Some more highlights from Tenwek. This is Tekoa and Eliza enjoying the sidewalk chalk. A very useful tool if you have a sidewalk, which we do. Tekoa has been learning to write 'T' for Tekoa. It's upside down but at least the lines are straight. Eliza can recognize an 'E' for Eliza but can't quite write it yet.

Writing is one thing, but coloring is another. Tekoa colors inside the lines on occasion, but tends to have an all encompassing approach. Where as Eliza is a bit more refined. Though not always in the lines she still shows promise with her delicate touch and precision.

These are some of the neighborhood kids. Tekoa spends a bit of time with these two since they just live down the sidewalk and stairs. It's nice to be in a place for the kids to have Kenyan and American friends. Cutting grass is one of their favorite past times.

After a hard days work Tekoa likes to curl up and watch a movie or fall a sleep. It was actually raining outside and the Senior Leisters had just left leaving Tekoa exhausted. Down from Eldoret the Senior Leisters were able to visit for a few hours which was such a blessing. Why we didn't take any pictures of that I don't know.

This is Eliza after they left. She is busy unpacking all of the groceries grandpa and grandma brought us from the Big City of Eldoret. There are certain items we live with out here in Tenwek unless we have visitors. Such things like refined sugar and brown sugar for Rachel's baking. Or canned goods like pork-n-beans. Or imported fruits like apples. Even luxuries like Mayonnaise, coffee, butter, nacho chips or chocolate. Thus the excitement Eliza has for searching out each bag of goodies.

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.

Finally at Tenwek Mission Hospital

Hello everyone. We've have been without internet for a while so this is our first opportunity to let people know what is happening. On our return to Kenya we stayed with the Senior Leisters for a few weeks at Tumaini Children's Home. We had a great time celebrating an early Christmas together to remember the Joy God has brought to our world.

This is Tekoa and some of the kids enjoying the festivities. As any group of toddlers would, they love to get loaded with sugar and go crazy. Of course the balloons are always a favorite. Each child was also given an inflatable microphone and noise maker to complete the chaos.

It was a miracle to see all 25 of the little ones sit and eat a meal together. It's a big family and a wonder to see God working in all of them. We are so blessed to be a part of something so beautiful as the family of God.

Before our move to Tenwek Mission Hospital Tekoa and I finished working on his fish bed. One piece of plywood goes a long way to make a child happy. We started to make a simple bed with boring sides, but Rachel's creative ideas kept flowing and the fish bed was created.

This is the final product sitting in Tekoa and Eliza's new room. This is the first time they have had to share a room but are getting through it well. Eliza going to bed first and Tekoa about an hour later is the current working schedule. Rachel has also learned to do it with out me around as I am often working later in the evenings at the hospital. What an amazing wife and family I have.

Speaking of my amazing family, I am again humbled by their ability to adapt to any situation. This is our new home. A two bedroom apartment on the ground floor of a three story complex just across the ally from the hospital. It's our first home since we left Kisumu in August. Though it is half the size of our last home and still no yard for the kids to play in it has blessed us tremendously since the alternative was a one bedroom apartment.

This is a shot from the living room/dining room into the kitchen. These pictures are from the first few days we arrived so the house isn't quite set up yet. It's a blessing to have a dinning table for the first time in a year. Once we get two more chairs we can have meals together again. The opening into the kitchen makes food prep and watching the kids a much more manageable event.

Now the hall from the living room shows two bedroom doors on the left, a closet at the end and a toilet room, shower room and wash room along the right. The wash room is a great gift as we didn't have one in our last house.

The kitchen isn't huge but has much more storage then our last house and is very functional with two small kids. We have finally got an oven since we took this picture so cooking is wonderful and Rachel can bake anytime she has the urge. It's all gas so the electricity use is significantly reduced.

Tekoa and Eliza made a ginger bread house with the help of their mother. One of the missionaries had a house party where kids and parents came together to build such beautiful and edible works of art. Some how the house still stands today but the little candies are disappearing slowly by slowly.

Merry Christmas! This is the first year we have actually decorated our house. We have a giant 3 foot fake tree with flashing lights and some great home made ornaments along with four stalkings hanging from some kitchen cabinets. The kids really enjoyed the decorating and the sugar cooking making.

We actually opened gifts on Christmas Eve because Christmas was to be a very busy day. Tekoa and Eliza didn't mind opening gifts a day early. What a blessing to see the excitement as they play with their new toys. We are having a great Christmas. I have my first weekend off since starting at the hospital 3 weeks ago making it a memorable Christmas. We hope that everyone reading this would, as we have, find the hope and joy God has expressed through is son Jesus as they celebrate all over this world. May His light continue to shine bright in all who believe and confess his name.

US Memories

We have arrived safely in Eldoret Kenya. We are here for a few weeks and then will be moving to Tenwek Mission Hospital for a year long internship. Before the big move we want to remember a few more experiences of our 7 week visit in the US. Obviously we had so many great experiences but only a few were caught on film. Here Tekoa enjoyed his first fishing trip. Papa Bill and Uncle Justin took Tekoa for an hour of fishing fun with only one small snag; the pond was stocked in spring so they had all been caught by the time we got there. That was our excuse anyway for the slow day.

Tekoa was able to hold his own pole and reel it in all by himself. Even though the day skunked most fishing enthusiasts, Tekoa caught his first career fish. Unfortunately it was captured on video and not still.

Tekoa and Eliza both enjoyed the open spaces to run and play. Tekoa learned to ride his tricycle while Eliza not only learned to walk but also to cruise on her four wheeled bike.

A friend dropped off a wagon for the kids which was a big hit. Here is Tekoa taking his little sister for an adventurous ride.

Eliza loved to spend time in the garden. She was especially good at pruning though she wasn't always sure what should stay and what could go.

America The Beautiful

Our US visit has been nothing but blessings thus far. We had a great travel experience from Kenya. Though long it was well tolerated by all. Since our arrival we have experienced many things. The kids got to see salt water for the first time. This is a picture of Papa Bill and Tekoa exploring the Puget Sound beach along Fox Island.

Of course we have taken every opportunity for playing in the Park which is another leisure the kids don't get much where we live in Kenya. They love the soft grass and the enormous play equipment. Eliza especially likes the swings.

Though the Snake River is much higher then we expected there are still a few beaches to enjoy. We captured maybe the last few days of warmth and sunshine in the valley and the kids got to revel in the sand and sun. It was so fun watching Eliza attempt to swim in the sand and not the water. Tekoa had tons of fun with his newly met cousin Shaelyn and Aunt Brandi.

Family time is always a highlight and priority. Here we are eating long missed tender roast.

We have also had an opportunity to get away from town and enjoy the mountains. We wanted the kids to get as many outdoor experiences as possible before the cold weather set in. Both Tekoa and Eliza couldn't get enough of the four-wheeler. By the end Tekoa thought it was his "motorcycle"

Life is full of experiences. Some good and some challenging, but it's always important to remember the lesson from Ephesians chapter 5 to make the most of every opportunity. Currently we are off to have a picnic with Jess, Jeremy and the kids.