The numbers do and don’t tell the whole story

Since we have returned from the trip, Dean has been diligently and almost obsessively crunching the numbers from the stacks of patient registration cards.  The facts are impressive in terms of what was accomplished – and I’ll summarize them below – but what was MORE impressive was the act of entering each row of information and re-living the memories of so many of the people who came to see us.  Each row of the nearly 3000 people – name, sex, age, village, diagnosis and treatment – was a live human being who made it a priority to get to us for treatment, for encouragement, for contact with a stranger from a far away land, for love.  As we struggled to read the handwriting or interpret the information, we were simultaneously amused and haunted by memories of names, maladies, faces and needs.

So here are the facts, and following the facts are the faces as captured by our mission photographer, Bill Shugarts.  You can’t look at one without looking at the other!

• Total patients:   2778
  • Day 1=615
  • Day 2=801
  • Day 3=1272!
• Patients by Age
  • 15% under age 5
  • 29% between age 5 and 16
  • 51% adult over age 16
• The highest concentration of illness was not malaria or AIDS.  18.5% of the ailments were diagnosed as gastro illnesses arising out of parasite infection and 15.68% were diagnosed as upper respiratory infections or pneumonia. Positive HIV results represented 6.34% of those tested.
  • Malaria and AIDS get all the media attention, but the REAL killers are ailments from lack of clean water and pneumonia/respiratory infection – all very preventable!!!
• 137 people received dental services; over 140 teeth were extracted by 2 dentists

From Sue – Eyes full of HOPE

I never did get to share many of my photos, but they are mostly pretty average (my talents are obviously elsewhere).  . . but I did attach two of my favorites I wanted to share with everyone.  The first  I  took it  when I was covering for Dean at the registration lines and these cute boys kept peeking through the fence and giggling at my attempts to speak Swahili. . so it’s a cute picture but was really a very memorable moment too!   Plus, this little boy looks a lot like my son!  The second picture was an older woman who let me take her picture after I  prayed with her.  I guess in both of them I see “HOPE” in their eyes along with so many other emotions – so that part I love.

Boy at Registration Peeking Through Fence

My "Prayer Partner"

Debra – Reflections on Day 1 of Camp

What keeps running through my mind about our first day is that this team picture was taken right after we got out of the vans and entered the camp.  No assignments other than the obvious medical professionals’ tasks were given, but right after this picture we all dispersed without a blip and everyone just assumed their roles in the most perfect and well-suited way!!  It was as if we had rehearsed this “landing” over and over but we hadn’t!  Some people stayed in their slots for all 3 days and others rotated among jobs.  But it was never discussed, never debated – it just happened.  This was perhaps one of my biggest God moments of the entire week.

Christ Church Mission Team in Sakwa

Home Again – Debra’s Beginning Reflections

As one who remembers returning home from Kenya in 2007 with a profound sense of shock and sadness and quite a bit of guilt at “re-entry” into a life of comfort and luxury, I want to report that God so blessed us this time with a healthy sense of accomplishment in knowing that we truly did His bidding and made a difference.  Work was done, lives were touched physically and spiritually, and prayers were answered a thousand fold.   It feels great to be home but I am already looking forward to returning next year and am full of ideas of what might come next.

The several time shifts that we went through during our 27 hour journey home made it a little difficult to sleep through the night, so I began a list of all the little things that I want to share with you all to fill in the gaps of the story.  I will write more as the week unfolds and we will begin to upload some pictures to give you all the visuals that words cannot accurately portray.

Thank you all for your steadfast prayers and good wishes.

Sunday, Nov 8 – Now THAT was church!!

From Debra: Sarah’s last in-country blog was as we were getting ready to leave in the vans for church, so I thought I would fill you in on that experience from my perspective.  Any other missioners – feel free to chime in!

We attended Hope Worship Centre, a church something like our own Christ Church in that it is located in the midst of a suburban, upper-middle class development – kind of Crosspointe-African Style.  Electricity is available (but no plumbing per se), houses are in various stages of being built, and the roads are, well, still in progress.  Kind of picture Crosspointe when it was being roughed out in the late 80′s-early 90′s except people are living there before the site development is finished.

Anyway, Hope Educational Centre is their “Promised Land.”  Construction and growth will happen as money is available; for right now, there is a concrete slab, a tent, and lots of extension cords to power the one electric keyboard, two speakers and a few microphones.  There is a small wooden lectern covered by a pretty white fringed cloth.  There are sprigs of greenery and red bougainvillea tied to the tent posts for decoration.  It is all actually very pretty and the tropical warm breeze keeps the heat manageable.

The keyboard and 4-5 singers are singing as we arrive. We are honored to be their guests and we are ushered to the best front seats of plastic picnic chairs.  Pastor Henry opens up with a greeting and then we stand and sing for a very long time.  No limit to the standard 3 songs — each song goes for at least 15 minutes and I think I stopped counting at 4 or 5 songs.  Singing, dancing, clapping, swaying — we all truly got caught up in the rhythm of it all.

Pastor Henry welcomes our team to his church

Earlier in the morning, PJ had asked for volunteers to share their testimony and impressions of the week’s experience.  John O’Brien, Amy Rosenberger, Kim Leavenworth and Don Christensen agreed to step forward.  While all of them did a great job of explaining what this mission experience meant to them, John’s and Kim’s words left awe and tears in their wake.

John read of Jesus’ miracle in feeding the crowds with only a few loaves of bread and fish.  He told how God had likewise performed a miracle of providing the medicines that we needed for this mission, and how each time we feared that we did not have enough, He would provide via a misplaced or forgotten suitcase of just the right meds.  He also reminded us how the 7 medical providers and 2 doctors were also “multiplied” through the gifts of their treating hands and knowledge.  Through them, we provided medical treatment to more than 2800 people in 3 days – more than these same people would normally be able to treat collectively in a month back in the US!  Thank you John!

John O'Brien sharing his mission experience and thoughts with the church

Kim shared how God has worked through pain and suffering in her life, stunning us all with a story of her youth when her arms and hands were so badly burned that doctors believed she would either lose her hands or be disabled for life.  She told us how her “daddy” worked on her hands every day to keep them moving in spite of the scars and burns and excrutiating pain that she endured.  She watched him cry as it pained him to hurt her, but that he knew this was necessary if she were to heal and have use of her hands.  In light of the pain and incredible suffering we had just seen in so many peoples’ lives, this testimony brought us all to tears!  What an amazing witness for the Lord!

More singing and not one, but TWO great sermons from Pastor John followed!  No one checked their watches but we all estimated  that the service had lasted over 2-1/2 hours and we weren’t in a rush to leave!  It was a blessed morning of worship to close out our week!

Sunday in Nairobi – Update on boy with injured hand

We are on our way to church and I hope and pray to be on this blog soon to complete the camps’ journey.

But a quick update includes this: the boy with the threatened hand did come back to camp the next afternoon. It is amazing the difference a day makes. The excellent though painful scrub that Pete and Meagan did along with a day of antibiotics had given the child’s hand at least hope. Reduced in size by about a 1/4, thank God, the family agreed to get the child to a hospital the next day and we (Christ Church) paid the cost of transporation and hospital care, Doctor’s fees, procedure fees. About 1000 shillings ($15US).

We received a call from Pastor Robert last night saying they had been to the hospital, the stick was removed from his wrist and the child is doing well, post procedure. Christ Church and families of missioners you have so many reasons to be proud of the work that the people here are doing, all in Christ”s name.

Vans to church in 15 minutes.

Much love,
The CC Missioners

A day of R&R (not to mention fun and amazement at God’s creation!)

Debra here.  We can’t consider the blog complete without reporting in on the wonderful day of R&R that Pastor John planned for us.  With orders to leave Nyamira no later than 6 am, we grabbed a cup of instant coffee and a little bag of “breakfast” (boiled egg, pineapple chunks and bread) and loaded up into the vans for our travel to Lake Nukuru National Park.  Along the way, PJ surprised us with a stop at the official Equator spot.  At the equator, we posed for the picture below, got a “biology break,” and did some quick roadside shopping.  You haven’t shopped until you’ve seen Kim Leavenworth negotiate for a good jewelry deal from the window of a moving van!!  Not only was this very neat, it represented the miracle of having a day where we could just do things that we wanted to without any demands, politics or heart wrenching decisions!

Onwards to Lake Nukuru – what an amazing Creator we serve!  This dramatic beautiful place is so full of variety!  Birds, animals, scenery — we were all blown away by God’s creativity, engineering, and sense of humor in His creation!  You will see what we mean in the pictures below.  After the park, we stopped for a wonderful lunch at the Lake Nakuru Lodge.  Hot towels scented with eucalyptus greeted us to wipe off the dust, a wonderful assortment of safe food and drink, a spectacular view of the park from the Lodge’s deck — from this refreshment, we knew that we would all survive after all.

Critics might ask where such “vacation play” fits into a mission trip.  After our last mission trip to Kenya, we all kind of downplayed the safari we enjoyed, thinking people would think less of us for having a play day in the midst of our work in the slums and orphanages.  God tapped me on the shoulder this time to make sure that I share this experience boldly with you.  After working so hard and seeing so much physical deformity and pain, I congratulate Pastor John for the wisdom in planning a day of pure fun and enjoyment.  God wants us to remember that the world is not all bad.  He does not want depressed, bitter and worn out servants.  He wants us to see His beauty along with the ugliness.  He wants us to have and keep hope in our hearts that in the end, Heaven will be ours for eternity and He has created samples of it here on earth.  That’s what Saturday was for us – a little heaven after a lot of hell.

Christ Church Mission Team at Latitude Zero!

View of Lake Nakuru

Zebras grazing at Lake Nakuru

It's so exciting to all of a sudden see these guys pop out of the bush!

These are called Lesser Flamingos - smaller and pink than the larger white flamingos

These are called "Faux Flamingos" - Pete, Sarah, Megan and Don!

At high noon, the lions are lazily resting under a small scrub tree

Our wonderful mission photographer - Bill Shugarts!

Medical Camp Sakwa: Friday, Day 3

Hi Folks,

This is Sue and Megan tonight.  So glad to be back and connected online finally.  We are back in Nairobi, everyone is safe and healthy. . .but we want to continue telling you all about our amazing experience at the Medical Camp! (and how amazing it was!)  We each have so many stories and experiences to share, but to start out with, we will just sum up some of the big stuff.

With each day, we would review with the group one patient that demonstrated to us how God was at work in the medical camp.  This short list touches on some of those examples we shared.  We were able to treat thousands of patients for parasitic and fungal infections including nearly every child who walked through the gates.  There were several children who stand out, a 10 year old boy with an infected wrist fracture that we were able to get to the local hospital for surgery which likely saved him from losing his hand.  Another child that touched our hearts was a young boy we treated for second and third degree burns he suffered after an epileptic seizure caused him to fall into a fire.  There were several adults that we treated for severe skin infections suffered as a result of the trauma working in the tea fields at the plantations.   There was a 50 year old man who had suffered from polio and came in wearing shoes on his hands and dragging his legs behind him.  We saw many things that are commonly seen in our practices at home, but in a population that has never had access to the basic healthcare of a simple doctor’s office visit.  We also saw things that for most healthcare providers are only encountered in textbooks and may never be seen again.  All of these things led to a truly blessed opportunity to minister to and help heal thse wonderful men, women and children.

At the end of the three days, our camp staff had logged more than 2800 patient visits!!  Our amazing dentists, Irma and Kim pulled approximately 40 teeth each day.  Each night, the word in the villages and towns spread apparently (that we were nice, god-loving folks and yes, it was free. . .) and so each day we saw bigger and bigger crowds.  Also, we were able each to refine our “systems”. . learning how to most efficiently work with the translators, how to dispense medications quickly and how to put on our “field medicine hats” making quick decisions based the basic physical exam and clinical knowledge.  It was amazing to see such incredible teamwork.  Each person on the team, whether medical provider or core team member willingly stepped up to the many varied tasks of the camp. . .for example, Stephanie became an extraordinary dental technician, Amy served as the chief pharmacist and Gary and Dean served as the unbelievably patient registration team.  It really is indescribable how God put each member on this team for such a specific purpose – we were a TEAM from the very first moments!

Stephanie served as Dr. Irma's dental assistant like she had done it for years!

Gary touched us all with his impromptu Bible study with the children in the middle of the camp.

Dean managed registration and Debra kept the Team serviced with whatever they needed

The Kenyans called Dr. John the Mzungu Giant! The ladies especially loved him!

The "Treatment" Center was uncovered and in the sun all day - Dr. Pete saw and treated patients all day as if he were in an air conditioned sterile room!

Sarah and Jeff working together in the pediatric tent. Some of the chilcren were terribly afraid of our white skin, but not this little one!

Medical Camp Sakwa: Thursday, Day 2

Thursday,  Camp Day 2:

Like a Swiss train this operation is… at least in part. It is thrilling to see the motivation and energy of the Christ Church Missioners.  Up late, up early.  No complaints.  Moving bags, filling scripts, shaking and grooving; all after a full day of treating patients.  Really challenging patients.  We don’t speak the language; and, even when they speak English we sometimes need an interpreter.

We are humbled by their status.  We don’t have too much time for grief and pity: treat and move on.   It is one thing to accept cognitively that we cannot save the world, a whole other to accept it emotionally – especially in the face of such tremendous need.  Do we try to save the hand of a 12 year old boy who has walked 2 days to see us? Do we attempt to do a minor exploration of the wound with all the pain management we can muster?  –OR–  Do we attempt to insist that the Kenyans care for their own? (We couldn’t get them to take ownership of the case after several requests, much less get them to take him to a hospital.)  This said, it is difficult to not believe that we could do a better job… and yet so arrogant to assume so.  In the US, this child would have been in the OR with a specialized Hand surgeon within about 2 hours.  Instead, tonight, as he was literally the last patient in the gate, we did a minor wash out (excruciating) and sent him with antibiotics and plans to see him in the morning for treatment. (this will be  our first use of IV antibiotics).  And so we Americans consult with one another, we pray, we plead with God for discernment about how to manage this child’s care.  And, somewhere in the next 12 hours the answer will be revealed to us.  We cling to the belief that the Creator, the Great Physician will guide us.  And of course, He will.

So in the meantime we go on working .. sans help from the Kenyan Physicians with only a few exceptions.  While they toil over whether  they’ve  received their  fair allotment of Coca Cola and white bread, we treat,  and treat, and treat. Who knows what the diagnosis is? Is this really malaria, dreaded HIV, worse yet TB, putting ourselves at risk?  Thank God we are immunized from typhoid, yellow fever, Polio, tetanus, mumps, measles, etc. We see them all, at least peripherally, and take great comfort in our immunized status.  “But for the  grace of God” is our answer once again.

I wonder if someday, someone will be as proud of us as I am of all the great Christian missionaries who preceded us in the absence of immunizations, antibiotics, auto transportation, electricity, etc.  One day will they think we are brave to have risked TB, parasitic infection, or simple rage from pushing crowds who insist on being seen?  Truth is, I have great pity for them (if not their actions).  I wish all of us in the world would treat each other more kindly; and I wish we could see each patient without them having to endure long journeys, great pain and thorough frustration to find they have stood in line for hours only to have the gate closed in front of them.  How?  How are we supposed to reconcile that?

Those who made it inside the compound today filled our hearts by their simple words of gratitude.  It is truly all they had to give and it was more than enough to have received. “No sir, I cannot help you see again. You need surgery for your cataracts.” “No sir, we cannot restore your legs’ function taken from you 30 years ago, not by the witchcraft you believe, but by the polio that stopped you from running when you were 20.”  “My God, ma’am.  Your child is ½ girl, ½ boy.  We barely treat this in the US.” “ I’m sorry, we’ve run out of antibiotics, or cream, or glasses, or, or, or…”  “No, you will not recover further from your 10 year ago stroke, no..,no..no.”  And so it goes.  And the globe still spins, our hearts still break, and their faces still smile and offer words of gratitude.  And these were our favorite cases.  They’re the ones we don’t talk about even amongst ourselves.  Seems trite, and we’ve been touched too deeply.

It’s easier to discuss that our helpers (K. doc.s) …don’t; that a walkie- talkie got stolen; that the local food called ugali  sucks, even when well prepared.   It’s easier just to keep working until fatigue takes over and we sleep until the next day of camp begins.. where a 12 year old boy, at risk of losing his right hand awaits us.  He will be our first patient.  You see the local pastor took him in for the night and we shall take him in for the day.  But, just how and what shall we do for him, only heaven knows.

This man was crippled from polio but believes it to be a curse from a witchdoctor that we could heal.

PA Kate Stephens worked all 3 days in pediatrics

 

Melissa and Pamela praying with Kenyan pastors and children in Prayer Room

Our incredible pharmacy team performed miracles in their dark mud and stick room!

Medical Camp Sakwa: Wednesday, Day 1

Christ Church Mission Team in Sakwa

We missed election day in VA and are anxious to know results. Our first mission day is complete and while many report serious insomnia from the night before, we will be hard-pressed to stay awake this evening to complete our work… another night of pill-packing, etc.

Camp… How to describe today’s camp… how does one describe all of the emotions of life? I think perhaps we had them all today. We saw more today than most clinicians see in 10 years of practice in the US. Today included massive goiters, near blindness from Congenital Chlamydia (or Gonorrhea?) (and he thought he only needed glasses). We saw raging mumps and a cleft lip/palate (and mother thought she could have it repaired today). (Does anyone know of an Operation Smile team coming to Kenya?) A seven year old girl had split her foot while cutting wood yesterday. There was a massive thumb infection that extended to the wrist area on another. This was a several week, late stage wound. And more wounds like this.

The dentists. God bless the dentists! In less than about 7 hours, Kim and Irma extracted almost 40 teeth. One man was septic from his dental abscess. They did this work without lights or dental chairs.

There was a woman who went into full-blown labor while waiting to be seen. There was a 15-day-old baby who was found near a dumpster and I wish you could have seen the love and grace of Jeff as he skillfully performed a newborn baby exam with poise and confidence.

These stories go on, but we have pills to pack and strategies to form… and, thanks to give.

We miss you all very much and thank you for your prayers and love. Yes, we can feel them on the other side of the globe and equator.

Patients in line at Medical Tents waiting to be seen

Crowds at gate waiting to get into Medical Camp

Crowd waiting at the "pharmacy" in the building to the left.

Dr. Jeff examining a little baby found in a dumpster 10 days earlier

Dr. Kim kneeling in dirt to treat dental patients. That's our "Texas Angel" Dr. Irma Thompson in the background and our Maryland friend, Barry Phelps assisting in the foreground.

Dean and Gary managed the flow and registration of people into the Camp. It took a couple of days and a lot of patience to get our Kenyan colleagues to adopt our suggestions for crowd control.