Let me give you a quick recap of my time there.
Thursday 01/10/19- Saturday 1/12/19:
These were our travel days.. 40 hours of travel.. oofta! but that left lots of time for team bonding :) We landed in Nairobi at 7 am Saturday morning (Kenyan time +9 hours of US time) where we were greeted by lovely 65 degree weather and our dear friend Alfred. "It's so good to be home" <3 We gathered our luggage and settled in on the bus for our 7+ hour bus ride to Eldoret. (To give you a picture of the roads and driving in Kenya, Eldoret is only about 200 miles away from Nairobi. A 30 minute plane ride, but nearly a 7 hour drive). Along the way we stopped at the equator for a group photo and to stretch. Once we arrived in Eldoret we got checked into our hotel, showered quick, and headed to Mom's for supper. Arriving at mom's confirmed that I had just came home as I embraced long and warm hugs from her and Maggie and sweet little Audrey. "It's good to be home". We shared in fellowship, and Kenyan meal, and of course Chai.
Sunday 01/13/19:
I GET TO SEE MY SWEET KIDDOS. My heart was singing with anticipation all morning as we headed to church and the opening ceremony. Warm tears fell from my eyes as I heard their sweet voices singing before we even got off the bus. "It's good to be home". hug after hug, my heart was filling with joy and love. We entered into the school dining hall for church and listened to a beautiful service about God being our strength, a message that would be evident through out the trip. The rest of the day was spent loving on the precious children and letting them love on us. My heart was bursting with joy. It was so good to be home. So good.
God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good.
Two thoughts from morning devos:
- Pray dangerous Prayers.
- Are you quiet enough to listen?
"He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and on them he has set the world." 1 Samuel 2:8
What an amazing Lord we serve.
Monday 01/14/19- Tuesday 01/15/19:
"When in Kenya", is a motto that you quickly become to live by. Monday did not go quite as planned. We were to have our first clinic at the school, but due to a change in government, miscommunication, and things out of our control, it did not happen. Instead of wasting the day we went to an orphanage that an Olympic runners' mother ran. It was also the orphanage our precious Mama had grown up in. My heart hurt as I snuggled the little ones and listened to many of their stories, but how incredible it is that God has placed them in such a caring place to be raised with love in Him. I held tight to a little on named Paul. 4 months old was all he was. His mom had died during birth and he had no known family. "Oh sweet one you know I'd adopt you in a heartbeat." Unfortunately Kenya has a ban on international adoption. I guess that means I need to move to Kenya ;) After the orphanage we checked out a dairy farm and then went back to the school to love on the kiddos some more.
Thoughts from devos:
"Perhaps you were created for such a time as this"
Are you all familiar with the story of Esther? I have come to know Esther very well over the past year. When I first returned from Kenya last year, she was who God spoke through to me. Confused, frustrated, and only wanting to run, I saw some of the same feelings in Esther as she was in a position that she did not necessarily want to be in, but vital for her people, crucial for God's will for her and her people. Me, somewhere I did not want to be, feeling feelings I wanted to shove to the side, but placed her for some reason, placed here for God's plan. Fast forward a year- God has moved huge mountains, He's been working in ways I never knew were possible. This morning I related to Esther in a whole new way. He has placed us where we are, because we are in the midst of a battle. "Perhaps we were created for such a time as this."
My prayer leading up to this trip and for the first few days, "Lord, give me a glimpse, show me what it would look like to be a long term mission. Give me a taste of the joys, the heart aches, the persecution, the highs and the low. Father, break my heart for what breaks yours, make my heart smile for what makes yours smile. Show me your heart, show me a side of missions I've been blind to".
"Ask and ye shall receive". On Tuesday morning there was a terrorist attack, by a Somalian Muslim group at a hotel in Nairobi. Thankfully we were no longer in Nairobi, but safe in Eldoret, but I think it still shook us all down to the core. I grew very quiet as my mind drifted to my quiet times with God and my thoughts from last year. Up until this trip I had a strong desire to drop out of school and pursue long term missions fully and I was looking at going to Somalia. I had the mission applications filled out and had so many conversations about actively pursuing the mission field in Somalia and reaching the unreached, but after prayers and choosing the practical route, God led me to stay at USF to finish my Nursing degree. I couldn't help but think that this attack, this timing, and the group was not a coincidence. While this should be enough of a reason to say 'no' to missions, all I can think about is what an honor it would be to be martyred for our Lord and savior. What an extreme honor to have the privilege to make His name known.
We did not find out about the attack until later Tuesday night (there are perks to being totally disconnected for most of the day).
Tuesday was spent at the school! Our village clinic had been cancelled, but we went ahead and did the school clinic. Once we finished seeing over 200 littles, we packaged more medication and prepared for our two clinics in Nandi. And of course played with the sweet kids.
Wednesday 01/16/19- Thursday 01/17/19:
These two days were packed with adventures, clinic prep, and emotions. On Wednesday, we went to one of the 7 wonders of Kenya, which was a breathtaking waterfall. Annndddd we hiked the whole thing. Last year we trecked down to the waterfall and then back up, but this year we hiked down, up behind, and back. yeah I'm not a huge fan of heights or large amounts of water, but the view was worth is. After the waterfall, we went on our first house visit for the trip. House visits our a beautiful, raw, humbling, and intimate time and there are usually very few dry eyes in the room. After this house visit we headed back to the school for lunch and then to our last visit for the day. Because of the size of our group and the size of many of the homes, half of the group went to this visit and the other half went to our beloved Maggi's house. Maggi is a gem. She cooks for all of the Simba groups and goes above and beyond to take care of us. She has a beautiful story and a beautiful heart.
Thursday our group split again- half went to the school to finish packing medication for the Nandi clinics and the other half went to the last two house visits. I was honored and humbled to be asked to be apart of one of the visits. A house visit consists of the sponsor meeting their sponsored child and their family. During a house visit, the one leading it introduces Simba Ministries and the sponsor. The sponsor then washes the feet of the child and each member of their family while the speaker is reading John 13:1-18; the passage where Jesus washes the feet of the disciples. Once the foot washing is complete, the speaker says a few final words about the gospel and the love of God and opens it up for the sponsor and sponsored family to share. At the end the family is presented with a bag of groceries. It is such a beautiful picture of the church, of God's love, and such a truly humbling experience. God works in mighty and mysterious ways. As I was reading the passage at the first home visit I was overcome with a sense of peace and a feeling of contentment. Prior to this time the term 'confidence' had come up multiple times. Being confident in the Lord, the difference between confidence and arrogance, and that the Lord is our confidence. My voice trembled as the Holy Spirit took lead of the ceremony, reading 1 John 4:11-12. "Beloved, if God so loved us we ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; If we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected." As I glanced to the previous page, my eyes were drawn to 1 John 3:19-22, "By this way we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and doe what pleases him..." I may or may not have had the spirit tears flowing. This. This is what the church should look like. This. This feels like home. "Lord, Not mine, but YOUR will be done"
After the final visit we headed back to the school for lunch and to load the bus for the 2 hour drive to Nandi Hills, where we would stay for the next two days. Once we arrived in Nandi we quickly settled into our rooms and chatted until we met with a few government officials from Nandi to discuss how the next two days would run. After a meet and greet, some time chatting, and a quick dinner it was time to get back to work- there were still a bunch of medications to be labeled, counted, and packed and a good night of sleep was in order as we would leave the grounds at 7 so that we could start the clinic at 8 and finish seeing patients between 5 or 6.
Friday 01/18/19-Saturday 01/19/19:
Hannah and I had a wild night- while we were lucky enough to even have a toilet, it did not flush..nor did it have a seat.. and lucky enough to have a shower- the water pressure was not great and the temperature- a little frigid. (and I am cringing at the fact that I am even complaining about such minuscule things). Our bug nets were also non existent, but none of these things kept us from sharing great laughs and a good jam session. I think we got about 6 hours of sleep, before it was time to get ready for the long, but incredible day that was ahead.
Remember how I said the clinic was going to start at 8? Our Kenyan doctors, nurses, and pharmacists didn't arrive until after 9:30, meaning our clinic did not start until after 10. I spent the first 20 minutes paired with Joan- (Joan is Alfred's wife. Alfred is the manager of St. Jacobs, the school Simba partners with. Alfred, Joan, and Mama are always so incredibly good to us.) Joan is amazing- so smart, so kind, and such a great teacher. I always learn so much from her. Once the other Kenyan experts arrived, the clinic quickly changed. Unfortunately, it was not what we had anticipated. While we had hoped it would be very similar to last year, where we were working together to treat the patients, it quickly turned into the Kenyans speaking and treating the patients as we sat there clueless, because of the language barrier. I jumped from exam rooms to vitals, to pharmacy, to cervical screenings and to HIV testing keeping things going and trying to show love.
Even though today was not what we had hoped, what we needed to remember was: over 600 people still received free healthcare, medication, and prayer and people were still shown the love of God. My prideful self was at first disappointed at the fact that we had gone through all these trials to not even treat patients alongside them, BUT that is the way missions should be. It should not be us coming into a foreign country and taking over, it should be us working with the natives side by side, and when they are sufficient, we let them take the lead. The natives know the area and they know the people. Often times we depart for a mission trip expecting to change the world and to teach all that we know, but reality check- you just might learn more from them than they will from you. You might be changed more than you change the world and that's a beautiful thing. What is often forgotten is we are not on a different level. The people we meet, treat, and love, are still children of God. Their circumstances may look different than yours and they may speak a different language, but that doesn't make them any less intelligent, it doesn't make them less lovable, it doesn't make them less. period. Everyone you meet, every person you look in the eyes, every stranger you pass is loved by the same God you worship. They are you brother and sister in Christ. They are part of the church. Love them well.
After the clinic we headed back to the hotel to take inventory of the medication we had left and pack more. It was a long and exhausting day and one that dragged to the later night. We all went to bed pretty late and were up early for a 6:30 am departure. The clinic today was in a different part of Nandi and a bit further of a drive. We drove up the hill to where the clinic would be and I'm pretty sure we were all praying it wouldn't rain, because there was no way we would make it down. As the bus parked and we all prepped to unload we all looked around with what I would assume were very similar thoughts. There was one building with 4 rooms, no tent, nothing but open space. Down the hill was another small building, and one more a little further. In my mind there was no way this was going to work, but God always has a plan. The building at the top of the hill was where the pharmacists, Dave, and our fearless prayer warriors set up, the next building was where the HIV testing would take place, and the building furthest from the top was where registration would take place and where the clinicians and nurses would see patients. Once we did a walk through, it appeared that it would run fairly smoothly, praise God!
Before we started the clinic we stood hand and hand with the Kenyan nurses and doctors and prayed. while the was still calm.
After prayer we all headed toward our respected areas. And that's when I felt a feeling I had never felt before. As we were heading to the "examine rooms" there was a man on the ground who had fainted and appeared to be seizing. I ran over to see if I could help Molly and Alfred. I haven't seen many things in the medical field that flip my stomach as much as this case did. He was a diabetic with a Blood Glucose level of 31. Average should be between 100 and 140. 31. Molly was shoving powdered glucose in his mouth as I ran up the hill to try and find any glucose or sugar. Unfortunately all we could find was a sprite, an orange, and peach applesauce. "What were we going to do? What was going to happen? The closest hospital was a 20 minute drive, no ambulance, we were running out of glucose and time. Molly had managed to get his glucose up to 109, which lasted about 5 minutes as it dropped back down to 39. Alfred pulled his car around and we put him in the back seat. Abbey sat with him as she continued to shove sugar in his mouth.
My heart was racing, my hands shaking, my breathing quick. "I'm sorry what? What just happened?"
My heart broken. "How often does this happen? How is this okay?" As much as I tried to wrap my mind around what had happened, as much as I had tried to process why and how, I just couldn't. "You have to keep going"
I grabbed a water and went to one of the exam rooms, where I met the doctor I would be paired with for the day. We had our introductions and began to see patients. I wasn't allowed to assess or diagnose patients at first, because in his words I was, "just a nurse". Eventually he decided I did know what I was talking about and did know what I was doing(kind of). He began to let me ask questions and assess patients, but threw my comments to the side. Ex: Female, 20, presents with chest pain, abdominal pain, and breast pain with lumps. Breathing hurts. Heart sounds are normal, lungs are fluidy. I recommend she seek further council, especially to examine her breasts to look for cancer. The doctor I was with says she is in prime menstrual age and that these symptoms are simply because of that with some Rheumatoid Arthritis. I'm not a doctor. I know I'm not, but I'm also a female and know that many of her symptoms were not that of a normal menstrual cycle. My heart was breaking, because I knew there was nothing I could do, not just for her, but where I was at in general. I so badly wanted to stay, but God made it clear at that point that, where I was education wise, I would be doing more harm than good, that I could not offer anything to the Kenyans now. A hard realization, but one that was true. Missions is not about saving the world, it's about working side by side, learning and teaching. At this point, I need Kenya more than they need me.
Sunday 1/20/2019- Tuesday 1/22/2019
If you could rip my heart out and shove it in a blender and pour it back in, that's about how today felt. Today was the closing or the 'goodbye' ceremony at the school. Like always the church service was beautiful and the voices of the children melted my heart.
"You. are exactly where you are supposed to be".
If I could stay in this moment forever, I think I would be okay with that.
Today I said, "see you soon" to some of the most precious children and some of the greatest people.
Today we laughed and cried.
Today my heart was content.
After we left the school we drove to Leeland's campsite. An overlook campsite of the great rift valley and our home for the night.
My. God. Is. So. Big.
The Rift Valley stretches across all of Kenya and into surrounding countries, about 4,000 miles long. It is often compared to a more magnificent grand canyon. Incredible is an understatement.
The night was spent talking to God, enjoying His creation, and relaxing and bonding with each other. Hannah and I bunked in room Kampala. We had way too much fun chasing geckos and killing spiders.
We woke up at 5:40 the next morning so that we could watch the sunrise peak over the perfectly carved skyline. To say it was gorgeous is an understatement. The time we spent watching from first light to full peak was peaceful and a time that taught us patience, but in a gentle and beautiful way.
After watching the sunrise we all got ready for breakfast and devos. This time was special, for we knew we had few mornings left together in Kenya. Once we finished devos we started the hike to the little waterfall. Unlike last year, we continued the hike for about 2 more miles and immersed ourselves more in the valley and the villages of Kenya.
"Are we lost? We will discover"
I'm learning a lot about what it means to recklessly follow God. Sometimes the path is easy and straight. Other times it's rocky, exhausting, and confusing.
After the hike, we loaded up and headed back to our hotel in Eldoret.
Tuesday was an incredibly emotional day. We went to a farm where a family who rescued children with special needs lived. Culturally, when a child is born with a disability they are viewed as a curse and thrown out to die. One man named Patrick, knows that these precious children are not at all curses, but just extra special. He and his wife live in a very modest farm house with their 4 kids and the 5 special needs kids they have taken in. This scene got me. It hit deep and I can't quite put my finger on why. It's not right and it's not fair.
After leaving Patrick's, we drove through the dump. I can not wrap my head around how a country so beautiful can be warped by such poverty. My heart ached as I saw the sweet children playing and digging through heaps of garbage. It was crushed as I saw boys of all ages not so secretly high on glue they had huffed.
I do not write these posts for pity, but as awareness. It is quite possible you had no idea pf some of the events that take place in Kenya and it is very possible that you had no idea such conditions existed. Now you do. How are you going to respond? Are you going to read what I write and say, "those are sweet stories and oh that's a sad one, but God is good". Yes, 150% God is still good, He is always good and always faithful, but as His servants, whether you have been called to missions or not, it is your duty to take care of your neighbors. To clothe them, love them, feed them, pray for them, and come alongside them in their time of need. I'm here to tell you- your neighbors in Kenya need you. They need your prayers and love.
After driving through the dump, we went to the rescue center. A place for children who were found on the street. These children, literally have no one. No mom, no dad, maybe an older sibling, but likely not. Can you imagine being 7 years old and having no where to call home? Can you picture yourself being a 9 year old girl and forced to sell your body to have food to eat that night or a 10 year old boy huffing glue to curb the hunger pains? How about a 12 year old boy that was abandoned and now runs with a gang he wish he never joined? My guess is you can't, because I have seen these scenes and I still can not imagine being in their shoes.
After an emotional day, we headed back to the hotel to clean up a bit before having dinner at Joann and Alfred's. They are such a sweet family and are so goo to us.
Wednesday 1/23/2019- Saturday 1/24/19:
Today is our last day in Eldoret. We will leave for Nairobi tonight. You betcha I'm choking back tears. We loaded all of our suitcases on the bus this morning so that our luggage would be in Nairobi when we arrived. We spent the day soaking up Kenyan sun, visiting the market again, and have good conversation. We said our goodbyes quickly that night as our 9pm flight had been changed to 8pm with out our knowledge. That night a prayer I had been praying was answered. "Lord, if this is where you want me, make it abundantly clear. I need mama to tell me to come back." As we were saying our "goodbyes", mama made sure I was last. I hugged her tight. The tears that were trickling down my cheeks unleashed a waterfall when as I left she said, "I will see you this summer". The doors to return were wide open, before my first plane ride back to the U.S.
I was silent most of the 35 min flight to Nairobi. I was trying my hardest to process, but that's not something I'm great at. We landed, hopped on our bus and headed to the guest house we would stay at that night. We headed to bed shortly after returning, because the safari vans would arrive at 5:45 sharp on Thursday to take us on our African adventure.
Safari round II was a blast! we saw so many animals on this safari that we didn't see last year.
After the safari we headed to the elephant sanctuary, for orphaned elephants. Those little nuggets are so darn cute.
Before heading to the giraffe park, we stopped at one of the malls to get some lunch and caffeine, we were all feeling the extreme lack of sleep). We gathered back up and went to see the giraffes. This is seriously one of my favorite parts of the trip, because i love giraffes!
After all the African adventures, we headed back to the guest house for a bit so we could take some naps, shower, and debrief before we headed to the airport. We left for the airport around 8. We went straight through customs and security and then waited at our gate for our 11:55 departure. That would start the 40 hour journey home. From Nairobi to Amsterdam Minneapolis and finally landing in Sioux Falls at 9 pm on Saturday night, U.S. time.
Time to process and prepare to return for the summer.
Y'all God is SO dang good.
Hallelujah, He is faithful
