Water, Uniforms and Conferences!

28 Feb 09

Dear Friends and Family,

“If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.” Matthew 6: 25 – 26

I am sending you a link to the GBGM web-site and to an article about United Methodist Committee On Relief and what they are doing in Kenya to help with the starvation we are facing. It also gives an Advance Special Number you can use to help them feed Kenyan’s.
Starvation in Kenya
(http://gbgm-umc.org/global_news/full_article.cfm?articleid=5317)

Yesterday evening Maua Methodist Hospital had water again. Living Waters had come to look at our water pump to see if it could be fixed or if we needed a new one. The verdict: we needed a new one. Through some amazing and miraculous ways, the hospital actually had money to pay for the pump and Living Waters returned on Thursday evening and installed the new pump Friday.

Past, Present and Future

Dear Friends and Family,

“Water is essential for all dimensions of life. Over the past few decades, use of water has increased, and in many places water availability is falling to crisis levels. More than eighty countries, with forty percent of the world’s population, are already facing water shortages, while by year 2020 the world’s population will double. The costs of water infrastructure have risen dramatically. The quality of water in rivers and underground has deteriorated, due to pollution by waste and contaminants from cities, industry and agriculture. Ecosystems are being destroyed, sometimes permanently. Over one billion people lack safe water, and three billion lack sanitation; eighty per cent of infectious diseases are waterborne, killing millions of children each year.” World Bank Institute

On Thursday 12 Feb as I left an all day Staff Training and Education Meeting, I was called to the phone. It was the Quality Assessor from the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) office in Meru. He was calling to tell me that the next morning at 9am two assessors from Nairobi were coming to assess Maua Methodist Hospital. Our CEO and Nursing Officer In-charge (NOIC) were away at an educational event in Nairobi and our Administrator takes classes in Meru on Fridays. I explained that those three top people would be gone thinking the assessment might be cancelled or at least postponed. However, he stated that the assessors wanted to be with the Hospital Quality Improvement Team and so that wasn’t a problem. He also stated that the Quality Assessors from Nairobi were impressed with my documentation but wanted to see how it translated to the wards and units of the hospital. Normally, we would have several days to prepare for a major hospital assessment.

Update on Linnet and Hunger

14 Feb 08

Dear Friends and Family,

“Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever.” John 6:35 “There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.” Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist

We saw Linnet this past week and shared a meal with her and Rahab. I wanted to give you an update on what is happening in her life and ask for your prayers.

As many of you may remember, Linnet is a 24 year old woman, mother of two boys, who on Thurs. 20 Sep 2007 was brought into the hospital by neighbors. She had been found lying in the bush near her home. At around 3am that morning her husband had come to their home, dragged her out and using a panga (machete) had cut her 25 times. He cut off both hands and her right foot was dangling. He cut her back, legs, chest, face, and had left her for dead. After admission to our hospital, our surgeon was able to save her leg. After many surgeries and physical therapy, she was discharged from the hospital in mid-November 2007 and went home to live with her father and step-mother.

Ashes to Beauty

24 Jan 09

Dear Friends and Family,

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.” Isaiah 61: 1 – 4

In October 2007, the home of our very close friend, Fridah Gakii, burned to the ground. I can still remember her telling me that her house burned on the day following the fire. She was so casual and calm I could hardly believe what she was saying. She just kept saying that God was so good as no one was hurt. When we went to her home that afternoon and saw the devastation we were stunned. We could not identify furniture or any of their
possessions as everything was destroyed.

An Awesome December Part II

10 Jan. 09

Dear Friends and Family,

“In the final analysis it is not what you do for your children but what you have taught them to do for themselves that will make them successful human beings.” Ann Landers

In the last several months we have heard from several people who have had special events, birthdays, anniversaries, etc., and have had the money sent to Maua Methodist Hospital for one of our projects. I thought I would share a few of their stories.
Ø Krista collected $125 in lieu of gifts for her 7th birthday to support the AIDS Orphan’s Program. Krista is from Chandler UMC, Chandler, TX. She is mighty young to give up birthday presents for others. We are so grateful, Krista! (Mom and dad came on a work team this last year, Drs. Debra and Tom Cherry!)
Ø 4th grade boys in GAP (God Answers Prayer) group at Chapelwood UMC, Houston, TX raised $180 for the Aids Orphan program. (Kimberly Hillman came on a work team and her son Reid, was one of boy’s in GAP)
Ø From a 50th wedding anniversary; a 90th birthday, the money someone receives from having his devotionals published in the Upper Room; the money saved on stamps when Christmas cards were sent by email; Christmas gifts for all members of a family over 15; and from a saint who died.

An Awesome December Part I

3 January 2009

Dear Friends and Family,

“Just think – you don’t need a thing! All God’s gifts are right in front of you………..and not only that but God himself is right along side to keep you steady and on track……..He will never give up on your. Never forget that.”
1Cor. 1: 5 – 9 (Peterson, THE MESSAGE)

What a joy it has been to hear from many of you during the holiday season. Thank you for sharing by mail and email. We always love to hear from you and know what is happening in your lives. It helps us with our prayers and to keep up with you, the people we love. We pray you had a Christ-filled Christmas and that the New Year will bring us all closer to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Girls Alternate Rite of Passage

13 December 08

Dear Friends and Family,
“Men, their rights, and nothing more; women, their rights, and nothing less”. Susan B. Anthony

During the week of December 1 – 5th the Women’s Fellowship at St. Josephs Methodist Church in Maua, (our church and I’m a member of the Women’s Fellowship) sponsored a Girls Alternative Rite of Passage for 96 girls.

When we arrived in Maua in 1999, 98% of the women were female circumcised. When we returned in 2007 it had decreased to 92%. In our area female circumcision or “Female Genital Mutilation” (FGM) is done as early as 8 years of age to approximately 15 years of age. In the last census it was found that 70% of the boys and girls in our area left school after Standard 3 (3rd grade). Presently Primary School no longer has high fees and many more girls and boys are attending school through Standard 8. Thus the age of FGM has increased. The FGM that is practiced here is 2nd degree which means all external genitalia are removed. The girls/teens generally go in village groups and are circumcised together and then are secluded for one month in a tiny hut built specifically for them by the parents. During that month a woman chosen by the girl or her mother (a woman that had been circumcised in the same group as the mother) would visit the girl/teen daily or might actually stay with her to bring or provide food and teach the newly circumcised girl/teen how to be a woman in this area of Kenya. There was no curriculum so the woman taught what she believed was most important. After one month the girl/teen emerges from her seclusion as a woman. The first week would be a time of healing with the final 3 weeks used for daily teaching. Unlike male circumcision, which entails much celebration, eating and dancing when the man emerges, the new woman experiences little or no fanfare. Since the practice of FGM has been against the law since 1998 it is often done in secret!