Update for August 3, 2011

Weekly update August 3, 2011

I’ve been remiss in writing for a couple of weeks. We’ve been busy, and that is good. This will be random because I have so many scattered thoughts.

DEATH
One of the men in one of our branches was telling me about the death of his daughter from Malaria. He said, “It is just a normal thing—something to be expected. Death is common.” Indeed, it is here. We’ve told you how pervasive Malaria is here. No family is exempt. Literally, we rarely talk to someone who doesn’t tell us one of their family members hasn’t had it within the last two weeks or is infected with it presently.

We were discussing problems which needed solving. Five families were identified as needing clothing and food. W of W was a big culprit in many homes.

One woman named a concern she had for a small child in a family of neglected circumstances. She said, “The baby has a swollen face and swollen arms and legs. The legs are so swollen from malnutrition that the skin is splitting and liquid is seeping through the cracks. The little kids in this family have been grabbing the sacrament bread. I was appalled. I was very upset about how we could help this baby. I discovered the branch had "already taken in some food and resolved the problem.” I was so relieved, but couldn’t get that baby out of my mind. The next morning we were told the baby died during the night. That is twice that has happened since we’ve been here. We just felt so badly about it.

Then we were told that the family had been helped for over a year, but the caretaker had taken the food they had been given and sold it. Our hearts just ached for all of them.

Anyway, she asked for help to bury the child. She lives on rented ground. The landlord agreed to allow the burial on his ground, but then, his family members were against it, so he retracted his offer. Our group helped with the casket. The caretaker wanted us to help with getting the plot on the landlord’s ground issue resolved. Later, it was discovered that the plan was to have the baby buried and then claim the ground. Our leader was inspired to go to the police when it became obvious that all was not right. The police gave very good advice. So, ultimately, the neighbors got together and buried the baby. It just amazes us all the things that we don’t understand.

Remember the baby we told you about earlier—young 18 yr old mom, no English, and older father, 52. We are going to visit there on Friday because we were just informed the baby has some significant birth defects: 5 missing fingers and one leg missing. I feel so sorry for that little mother. She just looks like a lost sheep. We are going to take out a few baby things because there are no clothes for this baby. She still acts like she is afraid of me.

You know when we go out in these more remote areas, many of the people don’t see muzungus (whites) much if ever. We went to visit a sister quite near us (where whites would not be quite so rare). As we were in her home talking with her, two little boys (about 6-8) came and stood in the room. The houses are open, so it isn’t entirely unusual for people to wander in, but they were so intent on our conversation, that we asked if they were sons of the sister. She said “No, they’ve come to see the muzungus).

PATRIARCHAL BLESSINGS
This continues to be one of the highlights of our missions. We had two last week and three next week and then 3 more scheduled for the next week and two more still not scheduled for a specific time. It has been a real blessing and privilege to be able to serve in this way. We’ve so enjoyed the wonderful people who have come to receive their blessings. People don’t really know a lot about patriarchal blessings here because (1) most are new in the church (2) they’ve never had access to a patriarch before, so this has been really a sweet tender mercy for us and hopefully, for them.

VISION: Very, very few people have glasses here. They can’t afford them. They live in very dark, smoky homes, and so many are unable to see very well—particularly the middle-aged adults. One of the branch presidents (the one who cycles his wife 2 hours one way to Church) told us he was cycling home from the church in the dark and fell into the ditch because he didn't see it. It was not a good experience. We hadn’t realized how much he couldn’t see. He told us neither he nor his wife can read their scriptures because they can’t see. No electricity of course either. Then we remembered another mission couple who had returned home, had given us a plastic box filled with eyeglasses. Some of them have wild frames, but they are brand new and THEY work. So, we gave him the box to take home for both of them to try out. He was thrilled. They now can read their scriptures. Yay!!

Heartrending experiences
We went to see a less active family, who has not been out to Church for several years. The father and 19 year old son are presently in Nairobi waiting for the son to have spinal surgery. One year ago, this boy was lifting a heavy weight and dropped it or something, crushing his 1-2 vertebrate. They said he broken his spine.

For one year he has been lying on his mother’s dirt floor waiting for someone to diagnose and treat him. Both parents work for an NGO (Non-governmental Organization—charitable), and that group has provided funds for the boy to be hospitalized on 2 occasions, but there is nothing in this area at all to treat anything so severe, and they haven’t been able to afford to go to Nairobi for treatment.

The mother hired a homeless 18 yr old boy to be the 24 hr a day caretaker for her son. When I mentioned to mom that I had had a spinal fusion, she was very interested because she has thought her son would never walk again. She then pulled out the projected hospital bill: 200,000 ksh. The paper stated that he had had an injury, but the problem was really TB induced.

I was shocked that they were able to take him to Nairobi. It is a hard trip, even if you feel well. There are no ambulances to transport, so I was curious how they did that. His mom said they took him on a bus to Nairobi. I just can’t imagine the pain that young boy must be experiencing, and what an arduous trip that must have been in a very crowded bus.

OUR TRIP TO THE DOCTOR
Well, Neal has had a cold for a long time with a cough. We finally went into Nairobi where we see a doctor we really like quite well. He is an Indian gentleman, wears a turban, and is very well-spoken. We have seen him several times, and on each occasion, we’ve been pleased with his counsel. He did discover Neal’s foot maggot, and did take me off the Malaria medicine, which cleared up all the bug bites, so we like him.

Neal had been on Amoxicillin for 10 days to no avail, so, he put him on an even stronger antibiotic, and told him if the cough wasn’t gone by Friday, to come back in and he would test him for TB. It is a long trip to Nairobi, so we were praying the cough would clear up...because of the trip and of course, because of the thought of TB.

Of course, that scared the dickens out of us. By Friday, the cough was a little better, but not gone, but the thoughts of driving all the way back to Nairobi (6-7 hours one way) were just daunting. So, we procrastinated. We really didn’t want to go to a doctor here. Finally, however, we decided we would just go see him, but decide if we wanted a blood test or any other invasive treatment only after visiting the office.

We arrived early thinking there would be lines of people as we had seen in the past, but it was early in the morning, and only a couple of people came and began to wait. The nurse arrived one hour late, and the doctor later. We went in to find 2 inches of water standing wherever we stood or waited. The office, like the outside surroundings, was very dirty.

The waiting room was a very narrow aisle with plank benches on both sides and a small area to walk between them. The walls were made of rough wood plastered with torn notices and advertisements. As the nurse/receptionist began to mop out the water, she brushed aside the dirty curtains that served as doorways, and we could see into her office where behind other curtains she moved, were revealed opened, gaping boxes of different pills and medicines. Some of the medicines were standing on the floor. He must have a very busy practice, because we could see floor to ceiling stapled pieces of paper (medical notes) lining some of the walls.

We were the first called to see him. We were ushered through some of the curtains into another very crowded room with more medicines and files floor to ceiling again. He seemed very professional although his notes were on scratch paper. He seemed confident that Neal did not have TB, which would manifest itself with night sweats and fevers. We were relieved and relieved that he did not have to have a blood test. He gave us a prescription and told us to take it to the chemist. It was an interesting experience. It didn’t cost much—I think $10 approx for the exam (he only talked to Neal, didn’t listen to his chest or back) and the meds combined. By the time we left, the waiting room was packed.

SEMINARY
We have been challenged to have all of our seminary students attend class daily instead of once a week. We are grateful the local leaders will be the ones to figure out how to do it. We are sure it will be a great blessing to the kids, but it will be very difficult to bring to pass. They generally go to school 6 days a week, 6AM-5:30-6PM and sometimes Sundays. I’m sure if the Lord wants this to work, it will work. Our SE Africa director came to stay with us and gave us that challenge. He said, “The Stone Age didn’t end because we ran out of stones.” Thomas Friedman quote. We just need to figure out how to do it.

Fun and interesting Comments: Some of the priesthood brethren got into our car (it has been quite cold here, and the natives really feel the cold) One of them said, “The weather is really good inside here.”

“Some young men dream of a mission. They leave a very poor area, go on a mission, often live better—better food, better housing—than ever in their lives. They dream. They get home and think it will continue, but often it doesn’t. They despair. PEF has been a blessing to them to help them better themselves.”

One young man bore testimony (he is really quite dynamic, a RM). “I returned home and dreamed I would work hard and buy a big car and live in a big house. I started a business and worked very, very hard. Then thieves broke in after 3 months and took everything I had worked for. It was very hard for me. I have a testimony, however, and I know that if I continue to work, the Lord will bless me. “

We had a meeting of branch presidents. Two of them separately told us how their roosters had been stolen. We put them together to commiserate. It is so hard for them to get ahead because there are so many challenges. The church is really their greatest blessing.

One of our young men is trying to get a PEF loan. To do so he needs to visit several schools and several businesses to do research. He went to the school of his choice three times and tried to ask questions (from the manual) of the registrar. The registrar told him he asked too many questions, and if he wanted to come, he could come, but not to bother him any more.

COMPUTERS
Today we went to an all-day training as each branch (except the one without electricity) received a computer to begin to use the Church MLS program. It was a very informative day and very enlightening I’m sure for the branch presidents and their clerks (and sometimes counselors). Only about 3 of the group had any experience at all with computers if that many. It will really simplify their work. We will act as consultants—not on the program, but just to kind of help them understand the computer…what is a mouse, a keyboard, etc. The meeting was supposed to start at 9AM. We were there to help set up, but the leaders didn’t come for an 1 ½ and it didn’t start until 2 hours after 9AM. It works for them. We just need to adjust! We are learning.

I just have to say that this is one of the most beautiful places on earth. It is so green and flowers bloom everywhere, even in the most unlikely places. We are getting a new house in our compound, right in front of our front room window. We will miss the very beautiful yard in front of us, but we’ve enjoyed it for a year. We are doing well. Sometimes we wonder if we make any difference at all, but we keep trying.