My Africa Moment...

As you can imagine, removing yourself from what is comfortable (i.e. America) can be very difficult.  Some people adjust rather quickly to immersion into a new country and culture, and others have a more difficult time.  While I have enjoyed my time in Africa thus far, I have struggled with  various aspects of the culture.  The most obvious obstacle being the language barrier.  Off the top of my head, I can think of four different languages that you encounter in Bomet alone.  I have struggled feeling that I can connect with my patients.  If I try and talk to them, will they just be confused and rather I not?  Mark has reminded me on multiple occasions that everyone understands a smile.  So this is what I have tried to do...smile...a lot.  Another obstacle is PDA, or public displays of affection.  In America, it is totally acceptable for a husband and wife to hold hands, or place your hand on hour spouses knee when seated, etc.  Here, we have to keep reminding ourselves that it is not the way of the Kenyan people, and being outsiders, we want to respect their customs.  Another obstacle is clothing.  The women here are expected to wear knee length skirts or longer unless you are in the Operating Room, or "theater" as they call it.  Today we will be going on a hike.  And what will the ladies be wearing?  You guessed it....skirts.  Needless to say, fitting in and feeling comfortable has been a challenge.
But today I had what I like to call "my Africa moment".  We attended church at Bethesda Africa Gospel Church.  We started our praise and worship time and one of the songs that was sung was "Shout to the Lord" (mind you it had an African flare with a little boy pounding on the drum).   As I was standing there singing praises to my God, I realized that we are all singing and worshiping the same God.  What a realization that gave me the connection to the people of Kenya I have been searching for!  I found it difficult to sing as I was holding back my tears.  My God is so great, and in that moment, he provided for me what I have most desired...a feeling of belonging.  Today I have experienced just how big our God is, not only is he Emily's God that is worshiped in Morehead, Kentucky, but 7,700 miles away in Bomet, Kenya, he is the same God.  And I praise him for that!

A Day at the Orphanage

Today Emily and I had the opportunity to go to a local orphanage (1.5 hrs away).  It was an amazing experience.  To begin we had 12 people in a Toyota Land Cruiser, that is fun on Kenyan roads, most of which were not paved.  We traveled through amazing country, most of which was tea fields.  Kenyans love tea, especially Chi.  Anyway we traveled out and arrived at the orphanage and we were greeted by 30 children.  The one thing I have noticed in  the short time we have been here is how friendly the people are, especially the children.  At the orphanage they have 30-40 children varying in age from elementary to high school.  Their home is located in a beautiful area with a view that is just amazing. They look out on farm country and also the border of an enormous forrest (don't remember the name). 

The reason for our visit was to perform feet washing, give out shoes, socks, and t-shirts.  Dr. Bemm was the physician that invited us, and he led the children through the story of the last supper when Jesus washed his disciples feet (John 13: 1-17).  It was awesome to hear the the children answering Dr. Bemm's questions.  The knowledge that these children have biblically is unreal, it makes you want to sharpen your own knowledge!

It's just so cool to see the kids.  The big thing that I wanted out of this trip was to have a new perspective, and in my eyes these kids are the perfect example how to live life.  Emily and I were talking on the way home about the locals and how they don't think they're poor.  I told her that they aren't, that's subjective, and these people are very rich in spirit.  They may have less money than we have been blessed with but we look at them through westernized eyes.  These are rich people, maybe not financially according to us, but spiritually they are loaded...lol!! 

Talking specifically about about the kids we met today, our prayer is that God just blesses them.  We pray that they grow in Him, and just have wonderful lives.  Life has started hard for these kids, I'm not sure why they are orphans, but if their spirit that we saw today holds true, these kids will be amazing!!!

Good night from Kenya!!

Psalm 139:13-14

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Your works are wonderful, I know that full well."  Psalm 139:13-14

Today was my first real day on the OB/GYN floor.  You will probably be as amazed as I was to hear that there were 46 women on the OB/GYN floor!  You may also be surprised to know that many of them share a bed with another patient.  According to Mark, this isn't unsuaul on the other floors either.  Something I noticed that tugged at my heart strings is that many of the expectant mothers and post delivery mothers are in the same room as mothers who have experienced IUFD (intrauterine fetal demise) also known as a stillbirth.  This is when the fetus dies before birth, usually after 20-24 weeks gestation.  The mothers who have delivered keep their babies with them in their bed unless the newborn is ill or requires extra attention.  Those babies who require extra attention are sent to the nursery, which can serve as a PICU.  There were over 30 babies in the nursery!! Needless to say this place has babies galore!! 

Part of the Nursery

Kelly and I also got to see our first delivery while at Tenwek.  Interesting fact: here at Tenwek, the nurses deliver the infants unless there is a problem or a c-section is neccessary.  The delivery room consists of 3 beds devided by curtains. 

Kelly and I also had the priviledge of getting to spend some time with the children who live around the hospital.  Thanks to the donations by Keith and Holly Hoover, I was able to take the children paper, pens, and crayons, and boy did they LOVE IT!  More and more children kept coming.  We all sat down and practiced writing numbers, drawing pictures, and writing (in English!).  The kids were so fun and so grateful!



To end the day, we had bible study.  The women met at one house and the men at another.  It was the perfect way to end what had been a great day.  Thank you for your continued prayers!

Day one....

Day one down and Emily and I survived!!!  I must say that it was amazing, and very nerve racking!!  At the time of us walking to morning medical meetings Emily and Kelly still did not know the rotation that they would be starting with, so that just added to the anxiety.  Eventually they did find out that both with be on OB/GYN for the first 4 weeks of our time at Tenwek.  I on the other hand knew what I was going to be doing, just not to what capacity.  It was comforting to see that they actually have a small rehab department.  I was kept on a short leash today, I told Emily that they may think I'm a student, not for sure....lol.  PT here is very different.  They write orders(x-rays, CT, etc.), do a lot of casting (which we do in the U.S.), but I still haven't figured out the flow of the PT department just yet, but its only day one.  Emily had some interesting stories from her experiences today, actually a little to much to describe here...lol.  One of the brightest parts of the day that I think I'm really going to like is the 10:30 tea time.  Everyday at 10:30 everyone stops to have Chi tea.  Chi tea consist of tea (not sure the type), milk, water, sugar (lots of sugar).  A very delightful little treat!  
I've only been here really a day and a half but it's easy to see that this is a special place.  The people and the culture are so inviting and caring that it is impressive to watch as an outsider.  The morning meetings are begun with someone praying and then they take prayer requests and pray again to end the meetings! Try to do that in America and see how fast you are in a lawsuit....ridiculous America!  Anyway, the thing that has stuck out to me the most is the kids.  They are just amazing, even the kids that are patients seem to all be smiling and positive.  Kids are everywhere around the hospital playing and when you walk by they reach out to shake your hand.  I had one little girl this evening who had fractured her arm today.  It was a green stick fracture.  She was probably 3-4 years old.  I noticed her looking at me out of a doorway in the PT department.  I walked toward her and she came right to me to shake my hand.  Maybe I looked funny to her because she ran back to her mom just laughing!!  I'm not sure if she spoke english but I kept telling her that "You are to pretty to be hurt.", and again she would just laugh and laugh.  Pretty cool to see such a small person be so welcoming and so brave at the same time when she has a fractured arm.  With this being day one I'm sure the blessing are just going to continue to come.  Good night from Africa!!!

Made it to Kenya!

Good morning from Nairobi!  Mark, Kelly, and I made it here safely.  We ran into a little trouble in Amsterdam and got re-routed to London.  Then, that flight got delayed....so we made it, but about 9 hours behind schedule.  So we got a taxi to the Mennonite house that we were scheduled to stay at and took a nap for 1 1/2 hours before breakfast (which was delicious!).  Now we are awaiting the arival of our driver and will go to the grocery store before making the 3-4 hour drive through the Great Rift Valley to get to Bomet, Kenya.  Its amazing how a good meal and a hot shower can perk you up after 30+ hours of traveling!

The countdown is on...

So our trip across the pond is getting very very close, like 48 hours close!  Emily and I decided that a blog would be a great way for us to  share our "wild and wonderful life" adventures with everyone.  We are so excited to leave, I expected a little more nerves but so far we just have excitment.  The hardest part of creating this blog was deciding on the title...lol.   However tonight at dinner I (Mark) just spouted out "our wild and wonderful life."  "Wild and wonderful" because our our WV roots, and "life" because of what we want to experience on this adventure.  Our wonderful friends Keith and Holly Hoover bought us a magnet that had a quote on it that has become our motto for this trip.  The quote is "Life begins at the end of your comfort zone."  How appropriate, and Emily and I have really taken this to heart.  My prayer is that we can help those in need, and that our lives are changed for the better, but most of all, that God is glorified in everything that we say and do.  So with all that said, make sure that you follow us on this blog while we are gone so that we can all experience this together!  It's time for life to begin!!

So....What Mark forgot to tell you is that we are going to AFRICA!  We will be traveling to Bomet, Kenya and doing medical missions at Tenwek hospital.  Mark will be working as a Physical Therapist in the rehab department, and I will be completing two of my PA school rotations at the hospital.  Mark will be in Kenya for 4 weeks, and I will be staying for eight.  My classmate Kelly McDonald will also be with us on this journey so I'm sure you will be hearing a lot about her as well.  As Mark said, we hope that this trip is life changing.  We hope that we learn to be consistently grateful for all the blessings that the Lord has given us.  We hope to learn that more is not always better.  And we hope to learn what it is to live outside of our comfort zone.  We haven't even left the states yet and God has already revealed himself to us.  We have been so touched by the generosity of family and friends that have given us the financial means to seize this opportunity.  So please follow us on this journey as we share how God is working in Kenya.