Sleep Over at the Airport

Greetings from merry old England! My flight from Nairobi was scheduled to depart at 11:45pm Saturday and arrive in London 6:45a on Sunday. Are you ready for a story?

We were informed at the check-in desk that the flight was delayed one hour. After a series of delay announcements, the clincher came at 2:00am. Our aircraft could not be repaired and they were arranging for another one, which would depart at 8:45am. And…there weren’t enough rooms available at the airport hotels to put us up for the night. That’s when it got ugly. The poor girl who made the announcement was verbally accosted by several irate men.

Most of us looked for a piece of real estate to curl up on for the night. When blankets were produced, some people decided to hoard the precious items of comfort. One man and I did our best to get blankets for several older women in wheelchairs.

Sleep was impossible due to the hard floor, airport “canned” music, and people complaining loudly. We were allowed to leave the gate area to use the toilet. However, the water was turned off shortly after 2:00am. Do you know what happens when there is no water in a restroom?

Some beverages and snacks appeared at 5:00am. Thank goodness! I knew I was beginning to get dehydrated, and was concerned for the children and elderly. We were moved to another gate at 6:30am. Two hours later, laminated Boarding Cards were placed in our hands without explanation. One woman went ballistic and a fight broke out in one section of the gate area.

Finally, they herded us into a very long, winding tunnel at 9:30am. We speculated where the tunnel would end. Thankfully, it led to an airplane and we finally departed at 10:45am. YEAH!

It truly is amazing that in all my travels, that was the first time I've had to sleep (a relative term) in an airport. I was grateful that I was alone. It would have been much more challenging if I’d been in charge of a group. My time in England was cut short, but I didn’t miss my connecting flight out of London. That, hopefully, leaves tomorrow afternoon.

Cheerio!

Leaving Kenya

My heart is sad to leave Kenya. It is always difficult to say goodbye to my Kenyan friends and the precious children. Thankfully, this time I am able to tell them, “I will see you in three months.” I am returning to Eldoret, Kenya with an Open Arms International (OAI) medical team June 27- July 11, 2009.

I’ve had an INCREDIBLE two months in Kenya! God’s hand has been evident in everything. HE has given me favor with my academic projects and ministry opportunities.

I fly from Nairobi to London tonight to visit friends in England for a few days before returning to the USA on April 1st (no fooling). One of the blessings of going on OAI teams is meeting people from other countries.

Adam Cowling (& others?) is meeting me at Paddington Station for a chat at Starbucks when I arrive in London. I'll take a train from there to Bristol, England to stay with Helen Harrison. She has been my roommate the past two summers on Open Arms outreaches. I’m excited to meet the rest of her family and see more of England :)

Christmas In March

Our last day (Sunday, March 15th) with the Open Arms team was spent at the OAI Village located about 25 minutes from downtown Eldoret and five minutes from their international airport. Note: Driving distance is measured in time NOT length in Africa. It can take two hours to travel twenty miles, depending on the road conditions.

Many of the area village elders joined us for the day. Our worship was filled with wonderful music - The OAI children’s choir sang, Metrine (OAI Kenya Feeding Prog Coord) lead us in singing worship/praise songs in English and Swahili, and Levi (OAI Kenya Operations Coord) sang two songs. Two of our team members (US & Kenyan) shared their testimonies of God healing them from physical conditions. I told stories of God’s healing power at the medical clinics in Kambi Teso. Pastor Peter Kimeli (OAI house parent) gave a powerful sermon about the harvest being ripe and laborers few. He challenged Kenyans to take the gospel to other countries and those of us from the US & UK to continue to bring the good news of HOPE to Kenya.

A traditional goat roast meal was served after the service. Then the children experienced “Christmas in March”, when they received boxes of gifts prepared by Al’s church in Texas. You can imagine the excitement of our OAI children when they opened their precious gift boxes.

It was a wonderful way to end our OAI outreach time in Kenya!

OAI Outreach - Prayer Tent

I’ve witnessed miracles of healing on every Open Arms outreach I have been on since July 2005. God’s healing power was remarkable at Kambi Teso our last day there (Thurs, March 12th). Those who had come for medical treatment were directed to the prayer tent following our morning worship time. Those who did not receive divine healing of their conditions went to the medical tent after prayer. Several of our team members prayed for nearly 200 people with the assistance of two Kenyan pastors.

The first girl we prayed for had been deaf her whole life (18 yrs?). She was brought to us by her mother. I snapped my fingers by each ear after we prayed. She indicated that she could hear the sound. We began shouting Alleluia and she mimicked us. Her mother spoke the word “mama” into her ear and the daughter repeated back, “mama.” It was the first time she heard her mother’s voice! They left the tent praising the Lord!!

We were so encouraged by that first healing, because we knew God’s mighty power was present. There weren’t enough interpreters for all of us, so I found the patients who could speak some English. I would ask their name, if they loved Jesus, and what they wanted Him to do for them. Most had a specific pain somewhere in their body. After praying for them, I was able to find out if the pain was gone. It always was!

One woman, Lucy, said she wanted Jesus to “live in her.” When we finished praying, she said that Jesus was living in her now and she didn’t want to go back. I was about to send Lucy out of the tent when something interesting happened. The Lord began to instruct her through me. He knew she didn’t have a Bible (and couldn’t read) or a pastor, so He would teach her directly. She needed to listen to His voice. If she started to “go back”, He would instruct her not to go that way and would tell her which way to go.

The test: I prayed silently for her while she listened for His voice. Then I asked if she had heard Jesus speak to her. She replied, “Yes!” I asked what He said and she answered, “Follow me.” I encouraged her to obey what He had told her.

The deaf girl heard her mother’s voice and Lucy heard the voice of the Lord for the first time that day. It was a glorious day!!!

Women's Prison

We were granted permission to take 15 members of our Open Arms team into the Eldoret women’s prison on Friday, March 13. Most requests to enter the prison are being denied, but God granted us favor. Our host, Charity (assistant to the warden), welcomed us and gave us a brief tour of the facilities. Much to the delight of her “clients”, several team members purchased crocheted and embroidered items they had made. We could hear the women singing praise songs in the building next door when we were in the Industry building.

Our time of corporate worship was anointed. Many of us could hear the angels singing on the chorus of Open the Eyes of My Heart. The heavenly and earthly choirs intersected in that moment to sing Holy, Holy, Holy to God. Terrilyn and Daphany shared their testimonies of hardships in America and how the Lord has forgiven and restored them. The women prisoners needed to hear their message of hope in difficult times. Kenyan pastor Shadrak followed up with a relevant story and invitation for them to receive Jesus into their lives or recommit their lives to Him. More than 100 women raised their hands in response.

The inmates filed past our team members as we presented them with gifts of personal supplies - soap, sanitary napkins, petroleum jelly, boxed milk, and cookies. We also gave clothing for the children who are with their mothers. Twenty-six children from the ages of 1 day – 4 years are living at the prison. They have to leave when they reach the age of four. We pray that a relative will take the child at that point. Otherwise, they often end up on the streets.

It was a very special day for all of us (OA team, prison staff, and inmates). We were not allowed to take cameras or any recording devices into the prison. Regardless, that visit will remain in our memories forever.

Smiley

Brittany and Jonto - this post is for you!

Here is your beloved Smiley at the Kambi Teso feeding program on Feb 11, 2009. It is a bit difficult to see, but he is wearing a dress. Poor guy. Life is hard enough for him and then they put him in a dress! Many of the seams were ripped out too.

I am happy to report that all the other days I've seen him, he was wearing proper boy clothes.

Congratulations on your engagement!

Medical Tent Pharmacy

If you like chaos, the medical tent pharmacy is the place for you! That is the last stop for patients who come to receive medical care from Open Arms International.

Recipe for pharmacy chaos: Take a group of volunteers who have no pharmacy background. Give them prescriptions written by doctors (need I say more?) and ask them to accurately fill them. Cram them into too small of a space so they can bump into each other on a regular basis. (What I call "working cheek-to-cheek”)

The amazing thing is that IT WORKS! By the third day we could have handed out certificates. The lay people had learned how to decipher prescriptions, locate specific medications on the tables or in containers, count and label bags properly, find substitutes for the meds that we didn’t have, etc.

Ruth Major, Kenya staff volunteer, was brilliant (she's from the UK; they use that term a lot)overseeing the pharmacy. She had the space well organized and posted signs on the walls the second day to help decode prescription shorthand.

The OAI medical director, Rachel Gallagher, and I were available to check prescriptions for accuracy. Rachel was the epitome of tolerance as she answered a barrage of questions from volunteer workers (including me), e.g. What does this say? Where is this drug? What does BID mean?

I only had to work with interpreters the first day giving instructions to the patients when they received their medications. Our interpreters knew how to do it themselves on the second day! Alpha Sarara is pictured here giving instructions for cough syrup dosage. I met Alpha on my first mission trip to Eldoret in 2006. His father, Milton, is on the OAI Kenya board of directors.

P.S. The temperature in the pharmacy area was hot enough to melt the soft gel vitamins!

Outreach Summary

Sorry for the long period of silence. We had a very busy week with the Open Arms International (OAI) medical team, which did not allow time for me to get online. This was my eighth outreach with OAI and it was INCREDIBLE! They are always great, but each has its own dimension that makes it special. Sometimes that is hard to put into words, but I will attempt to do so in a series of posts.

Open Arms has been doing a feeding program for the Kambi Teso slum children since June of 2008. Our team provided medical clinics Tues – Thurs at Kambi Teso last week. We were able to treat approximately 542 patients during those three days for a variety of conditions. Our US medical personnel were paired with Kenyan doctors. It was a valuable learning experience for all of them.

Those who came to our clinic site participated in a time of worship and hearing scripture before receiving medical care. About 155 responded to the message and went forward for prayer. They received prayer for salvation, physical healing, and deliverance. Approximately 97 people made a decision to follow Jesus during our three days at Kambi Teso.

We witnessed many miraculous events including the opening of deaf ears, removal of cataracts for restored vision, broken bones mended, and healing of various pains and illnesses. I’ll share more stories about that later.

We went to a women’s prison on Friday. It was my first experience in a Kenyan prison. Much different than those I have visited in the states. It was a Holy time. Many of us could hear angels singing with us during the worship songs. God’s anointing was very strong.

Saturday and Sunday were spent at the OAI village. Unfortunately, many of our team members were sick and missed at least one of those days. They, most likely, had food poisoning from dinner Friday night. Thankfully, I stayed healthy in order to attend to their needs.

Did I mention before that I was a team leader? By the end of the week they were calling me the “team mom.”

Open Arms Outreach

We have been very busy preparing for the Open Arms International (OAI) outreach that starts today. The team from the US & UK will arrive in Eldoret early tonight. Our Kenya staff will be setting up the tents and registering the patients for the medical clinics at the Kambi Teso slum on the outskirts of Eldoret before picking up the team at the airport. We will take the team to the Open Arms Village for dinner with the house parents, their assistants, and 25 children who are living there.

It will be a very busy week with medical clinics, children's ministry (similar to VBS), feeding program, women's prison ministry, sharing the good news of the gospel, and lots of prayer. I love OAI outreaches! I've done seven of them since 2005. It is always amazing to witness the many miracles that God does for the patients and team members.

I will be staying with the team at the Sirikwa Hotel for the next eight days. Internet access is not good at the hotel, so I may not be able to post a blog for several days.

Please pray for the people of Kenya and our mission team during this really important week of ministry. It can be the most important week of their lives!

Baby Diana

I’ve been staying at the Open Arms International (OAI) Kenya office in Eldoret, Kenya. It has five bedrooms that are usually full of staff from the US and UK, plus visitors. The joy of the OAI Kenya office is, without a doubt, baby Diana. She is about nine months old and possibly the most loved baby girl in all of Kenya. That wasn’t true the first five months of her life, however.

Diana was born to a teenage girl who couldn’t keep her. The baby ended up with a woman who has other orphaned children sponsored by OAI. Open Arms began sponsoring Diana when she was 1 month old. She was getting proper medical attention through the sponsorship, but wasn’t gaining weight. The OAI Kenya staff took her under their care when she was five months old. She has been living at the office almost four months and is doing MUCH better. She has lots of mamas, aunties, and uncles that dote on her.

Look how beautiful she is! She really is a great baby. I’ve been doing “baby exercises” with her. She especially enjoys playing on my therapy ball (that I brought for my back exercises). It actually is therapy, but she thinks we are playing ;)

Mama Victoria - herbalist

I mentioned Mama Victoria in my last blog post. So I will share a story about my experience with her. My days with all five herbalists were very interesting, but Mama Victoria was my favorite. We became fast friends and share a kindred spirit. We thanked God for bringing us together and hope He will allow us to meet again, perhaps working alongside each other treating patients.

But first, I should explain that to be called “Mama (first name)”is a term of high position/respect in a village. Most women are referred to as “Mama (name of first born child).”

We went into the forest one day to collect herbs for treating her patients. She also identified many plants for my research project that we didn’t collect. Once we returned to her house/clinic, she showed me how she prepared the different herbs. The preparation methods included, pounding with a mortis and pestle, drying before crushing into powder, boiling in water, and burning in a fire.

At one point, we entered a smoke-filled room where she was preparing the herbs by boiling and burning them. The fire was in the corner of the room and some of the smoke managed to escape through a small window opening. I wondered what kind of herbs were burning in the fire and how it would affect me. Much to my surprise, I didn’t cough or choke while in the room. More amazing than that was watching her handle red-hot coals of the burning herbs with her bare hands! The burnt roots were then crushed into powder and given to the children who were playing nearby. The powder was placed in the palm of their hands for them to lick. It was a kind expression of her love for the children.

Back in Eldoret

I have returned to Eldoret after two weeks of field research in the Kakamega rain forest. It was an amazing experience, which very few people will ever know! By the end of my second day of research with Mama Victoria, a 66 year old female herbalist in the Isecheno region, I realized I had the beginnings of a very interesting book. I met with five traditional medicine herbalists through the much appreciated translation work of my new friend and trusted guide, Ben Obanda.

I worked day and night on the research project – and loved it! As you can see from this photo, it was a wonderful environment to work in. I spent most of my computer time at a desk in my room at Rondo Retreat Centre, but enjoyed the tropical jungle setting as much as possible. Often times, monkeys were in the branches overhead. I was grateful that they did not steal my computer!