I guess I haven't written since Monday. Monday seems like ages ago, and yet, I feel like this week has flown by. I have one more full day here at Tenwek and I think that I feel a bit numb. I don't want to think about leaving this place, the people, and especially Wiley. The past few days I have sort of been in a routine here at Tenwek. Each morning I wake up and make coffee and then everyone in the guesthouse eats breakfast together, which usually consists of cereal or toasted banana bread. My midmorning has consisted of different activities. On Tuesday, I had chai at Mrs. Manchester's house. She is one of the long term missionaries and she has tea every week for the wives/family of doctors that have come to Tenwek. I knew most of the women that were living in the guesthouse, but it was a great way to meet some of the long term missionary wives that are not in the medical field. We talked about the hospital and how long she has been in Africa. We talked a little bit about the new constitution that is about to be voted on. That seems to be a hot topic here right now. I think the vote for the consitution will be on August 4th. Hopefully it will be peaceful. I think the main sources of conflict are over the topics of abortion, land rights and recognizing the muslim courts. I am not educated enough on the subject to even summarize the issue, but there are several good articles that come up if you google the subject. Anyway, another morning I went on a walk around Tenwek with Carolyn. We did several loops around the hospital grounds. It was the perfect weather for a walk. I got a little winded walking up some of the hills. I kept telling myself that it was the altitude, but that might have been wishful thinking. Another morning I had chai with the house help. I found out that it is rude to decline an offer to have chai (of course, I discovered this after I had already declined it once before), so I have had a lot of chai while i have been here. Around 11am each day Taylor and I would go to the nursery. We were able to be of more help this week since there were 30 babies born over the weekend. I was able to hold several babies that were crying in an attempt to calm them down. While the babies were so cute and I enjoyed this task, I learned early on that wearing old clothes is a must. None of the babies had diapers on, so the first time I held a baby it used the bathroom on me! I guess i shouldn't complain though. Taylor's baby did more than use the bathroom on her, so I felt like I got out of there pretty lucky! All kidding aside, the nursery was definitely one of the highlights of my week. I really enjoyed meeting all of the nurses up there. I felt like I wasn't much help, but they were so welcoming and appreciative of what we did.
Each day at 1pm Wiley and I would eat lunch together along with the other people staying in the guesthouse. One day we ate in the canteen at the hospital, another time we ate at the guesthouse and then two days we were able to eat lunch at some of the full time missionary and staff houses. I really enjoyed those lunches because we were able to get a better perspective of what it is like to be in missions full time and to learn more about the hospital. One of the families that we ate with have been here for 8 months and will be at Tenwek for 2 years. They are planning to open up a teaching hospital with two other families at Tenwek somewhere else in Africa after their two years here.
In the afternoons on Tues, Wed, and Thursday I was able to go to a nearby orphanage with several other girls at Tenwek. The orphanage was called Umojo Children's Home and houses about 40 children of all ages. The time that I was able to spend at the orphanage was definitely the highlight of the trip. As soon as we pulled up to the orphanage the kids bombarded the car. They were so excited to have visitors that were there to spend time with them. The first day that we were there, we brought jump ropes and hoola hoops which they loved. We didn't bring enough for everyone, so we had to get creative with some games we could play. I had to pull games we played in elementary school from the recesses of my memory. Ring around the Rosy was a huge success. We played that at least 20 times. I tried
duck duck goose, but I couldn't really communicate the rules of the game very well. They would all just chase me whenever I said "goose ".
I have included some pictures of the children at the orphanage. I tried to import a video but I don't think it worked. The second and third day it rained, so we were forced to go inside and we made bracelets and colored. It turned out to be such a blessing, because we were able to really get to talk to some of the older children who sometimes get overlooked when playing games outside because the younger children get more of the attention. I talked with Joy, Mercy and Susan. They each spoke very good English and were 14 years old. Mercy was so inquisitive. She wanted to know everything about the US and the states that we came from. She said that she wants to be a pilot when she grows up. They all shared their favorite bible verses with us which they each had memorized and we were able to share ours with them. At the end of our time with them each day they would sing songs for us and would then ask us to sing a song as well. We weren't really prepared for that the first day, but we quickly learned that it would be routine for us to at least sing one song. I definitely enjoyed the time that I spent with these children, but I also greatly enjoyed getting to meet Joseph, the founder of the orphanage. He is such an amazing person. I was so encouraged by him because he was evidence of God at work in this world. He is just an ordinary person that saw a need and met it. There were so many obstacles in his way and so many reasons why he shouldn't take care of those children, but he was obedient to God's call and has seen God take care of him and these children over the past 7 years. It is amazing that 40 children now have hope for the future because Joseph was obedient. I was also encouraged ny how much Joseph depended on and trusted in God to provide for the orphanage. I was reminded about how often I deceive myself in thinking that I am in control and struggle with self sufficiency. I was sad to leave the orphanage, but I hope and trust that Thursday was not the last time that I would see Joseph and the children.
On Friday morning I really had no plans for the day. I thought I would pack and update the blog, but Patsy came to my room and asked if I would like to see a surgery. I had never seen one before, so I said yes. Her husband is an orthopedic surgeon, so we were able to watch one of his surgeries. I was not sure how I was going to react. I have never really seen someone cut open before and I was nervous that I might faint. I have never fainted either so I didn't know what I would feel like if that was about to happen. Thankfully I was okay though. The operation was to put a metal plate into someone's broken arm. We stayed in surgery for about 20 minutes and then headed back to the guesthouse. I was telling Taylor a out my experience and while we were talking her dad walked up and told us he would be performing a c section at 2pm if we wanted to watch. Since i was pretty confident i wouldn't faint I said yes. It end up being more like 5pm before the c section occurred because he had to perform a surgery to tie someone's tubes. We were able to watch that surgery as well which was interesting. I was more focused on the patient than the actual surgery. They only gave her local anesthesia for that surgery which stressed me out. She looked so scared and i could certainly sympathize, since i have a lot of experience in being afraid. I tried to hold her hand throughout the surgery, but I'm not surer if she really liked me doing that. Thankfully it was over quickly. The c section was awesome as well. The mother had been pregnant 5 times before and none of the babies had survived, so it made this delivery extra special. I felt like clapping or crying when we heard the babies first cry. I will say that they are pretty rough with the baby when they are pulling it out! I am about to post this bc i am about to board the plane. I will try to update more later.
Each day at 1pm Wiley and I would eat lunch together along with the other people staying in the guesthouse. One day we ate in the canteen at the hospital, another time we ate at the guesthouse and then two days we were able to eat lunch at some of the full time missionary and staff houses. I really enjoyed those lunches because we were able to get a better perspective of what it is like to be in missions full time and to learn more about the hospital. One of the families that we ate with have been here for 8 months and will be at Tenwek for 2 years. They are planning to open up a teaching hospital with two other families at Tenwek somewhere else in Africa after their two years here.
In the afternoons on Tues, Wed, and Thursday I was able to go to a nearby orphanage with several other girls at Tenwek. The orphanage was called Umojo Children's Home and houses about 40 children of all ages. The time that I was able to spend at the orphanage was definitely the highlight of the trip. As soon as we pulled up to the orphanage the kids bombarded the car. They were so excited to have visitors that were there to spend time with them. The first day that we were there, we brought jump ropes and hoola hoops which they loved. We didn't bring enough for everyone, so we had to get creative with some games we could play. I had to pull games we played in elementary school from the recesses of my memory. Ring around the Rosy was a huge success. We played that at least 20 times. I tried
duck duck goose, but I couldn't really communicate the rules of the game very well. They would all just chase me whenever I said "goose ".
I have included some pictures of the children at the orphanage. I tried to import a video but I don't think it worked. The second and third day it rained, so we were forced to go inside and we made bracelets and colored. It turned out to be such a blessing, because we were able to really get to talk to some of the older children who sometimes get overlooked when playing games outside because the younger children get more of the attention. I talked with Joy, Mercy and Susan. They each spoke very good English and were 14 years old. Mercy was so inquisitive. She wanted to know everything about the US and the states that we came from. She said that she wants to be a pilot when she grows up. They all shared their favorite bible verses with us which they each had memorized and we were able to share ours with them. At the end of our time with them each day they would sing songs for us and would then ask us to sing a song as well. We weren't really prepared for that the first day, but we quickly learned that it would be routine for us to at least sing one song. I definitely enjoyed the time that I spent with these children, but I also greatly enjoyed getting to meet Joseph, the founder of the orphanage. He is such an amazing person. I was so encouraged by him because he was evidence of God at work in this world. He is just an ordinary person that saw a need and met it. There were so many obstacles in his way and so many reasons why he shouldn't take care of those children, but he was obedient to God's call and has seen God take care of him and these children over the past 7 years. It is amazing that 40 children now have hope for the future because Joseph was obedient. I was also encouraged ny how much Joseph depended on and trusted in God to provide for the orphanage. I was reminded about how often I deceive myself in thinking that I am in control and struggle with self sufficiency. I was sad to leave the orphanage, but I hope and trust that Thursday was not the last time that I would see Joseph and the children.
On Friday morning I really had no plans for the day. I thought I would pack and update the blog, but Patsy came to my room and asked if I would like to see a surgery. I had never seen one before, so I said yes. Her husband is an orthopedic surgeon, so we were able to watch one of his surgeries. I was not sure how I was going to react. I have never really seen someone cut open before and I was nervous that I might faint. I have never fainted either so I didn't know what I would feel like if that was about to happen. Thankfully I was okay though. The operation was to put a metal plate into someone's broken arm. We stayed in surgery for about 20 minutes and then headed back to the guesthouse. I was telling Taylor a out my experience and while we were talking her dad walked up and told us he would be performing a c section at 2pm if we wanted to watch. Since i was pretty confident i wouldn't faint I said yes. It end up being more like 5pm before the c section occurred because he had to perform a surgery to tie someone's tubes. We were able to watch that surgery as well which was interesting. I was more focused on the patient than the actual surgery. They only gave her local anesthesia for that surgery which stressed me out. She looked so scared and i could certainly sympathize, since i have a lot of experience in being afraid. I tried to hold her hand throughout the surgery, but I'm not surer if she really liked me doing that. Thankfully it was over quickly. The c section was awesome as well. The mother had been pregnant 5 times before and none of the babies had survived, so it made this delivery extra special. I felt like clapping or crying when we heard the babies first cry. I will say that they are pretty rough with the baby when they are pulling it out! I am about to post this bc i am about to board the plane. I will try to update more later.
Omg I'm so happy to share this!!! I've been thinking I've lost my mind and it was some mental case. I myself had my tubes tied after my 3rd child. I have a condition that makes having babies so hard on my body. About 6 months ago I too would feel something like "kicks" of course I thought I was out right crazy. I never spoke to anyone about what was going through. How could I? They'd think I was nuts!!! Well my periods have been getting so bad that I reached out to my best friend who also had the operation to see if she had experienced any symptoms with her periods since! Of course we were in the same boat. I broke down and told her I almost felt at times I was pregnant I felt so crazy just typing this out to her. I was beyond nervous she would think it was a nut case. To my surprise she also had similar symptoms. We both are researching what this could be. That's when I came across this website on Google of dr Itua Herbal Center. While scrolling through these comments I stumbled upon how he treated HIV/HHerpes also helped a woman to get pregnant with his herbal medicines. When I read what he had been going through I just broke down and cried for the longest time. Finally I got a help that I ever wanted I and my friend purchase Dr Itua herbal medicines and we both used it which was really effective it cure my cramp issues so I will recommend anyone going through some health issue to contact Dr Itua Herbal Center on E-Mail : drituaherbalcenter@gmail.com Or Whats-App +2348149277967 He cure HIV/Aids, Herpes, Cancers, And other stubborn disease make sure someone here talk to someone about this who is going through the same thing as us. Ty for sharing. I now know we're not alone!!!
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