some were not.  I pray the God will show mercy on all the women of Kenya.

Shiny Catherine

I'd like you to meet Catherine. She arrived at the children's hospital this week for an infection she has on her elbow.  She is not one of "our patients" -that is she is not an ENT patient.  However, Catherine was born with some disabilities.  Her femur bone in her left leg did not form properly which makes her left leg much shorter than her right.  She also has issues with her eyesight which makes it hard for her to focus. 

You would never know it from this picture, but when Catherine first laid eyes on me, she was less than impressed.  In fact, I could not get even an inkling of a smile out of her on Monday.  She kind of just stared at me.  So after much persistence on Tuesday she began to crack a little smirk at me when I passed.  Then Tuesday afternoon she took me by surprise.  As I passed by her, she grabbed both my hands and started dancing with me.  Thankfully, she speaks good English and we have been able to talk quite a bit since our dance.  The last two days at the hospital have been sweetened with her contagious smile and unlimited hugs. Today at chapel we laughed as we watched her dance and sing to the praise songs. What a blessing to us to see someone with so many difficulties to overcome, embrace life with such force.  She is one of those "shiny people" - people whose smiles make you smile. Notice she is wearing one of the pillowcase dresses made by our homeschool group Classical Conversations. It was made by Donna and Noah, I believe. She wore it all day today and I'm guessing she'll have it on tomorrow, too.

Catherine's mom is in the picture with her.  Although her mom loves her dearly, she needed help dealing with Catherine's disabilities.  So Catherine lives at Joytown which is one of the few schools in Kenya for children with disabilities. To check out more about Joytown go to:  www.bethanykids.org/medical-work/joytown 

The Masai





The Masai tribe of Kenya is one of the few tribes that has held tightly to their heritage and traditions.  In the hospital, the Masai are easy to pick out.  They all shave their heads; men, women, and children alike.  They dress in bright colors, typically red, sometimes orange or pink, and adorn themselves with lots of beaded jewelry.  Sometimes, they will have earlobes which are stretched out with large holes through them.  This past weekend we went to safari in Masai Mara.  Everywhere you looked you could see Masai men or boys herding their cattle, sheep, or goats.  In the Masai culture, the number of cows you have is equivalent to the amount of money you have in the bank.  It is a status symbol.  The goal of a Masai is to raise a good cow.  Often times a man gains more cows through a dowry given to him by his wife's father.  Polygamy is prevalent in the Masai tribe.  The more wives a man has, the more repect he will have in the tribe.  It is extremely different from our ways.  We heard of women leaving the Masai tribe to get an education, which is an unusual occurence, only to return to the Masai man they were promised to and completely reenter the culture. 



This weekend we had the opportunity to visit a Masai village.  The chief's son gave us a tour.  The wives have the responsibility of building the houses which are made from cow dung and sticks. The village is surrounded by a fence made from vertical sticks stuck in the ground.  There is an inner circular fence in the middle of the village where the cows are kept at night for protection from predators.  In the past, the Masai would hunt down any predators -typically lions- that killed one of their cows.  Today, because lions are endangered in many areas, the Masai are no longer allowed to kill lions, but are reimbursed by the government for any cows taken by lions.

Another unusual part of the Masai culture is a jumping ritual in which the Masai men jump as high as they can vertically while singing and chanting.  One of the highlights of our trip was when they pulled Michael into their circle to join in the jumping.  Afterwards, the men formed a line and chanted and hollered and took each of the women in our group by hand.  I was certain they were trying to take us as one of their wives.  I was ready to fight. :) Thankfully, we were only getting escorted to our van.

Meet Nancy

This is Nancy.  She came to the hospital here at Kijabe the beginning of last week with her son Salam.  He was having surgery on his palate. Michael and I spent some time with them making origami and doing other crafts to help them pass the time.  Palate patients must spend at least two nights in the hosptial.  There's not much to help pass the time.  The ward is open and holds about 24 patients. There are lots of babies crying at all times and commotion constantly.

On Nancy's second day here, she stood up in chapel and shared that she had just accepted Jesus as her Savior.  I spoke with her later and told her I was happy that we were now sisters in Christ.  After surgery her son Salam was in quite a bit of pain.  I told her to tell him that he was very brave.  She said "He is brave because he is a Masai warrior." The Masai are a distinctly different people in appearance.  Men and women alike shave their heads and they wear much jewelry and brightly colored clothing - usually red.  Nancy was obviously not Masai.  So I asked her how it was that he was Masai, but she was not.  She said Salam is not her son.  His mother had died six years ago and his father was a druggie.  She had taken him in as her own about four years ago.  How amazing is that!  She was being obedient to His Word - to care for the orphans - before she ever knew Jesus as her Savior.  I'm honored to have met her and to see God at work here. Nancy has other children she will raise as Christian.

God Is Here

Day 3 at the hospital - Wish you all could see what we have seen.  People from various tribes, religions, and places arrive every day.  Some by foot - most by bus.  Muslims and Masai people are the easiest to pick out.  I met a Muslim woman today that said her three daughters are all Christian because they go to a Christian school, but her and her husband are Muslim.  We talked for awhile about the Koran and the Bible. Great opportunities like this are a constant.  After making one lady an origami Easter Lily, she asked me what kind of flower and I quickly realized she didn't know what Easter meant. So I talked to her about what Easter was all about. What an amazing God we serve.  I'm realizing now why he encouraged me prior to the trip to wait and watch him do his thing.  Every day at 4:00 the patients and the staff gather for "chapel" in the ward.  They bring out a drum and they all dance and sing. It's so much fun to see and I want to join them.  The nurse who does the drum says she will teach me today to play like she does - that should be interesting.  Each day people get up and give a testimony usually of their conversion that very day.

Here are a couple of pictures of some of the patients we have connected with.

 This Masai girl hung with Michael for hours on Monday.  She danced and sang for us. 

Well, internet is sporadic. God is teaching Michael and me patience with that.  Better go post... I can receive email, but so far can't send any.  Michael's I-Pod is sending some.

Michael's Blog

Yesterday we went to the house of the Nzisa family previously known to us as the Mawia family.  Although most people know them as the Mawias, their real surname is Nzisa.  Don’t ask me why.  We met the “Mawias” through Jim and Kathy White when they came to Kijabe a few years ago.   We donated toy cars to the mission and the Mawia boys received some of those cars.  We’ve been pen-pals ever since.  On Monday, we met Eunice and Stephen at the hospital which felt like meeting an old friend. We had the experience of going to their house for dinner on Eunice’s day off from work at the hospital.  Eunice and Everlyne led us on a ¼ mile hike up hill to their home which is a shack compared to what we have in America.  We met the father, Michael, who is a carpenter. His shop is right next to the house.  We also met baby Carole who is named after my mother.  They are all such nice people with round, beautiful faces and big smiles. 

It was very interesting there.  My mom and Eunice talked and laughed a lot and Stephen and I talked while he showed me some of his artwork.  He also showed me the machete he used to defend himself when he goes to the “shops.”  This blade was at least a foot long.  It hung next to the door.  We had dinner which I was worried might be either uncooked and dangerous for us to eat or something like goulash that I would physically not be able to get down.  They had rice, some kind of meat, vegetables, noodles, and “chapatis “ what we call tortillas.  It wasn’t as bad as I thought but it was a struggle to get the rice which I had put in the tortillas down.  Thankfully my mom took that for me. 

I showed Stephen and Everlyne my I-Pod which was very interesting to them.  Mom videoed them eating chocolate and showed pictures from home to them.  Eunice brought out her pictures of James, who went to America for 1 ½ years and is now in boarding school in Nairobi.  Sarah is also away in school.   Eunice, Everlyne, and Stephen walked us back to the hospital as the sun set over the Rift Valley.  It was an exceptionally life-changing experience that not many 13 year old American boys have had.  I’m grateful to God for this.