Samuel Hekima Leister

It has been about 22 months since we had a newborn in our house. But there is a time for everything as the bible says. And now is the time for a newborn to alter our schedules and priorities. What a blessing he is to us as parents and also to his siblings who are still trying to understand the change in its fullness. The birthing process was again by cesarean. This was the third and it is a bit exciting each time. The hospital this time was a bit larger with a few more bells and whistles but anxiety still attempted to steal our peace. God is good though and all went well and continues to be well. Samuel was weighed at 8.1 lbs. He really didn't look that big, but we have no way to weigh him ourselves so we'll go with what they told us. This are twins that were born about 20 minutes before Samuel in the neighboring surgical room. They were big healthy boys as well. Rachel's parents and sister are here for several weeks which is a tremendous blessing. Though are little apartment is popping at the seams when everyone is in the house we are enjoying the extra help with the kids. This is the doctor who performed the procedure. She was very encouraging and since I had been working side-by-side with her for the last three months we trusted her completely. It always makes a difference when we can trust the one holding the knife. Of course anything can happen at anytime for which we put our trust in God, but it was a blessing to be at Tenwek for this delivery.

Papa and Nana Schmidt bought tekoa a tricycle last time we were in the states. With some dismantling and manipulation it fit in a large duffle bag. It got a little beat up on the airplane but all in all it works good. This is after Tekoa and I adjusted the seat and handle bars to fit his growing body. He felt like there were a few more modifications necessary for optimal performance.

We had a great time spending the Easter weekend with the Senior Leisters in their new home. This is Tekoa's new easter shirt. It was supposed to be a nice shirt but he wears it all the time so currently it looks like an old work shirt.

Eliza got a new dress for easter. It kind of reminds me of Joseph's coat of many colors, but obviously not a coat. She loves it of course. What a great hat!

Just today Tekoa was invited to a neighbors birthday party. It was a chameleon party with only one requirement; bring your own chameleon. I searched for a while trying to find one with no success but a security guy at the hospital saw me struggling to find something in the bushes and trees and decided to help. He found one in about 10 minutes. So we got Tekoa his chameleon for the party.

He was pretty attached to it but we decided to let him go after the party. His chameleon did win the big race it was in which was a high point of course.

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.