I just got back from Kenya. There is a lot to process and a lot of things that I will never be able to un see. Some of these memories I wish I could forget, and others I never want to forget. The purpose of the trip was to encourage missionaries working with SIM in Kenya and Tanzania during their annual Spiritual Life Conference. We came a few days early and worked along side two of the missionaries from TVC and experience their day to day life and the ministries they are involved in. Prison Ministry, Hospital Ministry and an Orphanage are just 3 of the ministries we got to see during our time in Kijabe, Kenya.
The good are memories with people and missionaries that I will never be able to forget. Like running around an orphanage called Naomi's Village, loving on the unloved, holding babies that mothers didn't want or couldn't take care of, and talking with teenagers about their hopes and dreams.
Staying up late talking with my room mates and praying with them about some of the stresses and anxiety we have in life and on the trip. I had the privilage of sitting down for dinner with seasoned missionaries and hearing their stories of life on the mission field in Africa. We also visited the mens prison! There are 4 inmates who make up the church leadership in this prison. The gospel is being heard here on a daily basis. My favorites were celebrating the birthdays of two team mates and making new friends!
The hard things are even harder to write about as I revisit these memories.
Babies with hydrocephalus. Desperate moms. Special Needs children being labeled as a curse to their families. Families living in refugee camps to escape danger, but still being in danger.
Two of the ladies that we visited who work at the hospital in Kijabe. One is a nurse in labour and delivery ward and the other is an audiologist in the ENT office. One of our last days in Kijabe, we got to shadow them or some of their colleagues in different departments. The team shadowed in the NICU, Phisio(PT), Chaplain (children and adults) and Labour and Delivery departments. I got to shadow in the Childrens Physical Therapy department, which I thought would be easier than the adults, but I was wrong.
We saw about 5 patients in about an hour and half. There was a 5 week old baby girl with clubbed feet, a 12 year old with 4 degree burns over 85% of his body, and a 14 year old girl with gun shot wounds to both thighs. I will never be able to erase their screams from my mind and unsee the sadness in their parents eyes.
The 12 yr old boy, named Boniface, accidentally spilled cellophane on his body and caught on fire. His face and neck, left arm and upper left side of his chest are unharmed. We went in to stretch his arms, legs and help him start sitting up again, so that he wouldn't lose the movement as he healed. I had to sit down before I fainted from the sound his painful screaming. He wasn't able to take any pain meds because he was going to the OR later to get his dressings changed. The screams will always come to mind when someone asks me how my trip to Kenya went.
The 14 year old girl, named Naomi, was shot in each thigh while living in a refugee camp in Northern Kenya. We went in to help to help her gain back the use of her legs, work the muscles that had been damaged from the gun shots and teach her how to transfer herself to a wheel chair. I will never forget her looking in my eyes as she screamed in Swahili for us to have mercy on her.
One of my team mates was working along side the pediatric chaplain and going from room to room praying with the families. While she was in praying with the mother of a 5 day old baby, the alarms on the machines started going off letting them know the baby had stopped breathing. We later found out that they weren't able to save the baby. Please pray for my friend who is still processing and struggling with this and the mom of this baby.
Where is the hope in all this? The AIC (African Inland Christian) Hospital in Kijabe is one of the best hospitals in Kenya. People come from all over Kenya, southern Sudan and Somalia to be treated here. The gospel is being shared on a daily basis in the hospital, it is one of the best hospitals for children, especially babies with hydrocephalus. The doctors are some of the best in Africa and a lot are missionaries from many different countries. These kids are being looked after by some of the best, while also being prayed over.
Overall this was a great trip! I had fun with the team, enjoyed spending time with the missionaries and seeing a new culture.
Thanks for all the prayers and support!
Sarah
