Lake Victoria Day 6 and following

Last blog on the Mfangano Island mission trip!
Day6:

The team: Calvary Church (Charlotte, NC) and Tenwek Hospital

Tenwek teamWe traveled to Ringiti Island (on the Ugandan border of the lake) for clinic the last day - unlike the nearby islands which are green and beautiful, this one was nothing but rock, tin shacks, trash, and fish - a very difficult place to live and work. Evidently 6400 people live on this island and the HIV/AIDS rate is 30%. Though water is all around, there is no clean drinking water. We held clinic in a bar and treated a lot of parasites, diarrheal disease, and sexually transmitted infections. We tried to share some hope with these people but, though they came to the clinic, we did not feel as warmly received as in the other places nor did we see the same response spiritually. Below is the beginning of a picture article from BBC on Ringiti Island and HIV:
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From BBC News: [Click here for more pictures/info]
In pictures: HIV in Ringiti Island, Kenya

Sex trade

The Beach and island communities of Nyanza province, along the shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya, have high levels of HIV infection, particularly in women. One cause is the widespread practice of trading sex in return for the island's only export: a basket of highly prized Nile perch...

_______________________________________________________"As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 'Come, follow me,' Jesus said, 'and I will make you fishers of men.' At once they left their nets and followed him." Mark 1:16-18

"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned...And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:2, 6

Please pray for the people living in the dark place of Ringiti Island that they will see the light of Jesus and know His peace and joy and hope as they learn to follow Him.
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We traveled back to Tenwek along with some of the Calvary team after clinic late that day. We thank God for providing safe travels even long after dark. We also returned with 11 year old L.A. who has suffered from chronic osteomyelitis for almost one year and lives on Mfangano Island. She had an xray and some medication prescribed by a local clinic but her family could not afford the meds. Her parents were away but someone told her that there were doctors at the GGCC guesthouse. So L found her own medical records and hobbled along to the guesthouse where she asked to see the doctors. Impressive initiative for an 11 year old! We had some funds donated for such patients, so we were able to bring her back to Tenwek for surgery on her leg.

The Kendall family helped a lot in caring for L. Her mother (who traveled with her) is also pictured here.

Xray of L's lower leg

She successfully underwent surgery by the orthopedic team and went home this morning very thankful.

Lake Victoria islands Day 5

Day 5:

"Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. God came...His glory covered the heavens and his praise filled the earth. His splendor was like the SUNRISE; rays flashed from his hand where his power was hidden." Habakkuk 3:1-4

Team worship

Farewell to the Lakewood team

Tenwek team with Dr. Paul

We held clinic in two different sites each day and saw approximately 1200 patients in the course of the week

Arrival at the village on the mainland this time

I actually saw patients this day (as opposed to working in the pharmacy and dealing with emergencies and referrals like the other days). I enjoy the variety of mixing things up regarding work assignments for the most part (I guess that's why I'm med/peds!) Here I am demonstrating a homemade spacer for a child with wheezing.

This single mother suffering from chronic illness is raising EIGHT children - five of her own and three for a sister unable to care for her own children. She sells small fish but this income is insufficient to support the family.

We departed later than anticipated due to a complicated social situation involving a new diagnosis of pregnancy in a teenager. We face these challenges at Tenwek as well, and it's always hard to know how to navigate the cultural, social, & legal issues involved when I've lived here a relatively short time. Please pray for physical, emotional, & spiritual healing for these children.

Sunset over Mfangano Island

Lake Victoria islands Days 3 & 4

Day 3:

And the day begins

View of GGCC orphanage & boarding school

Two team leaders: Paul Osteen & Vince Eaton

Unloading at the village of Kitawi

The dentist worked tirelessly day and night as there is no other dental care available for these patients. Before and after clinic each day, she assisted patients who were brought to the guesthouse for dental consults.

Dressing a foot wound

Day 4:
We traveled to a different island this day with the construction and evangelism teams - another beautiful but significantly impoverished place.

Clinic site on the island of Kibwogi

Setting up the tents for the medical team

I couldn't resist taking a picture of little Barak Obama - actually his name!

Cynthia, me, Brian (translator), & Esther on a short walk at the end of the day

Traditional huts with grass roofs in the foreground

The day wasn't over yet - Dr. Paul did minor surgery back at the guesthouse to remove a large lipoma from this man's back

I marveled each day at how remote we seemed to be - so far from medical care and modern conveniences like running water. It seemed like a different world, and yet we were still in Kenya and only a few hours from Tenwek; my cell phone even worked on the island!

During the travel as well as in the evenings, I really enjoyed hearing people's stories - Naphtaly's as well as some of my teammates from Tenwek and the States. God continues to do mighty works in each of our lives in His timing and for His glory. It's so encouraging to hear of His faithfulness again and again and to remember that we are all a work in process at different points of the journey.

Mfangano Island - Days 1 & 2

Asante sana kabesa for all your prayers for our trip to Mfangano Island in Lake Victoria last week. God truly did answer each of those prayers for His glory. We were blessed beyond all expectations with a wonderful week in a little known, seemingly forgotten corner of Kenya. I'd like to share some of the pictures and stories from the week over the next three blog posts.

Day 1:

Tenwek team ready to depart bright and early Sunday morning: Esther (intern), Fred (clinical officer), Maureen (intern), Matilda (internal medicine consultant), Wesley (pastor), Lando (intern), me [Not pictured: Cynthia (nurse)]

I introduced the Kenyan team to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and tortilla chips when we stopped for lunch. Not traditional Kenyan food but they finished everything, so they must have liked it ok! In turn, I was served lots of ugali (corn meal mush), sukumawiki (greens - kale), beans, rice, & chai over the course of the week - I was not always so successful at cleaning my plate, but I did like the fish!

On the boat en route to the island

Gethsemane Garden Christian Center (GGCC) guesthouse - we slept here each night and then embarked by boat in the morning for our various clinic sites on Mfangano and other nearby inhabited islands. In addition to a guesthouse, GGCC also includes a school/orphanage with over 500 students. The team participated in providing physical exams and health screening for each of these students over the course of the week. They discovered quite a few children with significant illness, some of whom were referred for further care.

We primarily worked with the Suba people. Calvary Church (Charlotte, NC) has been working with this people group for over 15 years in supporting the orphanage and school, providing medical clinics, construction projects, community health, & vacation Bible school. Calvary also partnered with Wycliffe Bible Translators to translate the Bible into the Suba language. After 19 years of translation work by Naphtaly (who runs the project) and others, the New Testament (pictured above) was finally published in Suba in April of this year.

After arrival on the island, we enjoyed meeting the teams from Calvary and Lakewood Churches (Houston, TX), visiting the orphanage, talking with Naphtaly, and preparing the meds and teams for the clinics ahead.

Day 2:

What a gift to enjoy the sunrise each day over the lake!

Disembarking from the boat after a 1 1/2 hour ride to the other side of the island for clinic in a village called Ugina

Greeters on the shore

Clinic in a cow pasture - Stephanie and I in the pharmacy

Triage (back left) and dental (front right) in the shade

Naphtaly returning from seeing off our emergency patient. So the excitement for the day came suddenly when Dr. Paul Osteen asked me to come along with him and Naphtaly to see a bleeding patient. I hopped behind the two of them on the motorbike (my first motorbike ride!) and we drove off across the cow path to a nearby dispensary where we found a critically ill young mother hemorrhaging after a miscarriage. We attempted to evacuate the clots and tissue manually as best as we could, made sure IV fluids were running in rapidly, and then Naphtaly and I drove back for more supplies while Dr. Paul spoke with the family and the clinical officer. The woman passed out from blood loss in the midst of all this. The family agreed to transfer her to a hospital for a blood transfusion and possible D&C; they carried her down to the water and off she went by motorboat. We heard later that she arrived safely and recovered without complication. Praise the Lord! Now I see more clearly why so many women die here from childbirth, etc. when no medical care is available to them.

A small spectator with a heavy load sees us off at the end of the day

Heading back to the guesthouse

Sunset with local fishing vessel