Wow, it has been a whole 5 days since I have shared any
thoughts about our time here lately in Kijabe! I apologize now for any
scattered thoughts as I attempt to summarize the last several days. Since my
last post, we have had some Kenyan adventures on the countryside, most of which
Scott has already relayed to you. However, I’ll try my best to give you a brief
overview from my perspective.
On Saturday, we were fortunate to travel to Kenya’s Hell’s
Gate National park (I bet no one would have ever thought that on a mission trip
we would travel through the Gates of Hell…). It was very hot and dry (as anyone
would expect Hell’s gate might be…) but did allow for some delightful animal
sightings. We were graced with the presence of many warthogs, zebras, kudu,
gazelle, monkeys, baboons and one lonely giraffe (or twiga as the locals say). After
a leisurely drive over the plains area, we went for a quick hike through the
gorge where we were reminded multiple times that many have died during the
floods that occur with quick rains. Our Masaai friend wisely stated: “In the
gorge, you must always hike looking up…” At just that moment I spotted the
first dark cloud we have seen since our arrival 2 weeks ago. Fortunately, the
rains held off one more day, because it would have been terrible to have been
washed away in a gorge flood…
After our hike, we travelled around the park to see where
our friend Richard is working with one of the local power companies. They are harnessing
the geothermal energy by drilling wells for steam and piping it to power plants
where it is converted to large amounts of megawatts for the entire country. While
it was interesting to see how it all worked, it was also a stark contrast to
see the natural wonders of the geothermal vents paired with the large drilling machinery
and miles of piping throughout a national park. It wasn’t quite the undisturbed
nature that I was hoping for.
Our friend Richard boldly took us right up inside the plant
(that would be a huge security fiasco back home) and right to the base of one
of the large drills. I loved the Kenyan attitude that all the workers we met
shared. They were more than willing to stop whatever important job they were
doing at the moment to explain a bit about what they were doing. While at the
drill, we were told they had a goal of drilling down 3km and were only 50
meters from their goal—that they hoped to reach by nightfall. The rig was about
200 feet tall and effectively served as the largest power tool any of us had
ever seen. It was comical to me as the only female to watch Scott, our driver,
and Richard marvel at its massive power. I felt a bit like Jill Taylor from
Home Improvement.
We concluded our time in the park by visiting a geothermal
spa that harnessed the natural power of Hell’s Gate in a way that a woman could
truly appreciate. There was a large pool with sky blue mineral water being
drained right from a steaming natural spring. Unfortunately, we did not have
the attire to enjoy its warmth, but we vowed that the next time we visit Hell’s
Gate, we’ll just spend the entire day there…
On our way home, we stopped by Lake Naivasha and took a boat
ride around Crescent Island, a place where several African staple animals were
transported years ago for the filming of Out of Africa. The Lake was much
cooler than Hell’s Gate and even presented us with a few drops of rain. We saw
several hippos, scores of birds, and more zebras and gazelles. After returning
to our home, we slinked into our beds and prepared for our eventful Sunday.
On Sunday morning, we travelled to Suswa to worship with our
friend’s church. Scott had been there one week ago, but unfortunately, I had
been on call and unable to attend. Therefore, after hearing his stories, I was
more than excited about what the morning would hold. We met numerous church
members, and I was soon whisked away by several ladies to be dressed as one of
them. The ladies adorned me with traditional wraps and beautiful Masaai jewelry.
It was such an honor to be consider Masaai for the day. They even gave me the
name Nashipae which means “joy.” I answered only to that name for the remainder
of the day. In fact, I don’t think I was ever even introduced as Teresa. During
the service they attempted to teach me how to dance like a Masaai woman, and we
all shared in the excitement of what God was doing in Kenya and in the Masaai.
Afterward, we shared a meal with Richard, his wife Evelyn, their
children, and several church members. We were delighted, as one of our goals
for this trip was to establish a partnership between Richard’s church and ours
in South Carolina. We realize that we all belong to the global body of
believers, and we wanted to make a connection that would allow us to pray for
and support one another. When we return to Lyman, we are so excited to share
what God is doing in Kenya, and encourage our local body to have a global
mindset.
On Monday, it was back to work at the hospital. Currently, I’m
continuing in our NICU. It has been quite an experience in contrast to my most
recent NICU rotation back home. It can be frustrating at times to have a lack
of resources or the ability to care for the babies the way we would back home,
but it has also been amazing to see what we can do with the little that we
have. Right now our nursery is overflowing with about 28 babies (remember the
size of the 90 degree plus room that I mentioned before….). Many of them have
fallen sick with bacterial infections, so please pray that we are able to
contain the spread of infection and that all those currently sick will be
healed. It has been a bit busier than my internal medicine time here, but still
a great time of learning and growth.
Yesterday, I took my first pediatric call. I was blessed
that my intern apparently used to work in the peds department for 4 years. Therefore,
he is certainly more experienced than I am. He skillfully handled most of the
overnight calls, and we thankfully had only one admission for a 19 day old baby
with a fever to the ward. (As an aside, I think the interns perform about 2-3
lumbar punctures a day here in Kijabe…and most of them are perfectly clear…they
are certainly much more skilled than we are at them).
As the consultant, we handle all the ICU care ourselves, so I
also admitted one young girl to the ICU who had just had an 8.5 hour surgery to
remove a large brain tumor that was impinging on her brain stem. Kijabe is a premier
neurosurgical center for the country, and I was so thankful for the experience
that we have had in Greenville with Dr. Troup’s patients. While I still am far
from knowing everything I need to know about caring for this special set of
children, our experience at GHS has made me more comfortable with shunts, vent
taps (which we needed to be able to do the other day), and post op management.
Thankfully, the patient did well through the night with only a few calls down
to the ICU for bradycardia (to clarify—we take call from home after the day’s
work is done, but since it only takes me about 5 minutes to walk to the
hospital, we end up walking down frequently during the night to check on
things).
This afternoon I was afforded some early time off to rest.
After a quick nap, Scott and I ventured once again to the school located just
above us on the mountain, Rift Valley Academy. We took a delightful stroll
along their trail and met another teacher in the area. She was from Mississippi
and has been serving the last 8 years here. She allowed us to meet her 3 large
pet leopard tortoises that she has been caring for since moving here and recounted
what a delight it is to teach for the missionary children. Scott and I thought
once again about how amazing it would be to live and work here long term one
day, as it seems to be the perfect fit for a doctor and her teacher/pastor
husband to serve.
For the next several days, I’ll continue my work in the NICU
and then move on the pediatric floor. I feel as though I’m ending my stay with
a bang, as that is the part of the hospital I’ve been most excited to work in. It’s
hard to believe that we have been here over 2 weeks already (it feels both too
short for all the we have learned and experienced, and too long for it means
that we have already passed the half-way mark of our time in Kenya). We are eager
to experience what else the Lord has in store and trying to soak in every
moment!
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