Today we saw over 200 patients. We are still working well together, and have found a rhythm of scheduling, treatment, pharmacy, eyeglasses, prayer, and photography. Midday we heard that there was a school competition just up the lane in music and dance. A few of us went up and saw the most amazing performances! Children danced in traditional, handmade costumes and sang. It reminded my of the most amazing school play – talent abounding! Late in the afternoon, one of the local schools stayed to offer four songs for our team. They tapped various team members to join in the singing and dancing, quite a sight!

Dr. Steve performed some emergency suturing on a patient who arrived with a deep gash in his leg. Dr. John, Nurse Practioners Karla and Tanya, and Dr. David saw many interesting cases. The dental team had tons of patients, and they were able to treat each one. Eyeglass patients expressed their appreciation with hugs and big smiles. What a dedicated group!

In the morning we treated a very sick baby who needed to be referred to Nakuru hospital, over an hour away. The team stabilized the baby, but we thought that it was unlikely that the baby would live long enough to get there. The good news in the evening from the hospital was that the baby was doing better, and had received life saving surgery. Much rejoicing on this one. Not every patient story has such a happy ending. There are many chronic conditions here that do not have a good prognosis or adequate longer term treatment. We have a roller coaster of emotions throughout the day. In other baby news, D’Ambra, one of our students, helped deliver a new life this morning. Mom and baby are doing well, amidst lots of cooing and adoration.

We heard more news from the coast of violence, and had a good discussion of potential risks. Pat talked at length with our travel company, our local drivers, and with the Bishop and other local officials to assess our situation. All agreed that we are quite far inland and that the motivations for the violence are intended to destabilize the economy, not to specifically target outsiders in other areas. Our Imani Guest House with the diocese in Nakuru has plenty of security, and there is a police presence at our clinic. Personally, I feel quite fine about the situation. We are being sensible and will keep our eyes and ears open for any changes.

We saw 172 patients today, and countless eyeglass clients. In this second clinic day, it was almost uncanny how well the team worked together, both among the K2K team and with our Kenyan partners. We experienced much good humor and excellent again today.

The clinic received a very important visit today from a Member of Parliament (MP) and her entourage. They visited each of the clinic areas, and the maternity area of the local clinic also. We took and printed lots of photos for them. They discussed care and policy with our team leaders, and expressed appreciation for the work of the whole team. And everywhere, politicians like to kiss babies!

We treated an older woman, Ruth, with a serious lung malady. Dr. David wrote a prescription for spiritual care and referred her to me. (The first time I’ve received a prescription 🙂 ) I sat on the floor next to her chair and we began to try to speak together. Her English was not really any stronger than my Swahili, but we bonded instantly. She had the most beautiful and wise face. We prayed together, she indicated that she was worried, we prayed again, and then I started singing softly for her and held her hands. We both started weeping and continued in prayer together. God’s love is our common language. She allowed me to hug her and she offered me a kiss of blessing. An unforgettable moment.

A special thanks to our leadership team, Pat Parker, Diane Kruger, and Steve Segebrecht. Their varied and extensive gifts are so helpful in every new situation. For every challenge we encounter, they are unfailingly creative and positive.

MEDICAL CLINIC, TOWN OF MARINGINE (pronounced marr-in-gee’-nee)

We saw over 100 patients today at the clinic, of all ages. The way the team works together is incredible! Registration greets each patient and figures out the scheduling. Triage takes history, blood pressure, temperature and other vital information. Triage teams figure out which doctor is best to treat each condition and refer them to that physician team or the dental clinic. Patients are treated by the dentist or doctor, then proceed to the pharmacy for any needed medications. The laboratory processes and interprets test results, the most common are: brucella, typhoid, HIV, malaria, pregnancy, urinalysis, stool samples, glucose, rheumatoid factor. It is great to listen to Tyler talk technical with his Kenyan counterparts. Medical language is its own connection.

In addition to medical and dental, we have an eyeglass clinic which assists patients with reading glasses or distance glasses.

Each team works with local professionals and volunteers who partner in treatment and also provide vital language translation services. Our Kansas2Kenya team is not yet fluent in Swahili!

Also available is photography for individuals and families to receive a printed out photo of themselves (often with their new glasses) to take with them. Many people do not have pictures of themselves or their children, so this service is very welcome and produces a lot of smiles and giggles. We have brought two portable Canon Selphy printers, and it is great to see people’s faces when they see their photo.

Father Matt Zimmerman and I offer spiritual care and prayer to those who wish it, along with the team. Even though we don’t all speak one another’s language well, it is a powerful experience to pray together. Everyone understands “Jesus” and “Amen” and a prayerful, loving attitude.

Sandy, a nutritionist, gives talks throughout the day about food balance and what foods are needed to stay healthy. She usually has 25-30 people in rapt attention at a time. Cora, a social worker, is everywhere! She works between reception and triage, and is always solving some complication with a smile.

I was with Dr. Steve and Dr. David for a time and it was like listening to an episode of ER or House. They worked together to discuss and diagnose a complicated case, conferring back and forth about the symptoms and indications that were seemingly paradoxical. Between both their amazing skills, and their great teamwork, the patient was diagnosed correctly and helped.

One of the local cooks prepared a light dinner meal for the team that included seasoned cabbage, vegetable broth, and a potato and bean casserole. Completely delicious! How kind of our hosts to think of us in this way.

We are all very tired tonight after seeing many patients, and are very glad to be here.

WORSHIP
Our Sunday morning service was from 10a-12noon and marvelous every minute. Both the community team and the medical team received an incredibly warm welcome from the greeters and Canon Philip, their Vicar. The musicians were talented and engaging and we sang for almost half the service. A wonderful mix of traditional hymns and upbeat praise music.

Lay Canon Edward explained that worship recently in the parish is moving more toward a Pentecostal feeing, as the younger people feel more comfortable with that. The parish wants to be welcoming of all ages. I resonated with the same concerns on our U.S. parishes that are trying to balance worship preferences of many ages.

I was invited to preach today, and had fun with the longer time length, 20 minutes. To preach with a congregation and to be invited to celebrate part of the eucharist with Canon Philip was an incredible honor. The congregation was very responsive.

TREE PLANTING
As a remembrance of our visit, the parish Warden invited us to help plant three trees in the parish garden. The trees are helpful to the environment and also are shade for parish outdoor events.

TEA AT THE VICARAGE
All the teams were invited to tea and treats at the vicarage, as guests of Canon Philip and his wife.
On a personal note, I will treasure the invitation and privilege of serving at St. Christopher’s today. I am deeply reminded of our shared humanity, each person created in the image of God. Part of the homily focused on remembering to whom we belong – to God. And, since it was Trinity Sunday, and with amazing music, we talked a bit about possibly imagining the unity of God being somewhat like harmony in music.

On our way to Nakuru, the team stopped at Lake Naivasha and took small boats with a guide to see hippos. These huge animals are the most deadly in Kenya, weighing in at around 4 tons.

We arrived to the Imani Guest House in Nakuru, a center of the Anglican Church in Kenya (ACK.) Imani means “faith.” We are very tired and ready to get to work soon. Bishop Joseph was there to welcome us, and to extend the gratitude of the diocese. Our rooms have beds with mosquito netting and very basic plumbing. We have been received with the warmest hospitality! And we are making new friends everywhere we go.

Kansas2Kenya has done extensive work with All Saints’ Parish in Maai Mahiu with building a library and also offering medical clinics. Today we stopped by for a more social visit on our way to Nakuru and were greeted by many (around 100) of the parish children and local artisans. The children were captivating – curious, playful, completely adorable – like kids everywhere. They loved to have their pictures taken then look at the camera display of themselves and their friends.

I bought a small drum from one of the artisans and had a jam session with a crowd of children all singing with me. Thought I was in heaven with those voices and enthusiasm.

Soccer in Kenya beats even the current World Cup. Some of our team and driver joined in a pickup game with much laughter and friendly competition. Teams? Who needs teams? Just try to get the ball.

The Rift Valley runs the length of Africa. The road through the steep parts of the valley was enough to make you think twice and take more than a few deep breaths. We stopped at an overlook and the view was incredible, even with the clouds.

Advertising is everywhere. Almost every roadside shop is painted completely over with promotions for one product or another, mostly Coca-Cola and/or some mobile phone service.

We began this morning with a bit of jet lag and shared clothes and supplies from our 16 lost pieces of luggage. Everyone in good humor and working together.
Breakfast was delicious at the Gracia Gardens Guest House in Nairobi and we set out for some local errands in Nairobi around 9:30a. Unbeknownst to us, photography was not permitted in the “mall” and teammate Tanya was detained by security. Don’t think US mall security, think AK47s. She was calm and collected, and team leader Pat and our local friend and driver Simon were instrumental in assuring the authorities of our her positive intent. A cheer went up for Tanya when she boarded the bus unscathed.

From Nairobi we went toward the Rift Valley. Traffic in Nairobi is quite terrifying. Only centimeters separate vehicles large and small, along with pedestrians, animals, and shopping stalls right at the road. Despite the appearance of chaos, there are very few accidents. I regularly gave thanks for our skilled driver, Simon, and his almost telepathic traffic abilities.

It is hard to translate commerce in Nairobi to a US city. Individuals and families have roadside shop stands. This hardware store photo captures some of the feel.

More posts later about today’s travels in the Rift Valley, Maai Mahui, Lake Naiavasha, and Nakuru…

Hi from Nairobi, around 1:50 a.m. local time…

The Kansas2Kenya medical team arrived in Nairobi tonight, after about a total of 15 hours on planes and a layover at London Heathrow.  We are all well, but tired.  A mostly smooth set of travel, but we are missing 12 suitcases which contain a good bit of our medical supplies, along with some other clothes and such.  The airline and our local friends will try to locate them for us on the next flight tomorrow night from London.  Meanwhile, we are sharing what we need.

It is great to begin to get to know some of the team already on our travel.  I look forward to serving with them these 10 days.

“Guide us waking, and guard us sleeping, that awake we may watch with Christ and asleep we may rest in peace.”

UPDATE on July 17 – your friendly neighborhood photographers (that’s me and Ron Crawford) are busy sorting over 7,000 photos from our great group.  We anticipate availability and posting at the end of July.  Thanks for your patience – and for your support of Kansas2Kenya!

UPDATE on Thursday, June 19
Very sporadic and low bandwidth internet here, so will post photos after we get home. Will post text as we can.  We are all well and working hard.

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Thank you for following this blog as I travel to Kenya with Kansas2Kenya’s medical team.  I will traveling June 12-23, 2014.  Depending on availability of internet, I will post as often as possible with photos, reflections and news from the team.

I will probably be available via email once a day (evenings in Kenya) during this time at kansasmff@gmail.com, please use that email for emergencies during this time.  Please understand that my attention needs to be with the team and our patients during this trip.

Your prayers are most welcome and appreciated!