Tag: medical mission

Day two of the clinic began much like day one, with an early bus ride out to the church and a quick clinic setup. Rev. Shaun Trump gave a morning devotion for us, and we started in. The crowds were much bigger today, with many more children.

One mother brought in her son along with doctor’s reports and a cat scan. Dr. Jon had to let her know that there’s was nothing they could do. In fact, the boy was dying and wouldn’t last long. They found me and I prayed with them and committed them to God’s care. I was very glad to hear that the child had been baptized.

We had to send many of the waiters home after lunch because we gave priority to the mothers with children. Steven, the local project coordinator, found me when the group was getting restless and had me preach a little on waiting.

As the clinic day was coming to a close, a number of local children gathered to watch. I wasn’t too busy, so I hopped the fence and ran around an adjacent field with them. It was so much fun. I’m going to get more of the team involved tomorrow.

At one point in the day, I was talking with the bishop about moms who were insisting their children were very sick to get to the front of the line. He said, “You’re right. This isn’t good. Let’s go have some sugar cane!” His brother had brought some over and he grabbed a machete and chopped off a piece for me.

Alice, the head teacher for the K-8 school adjacent to the church took me on a walking tour of her campus. She was so proud, especially of their much improved test scores last year. Each class is around 45 student, crammed into a 20×14 foot space. The school day goes from 6:30 am to 5:00 pm. Some students come early and stay late to do more reading.

We were up a little earlier this morning and actually on the road by 7:40. After we unloaded and set everything up for the clinic at the church, the Bishop led us is a brief devotion, and we began to see patients. Each person who came signed in, then waited for triage (vitals), saw a provider and then usually stopped by the pharmacy.

I wandered from place to place, left an eye on everyone, ran a few errands and did a little teaching in the main waiting room. I spoke about the devotion I had done the night before. Pastor Joel interpreted for me. The people loved it, and then I gave them a chance to ask me questions about myself and my family and America. It really was the highlight of my day.

We didn’t shut down the clinic until after 5, and had to send quite a few home. I think we saw about 130 patients. Dr. Jon got to see a young boy who may have had polio, one with cerebral palsy and another with meningitis. The hit of the day was the 100 year old woman who amazed and inspired everyone.

We are praying hard for Kimberly, who stuck her finger with a needle after a woman requested an HIV test. It probably nothing, but we need to take precautions anyway. She’ll get tested and may begin some meds.

Rev. Shauen Trump, the executive director for LCMS in Kenya and Tanzania was with us tonight for supper. It was good to meet and be encouraged by him.

We are still learning our lesson that relationships always trump tasks in this culture. Time isn’t an asset like it is in America. But the bonds I build with others always is.

It was a leisurely Sunday morning after a good night's sleep. Breakfast was scrambled eggs, sausage, fruit and some bread. Instant coffee is often made with hot milk rather than hot water, so I tried some. Not too bad.

Botoro Lutheran Church was only a 15 minute drive. We were warmly welcomed by the Bishop elect who was in town, and I got a quick summary of my part in the service. I was handed a Swahili hymnal and could actually find a few parts of the liturgy I recognized. Several churches sent choirs who all sang great pieces for the service. I had been invited to preach, and it was my first time with an interpreter (the bishop). I think I did OK, and afterwards, the bishop said people wished I had gone longer. (With interpretation, I went 45 minutes). They are used to longer worship services here.

After worship, they fed us lunch and we scoped out the buildings we would use for the clinic which begins tomorrow. We are learning to be flexible as the local volunteers have a plan for seeing people, and we are here to work alongside them.

After we came back to the hotel we had time for a quick nap, then starts going through medications to get ready for tomorrow. By the time 9 pm rolls around, everyone is pretty tired. They are all good workers and seem to get along well.

We start early tomorrow, and are expecting a pretty big turnout.

 

After a fair night's sleep, we had a pretty good breakfast at the mission center and headed down the road to Kisii. Some of the road was nicely paved. Other parts were mostly potholes. But we made it in about six hours other a stop for lunch.

Along the way we saw lots of cattle and sheep, gazelle, monkeys and baboons. Most were just siting there looking curiously at us as we stared at them and tried to take a few pictures.

 

Every few miles we came upon a town or village, and it struck me how similar each seemed to those in Haiti. When I asked Jacob it, he told me that Haiti is much more African than other Caribbean nations. One big difference is that Kenya grows a lot of its own food and has a much strong economy. But the roadside stands, brightly colored signs and interestingly constructed buildings in Kenya reminded me a lot of Haiti.

Supper tonight was some really tough-to-chew chicken, rice, French fries and veggies at the Bluu Nile Hotel where we'll be staying. We're all still a little tired, but looking forward to church tomorrow and then getting to work.