The kids

The great thing about Tenwek is the kids have a lot more options for playing outside. It’s still a challenge for Rachel sometimes to be pregnant and take the two other kids for a walk or run around in the grass but she makes it work.

One of their favorite places right now is the neighbors trampoline. There are several long term missionary doctors here who have brought some great things from the US. This being one of them as far as Tekoa and Eliza are concerned.

For those that know Tekoa, a trampoline is a great way to channel million volts of energy. Eliza is a fan also but a little less destructive when she is on it.

Some pics of the kids enjoying their suckers and acting a bit the same.

This is a special breakfast because it is on of the few that we get to have together.

Dogs are great companions in Kenya. Many Kenyans are deathly afraid of dogs, making them great for guarding the property. Unfortunately it’s hard to find a good dog in Kenya unless you want to spend a lot of money. Again the Lord has shown himself faithful and another missionary has given us a pure bread German shepherd with full papers that was shipped over from the US last year. His name is Manna and he is almost a year old. Tekoa loves him but still gets a little concerned when Manna wants to play rough. Eliza is not real interested at the moment. Manna on the other hand seems to be great with kids. He is going to stay in Eldoret with the Senior Leisters until we are done at Tenwek.

Surgery

Josh is nearly 3 months into his internship at Tenwek mission hospital. It hasn’t always been easy but it has definitely been a learning and growing experience for the whole family as well as for Josh medically. The interns have 4 rotations to cover in 1 year. That allows for 3 months in Surgical, Obstetrics, Pediatrics and the medical ward. Josh has started in the surgical rotation and is nearly finishing.

The experiences have been truly amazing and awful. With stories from stitching machete wounds in the ER extending from the front to the back of the skull to stitching up Lion and hippo attack victims. A bucket full of worms was surgically removed from a boys intestines and regularly applying skin grafts to cover babies burnt tissues due to fires or boiling milk.

Though these memories will stick in our minds forever we only have a few actual pictures. Here is Josh trying his hand at orthopedics. With a little instruction and close supervision he was able to sink some screws into this tibia to hold a severe fracture together. The best thing about orthopedic surgery is all the great tools you get to use. (saws, hammers, drills, screws, nails, metal plates, etc.)

The orthopedic surgeon has been a great testimony. He never fails to pray with the patients before and after surgery. One man who was a drunkard came with terrible injuries. Open tibia-fibula fractures on both legs, 3 rib fractures, an open humorous fracture and a head injury. I treated him in the ER and he was conscious but so drunk I could extract his broken leg bone outside the skin and move it in all directions with him telling me he had no serious problems and he hadn’t been drinking that night. A few days after surgery the surgeon and I were able to lead him to the Lord. Rarely have I ever seen such a continence change in an individual as he personally called out to Jesus. Those are the stories that make it all worthwhile. It’s great to see body, mind and spirit being healed.

Welcome to Tenwek. It is the small community we live within. A community centered around the Mission Hospital that Josh is doing his internship at. We find it a peculiar place, which is very open to the locals but lacking the same overwhelming expectations that we have experienced in other rural areas. The weather is much more temperate then we have experienced in Kisumu requiring blankets at night. The sun continues to have the same intensity though. So when in direct sunlight we can get burnt very easily.

This is the waterfall and river just a few minutes from our apartment. It’s a beautiful walk down through the forest and along the river. The water harbors such bugs as typhoid, but everyone still swims in it when warm enough. The hospital uses the waterfall for hydroelectricity.

This is the inside of the hospital. Christmas eve we joined some other missionaries in ministry to the patients. We sang Christmas carols through every nook and cranny of the hospital and hopefully released the joy of the Lord. We don’t get much opportunity to ministry together in this season so it was a wonderful time.

As usual the Kenyans loved to interact with the kids. Children tend to be universally loved and are able to break down the thickest and tallest walls of separation. It’s are desire to develop family centered ministry where all of our children are a functioning part of the vision.

Pray for Tenwek Mission hospital to continue to demonstrate the love of God in faith. Pray for us to fulfill our part of that vision while we are here.