Thanks for your support

I was spending some time today thinking about and being thankful for those of you reading this blog and for those of you who prayed and supported financially.  What would make you support the travels of a team of people to a far away place to people you do not know?  Certainly knowing me has something to do with it, but that can't be all.  There is something in you (call it Love, the Holy Spirit, concern for those people in Kenya) that made you care.  You were indirectly serving as the hands and feet of Jesus.  This was not lost on the people I met.  I was asked to thank you from them several times.  So thank you.  You helped people you did not know.  Your love was and is still felt.

Pictures soon to come on this blog.

Great men and fools

Here is an excerpt from a letter from Pastor John (the Kenyan lead pastor of the Lamu area and former President of the Covenant Church in Kenya) to Pete Ekstrand at Covenant Headquarters in Chicago.


Dear Pete and Cindy,

I hope you are fine . Are you in Congo or US.? Wherever please pass my greetings to our friends.

I want to inform you that the Centennial Covenant Church was well represented well here by our brothers Lee and pastor Randy and the team .We had a beautiful medical camp both in Mpeketoni on 4th and Manda ECCs on 5th February. Then on 6th we fellowshipped together at Lamu Island and in the evening we had a meeting of the local pastors with Pastor Randy and Lee where we talked much about working together for the glory of the kingdom.

On 14th we met again with the team except the doctors who had travelled  back to US with the moderator pastor Simon at Nairobi and we updated him with the issues we talked in the meeting.

The medical camp was very successful , over 300 people were attended and the doctors and the nurses worked tirelessly even beyond their time remit to catch up with the number of the patients. Tom and I were involved in registering the patient, Lee ,Jody and pastor John and pastor Michael were interviewing the patients before they see the doctors. Arlene and Lonika were in the pharmacy and Solomon , my wife Freshia and Justus from Manda were translating to the doctors Matt and Stephanie Pastor Randy was coordinating faithfully the team , though he was sick but with high spirit. People were really happy about that and this is the only and the best way to express the love of Christ to the needy. Even Muslims entered the church though it was not a service may be for the first time breaking the barrier which existed for a long time.

We got a little resistance at Manda but that one served for good since it was influenced by Muslim leaders but later we came to agree and even the hospital management gave us free medicines which were not available and we agreed in future we will help one another.
The hospital management also gave us a doctor to work with in Manda and the work was very good and admirable.

Dr. Matt had a problem and was sick and we are praying that he is feeling better.We pray that Centennial Covenant Church will be able to send more to such trips in future.
We also agreed that they will bring more to come and visit before we start any longer relationship in partnering and may be on October they will send some who will explore Lamu district Covenant churches as an example of expanding our commitments to further the Gospel of Christ.

God bless you for now.
In his vineyard ,disciple John.

John may as well be named Paul.  What a man of God he is.  He has been preaching in a hostile area for years.  He is a church planter and planted each of the 6 churches in the Lamu district.  He stayed for about 2 years in each location and then transitioned each to a new pastor.  The churches continue to grow in a hostile environment.  Talk about a man of faith!  He has been faithful and seen the Holy Spirit grow the church in an area of Islamic domination under persecution at times.  He tells the story of how one of the churches met resistance from the muslim government as to the location of their meetings.  The church arrived at their location one day to find that the government had moved the goat grazing area to the area in front of their gate.  The church moved on and continues to grow.  They do so with continued joy.

Amazing how God uses great men like John and the other Kenyan pastors as well as the fools like me (reference my first post on this blog) to serve his Kingdom purpose.  Thank you Lord for including me in your family.

Home

On Friday while I was visiting Sara, the rest of the team ran a medical clinic.  They had to send a few people to the local hospital in Mbale (about 10 miles away).  One child had respiratory distress with asthma or RSV.  A man with diabetes and a chronic sore on his leg needed extra care at the local clinic in Lusiola for wound dressing.  He likely also has elephantiasis of the foot from the skin worm filaria.  Bummer, because the meds for that are more difficult to get, have to be taken for 6 weeks, and will get rid of the worm but not repair the lymph damage.  I saw one other patient with this on Manda.  The tropical diseases have been less frequent than I might have expected, but still present during the trip.  Malaria and hookworm have been the big ones.  Thankfully they are treatable.  Overall, the most frequent complaint has been muscle and joint aches from carrying heavy loads.  Cataracts are very frequent as well (wear those sunglasses folks!)

When I got back to the orphanage I had some time to visit the lusiola clinic that Lonika has run for several years.  It is just about a 10 minute walk up the hill to the small market area of Lusiola.  Lonika has some limited medical training and has provided what care she can for this population there.  It is 3 small rooms, but tidy with a sign out front reading Praise Medical Clinic.  I am thankful that the medications we have not used yet will be available to the people through this clinic. 

Saturday morning we spent packing and getting ready for our flight from Kisumu to Nairobi.  We said goodbye to the rest of the team who are staying a few extra days as well as our friends at Shangilia Children's Home.  After the 1 hour flight to Nairobi, Pastor Timothy met us and we went to dinner at Carnivore, the hot tourist restaurant.  Think of Rodizio Grill, but with exotic African meats like crocodile and ostrich.  The crocodile was not very good I have to say. 

We flew at 11pm from Nairobi to Amsterdam (8hrs).  I slept on the flight fairly well.  Then we flew Amsterdam to Detroit (9hrs).  The sun seemed to stay in one place as we flew away from it, so it was Sunday morning for about 15 hrs.  After customs in Detroit we were able to get on a flight to Denver leaving 3 hrs prior to our scheduled flight, so we got in around 1pm.  It was so good to be home and see Krista and the girls!  Krista was waiting in the airport and bumped into Uncle Jim who was waiting for Renee's flight too!  So we got to be welcomed home by them as well.  Small Denver area world.

I tried to stay awake Sunday afternoon into evening, but only made it until about the beginning of the Grammys.  Slept unil 3:40 or so.  Will work today and get back on sleep schedule over the next few days. 

I have been having many thoughts about the trip and specifics of how God showed up as well as how I can continue to come alongside the people there.  I will put some of those up in the next week on this blog as I ty to debrief and synthesize.  For now it's good to be home in good ol U.S.A..

Sara

I met Sara today! It took her a while, but when she released that smile it was worth a trip across the world.
We drove only about an hour from the orphanage on surprisingly well paved roads (built by chinese contractors). The landscape is remarkably like the mountains west of denver, though not as steep. There are large boulders randomly thrown around through the hills.
The Compassion project and Sara's home are both fairly close to the pavement. I was greeted by the 3 full time project staff as well as several board members of the local sponsoring church, and of course little Sara in her yellow Sunday dress. At 10 years old and due to Kenyan tradition, as well as her personality, she was very shy. And due to the short time window and the formal structure of the visit, there was little time to interact directly with her. Despite those diasappointments, I got an awesome chance to know her and her life better. By the end of the time there she was smiling and more relaxed with me. As we dropped her off, I nonverbally asked with my arms open and she gave me a hug and a smile. I watched her happily jog down the road toward home in her dress. I was happy to meet her family and see her tidy hut and small plot of land with several family huts surrounding. It was great to meet her very thankful grandmother who cares for her in the absence of parents. It was good to be able to provide a few weeks of food. It was good to see the work that compassion international does. I will bring video. Thank you Lord for the opportunity to connect with this child who you love more than any of us know.

Intestinal freedom

I was unable to blog until now due to a prolonged episode of "intestinal freedom" with fever and generally feeling terrible. I think I have it narrowed down to either malaria or salmonella. Either way, I don't recommend it. I had felt a bit improved yesterday afternoon so decided to walk the 15 minutes to the school where the children attend. Kenyan public schools are performing poorly, so the solution from the government was to lengthen the hours. The children attend from 6am to 5pm and 7 days per week. No kidding! The class sizes are up to 60 per room. Cruel and unusual I think to child and teacher. There is no money to hire more teachers. The school itself is fairly nice with 900 kids fro elementary through high. 600 elementary, 300 high. They are still teaching the classic English education such as Shakespeare.
The staff at shangilia have observed the futility of going through high school in that there are few jobs after, and fewer that an education is required. They are considering starting a trade school to address this.
I was pretty wiped out after the scool visit and relapsed with my symptoms. I laid in my bunk all evening. At about 10 pm I heard foot shuffles outside my door and randy asked me to come to the door. Pastor Kefa and all the children were at my door to lay hands, sing a healing song, and to pray. It was beautiful and I couldn't keep my eyes dry. Surprising, I know.
This morning I felt fine. Steph was still bit rough, but was willing, so we ran a clinic finally. We and the team have developed a routine and I think it showed, as we treated 80 folks in half a day. We couldn't do much more due to fatigue.
Im resting now and hoping to visit sara, the child we have sponsored for several years, tomorrow. It so happened that she lives abot 1 or 2 hours by car from here. It will be great if the visit works out.
Thankful for a return to health, I will blog again tomorrow.

Boats, Planes and Mootatus

We said goodbye to Lamu and our new friends there. We took a boat to Manda airport, then planes to Nairobi and on to Kisumu. We then rode an hour in a mootatu (swahili for taxi van). The contrast in landscape is stark, from flat shoreline to lush hills. We arrived tired at dusk then dinner of lentils and cabbage and pineapple. After dinner we sat in for evening worship with the 30 or so kids here at the orphanage. They sing beautifully. One of the children gave a devotion from John. We were introduced to the children and they sang happy birthday to Steph. I made my way to my hut using my headlamp. Its like summer camp! Bunks, no electricity, singing together. One of our team has fever, could be malaria. We are treating him, praying for recovery. Long day of travel ends, ambien kicking in. Lala salamu. Sleep well.

Day of Joy

I got up after not sleeping well. I had not used my sleep aid for the first time since starting on this trip, and I paid for it. So I did not have high expectations for the day.
We were hosted at Lamu covenant church for worship service. We walked 30 minutes in heat through the crowded, narrow streets of this city built in the 1400s by arab slave traders. There are no cars on the island, only donkeys and their droppings. LECC (lamu evangelical covenant church) is a small group of believers (approx 40) in a somewhat persecuted state. The government and islamic community have been inhospitable at times.

In spite of this, we found such joy and life in their worship held in a second grade classroom! These people know poverty and strife, but by knowing their Jesu, they know real joy. We were in awe and were blessed by our time with them. After service, they fed us rice and meat (? Goat). We then walked over sand dunes in the blistering sun to the site of their new building that is being constructed from Manda coral blocks. They have to hold the title to the land in the name of the pastor, or they would not be allowed to purchase it. (yet the muslim calls to prayer ring out loudly from every mosque 5x per day) they are proud that they are able to build their new home.

Pastor john invited the church members to come to our hotel if they needed medical care later in the afternoon. So after some time for Sunday siesta, we held an impromptu medical clinic for 8 folks in the lobby of Stone House to the mild consternation of the owner. It was good that we did this, as these people all had significant needs that we could help address.

Next, we set off for an hour at the beach for some R&R. 25 minutes by slow boat, and we were aground on a sandy beach area famous with European tourists. We swam with our Kenyan friends until what did we see?? 2 camels on the beach! You don't see that everyday! We interacted with them and took pictures before home for dinner and bedtime.

Tomorrow, a travel day to Shangilia orphanage in Western Kenya. We will say farewell to our new friends. But we will take some of their joy with us while at the same time we have magnified it for them. I have observed that that's what tends to happen when we come alongside each other in mutual respect and brotherhood. Joy.

small village big impact

We travelled 30 minutes by slow boat up the tidal inlet to Manda Covenant church. It is located on the shore of a coral island. Most of the people perform the back-breaking task of manually cutting bricks of coral from the solid landscape. Not surprisingly, we treated a fair amount of lumbar pain. The huts and the small church building where we held our clinic are constructed of the small leftover pieces of coral held with sticks and mud. The cinder-block-sized bricks are all exported for larger building projects on Lamu and elsewhere. Our concern over the government clinician sent to observe our activities turned out to be unfounded. In fact, we made a good friend in Daniel, a young P.A. Who pitched in and allowed us to treat 130 patients total. His knowledge of the local medicines, local tropical diseases, and the language was a huge help and a huge blessing. At the end of the day, some of us walked through the village to observe the coral quarry workers. We played with the children, observed the young men playing pool, greeted people, and got the chance to connect with the people again. It was apparent that in a smaller village, the impact of our visit was larger. The church was the center of and the catalyst to a large dose of practical love. These people often cannot get access to any medical evaluation (let alone free care and free medications). The look of relief in a mother's eyes when her feverish infant was treated were a reminder of why we came.

Just to love

We completed our first day of medical clinic in Mpeketoni. 110 souls came through the one-room Covenant Church building that was divided into fourths by hanging sheets.(One room each for Stephanie and myself to see patients, one room for reception and vital signs, and one room for our pharmacy) The whole team helped and pitched in to run a very smooth operation. We handed out free diagnosis, free medication, and tried to show His love by our presence. No preaching. Because of this and our meeting tonight with the minister of health in Lamu, we have been given clearance to work on Manda island tomorrow despite the threat to disallow us. I watch Pastor John speak with clarity and peace to the community leader who represents the often suspicious local Muslim government. He is an eloquent and fervent Christ follower in his words as well as his actions. He is planting many seeds and has begun to see a harvest in 6 Covenant churches in this area that are growing. I think the growth comes from the love. We will try to do the same tomorrow.

Mpekatoni

We took a short boat ride then a long and bumpy mutatu (van) ride from Manda island to Mpekatoni on the mainland. We crowded 14 and luggage into a van built for 12 max. The rough road through villages and past babboons, gazelles, and other wildlife brought us to our impressive hotel well after dark. We were dusty and my left butt cheek was numb from the ride, but were able to order dinner (chichen curry and orange fanta) and rest while getting to know the pastors of the covenant churches in the area. Their stories are of love for God and the people. They are ministering under threats at times from Islamic officials. The lead pastor of this area, John, has been a force for understanding the muslim leaders as he debates them publicly. Still there is respect growing from the islamic majority and the churches grow. He tells us that the muslim official on manda island may be resisting our planned medical clinic on Saturday, due to our not having the proper government permission. Pray that love for the people and the desire to aid them will trump the fear and power hunger that might keep us from Lamu. If that happens, we will spend another clinic day here in Mpekatoni.
As I wake to the loudspeaker chants for the muslim call to prayer, I am struck by the contrast of a loving God in Christ to one of power and sometimes intimidation as represented in my knowledge of Islam. If love is our highest capacity as I believe it is; It speaks to the truth of a God who calls us there having occupied that ground first.

First day in Lamu

We flew from Nairobi to Lamu island this morning. From metropolitan African city to rural historical tourist paradise. The 95 degrees and humid is pleasantly broken by the ocean breeze. A short outborad boat ride from the airstrip brought us to downtown Lamu and the strip of shops and restaurants. We wait and eat under a thatched roof at the "best" restaurant on Lamu. Prawns and fries aan a mango shake make for a good meal. I forgot to order only bottled liquid, but am trusting in my xifaxan antibiotic to avoid travellers stomach upset. We will begin medical clinics here tomorrow. This place and this people are beautiful!

tsa and underpants

Tues AM. We arrive at DIA in the subzero temps with plenty of time to spare. But one of our 50 lb duffles full of meds didn't appear to arrive with us..... Hmmm. After frantic calls and pastors racing to look at the chirch, kayla calls with the news that it is in my car trunk. Hooray for uncle eric who drives like a madman to drop the bag to us just in time, asking me a pertinent question, "is it ok to call you a dumbass before you leave for a mission trip?" well he had only heard the half of it.
I like to keep things fun after all,even with the TSA. You see with the fridgid cold temps , I wore my cozy flannel christmas boxers. They just happen to contain a sound chip that used to play "frosty the snowman". I guess it never crossed my mind that undies with a battery and wires would raise any red flags in the full body scan. Well needless to say I got to meet several tsa supervisors, all who have difficulty smiling. They do have firm but gentle hands though. I was just tryin to keep it fun.

Made the flight with time to spare and all meds due to a slight flight delay. Praise God. My teammates say I have 2 strikes... On the first day! I think i'll lay a bit low for the next day or so. They aren't quite as "fun loving" I guess.

Arriving in Amsterdam in an hour. Lets see what we can arrange.

Electric underpants

Ready to roll

Wow, I'm tired, and I haven't even left yet.  Planning, getting shots, ordering meds, making sure to pack everything, arranging bags to meet the 50 lb limit... it's enough to keep me from being able to focus on the excitement of what God will do on this journey.  It's kind of like my life.  We get so busy with making things happen that we forget to enjoy the ride.  God, thank you for the ride.  I ask that you keep us in your hand, safe, but not too safe and not too busy that we don't get to see what you have for us and the people we will encounter in Kenya.  Thank you for those people who support this team and are praying for us.  Please allow safe travel and customs passage.  I pray that your church will be strengthened in the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace (Eph 4:3).  Amen.