One week left

It is hard to believe that our time at Tenwek is almost done! So the questions begin as to the value and meaning of the experience. There are never easy answers to these questions!

What has been wonderful for me has been the presence of my wife! OK, you already figured that out by her activities as reported on the blog.

What is most concerning has been the prevalence of AIDS and its impact on mothers and children. The good news is that there is treatment that is available.

There is one mother who has had a great impact on both Micki and me. She has been extremely ill with complications of infections that have threatened her life. Her baby has been delivered prematurely and is at risk but progressing in the nursery. I think the only reason that this patient has survived is the care provided by her devoted mother who remains by her bedside. She is a wonderful example of unconditional love!

The big question for us as providers and churches is how will we respond? Can we address the reality of the suffering and death associated with sexually transmitted diseases? Are there other responses that will bring healing?

Pray that the community of healing, churches and healthcare, will find a new dimension to the care that will mirror the unconditional love that we all have received.

Marvin

Meanderings from Miriam

Where do I start? The last few days have been packed full.

As Marv wrote we started out on Friday from Tenwek and went to the Masai Mara and stayed at the Fairmont Safari Club. Let me just say that they have the nicest tents I have ever stayed in....that is the way I like to camp! four poster beds with great linens, oriental rugs, and hot water bottles to warm your bed before you crawl in! Of course that doesn't compare with the trumpeting of the fifty hippos who swim below your front porch on the Mara River. We went with 3 of the medical students who are here from Miami and U of Louisville which also made it fun. The contrast to life at a 5 star with the rest of Africa is daunting.

However, tourist dollars are a significant part of the Kenyan economy. The sad part is that whether it is the world wide recession or the fear of violence here, tourists are way down. There were only about 25 of us there in the hotel or about 12 tents filled out of 50. Our guide Henry, was wonderful and went out of his way to accomodate us. I really can't begin to describe our experience. First of all the roads going,coming and on the Mara make Michigan potholes look like superhighways. Add a bit of rain and some slippery mud and you have a four wheel heaven. Hopefully a video of our jeep stuck in the mud will be posted on facebook soon. It is a good laugh, now that it is over!

The animals are gorgeous and zoos will never be the same after the vistas of the Mara. It truly is a wonder of the world and makes you very aware of the greatness of God's creation. We saw, elephant families, lions, tigers, zebras, giraffees, impala, dick-dicks,cape buffalo, rhinos, etc Just bumping along in the jeep looking for animals was fun. the rides were at sunrise and sun set which added to the beauty.

We came back on Sunday afternoon just in time to participate in the Bible quiz going on at tenwek with Kenyan and missionary children. A Kenyan child has already memorized 85 verses from the Bible. They are asked questions as a team and if they know the answer they push their buzzer! Kind of like an american quiz show from the 50's! The questions are taken from the Bible verbatim and are really hard I think.... fun to watch .

Yesterday I went with the community education people to a dispensary (one of many tenwek staffs) that was about 12 miles from here on unbelievable back roads. The driver prays before and after the the trip and thanks God for safety. I would say that at least 100 moms and babies showed up for immunizations and family planning. They weigh the babies from the cloths (kagaa) that mothers use to carry babies on their backs. They attach the kagaa to a fish hook hanging from the tree and weigh them from a primitive scale in kilos. There was an elderly lady, probably younger then me, who is on the community health committee helping weigh, teaching about Jesus and exhorting the benefits of family planning as the woman gathered to socialize under the tree. The entrepenuers were also there selling used clothing from the states. (many AIG shirts for adults!) Another woman set up a restaurant under the tree and sold cooked beans. I passed on buying them. Interestly, the older woman told me how Sue Steury, whose husband was the first doctor here, taught her about Jesus and now she teaches this generation. Again, the seeds planted are not returning void, the Lord is at work here. In fact Christianity is a great comfort to many of the people I meet in a very concrete way. The government is so corrupt that they only find peace and comfort in their faith. A good lesson for me and probably for many of us. I felt pretty useless as far as doing anything, but did take lots of pictures of kids which they absolutely love seeing. I think I scared a few kids who I know had never seen a white woman before. I did lots of hand holding and back patting and admiring babies.....a language which can be translated anywhere. Moms are proud around the world.

That is a very very brief summary of some wonderful experiences. Hope I haven't gone on too long. Miss you all and send lots of love,
nana and poppy,
micki and marv

More of God's Creation

By popular request,

Love, Poppy

God's Creation

It has been an awesome weekend! We spent the last three days at Masai Mara that is a 2 1/2 hour trip from Tenwek.

What is amazing is the vastness of this place (700 sq miles) and the intensity of life. It is a place where life and death are intimately connected! I will try and post some pictures, but cameras fail to capture the breadth of the vistas.

In this place the Masai people herd goats and cattle and live a very basic existence with their animals and "extended" families. They are colorful and are willing to sell their art - beads and carvings. What is amazing is that they live in a hostile environment with only a single spear!

What makes it possible to see these things are some amazing Toyota four wheel drive landrovers. When it rains the roads turn to swamps and "black holes". We had a wonderful driver who was able to "see" the animals, keep us safe and get us back to the lodge and our tents. These tents sit the edge of a steep enbankment on the Mara River that is filled with hippos! The steep embankment is part of the security system! During the night you are lulled to sleep by the hippo's pool party.

I am sure Micki will describe more of the adventures.

Marvin

Good bye to Angeline

I just returned from another powerful experience! I am not sure how many more I can tell you about! You know the "DeYoung Syndrome "of mucho tears! We are going on a safari this weekend which should be fun to tell you about! Mimi, be sure and pray for Nana as I will see lions this weekend!

Because I will be gone this weekend I said good bye to Angeline and the babies I have been helping to feed since I got here. I think she is going home tomorrow, at least she is bound and determined to go home. She is sick of the hospital diet of rice and beans! She feels that the babies will gain more weight if she can have meat in her diet at home and if the babies can sleep in her bed with her and her husband. We will see if the nurse and doctor agree with her tomorrow.

I asked her to write the names of all of the members of her family.....husband and seven children. She did, both their Christian names and their Kenyan names. Then I wrote the names of all my children, and my grandchildren. We promised to pray for each others' families. At that point we both got tears in our eyes. That was significant because Kipsigis do not show much emotion. You have to understand that this was with a language barrier as well. I will never forget it nor will I forget those babies though I probably will never see them again in this life.
They will live in my heart.

This weekend should be fun....you will hear about it on Monday. Have a great weekend.

love you and loved hearing eliza's and anna's voices yesterday.
mom
micki

What's in a name?

Names are very difficult in Kenya for me(and even Micki has difficulty) and "naming" is complicated. The names can represent the location of birth, the season of birth, the time of the day as well as their "Christian" name. As you have heard, twins, "pacha", are a frequent occurance and are considered a "zawadi" or gift or "bahati" or lucky. The obstetric view is a little more complicated. Many of these twin births have associated anomalies as well as the hazards to the mother during her pregnancy and delivery. What has been essential to the care of these women has been the presence of a portable ultrasound that can help us "see" and make the diagnosis of both the twins and the associated abnormalites.

On the wall of the medical building there is a mural that has the following poem/prayer:
"Every single one has a name, and everytime they cry you feel their pain, broken and bleeding, abandoned and needing your love to reach them where they are, Lord let me play a part to bring a life of hope for change cause every single one has a name."

The good news is that is nurses, physicians and adminstration are responding everyday here at Tenwek.

Marvin

p.s. I have finally figured out loading pictures...check out the "Tenwek Arrival"

Consulata

Yesterday I met Consulata and her sister Cecelia, both Tutu refugees from Rwanda who have lived here for about 10 years. They are beautiful, intelligent women. Cecelia had asked the missionary wife that she works for if someone could talk to her sister as she has been extremely depressed and threatening suicide. By the way Cecelia is 29 is a widow (husband died of esophageal cancer which is endemic here) and has 6 children. Now my social work skills are a little out of date, but I agreed to listen to her which as we know from Stephen ministry is one of the most important things we can do. Her English was beautiful and so it was easy to communicate. Her parents allowed her to have a "Christian" marriage with a Kenyan after he promised that she could go to "college" since she had finished secondary school and had a strong desire to be educated. Her parents returned to Rwanda and were murdered. In the last ten years she has had 4 children with her husband and he has helped many of his relatives to go on to further education. However, he has not keep his promise to her and this is probably because the mother in law promotes others in the family.(mother in law problems are universal:) ) She finally could not stand the situation and left her mother in law (the husband works in Nairobi) and moved in with her sister. The husband has not contacted her in the month she has been gone. This is the cause of her despair....she is trapped. Now where do you start with a problem like this?

She is looking for work but it is very difficult to find here. She has checked into colleges and found that the tuition for the program she would like to take is 5000 shillings or about $220.00 a year for tuition, room and board ,food, and child care!!! By the way, she wants to be a pre school teacher and perhaps run an orphanage. Imagine how many lives she could effect. Imagine how her life could be changed for $220.00!

We have not contacted her yet, but we think we have found an anonymous way to pay her way to "college". We will work through a permanent missionary here and have the missionary pay the tuition. So stay tuned and I will let you know the outcome in the next few days. We can't solve most of the problems here, but I felt that this young woman had been placed in my life for a reason. I am grateful for her!!!!!
xoxo
mom and dad
micki and marv

ps. Presbyterian Women Circle Friends....They LOVE the pens. Thanks alot!