Ensonorua

This morning we went down, down, DOWN into the Great Rift Valley towards Magadi. It was a very warm and sunny day and the farther down in the valley we went the warmer and dryer it got. They are having a drought here right now and the grass and shrubs are brown and crunchy and in a lot of areas there is nothing but dust and rocks. Our clinic went well in Ensonorua, we did not have alot of people show up and actually were able to head back to the Division Guesthouse a couple hours early. The people appreciated what we did and our lay workers did a great job helping us out.

On the way home we stopped under a big tree and ate lunch with some goats... they were so thirsty that I shared my little bottle of water with all 21 of them. We gave the people nearby our large containers of water.

Once we got back to the Division office we packed all of our things up for the trip to the Mara - and even got to put it all on the overland vehicle so we are ready to head out bright and early tomorrow.

Breakfast on Monday is at 5:30 am and the hope is to be on the road by 6 am. We will be heading to the Maasai Mara National Reserve to do 4 more clinics. There is no electricity where we will be so I wont be able to put anything on the blog until Sept 8th.

Once again thanks for keeping us in your prayers and please continue to pray for us as we travel about 5-7 hours tomorrow.

kim

Sabbath

Another grand day! Today we went over Ngong Hills and down into the Great Rift Valley to visit a little Maasai Church and do clinics village by village. The ladies ay church did several special musics and the children did some as well. I was so surprised to see two of our lay pastors there - they were on their way from campmeeting up on the hill to our clinic tomorrow near Magadi. We did a quick clinic after church and then headed to our first little village.

There must have been 50 children at the first group of homes. We treated a old lady and they had a 40 year old man that was very sick and could not even come outside. It was tough on the doctors to leave him there without being able to help him. He was VERY sick and they were not sure if it was TB or AIDS. One of the doctors is going to pay for him to be taken to a clinic nearby and be tested to see if it is something that can be treated.

Today we were told of a 11 year old Maasai girl that had been circumcised 4 days ago that bled to death. The family did not take her to hospital because they new that they would be taken to jail. The police found out and have exhumed the body and taken pictures etc. It is such a sad thing. It is a great reminder of what we are here for and the importance of the work that needs to be done in this area of the world.

We gave out medicines, toys, sugar and brought jugs of water to those who had to walk miles for it. It was a a great day with lots of blessings packed into it.

We got home a little earlier then planned so had some down time and actually got a hot shower. After worship we went over the plans for tomorrow - we are expecting quite a number of people at the clinic. Everyone headed back to their rooms to email and download pictures before heading to bed. A lot of them are worn out and in need of a good nights sleep. Seems like several of the group woke up at 3am this morning and struggled getting back to sleep. I suggested doing the clinics at that time of night, but they opted not too.

So it's time to sign off till tomorrow evening. Thanks for keeping us in your prayers. God is blessing in amazing ways.

kim

August 29th, Friday

Today was incredible day - a real blessing!

After a brief (actually it was too long) orientation (done by me - SMILE) We unpacked all the suitcases and trunks we had brought and sorted, and sorted, and sorted. Then we jumped in the bus and headed to Sheldricks Elephant Orphanage. It was great fun watching the baby elephants be feed from gigantic bottles! They trumpeted and pushed each other around like little kids. We had a chance to touch them and blow kisses in the trunks. We even got to see a Rhino come out of the forest- which was a real treat for everyone.

From there we headed to the giraffe feeding center where the more adventuresome feed the giraffe grain pellets by putting the pellet between their lips and letting the giraffe kiss them to get it! (You just get a little saliva on your chin - and it wont kill you)It was great fun.

Around 2:30 pm we drove out to Kajiado Rescue Center to have a tour of the center and most importantly to allow Jim Anderson to meet and visit with Nancy and Ann(Jim and his wife have been sponsoring the two girls for a couple of years) It was a moving moment for him - and for several of the rest of us. Tears welled up in our eyes as they all three stood embracing each other in a nice big daddy hug! It was quite an emotional moment. The girls showed us through their dorm, the classrooms, the kitchen and the posho mill. We even called Jim's wife and let the girls talk to her for a little while.

Then we left for Lay Pastor Daniel Sinti's home which was just up the road. Baby Samwel is now living with them - and we thought we would pop in and say hi. We had picked Daniel up by the roadside as we were heading out to Kajiado. He was coming from Campmeeting in another area. Near his home and church the road got a bit rough in a couple of spots - and then we had a big problem.... the driver took us through a dry river bed that was too steep. The back of the bus caught the embankment and we were stuck, not just stuck, but STUCK!

Out of no where people started appearing with shovels, crow bars and all sorts of things. We had to jack up both tires and put rocks under the wheels before we could finally get out. We walked over to Daniel's church - which is just a bunch of very rustic benches made from tree trunks and placed under some trees. We had a great time visiting and taking pictures of Daniel at the pulpit - then we jumped in the bus and headed for home. Got back just after sunset. Enjoyed a great supper and Jim had worship for us.

We are dirty and tired and most have showered and fallen into bed. So guess its time for me to say goodnight and happy Sabbath from the heart of Africa.

kim

Thursday - August 28th

Today was a busy day - finalizing on plans, baking and shopping. Around noon I headed out with Ogoti Kenani, our Kenyan administrator to join the Kajiado District Lay Workers Meeting already in progress. After I greeted everyone I walked over to the school to see if there were any of our girls there (they are on holiday) but all were gone. The school compound seemed very quiet and lonely without all their voices and laughter filling it.

Back at the Lay Workers Meeting - I took pictures of some of our newer lay workers, updated a couple of their bios and waited while they wrote thank you letters. This time I did something a little different though - I asked ALL of them to write thank you letters to their sponsors - even though many of them do not have sponsors. They were surprised and said, "but we don't have sponsors". I shared with them that I have faith that God has already found them a sponsor and that when the time is right He will send that sponsor to us - we need to have faith, and so we are showing our faith by already thanking that sponsor.Big smiles came over their faces and they began to thank their new sponsors.

Ogoti Kenani gave out items that we had brought from the Union office for them including radios from Adventist World Radio and a few Swahili Bibles. Then we headed home.

I finished up the last minute items in each of the rooms of those coming tonite for the mission trip- turned their hot water on, folded back there sheets and headed to the airport on to pick them all up. Everyone came in on time if not a little early which was great. We had a full bus with all the luggage, and no one had any problems coming through customs. Praise God - thank you for your prayers.

So the day is over, everyone is here, everyone is safe - and we are heading to bed to ready ourselves for tomorrow adventures.
Keep us in your prayers.

kim

Wednesday Aug 27th

Was up bright and early - early enough to catch Hillary Clinton's speech! OK, that's enough political talk for the day....

I ate breakfast and headed out for a very busy day. Here and there Ogetcha and I went. We stopped in at Sarova to pay for our lodging for one night in the Mara - that was the most exciting part of the day! Let me go back a bit here and catch you all up -

Jim Anderson and his wife sponsor two girls here in Kenya for MDP. Jim is a RN and works for Cal-Ore Life Flight which is a ground and air ambulance service. They serve the Northern California and Southern Oregon communities with advanced life support ambulances. The ground units are full paramedic ambulances and the 5 air ambulances are staffed with RN's. They service any hospital in the 7 western States to transport critical patients to higher levels of care and special needs. Jim is a RN and is coming on this mission trip.w\When Cal-Ore found out they offered him a External Defibrillator with an EKG monitor! It's worth about $6000! We were thrilled needless to say - and have decided to donate it to Mara Sarova which is a hotel (lodge) in the Maasai Mara National Reserve. They have on staff there a clinician that will be able to use it for those at the hotel if needed and the surrounding communities.

Anyhow to make a long story short the head office of Sarova spent sometime today visiting with me and are VERY excited about the donation. Apparently they are going all out with publicity and have invited the Park Warden, the Chief from the local area,and several Maasai from the community to come for the presentation which will be Tuesday Sept 2 at 9am. I told them we might be a little late if on the way there we come across Cheetahs making a kill, but they said they would understand if that happened.

I am hoping that James Nanka, the Narok District Lay Coordinator for MDP can be there and Ogoti Kenani our Kenyan Administrator. The publicity for MDP is great - but more important by far is the fact that because of the generosity of Cal-Ore Life Flight we are able to be a part of making a difference in a very needy community, and that lives will be saved because someone cared enough to give of their resources.

A special thank you goes out from MDP to Cal-Ore Life Flight and to Jim Anderson and his family! You have made a huge difference - and I don't ever think you will understand just how big of a difference you made.

You know it - God is good all the time!

kim

Arrival In Kenya - Aug 26th

I can honestly say that was probably one of the longest trips (well at least in my mind) to Kenya that I have ever taken! The first flight was all night and I just could not sleep - the plane was full and I had the big screen right in front of me. It was like day light even with my eyes closed. I tried to wear my hoodie backwards, but it was just too hot having it over my face. The second flight seemed to go on and on - I spent most of my time looking out the window - as we went over the alps, then the little coastal towns of Italy and the islands in the Mediterranean. From there on out it got pretty dull as we crossed the Sahara Desert. We landed just as the sun was setting - and let me tell you the sunset was beautiful. Golden yellows mixed with orange and pink. It was a gift from God.

They stopped me in customs and asked about my luggage, but as soon as I shared with them that I was here helping with a medical/dental clinic they waved me on through. Ogetcha was waiting for me which I was thankful for.

A nice hot shower awaited me and I was ready for a good night of sleep. Thank you all for your prayers for a safe trip! Glad to be here safe and sound!

kim