More from Maua

I’ll try not to make this the longest post ever, but I have so many good pics I want to put up here, and lots to say. First of all, I wanted to add a funny thing that was said last Sunday at the church I mentioned on my previous blog. Tony had visited that church earlier in the week, and when he brought me along on Sunday and the pastor met me, he said to Tony, “Oh, you found a wife who looks like you!”. We got a good laugh out of that!

This week has been a busy one for us. It has really flown by, and I can’t believe that 2 weeks from now we will be preparing to leave. Tony visited a church with Rev. James where he was the first white person in 10 years to go to this town. He said when kids on the street saw him, their eyes became like saucers and they were in utter disbelief! I included a picture of Tony with the youth leaders from that area. Also, Tony preached today for the annual Synod meeting (like our Annual Conference meetings in the US). He did the 9 am worship service, and tomorrow I will attend with him, and hopefully get a pic of him preaching to post.
I have had a busy week, visiting various areas of the hospital, and I have been able to go out into the community with the Palliative Care team again. This time, I crossed a river on a footbridge. It wasn’t too impressive for me, but the guy who lived at the top of a very steep hill was immobile when they somehow took him up there. That was a feat which boggled our minds! The kids living around that area were very interested to see what a group of hospital workers, including 2 “muzungu’s”, were doing visiting the poor dying man in the house on top of the hill. After we saw the man in his poor condition, immobile on a bed of wooden slabs (no mattress), the palliative group decided to get him a mattress and blanket, so he would be more comfortable. So, we hiked back down into town to where the car was, and drove to a store. When we got to the store, the 2 Kenyans told me and Jane we had better stay in the car, otherwise the shopkeeper would drive the prices up when they saw our white faces. We understood, then as we were waiting for their return, we attracted quite a crowd of people who all wanted to talk to us, sticking their heads into the car, and they would not leave us alone. Some of them smelled very strongly of alcohol, and it was only 2 in the afternoon. Jane made the comment that it kinda makes you feel like a fish in a bowl, and I agreed with her. It was a nuisance. Finally, they walked on. Once the mattress and blanket were purchased, along with some food, 2 family members of the patient agreed to take the supplies back up the hill, so we went on to visit the next patient.

Yesterday (Thurs) was a national holiday of "Work Day". So, we took off with Claudia, Katherine, Sarah, and Bill Savuto. We were led by a group organized by James, one of the security workers at the hospital. We hiked in the Nyambene forest, and it was very beautiful!

Today I visited the labor & delivery unit. I had some interesting discussions with the students, since it was such a slow day with only one woman in active labor (2 women were there but with breach babies who had to be removed by C-section). I learned more about the physical consequences of female circumcision, including difficulties it causes during the delivery. I won’t go into graphic detail, but if you’re interested, send me a message and I’ll let you know. Also, one of the nursing students is a member of the Masai tribe (the tribe who lives in the Masai Mara, where our safari will be, and one of the most traditional tribes of Kenya). It was very interesting discussing her upbringing and traditions with her.

Tonight we are going out for dinner to say goodbye to the Sarsons, since they leave tomorrow for Nairobi. The only place in town with a really good restaurant is the Basin Hotel, and we all put in our orders yesterday, since if you wait until you arrive at the restaurant to order, it takes over 2 hours to get your food! I think dinner will be enjoyable with all of the other missionaries and volunteers.

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