Moving Day

The Open Arms village is located in Mlango, Kenya (about 30 minutes from Eldoret) on 52 acres. Within the village are several children’s homes with Kenyan parents, an assistant, and 20 children; a baby house for 15 infants; and a primary school - Open Arms Academy (OAA). Property has been purchased to build a permanent school about a mile from the village, but construction has been halted by governmental red-tape. Thus, we have been using various buildings at the village for classrooms.

There are several dilapidated mud-walled structures at the village that were on the property when it was purchased. Those buildings have served a variety of roles, including children’s homes for our first two families. Most recently, they have been utilized as classrooms for the younger aged children in OAA – preschool through class (grade) 3. 

The three preschool classes (ages 3-5) were moved into a temporary, tin-walled building several months ago. An identical structure was recently built for classes 1-3.

 

Thursday, March 13, 2014, was moving day for classes 1, 2, & 3. When I arrived at the mud buildings that afternoon to help move desks, I found all of the children sitting at their desks outside the buildings. They were waiting for a “surprise” that was highly anticipated. 

The older children recited a poem, which was photographed and video-taped by a multitude of mzungu (foreign visitors) before the processional across the village to the new classrooms. The parade was led by the head teacher (Lillian) and Open Arms president (Rachel

Gallagher) while the children sang a spirited song.

They were greeted by a gauntlet of older children who welcomed them to their new classrooms. Once they had all arrived at their destination, the head teacher requested Open Arms co-founders David and Rachel Gallagher to cut the ribbon. Cheers and applause filled the air as the severed ribbon fell to the ground. The keys to the three new classrooms were handed to the respective teachers. 

The teachers were nearly trampled by the awaiting children as they open the doors to the new classrooms. The children ran around the rooms, arms raised high, with screams of glee. Such exuberance reminded me of participants in a home makeover episode. Too bad we did not have a bus available to unveil the new building.

Habiba Update

I introduced you to Habiba in a December 2013 post. She was so excited to hear that I had returned to Kenya that she invited Pastor John Maloba and me to her house. We gladly accepted.

It was an amazing day that had God’s handprint all over it! Pastor John sent me the follow message, along with several photos, at the end of the day:

Dear Sister Pr.Tara,
Praising God for what He done today when we visited Sister Habiba a Muslim lady who got healed during the last year' medical camp and in prayer tent.What a joy in our hearts to meet her again. She is a loving mother and very welcoming.This is God.Visiting a Muslim home and reading the bible then mention NAME JESUS is not easy in the Muslim people .glory to God.Thanks for your great love for Muslims and to all people.The old man is going to be well after we prayed. I thank God he accepted Christ Jesus in his life.I hope the last pics is going to be nice as Habiba has the Muslim dress.
with thanks .
pastor John.

A truly miraculous day! Habiba invited a Christian pastor (John) and woman (me) to her home. We had a wonderful visit and she called me her “close friend.” Imagine that!  It was wonderful to see how God had healed her completely the day we met in August 2013 at one of the Open Arms medical camps. I could tell, as soon as I saw her, that Habiba was well. (Note: Habiba had a serious health condition when she came to our medical camp.)

Pastor John found neighbors to take a photo of the three of us. Then we all went inside Habiba’s house for a time of fellowship and prayer. The three neighbors are Christian. Habiba allowed Pastor John to read from his Bible, and share a short message with the group. They asked me to say the closing prayer.

Then we went with one of the neighbors to pray for her sick father-in-law. I discerned, when I saw the old man, that he was in late stage of congestive heart failure. I asked if he believed in Jesus. The daughter-in-law said “no.” The next words out of my mouth were, “This would be a good day for that.” I knew his days on earth were drawing to a close. The man allowed the pastor to share a brief message and pray for his salvation, because he was too sick to speak. However, he did say, “Asante Jesu (Thank you Jesus)” at the end of the prayer.

Next, Pastor John and I prayed for the old man’s healing. We started taking photos with the man after the prayer, and then helped him to his feet. Then he started to walk! (His daughter-in-law told us he had stopped walking several days before.) We were assisting him at first, but then he asked for his stick and pushed us away. YES!!! He walked to the door and back to his bed with only a narrow stick. (Note: Habiba witnessed all of this – salvation prayer & the man walking. She was cheering for him!)

At the end of the day, Habiba and I walked hand-in-hand to the end of her road. She is an incredible woman who has been widowed five years, and is caring for her four orphaned grandchildren. All of them live in a very small mud-walled room, with no water or electricity. Yet she emphasized several times, while we were with her, the importance of being thankful to God.

God is great! I cannot work (until I get a work permit), 

but God CAN!

P. S. Habiba has been checking on the old man and encouraging him daily since our time together. She reported to Pastor John (several days after our visit) that the man was improving. He is able to walk outside, visit with neighbors, and walk back to his house. Woohoo!

Walking on Water in Kenya

We have a church at the Open Arms (OA) village that meets in a tent. It started out as just our Open Arms families meeting under a tree, but has expanded to include the surrounding community.

The church has grown tremendously! We cannot fit all of our attendees into one large tent. We are setting up two tents each Sunday, and the children sit on the ground outside until they leave for Sunday school.

We met with the women from the community in July 2013 to ask if they wanted to start a women’s fellowship group. Much to our delight, the group has been meeting regularly the past few months with about 12-25 in attendance. They have been meeting in women's homes.

Recently, we met in a home across the river. It looked like we were walking on water as we crossed the river. The rocks were just below the surface of the water at the top of a wide waterfall (only 2-3 feet drop). It was a great hike as we walked down the hill from the OA village, across the river, and up the hill on the other side until we got to Grace’s house.

Grace lives in a typical mud-walled, tin-roofed house for this area. A hanging cloth serves as the door that separates the sitting room from the kitchen.  (I stifled a chuckle when a chicken walked through the kitchen during the meeting.) Most of the furniture consists of a thin pad on wood slats, and a cloth thrown over top for upholstery. Many houses I have visited in the area are decorated with old calendars on the wall and greeting cards hanging on a string. Some have foil garlands draped randomly on walls or over doors.

Otherwise, it was much like the women’s fellowship I attend in Oregon, USA. We started with the singing of some hymns and praise/worship songs, and then one of the women shared a teaching from the Bible. That was followed by the sharing of prayer needs, and I was asked to say the closing prayer (such an honor my first meeting). A collection was taken to cover the expense of the food. Then the chai (Kenyan tea made with milk, water, some tea leaves, & spices) and mandazis (donuts) appeared. The women enjoyed talking while munching on the treats.  

After a sufficient time of food and conversation, we proceeded back down the hill to walk on water and return to our homes at the Open Arms village.

African Home

My move to Kenya, Africa has involved many steps of faith. Making this change in my life plan has been one GIANT step of faith. I am reminded daily that my plans are not God’s plans. 

When I left Oregon on Jan. 6, 2014 with two large bags weighing about 50# each and a small carry-on bag, I did not know where I would be living in Africa. I had packed supplies to live in a small dwelling or rent a room in Eldoret. I was hoping to live in one of the cottages at the Open Arms (OA) village, but that had not been confirmed before I left the USA.

There are eight African cottages at the Open Arms village. When I was there last summer, five of the cottages were being used for classrooms and a sixth was a teacher’s lounge. (Note: We have purchased property to build a permanent school nearby, but are waiting on approval/documents to break ground.) The other two were occupied by long-term volunteers -Ted & Brenda Whiteman (2.5 yrs.), and Rachel Gulden  (3 yrs.). 

Much to my delight, I was informed that I would be moving into one of the African cottages after our January course ended. A short-term volunteer was staying in the cottage while our class members were in the guest lodges at the OA village. I moved into the cottage a few days after the students returned to the USA.

I am finally settled into my new living space, and loving it! It is similar to a studio apartment – everything I need in one room. Actually, there is a small on suite bathroom. Soooooo… technically… everything is in two rooms.

 

The main space has a kitchen area, dining table (that doubles as a desk), bed with mosquito net, a wardrobe and large cupboard for storage, and a chair. There is only one twin-sized bed in the room, but I told them to put a second bed in the room so others have a place to stay when the guest lodges are full; plus, there will be two more beds when they have large teams staying at the OA village. 

A covered porch at the entrance is great for sitting outside while eating meals or watching the children play (in my front yard) during their recess breaks. My first weekend was spent, playing in the dirt, creating some landscaping at the entry. The Whiteman’s gave me some clippings from their well-established plants. I am told the soil is so good here that all I need to do is stick things in the ground and they will grow. Thus far, the rosemary and flowers are still alive. It just might work!

It is good to be “Home” in Kenya!

January 2014 course summary

Our study of health care in Kenya was accomplished primarily through service learning, but also included visits to hospitals and an occasional lecture. The first three days were spent in Nairobi visiting cultural and historical sites, and learning about a high-tech telemedicine project being conducted by Cisco. Petting elephants and feeding giraffes (mouth-to-mouth) was entertaining, but we were anxious to meet the children at the Open Arms (OA) village where we stayed the majority of our time in Kenya.

The students did a great job teaching several health topics to the Open Arms Kenyan staff and the moms whose children were enrolled in the OA feeding program at the Kambi Teso slum. Topics included oral hygiene, hand washing, nutrition, dehydration/rehydration, and sexual health. The feeding program moms were especially grateful for the teachings.

We provided medical clinics at Kambi Teso and the Remand (juvenile detention) Centre in Eldoret; plus, a two-day clinic in Pemwai. More than 800 patients received medical care! We were thankful to have Suzanne Spaulding, RN (Portland, Oregon) join us for our medical clinic days.  

Dr. Kiptoon was a gracious host for our three days at the Moi University School of Medicine. He allowed us to join his medical students on ward rounds in the pediatric wing, arranged our meeting with the coordinator of the COBES program and a tour of Moi Referral and Teaching Hospital, and introduced Professor Michael Leahy’s lecture on global health information at grand rounds. The hospital was cleaner and less crowded than our last Jan term visit in 2011, but there were many beds with more than one occupant.

Our final week in Kenya was focused on work projects and a lecture by Prof. Tara Lepp on African Traditional Herbal Medicine. The OA village is 52 acres and home to 108+ children, so there is always a lot of work that needs to be done. Many of our students baked cakes for the 8^th grade Thanksgiving celebration (graduation) that happened the day after we left the village. It took three days to bake eight cakes. Baking at 7000 feet altitude was challenging, but the final product was a delicious success.

Our students quickly bonded with the OA children at the village. Many of the Kenyan children needed financial sponsors, and all nine of the Linfield students (along with their parents or grandparents) made commitments to sponsor one or more children. The Linfield football team will be sponsoring one of the older boys. It was a tearful last night at the village taking pictures of the Linfield students with their sponsor children.