Katie's meanderings...

4 langauges???

2011-12-06T02:14:00.000-08:00

I've spent the last year attempting to learn Swahili, along with a bit of Maasai. The longer I'm here, I've also realized that I've been learning a 3rd langauge...British English! It makes sense, though...Kenya was colonized by the British, so the English here, along with many other things, definitely has had a British influcence. Here's some differences I can think of from American English:

pudding = fruit salad
custard = American pudding
torch = flashlight
serviette = napkin
nappy = diaper
petrol = gas/fuel
football = soccer
lift = to give a person a ride
bonnet = hood of a car
boot = trunk of a car
gum boots = rain boots
lorry = semi-truck
rubber = eraser
plaster = bandaid
windcreen = windshield
biscuit = cookie/cracker
chips = French fries
crisps = potato chips
chest of drawers = dresser
queue = a line of people
trolley = shopping cart
flat = apartment
full stop = period (.) in grammer
aerial = antenna
chemist = pharmacist
cooker = stove
dust bin = trash can
flyover = over pass
ground floor = 1st floor
1st floor = 2nd floor, etc
holiday = vacation
maths = math (the subject in school)
nursing home = private hospital
puncture = a flat (tire)
trousers = pants
pants = underwear
pram = baby stroller

Now you know:)

How to count to 10 in Maasai...with your hands!!!

2011-10-04T09:18:00.000-07:00

Special thanks to Eunice for her hands in this video:) Sorry it's sideways!

Ndovu = elephant

2011-10-02T08:28:00.000-07:00

This past week, Narok made the news on the BBC! The Kenyan Wildlife Service has a plan to move 200 elephants from Narok to the Maasai Mara reserve, starting with about 40-50 this past week. Check out these videos...what a sight! I hope it helps...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15035491

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/06/15/kenya.wildlife.maasai/index.html

The Maasai...

2011-10-02T07:52:00.000-07:00

The Maasai from Ryan Schultz on Vimeo.
(Thanks to Ryan Schultz for making this for NMSI & AfricaHope!!!)

Caedmon's call...

2011-10-01T12:45:00.000-07:00

I got an email recently about Caedmon's call. It made me curious about the musical group & how they got their name. Legend has it there was a cow herder named Caedmon that lived in the 7th centruy that was afraid to sing in public because of his perceived lack of talent. One night, an angel appeared to him & called him to sing. He refused at first, but when he finally did, he sang beautifully, & verses that had never been heard before. God uses us in ways we never think are possible:) Here was the story written about Caedmon...

Caedmon’s call to become a voice for those who have no voice.
I cannot speak,
Unless You loose my tongue;
I only stammer,
And I speak uncertainly;
But if You touch my mouth,
my Lord,
then I will sing the story
of Your wonders!

Teach me to hear that story,
Through each person,
To cradle a sense of wonder
In their life,
To honour the hard-earned wisdom
Of their sufferings,
To waken their joy
That the King of all kings
Stoops down
To wash their feet,
And looking up into their face
Says,
‘I know—I understand.’

This world has become
A world of broken dreams
Where dreamers are hard to find
and friends are few.

Lord, be the gatherer of our dreams.
You set the countless stars in place,
And found room for each of them to shine.
You listen of us in Your heaven-bright hall.
Open our mouths to tell our tales of wonder.

Teach us again the greatest story ever:
The One who made the worlds
became a little, helpless child,
Then grew to be a carpenter
With deep, far-seeing eyes.

In time, the Carpenter began to travel,
In every village challenging the people
To leave behind their selfish ways,
Be washed in living water,
And let God be their King.

The ordinary people crowded round Him,
Frightened to miss
A word that He was speaking,
Bringing their friends, their children,
All the sick and tired,
So everyone could meet Him,
Everyone be touched and given life.

Some religious people were embarrassed
--they did not like the company He kept,
And never knew just what He would do next.

He said:
‘How dare you wrap God up
In good behavior,
And tell the poor that they
Should be like you?
How can you live at ease
With riches and success,
While those I love go hungry
And are oppressed?
It really is for such a time as this
That I was given breath.’

His words were dangerous,
Not save or tidy.

In secret His opponents said:
‘It surely would be better that
One person die.’

‘I think that would be better,
If he could.’
Expediency would be the very death of Him.
He died because they thought it might be good.

You died that we might be forgiven,
Lord; but that was not the end.
You plundered death,
And made its jail-house shudder
--strode to life
To meet Your startled friends.

I have a dream
That all the world will meet You,
And know you, Jesus,
In Your living power,
That someday soon
All people everywhere will hear Your story,
And hear it in a way they understand.

So many who have heard
Forget to tell the story.

Here am I, my Jesus:
Teach me.”
(Celtic Daily Prayer, New York: Harper-Collins. 2002. Pp 198-201.)

1 year later...

2011-09-26T12:51:00.000-07:00

I wrote this devotion for my 1 year anniversary of moving to Kenya this month. I thought I'd share:)

One year ago, I did one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I stepped onto a plane & left behind every person, place, & thing I had ever known. I was headed for a new life in Kenya.

I had spent the months prior trying to see everyone & say ‘good-bye’, knowing that I might not see some of my family & friends for another 3 years. But, God had been working on my heart & preparing me for this adventure for almost 8 years.

He had given me dreams & desires of starting up a community health development program in rural Maasailand. I couldn’t picture myself anywhere else. So, here I am…1 year later!

For devos this morning, I’d like to share some of the scriptures that led me here & have encouraged me:
• ‘The Great Commission’ in Matthew 28: 16-20 helped get my eyes focused on mission work & ministry. It’s very motivating scripture for me, but I like John 20:21 a bit better:
"Then Jesus said again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, I now send you.’”
Jesus told his Disciples this after he beat death on the cross. God sent Jesus. Jesus sent his Disciples, & now us…to spread the Good News everywhere.

• There were many times in preparing to come serve in medical ministry here that I felt unqualified. All of my previous experience is with sick & premature babies in the hospital! And now that I’m here & am beginning this work this month, it’s easy to get overwhelmed at the task at hand. But, the first part of John 15: 16 is a really good reminder for me:
“You did not choose me; I chose you. And I gave you this work: to go & produce fruit, fruit that will last…”
We’re all here working together with AfricaHope because God chose us. And he chose our work. I’m grateful for the great collegues:)

• And then there’s Isaiah 58: 10-11
“…if you feed those who are hungry & take care of the needs of those who are troubled, then your light will shine in the darkness, & you will be bright like sunshine at noon. The Lord will always lead you. He will satisfy your needs in dry lands & give strength to your bones. You will be like a garden that has much water, like a spring that never runs dry.”
God guides us in the work he gives us…caring for people physically, emotionally, & spiritually. And He uses us to bring the light of hope to the people he places in our lives.

As I look back on this past year, things have been kind of crazy! I moved around a lot –

a conference in South Africa,

worked with a missionary doctor in Ethiopia,

went to 2 Swahili language schools in Tanzania,

lived with the Kileteny family for a couple weeks,

& then Sammy’s family in Naroosura.

I’m happy to finally be settled in Narok, getting to know each of you better, & making more friends. Some things have been an easy adjustment, others have been difficult. The only constant in the midst of the daily differences of new places, languages, cultures, & life, has been God.
• Let’s read Joshua 1:9
“Remember that I commanded you to be strong & brave. Don’t be afraid, because the Lord your God will be with you everywhere you go.”
And also Psalms 37: 3-5
“Trust the Lord & do good. Live in the land & feed on truth. Enjoy serving the Lord, & he will give you what you want. Depend on the Lord; trust him, & he will take care of you."
No matter where he sends us - alone or with others, near or far – he’s always there, & always taking care of us.

A question I get asked a lot here is ‘What are the differences between Kenya & the States?’. I usually try to focus on the similarities since we’re all people living on the same Earth. But today, I want to think about some of the differences. Compared to my life 1 year ago,

I have new friends, a new place to live,

new driving skills, a new name (my Maasai name - Nashipae),

new animals to see, a new language,

new cooking skills,

a new country to explore, a tan (even though all of you may think I’m still really pale:) ), & a new culture in which to view how God loves all his children.

God’s pretty amazing. Thank you all for any way you’ve helped me in this past year. It is a joy to serve alongside each of you.

Mstuni (the bush) Adventures...

2011-07-06T07:14:00.000-07:00

A short-term team from Crossroads Christian Church (my home church Evansville, IN) came to visit all of us at AfricaHope last month. It was wonderful...having a taste of southern Indiana here, friends, time in the bush together at the lovely school of Olosirua, & watching people experience Kenya & the people here for the fist time, just like I did 6 years ago:) We camped out next to the teacher's housing at Olosirua Primary School for 4 days. Part of the group did VBS with all the school kids, & the other part taught at a pastor's conference in a nearby town. Here's some highlights:

• Rainstorm…a badly needed rainstorm. Only a couple of the tents leaked:)
• Hyena wake-up call
• Building about 20 new desks for the students, & repairing broken chairs
• Trying to carry water like Maasai women (place the strap tied to the large jerry can full of water on your forehead & let the jerry can hang on your back). Warning: it’s heavy & you could end up on the ground:)
• Watching the Jesus film projected on the outside of a manyata (mud hut) in nearby villages at night. Quite a few people were saved!
• Tomato sauce does not = tomato paste! Anyone know how to make spaghetti sauce with ketchup? :)
• Luncar eclipse. Amazing. And it made the stars even more radiant than they already were.
• Time around the camp fire. We ended up teaching Jackson (a co-worker of mine at AfricaHope) John Denver’s ‘Country Roads’ :)
• VBS craft time with the school kids…bags with finger print people on them, prayer journals, a banner made with handprints in the colors of the Kenya flag. Love their little hands:)

• Watching the kids play with a large parachute…you know, those parachutes we used to play with at VBS that you try to run under before it comes back down on you. It brought back memories:)
• Nashipae…the Maasai name the students gave me. It means ‘happy’:) They gave us all Maasai names after they performed some traditional Maasai songs for us on our last day there. Precious!

• Passing out deworming medication to all the students. Not glamorous, but definitely helpful.
• Visiting a nearby bore hole that AfricaHope helped make possible
• Nyama choma = roasted meat. On our last day, men from the community slaughtered a goat & roasted it for us! The goad fat soup that also comes along with a slaughtering was….an experience.
• Being able to witness a community meeting led by Tim, AfricaHope’s director, about improving the school for the children
• Maasai beaded jewelry from the parents that we were all given before leaving
• A few Moran (Maasai warriors) came by for a visit & performed a song for us! They requested that we remember them & bring back pictures. We just so happened to have a Polaroid on hand!
• Getting to know the amazing teachers & kids at Olosirua :)
I do love being out in the field:)

**If you'd like to see more pictures from our time in the bush, click here**

Kenyan Cooking...

2011-07-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

One of my language learning projects has been to learning how to cook Kenyan food...in Swahili. I thought I'd go ahead & share the 'recipies' I've gotten so far(translated into English as best I can:) ), so you too can try out Kenyan cooking! One warning, though...you'll probably have to use a bit of trial & error since Kenyans don't use exact measurements:) I have found exact recipies online, though, if you like exact mesaurements & directions:)

Sukuma Wiki - My favorite! It means 'to push the week' in Swahili, because it can help stretch meals through the week. This kale dish (plus spinach sometimes) is usually served with ugali (listed below) or chapati.
- Chop up onions, tomatoes, green peppers, sukuma (kale or collard greens, & spinach (if you'd like a mix)
- Put the onions, tomatoes, & green peppers in a cooking pot
- Add some cooking oil or butter/margarine
- Place over medium heat
- Leave for 5 minutes, stirring together until it is cooked well
- Add sukuma & spinach
- Add a bit of salt & water
- Cover the pot & leave to cook for 10 minutes on low-medium heat

Ugali - a dense dough-like staple of the Kenyan diet made of maize flour. It is usually served with meat, stew, sukuma wiki, or cabbage.
- Put about 4 cups of water into a cooking pot
- Bring the water to a boil
- Add about 3-4 cups of maize flour (I've seen recipies that use cornmeal if maize isn't available) a little at a time while stirring it completely together with the water using a wooden spoon
- 'Press' the mixture against the side of the pot with the spoon to continue mixing it as it thickens
- Continue cooking & 'mixing' until it is 'ready' (another recipie said 'well cooked'). Basically it should be dense, no liquid, & require muscles to stir:) The color & amount of flour required will differ depending on the type of flour you use.
- Remove the pot from the heat & cover to cool for a bit until serving
- Cut into pieces & serve

Mchuzi - aka stew
- Put peas in a cooking pot & boil them completely
- Chop the tomatoes, green peppers, cilantro, carrots, cabbage, onions, garlic, potatoes, & meat
- Put the meat & a bit of salt in another pan. Boil the meat without adding water (the salt will draw liquid out of the meat, so it won't stick to the bottom of the pan) until all the liquid is gone
- Put a bit of cooking oil in with the meat after it has cooked
- In another pot, put onions & garlic with a bit of cooking oil, & cook until brown
- Add tomatoes, green peppers, cilantro, & carrots after the onions & garlic have browned
- Cook until the tomatoes cook down
- Add the cooked meat, & cook for 2 minutes
- Add cabbage, & cook until it has changed color & the stew has soaked up all the oil
- Add peas & a bit of salt
- Add a bit of water (a larger amount if you're wanting soup), & let it boil for about 20 minutes
- Add Royco (a seasoning sold here for mchuzi), & cook for a few more minutes

Chai - Another favorite! Great on a cool day:)
- Pour milk into a cooking pot (about a 1/2 cup per person)
- Add water (about 1/2 cup per person)
- Add tea leaves (about 1/2 Tbsp per person)
- Add tea masala spice if you'd like
- Bring to a boil, & let it cook for for 2 minutes while stirring occassionally (watch closely that it doesn't boil over)
- Reduce the heat a bit after the 2 minutes, & cook until the chai becomes the color of a latte while stirring occassionally
- Pour the chai through a sieve into cups
- Serve with sugar

Ugi - a mixed flour porridge...a drinkable breakfast:)
- Put water in a cooking pot & boil (the more water, the more diluted the porridge will be)
- Mix the flour in a small bowl or cup with a bit of water (2 Tbsp of flour per person) (we used Amaranth flour, but other recipies use corn & millet flour)
- Pour the flour mixture into the pot with the boiled water
- Mix completely, making sure there are no lumps
- Leave the ugi to boil for 15 minutes
- Add a bit of milk, margarine/butter, & sugar (1 Tbsp of sugar per person)
- Leave the ugi to boil for another 5 minutes

I Will Follow...

2011-07-03T04:04:00.000-07:00

Loving this song right now :)

"By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way & by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people." ~Exodus 13: 21-22

"When Jesus heard this, he said to him, 'You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have & give to the poor, & you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.'" ~Luke 18: 22

Bombo

2011-05-09T03:16:00.000-07:00

One of my final assignments for my intermediate Swahili course was to give a 5-10 minute oral presentation about my experience visiting the local hospital in Tanga, Tanzania. It was challenging to do this in Swahili, not only because it’s not my first language, but also because there aren’t Swahili words for much of our English medical terminology. They either use the English word or have to just describe what they’re talking about. For example, formula = milk flour. Sometimes, you can just make a word Swahili…plexiglass = plexiglasi, incubator = incubata :) So, here is my experience at Bombo Hospital…first in English, & then in Swahili…

Bombo Experience
Last week, I went to Bombo Hospital to help one of the Norwegian nursing students with an interview for her final research paper for her Bachelor’s degree. I hadn’t been required to wear a white student nurse’s uniform like the one I was given in about 7 years! The only pair of closed-toed shoes I brought with me was pink, so I wore bright white & pink to the hospital:)
As we pulled into the hospital compound, I saw many buildings…eye clinic, tooth clinic, lab, etc. The oldest building, with a sign on it called ‘Cliff Block’, had an old-building, unique architecture feel to it that I like.

We entered the building next to Cliff Block…a more modern looking building, but run down by Western standards. We walked up a couple flights of stairs until we reached the maternity ward. Antenatal patients at less than 7 months were in a room off to the left, antenatal greater than 7 months & postpartum were in a room off to the right, & in the middle was the delivery room & Low-Birth-Weight Unit (LBW) (their NICU). The rooms were crowded…most of the beds had at least 2 women sharing them. Some had brought their own sheets of plastic to lie underneath themselves to protect the mattress from their blood. Some new mothers were resting, some were breastfeeding. The beds looked like they were decades old. Hospital personnel walked in & out of the room, but we were told there were only 2 nurses for around 60 patients! Despite the overcrowding & seemingly run down conditions, there was beauty in that room…beautiful new mothers with their precious babies, both wrapped in beautifully colored kangas.

I was able to go into the LBW unit. I kind of felt at home around those tiny babies I’m used to caring for. The room was as big as one of the NICU storage rooms at home. The incubators were made of wood with a plexiglass tops. Two new babies with retractions were in there being observed. Another tiny one was being cup fed by her mother…a method I’ve only read about in books. Another baby that looked to be about 30-32 weeks had her nasal cannula, which was hooked up to an oxygen concentrator, lying on top of her nose. I wanted to help, but wouldn’t even know where to start. Are there even the resources & knowledge here to help these sick & premature babies?

The nurse who we were going to interview was busy helping with sutures when we first arrived, but we didn’t have to wait long. She had been a nurse for 1 year – 7 months in this unit. She was so insightful, telling us about how things should be done in comparison to how they really are done. Tea (the nursing student) is writing about the effects of hygiene on maternal & infant mortality & infections, including sepsis. The nurse agreed that they’re connected & knew the importance of hygiene, but said the lack of resources, like clean equipment, lack of staff, lack of time to teach patients, & lack of general hygiene knowledge in patients are all obstacles. She seemed to have the knowledge, but is limited on her ability to implement it. She explained that they work 12+ hour shifts with little to no breaks, caring for up to 30 patients a piece, while also cleaning the ward. It sounded like nursing in the States 100 years ago. They don’t have time to teach. They don’t’ have time to assess the patients like they know they need to. They rely on the mothers to tell them if the baby isn’t acting right. They do their best, but know it’s not enough. They try to encourage breastfeeding, but have no time to teach, so the mother’s give up easily & give formula. They try to tell them to be clean, especially the breasts while breastfeeding, & the umbilical cord, but don’t’ know if they mothers really do it because they’re unable to reinforce it. Nursing as a profession isn’t respected highly in the community, so it’s not desirable to stay at a challenging job like this nurse has.

I’m glad I got to visit Bombo. The medical system here faces many challenges, but so did the Western world many years ago. They continue on here, & will also succeed.

Ujuzi wa Bombo
Wiki ijayo, nilikwenda Hospitali ya Bombo kusaidia mwanafunzi Mnorwei mmoja wa uguzi. Na mahojiano kwa mwisho karatasi yake ya uchunguzi kwa digrii yake ya Bachelor’s. Sijahitaji kuvaa nguo nyeupe ya kazi hospitali kama miaka saba! Nilileta jozi ya viatu moja tu kwamba siyo ndara, ambavyo la pinki, kwa hiyo nilivaa rangi ya nyeupe sana na la pinki kwenda hospitali. Tukiingia kiwanja cha hospitalini, niliona majengo mengi…kliniki kwa macho, kliniki kwa meno, lebu, kwk. Jengo kuukuu kabisa, liliyokuwa na alama ambayo ilisema “Cliff Block”, jina usanifu majengo ya Ulaya na wakati uliopita ninayependa.

Tuliingia jengo kondo ya Cliff Block…jengo jilifanana la kisasa zaidi, lakini kupotewa na nguvu na sanifu ya magharibi. Tulikwea ngazi mpaka tukafika wardi ya wakina mama. Wagonjwa hawajaofika mwezi saba kabla ya kuzaa, walikuwamo chumbani cha koshoto, na wale wameofika mwezi saba au zaidi, na wale wamezaa walikuwamo chumbani cha kulia. Katika katikati, palikuwa chumba cha kujifungua na wardi ya watoto wachanga waliozaliwa wenye uzito udogo au kabla ya wakati wao. Vyamba vilikuwa kusongana…vitanda karibu vyote vilikuwa na wanawake wawili au zaidi kushiriki. Wanawake wengine wameleta vipande vya plastiki wao wenyewe kupata chini ya wao wenyewe kulinda magodoro kwa damu wao. Mama wapya wengine walipumzika, wengine walinyonyesha. Vitanda vilifanana na vilikuwa vya kuukuu sana. Wafanya kazi wengi wa hospitali waliingia na waliondoka chumba, lakini tuliambia kulikuwa waguzi wawili tu kutunza kama wagonjwa sitini. Hata kama kusongana sana na kwamba wardi kulifanana na hali ya kupotewa na nguvu, kulikuwa uzuri katika chumba kile…
mama wapya wazuri na watoto wachanga wao, wote wamevaa kanga yenye rangi nzuri.

Niliweza kwenda ndani ya wardi ya watoto wachanga waliozaliwa wenye uzito udogo. Nilisikia kama nyumbani kuzunguza watoto wachanga wale wadogo sana kama wale nilizoea kutunza. Chumba kilikuwa ukubwa cha chumba ya akiba nyumbani. Incubata walitengeza mbao na plexiglasi juu ya upande wa juu. Watoto wachanga wapya wenye ‘retractions’ walikuwepo kuangaliwa. Mwengine mdogo sana aliliwa kwa kikombe na mama yake…njia nimesoma kuhusu tu vitabuni cha kiada. Mwengine aliyefanana amefika wiki thelathini au thelathini na mbili, alikuwa na kitendea kazi changu ya oksijeni juu ya pua yake. Nilitaka kusaidia, lakini sikujua kukoanza. Kweli…wana vifaa vya kutosha hapa kwa kuwasaidia wale watoto wachanga wagonjwa na wale kabla ya wakati wao?

Mwuguzi tuliyekuwa kuhoji alishughulika kusaidia kushona tukifika, lakini hatuikuwa na muda mrefu siku hii. Amekuwa mguguzi kwa miaka moja - miezi saba katika wardi hii. Alikuwa na ufahamu sana, kutuambia kuhusu jinsi ya vitu vifanye kufananisha jinsi ya vyao vinafanywa. Tea (mwanafunzi wa uguzi) anaandika kuhusu jinsi ya elimu ya afya kugeuza mauti ya mama na watoto wachanga na maambukizi, hasa septicemia. Mwuguzi alikubali kwamba vitu hivi vinashirikiana na alijua maana ya elimu ya afya, lakini utovu ya vitu vinavyosaidia kama vifaa maalum safi, wanafany kazi, wakati kufundisha wagonjwa, na maarifa ya kawaida wa wagonjwa kuhusu elimu ya afya. Alionekana ana maarifa, lakini ni kuwekwa mpaka katika kuwezwa kuyafikiliza. Alieleza kwamba walifanya kazi zamu ya kazi ya saa kumi na mbili au zaidi na mapumziko ya dogo au hata moja. Walitunza mpaka wagonjwa thelathini maadamu pia kusafisha wardi. Hii ilinikumbushe ya uguzi katika Umerika miaka mia moja uliopita. Hawana wakati wao kufundisha. Hawana wakati kuwapima wagonjwa wao kama wanajua wanahitaji kufanya. Wanawategemea mama kuwaambia kama mtoto mchanga hatendi sahaki. Wanafanya kazi yao bora kabisa, lakini wanajua wanajaribu kutia moyo kunyonyesha, lakini hawana haitoshi wakati kufundisha, kwa hiyo mama wanacha rahisi na kuwalisha na unga ya maziwa. Wanajaribu kuwaambia waki mama kuwa na usafi, hasa maziwa zao maadamu kunyonyesha na chango la uzazi, lakini hawajui kama mama kuifanya atafanye kwa sababu hawawezi kujimarisha. Mwuguzi pia alituambia kwamba ubingwa wa uguzi haukustahi sana kwa jamii, kwa hiyo hakuna motisha kubaki katika kazi ambaye inakuwa ngumu kama hii.

Mimi ninafurahi niliweza kutembelea Bombo. Pana mazingira ya kazi magumu hapa, lakini mazingira haya, sisi pia tulikuwa nao Ulaya na Amerika. Wanaendelea mbele hapa na wao pia watafika.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nurses’ Duties in the US 100 Years Ago
The following job description was given to floor nurses in institutions similar to Athens’ Lunatic Asylum (circa 1887).
In addition to caring for your 50 patients, each nurse will follow these regulations:
1. Daily sweep and mop the floors of your ward, dust the patient’s furniture and windowsills.

2. Maintain an even temperature in your ward by bringing in a scuttle of coal for the day’s business.

3. Light is important to observe the patient’s condition. Therefore, each day fill kerosene lamps, clean chimneys and trim wicks. Wash the windows once a week.

4. The nurse’s notes are important in aiding the physician’s work. Make your pens carefully you may whittle nibs to your individual taste.

5. Each nurse on day duty will report every day at 7 a.m. and leave at 8 p.m. except on the Sabbath on which day you will be off from 12 Noon to 2 p.m.

6. Graduate nurses in good standing with the director of nurses will be given an evening off each week for courting purposes or two evenings a week if you go regularly to church.

7. Each nurse should lay aside from each payday a godly sum of her earnings for her benefits during her declining years so that she will not become a burden. For example, if you earn $30 a month you should set aside $15.

8. Any nurse who smokes, uses liquor in any form, gets her hair done at a beauty shop, or frequents dance halls will give the director of nurses good reason to suspect her worth, intention and integrity.

9. The nurse who performs her labors and serves her patients and doctors without fault for five years will be given an increase of five cents a day, providing there are no hospital debts outstanding.
http://www.toddlertime.com/advocacy/hospitals/Asylum/ridges-staff.htm

Language is Culture...Part III: TICC

2011-05-09T01:15:00.000-07:00

If you have read some of my most recent posts, you won’t be surprised to hear that…language is culture. While in the coastal town of Tanga, Tanzania for the past 6-weeks completing an intermediate Swahili course with some teammates, I continued to learn about the new culture surrounding me. Despite some differences - Kenyans seems to first identify themselves more by their tribe, whereas Tanzanias seem to first be…Tanzanias, & a coastal culture is different from an inland culture, especially seen in the different foods they eat (lots of fish, fruit, & coconuts!), different jobs (lots of fishermen),
& a higher prevalence of the Muslim religion - there is definite similarities in Eastern African cultures in the basic ways people live. There was another culture I learned about that I wasn’t expecting…Norwegian. This probably surprises you, too:) Well, the owners of the school are Norwegian. They are involved in many development projects around Tanga, including contracts with a number of Norwegian universities to provide some international community health nursing courses. The Norwegian nursing students & their professors were excited to share their ‘brown cheese’
& homemade bread breakfast, & we were fortunate enough to be a part of their just because traditional Christmas dinner in April:) They were even more excited that we liked it! The Maasai guards at the school added another cultural element…jumping contests & chanting followed by Celine Dion songs on the radio, protecting us from snakes, & learning that they don’t like fish & are scared of crabs…but no fear of lions, mind you:) And then there was the night everything merged together….watching the movie ‘The White Maasai’ in Norwegian with our new friends that translated for us the best they could:)

Speaking of food, I loved the coastal food! When I first arrived, I stayed in a village a 20 minute walk away from school, called Mchukuni,
for 1.5 weeks Every evening, Mama Mwalimu (the lady of the house) cooked the most delicious meals – combinations of rice cooked with coconut milk, ugali (the really dense porridge also popular in Kenya), tomato based stews of vegetables & fresh fish caught by the fishermen in the village, bananas, & fruit to top it all off. All of this was cooked from scratch on a jiko (charcoal cooker) outside, just like in Kenya.
The concrete block house I stayed in was owned by the Mwalimu family, one of the wealthiest families in the village. They had running water & elecriticy (praise the Lord!), but no fans in the bedrooms, which led to some very, very, very hot night topped off with about 100% humidity. I don’t think I’ve ever sweat so much in my life! Some nights, required a quick shower to cool off just to try to get back to sleep. But, this is the life they know & live. Every morning as I ate breakfast (chapatti or a deliciously sweet & dense ‘rice bread’ with ginger chai), I watched women & children come to the house to fetch water…the only tap & clean source of water I knew of in the area. If they couldn’t balance the huge plastic containers full of water on their head, they weren’t as respected by people. Did I mention how impressed I am with African women? Since the Mwalimu’s (Swahili for teacher) house was one of only a few places in town that had electricity, people would bring their cell phones to them to be charged. This is a really popular business in East Africa…probably over most of the developing world. They were also one of the few people that owned a TV, so we had many visitors in the evening when it came time for the English-dubbed Spanish soap operas…that made me feel like I was back in the village in Kenya:) Every evening, Mwalimu (the man of the house) went to the mosque for prayer. Muslim prayer is ‘kusali’ (to pray) in Swahili, whereas Christian prayer is ‘kuomba’ (to ask or beg). Parties were a frequent thing in the village, especially in the evenings when it was slightly cooler.
One wedding lasted from Thursday night until Monday morning at 7am! Some nights, we were taunted by drunken bush babies (a furry creature with a long tail larger than a squirrel) that get into the local brew, & dance around on the roof & crack coconuts:)

Life at TICC was much more Western, but we were surrounded by the Tanzanian staff & our teachers.
Everyday consisted of 2 hours of class (in our outdoor classroom:) ), 1-2 hours of Rosetta Stone, & practical time speaking with the staff. Our main textbook was a book called Simplified Swahili, which was written by an Mzungu (aka Westerner) back in the day, so it matched our Western train of thought & learning styles. I didn’t realize this until the day our teacher taught from a different book written by a Tanzanian….I felt like he was jumping around all over the place & teaching small parts of many different topics that didn’t fit together. Language is culture.
There were 1st to 4th grade reading books available for us to learn from, also. I saw a sad theme in too many of the stories that were similar to something I wrote about in a previous blog….death, sickness, brokenness, destruction. One of the stories depicted a herd of cows getting killed by a train, another, a mother so sick & vomiting that she was hospitalized, & another was titled ‘Father, don’t kill me’! Not all of the stories were like this, but it was enough to get a glimpse into the different culture, the different practical things children have to be taught, the different life here.

A couple of hours each day was spent speaking Swahili with the staff. We learned Swahili words about the kitchen, housekeeping, fishing, maintenance, etc. I even got to try out kufyeka (slashing grass) with a panga (machete)!
As we got to know these people, they became our friends. Those that were Christians invited us to their churches on Sundays…another good practical Swahili experience. A teammate of mine began reading the Bible with a Muslim friend, nicknamed Simba (‘lion’):)…it was mutually beneficial Swahili & English practice, & well, you know, the Word. If you’ve ever read from the King James Version of the Bible, you know it doesn’t use every day English. Well, it’s kind of the same with the Bible in Swahili….it’s grammar is very advanced & the words used aren’t every day words.
Please pray for Simba as he is hungry to continue learning more. One day a group of us rode bikes to the nearby village of Mwahako to check on some TICC sponsor kids, and play soccer & sing with them. We had renditions of ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes’ going on in English, Swahili, & Norwegian:) Towards the end of the course, Mama Ruth (the makubwa…aka boss of TICC) had Elizabeth (a teammate & fellow nurse) & I go with some of the Norwegian nursing students to the local clinics & hospital to help translate for interviews in the delivery wards.
It was like a breath of fresh air to be in a medical setting again, especially when I got a glimpse of their Low-Birth-Weight Unit…my NICU:) One of our final assignments was to do an 5-10 minute oral presentation about our experience in Swahili. Be looking for that as my next blog…

I’m now back in Narok, trying to get settled-in to life in Kenya, & use the Swahili I’ve learned. There’s always more language & culture to learn…so, here it goes!

**If you'd like to see pictures from my experience, click here**

Language is Culture...Part II: Homestays

2011-03-09T01:06:00.000-08:00

I recently completed 1.5 months of homestays with Kenyan families to help with enculturating & language learning. The father of both families are co-workers of mine at AfricaHope...one family lives in Narok (the same town I live in) & the other lives in a more rural town out in the 'bush' a 1.5-2 hour drive south of Narok. Both of these experiences gave me a glimpse into the lives of Kenyans here, at least for families that are on the more 'well-off' side. I spent quite a bit of time during both homestays studying Swahili, too, with their daughters that were home from school. We used a lot of the techniques that I learned about in my training in Colorado last summer...I had fun & I hope they did, too:) The same rang true with language leraning with a language helper & homestays as with language school....Language is Culture! Here's some of the things I remembered to write down:

- My name has changed: it's really difficult for Kenyans to pronounce my name...it always comes out as "Kate"...plus, "Katie" to them sounds too much like kati (Swahili for 'time') & kiti (Swahili for chair/couch), so they get pretty confused sometimes when I'm introduced

- Toilet talk: all cultures are different as far as what is appropriate to say. Here, you do not say, "I'm going to the choo" (choo = toilet), you say, "I'm going to help myself". I had one Kenyan friend tell me I was going to the 'relief office' :)

- Reality: I asked the girls to help me write sentences using words of objects that I'm trying to learn...a common theme I saw was about things being 'broken', 'stolen', 'dirty', or 'clean'...frequnt realities of life here & what so many women's lives revolve around. I wanted to find the word for ceiling , but when they wrote a sentence for me it translated, "They hid money in the roof."...I was confused. The girls said, "Aren't roof & celing the same thing? Most people don't have a ceiling. And they do hide their money in the grass roofs." The Swahili words for bake & steam were also unknown to them...they don't cook those ways...they don't have an oven. Another sentence did bring some humor...I had found the phrase for 'kitchen sink' (beseni la kuoshea vyomba vya bafu...a fete considering most families in rural areas don't have running water & therefore use basins instead), but my friend wasn't familiar with this combination of words & only registered 'basin' --> "I lost the kitchen sink" :)

- Different meanings: the same word means different things not only across languages, but also accross locations & cultures. I was talking about my bibi one day...grandmother in Tanzanian Swahili, but wife in Kenyan Swahili...opps! So, now if I go back to Tanzania & talk about my nyanya (grandmother in Kenya), they're going to think I'm talking about my tomato :) Uwanja wa ndege ('field of airplanes') = airport (which, when taken apart, seems to be a 'port for the air') Dawa la meno ('teeth medicine') = toothpaste ('paste for teeth') P.S. 'Narok' (the town I live in) apparently means 'hell' in Thai!!! Hell's Gate National Park is nearby :)

- Word construction: as I learn the literal means of words or phrases, it's easy to see that language develops as the culture develops, & words are created in the context of what is already known. For example, in Swahili, disappointed = kosa tumaini (literally 'to lack hope'). You can see this in English, too....breakfast = 'to break the fast'. It's kind of beautiful to see a language in this way...

- The English bubble: things don't always (actually, usually don't) translate literally into English...each language is it's own, why would it fit into the English bubble?...but that can be hard to remember & thus causes frustration sometimes. The frustration can go both ways, though...how would one go about describing why we call 'tank tops' tank tops????

- Culinary limits: different peoples stomachs tolerate different things, let alone different cultures with the foods we're used to! Milk (maziwa), for example, in the Maasai culture is a staple of their diet. You can find maziwa lala ('sleeping milk') in the supermarkets, aka "yogurt" as described to me. I've also heard of the famous Maasai 'sour milk', with the steps of kuharibkia ('to spoil'...no particles yet, but it smells) to kuganda ('to freeze'...soured with particles to which lots of sugar is added). I don't know if my stomach would 'sleep' through the night with that...

Some challenges:
- Have I turned into an 'interrupter'??? How do you know when it's approritate to say something when you don't understand what they're talking about? And by the time you do translate in your head enough to know what they were talking about, are you now saying a totally random thing off topic?! :)

- The 'right way' vs the 'ministry way'...this is a big challenge for me because I like to do things the 'right way'. I began my Swahili study in Tanzania where Swahili is 'purer' (Swahili was born in Zanzibar, grew-up in Tanzania, & died in Kenya), but then did homestays in rural Kenyan where proper Swahili is taught in school, but is definitely not spoken the same way ("Why would anyone choose to speak less 'intelligently' than they're taught?! Oh, yeah...we do this in the States all the time!"). Where do I put my efforts...learning Swahili by the books or by learning how the people I'll be working with speak it (even when I know it's 'wrong' & goes against my perfectionist grain)??? Do I want to 'fit in' or be the equivalent of a British person speaking in the South in the States???

- "If I don't know how to say it in Swahili, I just shouldn't say anything"...right? Probably wrong. Warning: This leads to a decrease in interactions with the people around you, & therefore decreased relationships. That can get pretty lonely...

- Dictionary vs person...who to trust? Well, it turns out both are 'right' at different times depending on how the language is used in the area you're in. This definitely led to some frustrations when I thought I'd learned a word I looked up only to find out that's not how it's used here...kusali means 'to pray' in Swahili, but not in Narok it's how Muslims pray! Note to self: say omba when I want to pray:) But, the dictionary is still my friend...my language helpers & I reference it all the time!

- 'Good' days & 'bad' days...when I seemed to be having a 'good' day with language, I would have a 'bad' day with culture shock. When I'd have a 'good' day with culture, I'd have a 'bad' day with language. The days that both aspects were 'good' seemed rare, but....really good :)

Some new experiences during my homestay time:

- listening to the radio while hanging out & relaxing in the afternoons...I've gotten used to only listening to the radio in the car on occassion

- watching a chicken be slaughtered, cooked, & then placed onto my plate for dinner...surprisingly I had no aversion to eating the tastey dinner

- diarrhea on an outdoor squaty-potty outhouse...perhaps too much information for some people, but hey, it's inevitable when living overseas :)

- reading by flashlight at night after the solar power ran out...this usually lead to an earlier bed time than I'm used to

- brushing my teeth outside underneath the breathtaking stars at night

- old time country & gospel music are still alive & well in Kenya :)

- watching a friend eat dirt that she picked up while walking by the shamba (farm), which she said is a really common snack for women...it's even available for sale in the supermarket! She was recently pregnant, probably had malaria at some point, & now is anemic (odd cravings that come along with anemia like this is called pica in the States, for which people take iron tablets for months, but it's not readily availbe here, & if they do take it & don't see quick results after a week they stop)

- I went to visit a friend & was served: chai x2 (of course!), hard boiled eggs, gum, & 'medicinal' tea :)

- meeting iliterate adults & children that have never been to school nor never will...I didn't realize how prevelent this still is here, despite there being laws about kids going to school (there's just not the personnel out in rural areas to enforce this, & some families still don't see the need for an education)

- an 8 hour church service, part of which was a celebration of a CD the choir had recorded & is now selling...it was long, but also filled with beautiful dancing & praising God

- I felt like I was on the way to becoming part of the family, not just a guest, when the mother of the family told me "Karibu dada" (welcome sister) & held my hand as we walked through the market (a common things for friends to do in this culture...for men & women)

**If you'd like to see more pictures from my homestay experiences, click here**

Twenty-ten...

2011-01-18T03:01:00.000-08:00

My year in pictures...some of my favorite moments:

January - Haiti Benefit concert with Kim...good times:)

February - Nashville good-bye's & move:(

March - Greece!!!
April - Medical missions training in North Carolina...

May - Kiawah...ahhhh:)

June - Colorado...MTI...family time with the Baran's

July - Family Reunion...

August - City Museum & Vermont...

September - Feeling loved amidst good-byes & Welcome to Kenya!

October - 6 weeks in Ethiopia...
November - Tanzanian Swahili course & Mt. Kilimanjaro!

December - My 1st Christmas in Kenya...

Any now...on to 2011!!!!

Language is Culture...

2010-12-26T11:43:00.000-08:00

I learned that ‘language is culture’ this summer while in PILAT at MTI in Colorado. It made sense to me, but I didn’t really understand until I was sitting at MS-TCDC in Tanzania in a Beginner’s Swahili course a couple of weeks ago. Certain words exist in languages because of the culture, and other words don’t exist because of the culture. For example, in Tanzanian Swahili (apparently the ‘purest’ Swahili), there isn’t a word for ‘lay down’ because it would be difficult to lay down on your bed that’s in the living room & that you’re sharing with others, so…you only sleep on a bed. Or how about this one….’oa’ (to marry) is only for men…women ‘olewa’ (get married). I think that eludes to arranged marriages, as well as the different rights of men & women. The words I learned also explain culture. Some of the first words I learned were ‘shamba’ (farm), ‘bustani’ (garden), & ‘mbolea’ (fertilizer)…not the words I would have expected. But, when you realize that the majority of people here farm at least one crop, they’re important to know. As is how ‘time’ works around here. The day starts when the sun comes up, not around say 6am. So….when people started using clocks, they said the numbers a bit differently…subtracting 6 hours from the time shown on the clock. For example, if the clock shows 10am it is read ‘saa nne asubushi’ (4 in the morning), not ‘kumi’ (10)! In class, the teacher also went on to explain that some people in really rural villages still don’t use clocks, so that’s an even bigger challenge when trying to get people to be ‘on time’. Time telling by the sun sounds pretty cool, though:) Learning the explanation of the meanings of some words & how others were formed was really interesting. For example, ‘mwana’ (child) + ‘mke’ (wife) = ‘mwanamke’ (woman, aka ‘child born to be a wife’). The same was for ‘mwanamume’ = man, aka ‘child born to be a husband’ (‘mume’). Or one of my favorites….’barua’ (letter) + pepe (husks….like corn husks) = email….because it’s like a letter that flies away just like the light-weight husks of corn do:) Some Swahili words have just been adopted from English, hence the lovely term ‘Kiswaengligh’. I like those words:)

Another language is culture thing….greetings. Greetings are super important in this culture. To give you a sense of how important…one of my Swahili teachers was acting out a phone call in which he was going to tell someone he was in danger (I can’t remember how this came up, but it’s always something good to know!), & it went something like this (in a whisper):

#1 “Habari za leo?” Hi. How’s your day?
#2 “Nzuri sana. Na wewe je?” Very good. And yours?
#1 “Nzuri sana. Hujambo?” Very good. How are you?
#2 “Sijambo. Mzima?” I’m good. Are you complete?
#1 “Mzima. Nipo hatarini!” I’m complete. I’m in danger….right this moment!
#2 “Nitapiga polici.” I’ll call the police.
#1 “Asante sana.” Thank you very much.

Can you imagine?! Language is culture….greetings before danger:) Oh yeah….also, you’re always doing ‘good’…no matter what:) Each day at language school, we had 5.5 hours of class time, complete with regular meal & chai/coffee/hot chocolate breaks. We took notes, we had homework, we played games, we sang songs…we learned Swahili:) My brain was definitely tired & full by the end of the day! There were a number of times in class that I was frustrated with Swahili….”Why don’t they just say ___, like in English…it’s so much easier!” And then I remembered the story of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11). Mankind started out with one language, but then we started trying to achieve Heaven & fame. So, God fixed that. He had a reason for scattering us all over the Earth speaking different languages. “Ok…I’ll learn it the Swahili way…” :) Twice we had the opportunity to talk with a native Swahili speaker for an hour….the first time I walked away with a headache The second time was better, though:) We also had a ‘field trip’ to the market…most of the vendors enjoyed us trying our Swahili out & appreciated our efforts.

My classmates at TCDC consisted of other Americans, Germans, Swede’s, British, & Dutch. We got to rest our brains some on the weekends, & explored the area a bit. My personal favorite was Mt. Kilimanjaro:)

Now that I’ve returned to Kenya…I’m trying to practice using all the things I learned in Tanzania. I’m also using tools that I learned about at my PILAT training at MTI in Colorado this past summer. Here’s a taste of some of the things I learned & did in PILAT... Let me just say…thank you God for not making Swahili a tonal language & for it using the Roman alphabet!!! :)

Language learning really is exhausting…my brain is thinking & functioning in ways that are new or haven’t been used in a very long time! I’ll be getting a language helper after the new year when everyone returns back to work from Christmas break, but until then I’m just going to town everyday & practicing with who ever will be patient, listen, & talk to me:) I’m also living with a Kenyan family, so I can live the culture & the language. After all….language is culture!

If you’d like to see more of my pictures from Tanzania, click here.

Happy Birthday, Jesus!!!

2010-12-24T23:26:00.000-08:00

Apartment tour!!!

2010-12-19T09:15:00.000-08:00

Not the greatest still shot to start this off with, but here you go:)

Apartment tour!!! from Katie DeFries on Vimeo.

Nail House???

2010-11-16T01:34:00.000-08:00

One of the first things I did upon arriving in Kenya in September, was to start working on getting my work permit. I am currently allowed to be here because of the tourist visa I purchased through Customs in the airport ($25). A tourist visa is good for 3 months, at which point you can purchase a 3 month extension. After that, it’s technically illegal to be here without some kind of permit. The work permit can be valid for up to 4 years. So…I heard I was going to the ‘Nail House’ where the Immigration Office is to work on this. One of my male teammates told me he had a contact person there that helped he & his wife go through this process. He referred to her as “his ‘Nail House’ lady”….funny comment from a guy! Well, when we got there, I quickly learned that my ears aren’t quite tuned in to Swahili yet. It’s actually the ‘Nyayo House’. My bad:)

Here’s a step-by-step process I’ve gone through so far for getting my work permit…it’s one that tests your patience!
• Submit the application along with: 1) a letter from AfricaHope stating I’m volunteering with them & requesting I be issued a work permit, 2) at least 3 letters of recommendation from non-family members (thank you to those that wrote wonderful letters for me!), 3) copy of my birth certificate, 4) copy of my passport, 5) 10 passport sized photos, 6) copies of my diplomas, & 7) résumé.
• Wait…& wait….& wait…until the work permit has been approved.
• I went to check on the status of my work permit when I got back from Ethiopia. Stand in Line 9. I finally made it up to the counter & handed the lady my receipt from when the application had been turned in. She needed a reference number to be able to check. Go to Room 16.
• Wait in line…get the reference number…back to Line 9.
• Wait in line… When I made it to the counter again, I opened the folder with all my paperwork in it to hand her the receipt. It was gone! I started frantically looking. The guy behind me said he had seen a paper on the ground, but didn’t know where it went. I couldn’t find it! Back to Room 16.
• Get reference number, again. Back to Line 9. And wait….
• Third time’s a charm….when I finally made it to the counter again & gave her my reference number, she said it had been approved! Woo hoo! That was record time! It has taken months & even up to a year for other teammates to get their permits approved...my application was approved in 1 month!!!
• Back to Room 16…again. The lady there found the official document that said my work permit had been approved.
• Go to the Cashier’s desk. I was informed that I had to get a ‘Security Bond’ from either an insurance company or bank, & bring proof of that to him.
• Day 2…Security Bond. Turns out, I had to have an official AfricaHope stamp for the security bond paperwork. We had to have it sent by matatu (taxi) carrier from Narok to Nairobi first thing that morning. Then, off to the insurance company.
• I was very confused as to what a ‘Security Bond’ was, & no one at the insurance company was explaining it in a way that I understood. I heard the word ‘bond’, so I thought it would function like a bond in the States & I would get that money back after 4 years (paying 20,000 KES [about $250] for a bond valued at 100,000 KES), but I was informed I wouldn’t be getting that money back. I was determined to find out what this ‘Security bond’ was since it was so much money! So...I attempted to read the small print of the contract. It’s basically insurance for the Kenyan government against me! If I do anything while I’m here that costs them money, this ‘Security bond’ will cover it up to 100,000 KES ($1,250)…evacuation, medical, damage, etc. Interesting…
• Back to the Nyayo House. I showed the Cashier my proof of Security Bond. I then owed around 6,000 KES ($75 processing fee). He gave me a receipt & said to come back in 2 weeks & go to Room 16. Why not now?! Why 2 weeks if it’s already been approved & I just paid for everything?!
• I went down to Room 16 to check for myself. “Come back in 2 weeks”… So close yet so far away!
• I’ll be checking on it this Friday. If it’s ready, then I’ll apply for: 1) a re-entry permit (so I don’t have to buy a new visa each time I re-enter Kenya), 2) an alien card (so I can get Kenyan citizen prizes on things, especially the tourist attractions!), & 3) a Kenyan driver’s license. Prayers appreciated:)

Motorcycles...

2010-11-11T06:24:00.000-08:00

I wouldn’t say I’m a fan of motorcycles. They make me nervous. Having been in the medical profession for the past 7 years, I’ve heard about way to many motorcycle accidents for me to not think twice about getting on one. That being said…I tend to have temporary lapses of judgment when visiting foreign countries:) It first happened 3 years ago in India with my sister & cousin… Our driver decided that we would love to each ride on the hotel motorcycle on the narrow mountain road to go see a cave temple. My sister went first… no problems. My cousin refused…so smart! It was my turn. I got on the back of the motorcycle…& then immediately asked myself, “What in the world are you doing?!” I started to pray. And then the motorcycle died!!!! I couldn’t believe it! They had to tow it back to the hotel with someone holding on to the rope it was tied to sitting in the back of the car! Thank you, God!!!

Then came Ethiopia… motorcycles were one of three transportation options (walking 45+mins & bajaj being the others), but the only safe option at night. So…I hopped on…and started praying. The motorcycle never died…the whole time I was in Ethiopia for that matter. That gave me peace. Guess God thought it was okay this time:)

6-weeks in Ethiopia....

2010-11-10T05:11:00.000-08:00

Sit back & relax…this is a long one:) Here’s my best attempt at describing my 6 weeks in Ethiopia…

Picture frontier living back in the 1800s…simple, but hard living. Horse-drawn carriages. Farming by hand. Cooking over a fire. Close communities & families working together to survive. Then someone walks by a grass hut, all the while talking on their cell phone. Trucks & mini-buses emit horrendous fumes as they drive by on the roads lined with pedestrians & donkey’s pulling supplies. You see clothes from the US, but they’re well-worn, stained, & torn. Life in Ethiopia…well, most developing countries, is full of these paradoxes that are hard for my brain to mesh together. And then to top it off…you’re a celebrity! Foreigners, especially white people, are still a rarity, so your each & every move is watched. Kids want to test their English on you & try to touch your skin or hair:) Now that you have that visual…

I lived in an area called Otona outside the town of Soddo, which is about a 5-6 hr drive southwest from the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa (the 2nd highest capital in the world!). It was absolutely beautiful & not at all what I expected…it made me think of Hawaii, Colorado, & Vermont:) Soddo is a town of about 50,000 people that sits at an altitude of 6,800 feet. The national language spoken around Soddo was Amheric, along with the local language of Wolaittina. The area is predominately Christian…Orthodox & Protestant. There was also a Muslim. When I arrived, it was the tail end of rainy season, & was beginning to move into dry season. It was generally in the 70s-80sF during the day with nice, refreshing rain showers at least once a week. As the wind storms began, I was told it was a sign of the approaching dry season. The mud dried up, leaving lots of red dust.

I lived in the house of the missionary I filled in for (Sophie) just a couple houses down from Dr. Mary (the missionary doctor I worked with) & her husband, Gary. They live in a compound that was built for SIM missionaries back in the 1950s, but is now owned by a nearby Protestant church & is used as a Bible college. The house looked like it was transported from 1950’s American, but with some African touches:) There was even an American style attic…which was probably one of the last things I expected to see in Africa!
For my first 1.5 weeks, we had no running water because of a busted water pump in town. Donkey’s brought the water from the river/spring about a 5-10 minute walk away, where most people did their laundry & others brought trucks & motorcycles to be cleaned in the river. Water was always filtered & boiled before consumed. When the water came back, I think I was happiest about the flushing toilet:) Oh, & the hot shower…that 1 hot shower…before the water heater broke:( So, then I was back to taking bucket baths with hot water heated by a wonderful electric kettle…cold showers & I don’t mix well. The hot water heater did manage to get fixed before I left, but not before there was a waterfall in the living room & kitchen caused by a leaking pipe valve in the attic. The electricity was pretty sporadic… it went out for at least a couple hours (mostly in the evenings) about 4-5 days/week…more frequent than in Kenya. I ate many a dinner by candle light:) There was one day it was off for over 24-hour, which defrosted the freezer for me…look for the positives! There were also frequent power surges, so most things had to be plugged into a surge protector so they didn’t fry. And then there were the fleas that appeared in the living room…quite the battle! Sophie said she’d never had that many problems with her house before. So…this was just my initiation into African living:) I feel like I lived out a ‘Living in a Developing Country 101’ course:) Gary & Mary were so great about teaching & showing me things…how to flash ‘pasteurize’ local fresh milk, water filters, electrical problems, local meat shopping/cutting/grinding/freezing, passion fruit juicing, good from-scratch recipes,
good plants/herbs to grow in the garden, how to clean vegetables & fruit you’re going to eat raw with bleach, tips for the slow internet, etc. Then there was the adventure in the bathroom after Sophie returned & Angie arrived…declogging the shower drain & caulking! I also learned a lot just by living in Sophie’s house & seeing what she had there after living in Ethiopia for a little over 1 year now. God brought me to Ethiopia to learn a lot more than rural medical clincs:)

Most mornings, I was up by 8am to welcome the house help. I was so thankful for them…Amarech, Zenabu, & Tsaganesh. It takes about 10 times as long to get normal, everyday things done (laundry by hand, dishes by hand, cooking from scratch, gardening/mowing with no machines), that I would have had trouble having time to do anything but live without their help. Plus, these jobs are a normal part of their culture. There was a gas & electric stove & electric oven in the kitchen, which I became very well acquainted with. One of the quickest meals was pasta. There was tons of pasta & tomato paste around town thanks to the presence of Italians pre-WWII.
Zenabu helped with the garden out back, growing lettuce, spinach, onions, turnips, strawberries, passion fruit, & rhubarb growing along with some avocado, custard fruit (or bread fruit), papaya, & guava trees. Zenabu & Tsaganesh were both also in school when they weren’t working. Tsaganesh was the only one of the three that spoke much English, so all of my communication was through her. She enjoyed listening to Ethiopian music (what sounded like a mix of Middle Eastern & Indian music) on her cell phone while she worked:) (Random note: I heard quite a bit of American music in restaurants that was a blast from the past…Bryan Adams, Shania Twain, Warren G…random tunes that would catch me off guard & made me smile:)) One other friend that helped out a lot was Kebede…he just finished his first year of nursing school & works at the Christian hospital in Soddo when he’s not helping translate for short-term teams. He would help me find what I needed around town, & then would take me back home on a motorcycle he rented…basically the only safe transportation option after dark unless you have a car.
Soddo was 45 min+ walk into town. I could also walked 15 min down the frequently muddy road to get a bajaj (mini-taxi vehicle thing), which took me into Soddo. Along the side of the main roads, there were outside market stands selling fruit, 2nd hand clothes, cheap watches, etc. There were also the popular ping-pong & foosball tables throughout town that frequently had competitions in play...another surprise:) There were a few restaurants around town that we ate at. I enjoyed trying the Ethiopian dishes. Almost all of them were served with injera, a sourdough-like flat bread. The most common dishes were vegetable, potato, &/or chickpea ‘wat’ (stew)
& ‘tibs’ (cut up pieces of seasoned meat). The most common drinks were Ethiopian coffee (basically espresso served with salt), macchiato (coffee with spices & chocolate flakes:)), sprice (half tea/half coffee),
water, Ambo (sparkling mineral water), Coke/Fanta/Sprite, & fresh juices. As for shopping for necessities & food…there was the market for fresh produce, grains, beans, & clever things people made from recycled materials
; road side stands; & then the 3 ‘foringe’ stores around town with very basic ‘American’ things…some canned vegetables, cereal, cookies, candy, Raman noodles, basic cooking supplies, Red Bull, etc. More things were available in Addis. Prices in the market were wonderful…rolls $0.50, 1 dozen eggs $1, pineapple $0.38, papaya less than $1, 1 lb of red beans $0.25...I loved it:) There were other missionaries (from the States, Netherlands, & Norway) in Soddo working at the two orphanages & the Christian hospital. I really enjoyed getting to know all of them & hang out. I spent some time at one of the orphanages…the kids of course stole my heart pretty quickly. They loved to play & pose for the camera:)

On clinic mornings (Tuesday’s & Saturday’s), Mary picked me up in her ancient-but-still-running-great Land Cruiser at 6:30am…those were rough, early mornings:) Clinic was a 1.5 hour drive away (back northeast towards Addis). Part of the drive was on a main paved road, but then the last bit was on a rough dirt road out to the rural area. We passed traditional mud huts along the way mixed in with newer style rectangular mud houses. I was in a couple of these houses, & they were quite impressive! I never knew mud walls could be so sturdy! If they could afford paint for the walls, then you couldn’t really even tell they were mud. A number of these houses closer to town (= wealthier people) had electricity & nice wood furniture, & I even saw one with a TV. It’s just hard to put all those things together in my head. All along the drive to clinic (and even through town & just walking places), we would hear “foringe” yelled (aka foreigner!). Clinic was located in the small village of Godala (aka Ajora…named for “famous” twin waterfalls that were nearby). A line of people sitting on the ground were always waiting for us as we pulled up to the village’s community building.
The really sick people laid on mattresses or “stretchers” (made of wood & palm leaves) that were brought in by rural “ambulance” (aka donkey cart). A local pastor always prayed before we began our work. Dr. Mary then handed out little pieces of paper to determine who could buy medications from our pharmacy vs the more expensive pharmacies nearby…large-sized cards for those with a larger arm circumference (meaning they were better fed, hence healthier & wealthier & could afford the other pharmacies), small-sized cards for small arm circumferences. To give you an idea of a small arm circumference….most of the men were hard working farmers, & Dr. Mary could put her hand around their upper arm & her finger tips touched.
I thought it would be hard to see her distinguish between people like that, but truthfully, it’s pretty easy to see the difference. They’re all poor…no question about that…but some are so emaciated & are the poorest of the poor. I guess that helped me start to process the question of ‘How do you know who to help? Everyone’s poor.’ There are people that have all of their basic needs met, have clothes other than the one’s they’re wearing, have extras in their house like I talked about, but they’re still poor by our standards. Then there are those that don’t know where their next meal is coming from, are withering away & have no reserve for when they get sick, & really have no money or possessions. Then there’s the orphans, widows, & disabled…the people that really are helpless. Seeing all of this helped me begin to better understand scripture about taking care of the poor, orphans, & widows.
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure & faultless is this: to look after orphans & widows in their distress…” ~James 1:27
But, then where do I fit into all of this? I think this experience helped me to know better where to focus my ministry efforts in Kenya & who to help when surrounded by poverty. But…what about all the extra I have despite being on a ‘poor missionary salary’? I still have more than the ‘well off’ poor in many places. God has blessed me, & I pray that He will show me how to steward those blessings well. I don’t know that there’s an answer to those questions…

There were 5-6 Ethiopians that worked with us on clinic days depending on the day of the week…translators, guard, & help with odds & ends stuff. There were 2 buckets that held lab supplies (urinalysis sticks, hemoglobin paper, etc) & equipment (otoscope, thermometer, etc). Dr. Mary started with the donkey cart patients, I started with the pregnant ladies & twins:)
Pregnant ladies started coming around 6-7 months (earlier if we were lucky) to get basic checks, an egg (for nutrition), & MinMeds (= multivitamin, iron & folic acid, & malaria preventatives…the latter because if they have malaria when they are delivering or up to 3 months after, they have an almost 100% chance of death!). The twin feeding program originated because mother’s generally don’t have enough food for themselves to be able to breastfeed 2 babies at the same time, so they would only feed the largest of the two:(
So…we gave the twin mom’s a large can of granola (which we made every couple weeks with oats, honey, peanut butter, protein powder, & oil + milk powder) every 2 weeks provided that both babies were gaining weight. They were pretty cute:) Once I was done with the pregnant ladies & twins, I started on the opposite end of the line that Dr. Mary was working on & we saw patients until we met in the middle.
I also did all the injections & helped with procedures (IVs, suture removal, dressing wounds, etc). Dr. Mary had me try to help with a tooth extraction on one of my first clinic days, but I was doing good to not throw up just watching!

Things I saw at clinic: post-partum sepsis, pregnancy-induced hypertension, leprosy, tuberculosis (lots of this, sadly)…abdominal, lung, arthritic, malaria (lots & lots of this), pneumonia, whooping cough, chicken pox, rheumatic fever, mumps, STDs, broken arm, worms (lots of this), ear infections, cataracts, eye infections, skin infections, amoebic dysentery, visceral leishmaniasis (this makes your spleen huge & is passed an insect bite), night blindness from Vitamin A deficiency, a platelet count of 2,000 in a lady pregnant with twins, goiter (lots due to diet deficiencies), Hodgkin’s lymphoma, probable miscarriages,…& the list goes on. Many of these we don’t see in the States because they’ve been eradicated, we have vaccines for things, & our nutrition is much better.

What else did I do on non-clinic days? I spent time helping Dr. Mary with the medical missions course she’s written (the one Angie, Elizabeth, & I took in North Carolina in April), as well as organizing medicines & packaging meds for pharmacy. Occassionally, Sophie will take over the care of a baby from the village whose mother died in childbirth & the father couldn’t take care of he/she in the early infant stage when they still need milk. When I arrived, 9-week old Asamino was living with Heather (the other nurse helping fill in for Sophie) & I. Another cute little guy:)
And right before I headed back to Kenya, we got a precious 5-week old girl whose mother had died from malaria 2 weeks earlier. Slowly, these baby’s are transitioned over to staying with an Ethiopian nanny before they return to the village around 6-months of age, when they are also eating all solid foods (since expensive formula isn’t an option in the village). I’m glad both Sophie & Angie had arrived at that point because we had our hands full!

I can’t help but think about Jeremiah 29:11 when I think about my experiences in Ethiopia…
“’For I know the plans I have for you’, declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you & not to harm you, plans to give you hope & a future.’”
As I said before, God set aside this time to teach me about a lot more than rural medical clinics, which is what I thought I was going for He knew I needed this time to prepare to be in Kenya…& now I’m so excited to be back! I have 2 albums of photos up on Facebook…enjoy! A picture’s worth a thousand words, right? :)

Ethiopia...you are beautiful... - Part 1
Ethiopia...you are beautiful... - Part 2

Praise...Maasai style...

2010-09-16T16:32:00.000-07:00

Praise the Lord.
Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints.
Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be gland in their King.
Let them praise his name with dancing & make music to him with tambourine & harp.
For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with salvation.
~~ Psalms 149: 1-4

Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp & lyre,
Praise him with tambourine & dancing, praise him with the strings & flute,
Praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
~~ Psalms 150: 1-6

I read these scriptures the night before my 1st church service in Kenya (this time around) at the university near our apartments. It made me smile as I was seeing it lived out in front of me:) I think I have some things to learn from them! I wish I had taken a video of it, but I didn't. So...here's a video from the village church I visited 5 years ago...I hope it makes you smile, too:)

My Cup Runneth Over...

2010-09-16T16:15:00.000-07:00

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
~Psalms 23:5

A friend of my used these words to describe her feeling as she was preparing to head to the mission field. These are the words that come to my mind, too. The weeks before I left for Kenya, I was completely surrounded by love & prayer in such greater ways than I ever expected. I’ve never felt so filled by love, support, encouragement, & prayer. It’s hard to even find the words to describe it. Overwhelmed comes to mind...in a good way:) I am blessed that these things have been present throughout my life already, and are magnified even more right now. All of this love & support made it that much harder to leave, though. Like water pouring from an overflowing cup, the tears have been abundant. At the same time, I feel so strengthened by that love to do this task God has sat in front of me…well, all of us. This calling extends to those closest to me, and even out to some I hardly know that are a part of my support team. I have been incredibly blessed by the people in my life, so I know God has some big things planned to have pulled me away from them for this time. If those plans are at all close to the dreams He’s placed in my heart over the past couple years, I’m excited:)

Medical Missions Training

2010-05-11T13:02:00.000-07:00

Two-weeks in the beautiful rolling hills of North Carolina + medical missions/tropical diseases training = Missionary Medical Intensive (MMI) class at Equip, Intl. I had the opportunity to take this class last month, and it was amazing! Definitely intense...which is probably why 'intensive' is in the name of the class:) My future AfricaHope medical teammates (Angie & Elizabeth) came as well, so we had those 2 weeks (plus a 12-hour road trip each way!) to get to know each other better & discuss our upcoming ministry. I can gladly say we're now even more excited than we were before! And definitely feel more prepared for the adventures that are about to ensue!

The cabin Tillie & I shared

We only had electricity 1-hour each night! Otherwise it was gas lamps & heaters

Tillie & Sheila practicing with the otoscope

Open wide Samantha! :)

Blood pressure time...

Dr. Mary (the author of the book MMI is taught from, Village Medical Manual, flew in from Ethiopia with Nurse Sophie to teach our class with the newly released 6th edition!

We all had 40-50 case studies to complete by the end of the class

What a great visual...Dr. Mary drew on Shola to outline his organs!

Math/dosage calculations...can't avoid them

Dr. Mary's prize possessions...glass syringes!

John & I working on NG tubes (aka feeding tubes)

And that's how it's done...

We learned to make feeding tubes out of IV tubing

Delivery teaching kits

Dr. Mary teaching us finger blocks...

Mmmm...cow tongue...Shelly & Cameron looks thrilled

Suture time...

Kimby & I suturing

Shoulder dislocation? We'll pop you back into place!

AfricaHope medical team!!! - Angie, me, & Elizabeth (plus John, who's going to AfricaHope for a month this summer & Crystal, a friend from ECHO)

Dr. Mary demonstrating teeth blocks

There were 18 of us...half medical, half non-medical

Afternoon in Black Mountain (Angie, me, Elizabeth, & John)

Dinner in Asheville (me, Angie, Elizabeth, & Amy)

Opa!!!

2010-05-03T12:47:00.000-07:00

Over a year ago, my sister (Lora), cousin (Rachel), & I decided we wanted to go on an adventure before I moved to Kenya for 3 years. We picked Greece! We started dreaming, planning, &...saving. As the year went by, my brother-in-law (Erik), another cousin (Sean), & Rachel's boyfriend (Bill) decided they wanted to come, too. And I can't blame them. We departed on our adventure March 11, 2010...only 3 short days after I moved from Nashville (perhaps not the best idea in the world, but it sure was distracting!). We saw many ancient treasures of this world & masterpieces of nature that God created. It was a blessing to get this time with my family before another adventure begins...Kenya!!! Here are some of my favorites...

Fun at the Parthenon!

Santorini - Sean, Rachel, Bill, me, Lora, & Erik

Huge cannon balls in Rhodes!

View of Athens from the Acropolis

Large, random columns everywhere!

Fresh octopus!

Unfinished temple on Naxos

Bike adventure on Naxos

Sisters, sisters:)

Colossus of Naxos? :)

Beautiful Santorini

Erik & Lora exploring the ancient city

Amazing Santorini!!!

Cousins!!! Sean, me, Lora, & Rachel

Now that's a large container of Kalamata olives!

Street of the Knights, Rhodes

Aegean Sea

Fresh olives at the market!

Probably...

Athens subway

Meteora monasteries

Meteora, Greece

Exploring in Meteora

Just in time for the monastery to close:(

View of the Acropolis from our hotel in Athens!

Typical sight at our Greek mealsTemple of Zeus...what's left

Cathedral in Athens

Sean & I hiking in Naxos

Night ferry coming into Santorini

Sunset from Oia, Santorini

One of the coolest pictures. Go Erik!

Ode to Nashville...

2010-05-03T12:00:00.000-07:00

I moved away from my first 'solo home' in March:( I moved to Nashville in October 2005 with hopes of starting graduate school at Vanderbilt University the following Fall. I was accepted to school, I studied lots...and lots while working one of my favorite jobs ever, and I graduated (in August 2008)!!! I thought I'd only be in Nashville about 2 years while I was in school, but...I was there 4.5 years instead:) When I moved to Nashville, I had grand plans for myself. And they happened. But God was also doing grand things right along side me. Or should I say that I was moving along side him, and just didn't realize it at the time. I look back now at my time in Nashville, and call it my 'desert experience'. Pastor Mike Glenn from Kairos preached about this one Tuesday night. God uses 'desert experiences' in our lives to teach us & pull us closer to him. He did it with John the Baptist, Jesus, & many other in the Bible as they prepared for ministry. God used Nashville to pull me away from everyone & everything I knew in Indiana, and used my time in Nashville to mold me, grow my passion for missions, train me, & introduce me to amazing people that encouraged & inspired me...as well as became my friends. So here is my 'Ode to Nashville' in pictures...some of my favorite memories...and friends I'm missing...

Night strolls down Belmont Blvd...

Here Come the Mummies concert fun with Lora...

Snow/ice storm in Nashville?!?!

ICE! exhibit at Opryland

Papa, Mama, & I visiting Nashville's very own Parthenon!

Aunt Carolyn & I at Opryland

Hillsboro Village = home

One of our favorites...Provence

Fido's...neighborhood coffeeshop

NNP Graduation!!! Woo hoo!!!

Kenyan friends...

My little firestation down the street!

Interesting neighbors...

Dave Matthews & Jason Mraz
concert with Jill & Courtney!

Mexican cooking day with Rochelle:)

Annual Valentine's Day Predators game!

Lion King at TPAC...amazing!!!

Mamma Mia! at TPAC when Angie & Jessica visited

Malissa & I finally made it to the Willy Nelson Wax Museum :)

White water rafting the Ocoee

Winter Jam with Tamara

Fired Up! pottery studio with MHC :)

Ladies Night Out at The Melting Pot with Melissa & Emily!

Elvis sighting in downtown Nashville!
Zoo birthday celebration

Movies In the Park! I'm really going to miss this :(

KT Tunstall concert with Pam & Erin!

Friends...music...yay Nashville!

Love Sounds games!

You know you're in Nashville when the scoreboard is in the shape of a guitar:)

This is where I began to learn about the battle between Auburn & Alamamba...thank you Erin, Heather, Pam, (& Courtney) :)

Kim + smores = happy:)
Good times with Heather

Wonderful concerts at Starwood

Yes...I road a mechanical bull:)

Megan & Aaron's wedding
Dancing night with Michelle
Kendra & Angie came to visit :)

Katie #1 & Katie #2 :)

Hiking Fiery Gizzard with Leslie & Kevin

July 4th fireworks + rain from Centennial

Ryman concerts!!!

Linedancing with Jess at Wildhorse

James Morrison at 3rd & Linsley!!!

Elaine & Trevor visited on their way to Florida

Belcourt Theatre concert
with Malissa & Courtney

Halloween fun

Finally got to see Matt Wertz in concert!!! Haiti benefit concert with Kim
Global Health Conference with Stephany & Christy

Cinco de Mayo 5K

Fun times with Andrea

Good bye dinners:(

Pam & Amy created a new Gavin Degraw fan:)

Gingerbread House!!!

The Ray boys & their wonderful parents on the day they were discharged home :) I primaried Levi at Vandy

Levi & Jesse now 2+!!!

Moving crew :(

Happiness...Cross-culturalness...

2010-04-29T23:18:00.000-07:00

Give Me Your Eyes...

2009-12-26T07:38:00.000-08:00

What if we could see like Jesus did...through God's eyes? It's a beautiful thought...and a challenge...

Looked down from a broken sky
Traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high
Best seat in the house tonight
Touched down on the cold black top
Hold on for the sudden stop
Breath in the familiar shock
Of confusion & chaos
All those people going somewhere,
Why have I never cared?

Chorus:
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so that I can see

Step out on a busy street
See a girl & our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide what's underneath
There's a man just to her right
Black suit & a bright red tie
Too ashamed to tell his wife
He's out of work
He's buying time
All those people going somewhere
Why have I never cared?

I've been there a million times
A couple of million eyes
Just moving past me by
I swear I never thought I was wrong
Well I want a second glance
So give me a second chance
To see the way you see people all along

"Give Me Your Eyes" by Brandon Heath

Merry Christmas!!!

2009-12-21T18:38:00.000-08:00

Starring: Me, Eli, & Lora

Starring: My family!

Unreached...

2009-11-24T20:18:00.000-08:00

The Lord God has put his Spirit in me,
because the Lord has appointed me to tell the good news to the poor.
He has sent me to comfort those whose hearts are broken,
to tell the captives they are free,
and to tell the prisoners they are released.
He has sent me to announce the time when the Lord will show his kindness
and the time when our God will punish evil people.
He has sent me to comfort all those who are sad
and to help the sorrowing people of Jerusalem....
The Lord makes me very happy;
all that I am rejoices in my God.
He has covered me with clothes of salvation
and wrapped me with a coat of goodness,
like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding,
like a bride dressed in jewels.
The earth causes plants to grow,
and a garden causes the seeds planted in it to grow.
In the same way the Lord God will make goodness & praise
come from all the nations.
~~Isaiah 61

This video moved me... Why hasn't God called me to work with 'unreached' people...people unreached by his Word?! There are millions still out there that haven't heard, & don't have hope in his love, grace, & mercy. Then it dawned on me...the people He has called me to work with in Kenya are unreached by medical care. They are my unreached people. God knows what he's doing...

Diddo...

2009-11-04T16:55:00.000-08:00

Shocked...

2009-11-01T13:09:00.000-08:00

My heart hurts for Kenya. Why not all the other countries suffering around the world? I can't fully explain it...except to say that is where God wants me. This Fall, World Vision published an article about child mortality throughout the world. It's shocking...it's sad. Here are some of the things I read:

- 9.2 million people are starving in the Horn of Africa, mainly due to drought
- 9.2 million children under the age of 5 died last year because of diseases & poor living conditions in developing countries

** Major causes of child mortality: neonatal causes (37%), pneumonia (19%), diarrhea (17%), other (10%), malaria (8%), measles (4%), AIDS (3%), injuries (3%) **

- 4 million babies die in the 1st month of life every year, mostly due to prematurity, asphyxia, & severe infections because they have no access to care
- a child born in a developing country is 13x more likely to die in the 1st year
- in sub-Saharan Africa, 24% of children <5 years old are moderately or severely underweight because of malnutrition
- malnutrition is an underlying cause of 1/3 of child deaths

KENYA is one of the top 15 coutries in the world with a high child mortality rate!

What in the world can we do about this?!
I feel like I have some answers to this question because of some training Angie & I received at ECHO (www.echonet.org) this year... It's an amazing place!
- nutrition
- clean water & sanitation
- agriculture
- education
- health care
- microenterprise development
- advocacy
- Christian nurture

World Vision is working with these projects around the world. But so is AfricaHope...in Kenya (minus the microenterprise developement...at least not yet:) ). Hopefully we'll we working together since we're both in Narok, Kenya. I'm so excited to be a part of this team that is already making a huge difference in the lives of the Maasai, especially the children. Come join us :)

www.africahope.org

http://media.worldvision.org/magazine/wv_autumn09/combating-child-killers/index.html?lpos=ctr_img_CombatingChildKillers

Thank you for asking...

2009-11-01T09:16:00.000-08:00

I have been surprised throughout this whole support raising process. God continues to bring forth supporters despite my scattered, unorganized attempts. One thing that has surprised me the most is when people respond with, "Thank you for asking". Seriously? You're saying thank you to me because I just asked you for money? It's very humbling. And so exciting that people are thankful to be in involved with God's dream for me. Thank you for saying "thank you" :)

Here are some of the most creative support raising ideas friends & family have come up with:

- Party...Jewelry party!
A new friend of mine that I met at one of my supporting churches has hosted Silpada jewelry parties and is donating all the profits to me!

- Redirecting money
Another friend has quit smoking, and is sending the money she used to for cigarettes to me! This idea made me really happy...I am a nurse after all :)

- FLUSH Fund
A local New Harmony coffee shop is fundraising with their toilet!

Idea by Laura Hudgins - Made by my mom :)

- Persimon pudding brownies
There is a huge, historic persimon tree near my parents house in New Harmony. My mom collected them, cooked up some persimon pudding brownies, & proceeded to sell them out of her golf cart at Kunstfest in September! After all...New Harmony is a golf cart community :)

Hopefully the creativity will keep on coming...

Masterpieces...

2009-09-27T20:45:00.000-07:00

On most other days I have a list of blogs I want to write running through my head, but no time to do it. Today...God has cleared my head and given me rest...thank you :) So, I'm going to let this pretty amazing video speak instead...enjoy...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXut0HxncvY

HWTH???

2009-09-07T23:00:00.001-07:00

New Mission Systems International (NMSI) is growing...and growing fast! There is currently a waiting list for the fall missionary training program. If NMSI continues to grow at this rate, we estimate there will be 400 new missionaries to send out over the next 6 years! And that's in addition to our 200+ missionaries in almost 30 countries already. It's amazing to watch God work! In order to train, send, and support all of these missionaries, more housing needs to be built as well as some renovations completed. All of this costs money, of course. NMSI launched it's first capital campaign in 2008 called "How Will They Hear?" (HWTH?) to meet these needs. www.nmsi.org/hwth.aspx

Will you help us? Visit: www.nmsi.org/donate.aspx

"But before people can ask the Lord for help, they must believe in him; and before they can believe in him, they must hear about him; and for them to hear about the Lord, someone must tell them; and before someone can go and tell them, that person must be sent." ~Romans 10:14-15

My COAT class (aka mission training)...an amazing 2 months

The proposed campus...Fort Myers, Florida

God's preparations...

2009-09-07T22:29:00.000-07:00

Last year, a church met with two people from a mission-sending agency to talk about the work their organization was doing in Africa. They had been connected through a national campus ministry conference being hosted in the church's hometown. This church had been inspired and convicted in part by Bono of U2 (www.one.org)to respond to the poverty and HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa. They liked what they heard about the ministry and work being done in Kenya and decided to visit this past March. The week they schedule their trip, a previous member of the congregation contacted them and informed them she had been called into full-time mission work in Kenya with this same team they were about to visit. It was reaffirming for both sides. About 3 weeks ago, that church announced to their congregation their decision to partner with the ministry in Kenya, as well as individually support the missionary!

The mission agency is New Mission Systems International. The ministry is AfricaHope. The church is Crossroads Christian Church of Newburgh, Indiana. The missionary is me. And one of the people in that meeting last year was Angie, the other nurse going to Kenya! As I found out how the pieces of this story fit together, it became evident to me that God has been working on his plan for my life for a long time…bringing many separate areas of my life and connecting them all together. It’s pretty cool…and so reaffirming:)

Africa...it's large...

2009-08-25T22:59:00.001-07:00

I had no idea!!!

Village Life...

2009-07-12T14:15:00.000-07:00

Chapatis and chai...Kenyan style

My time in Kenya in 2005 was short. I was blessed to be able to visit a village after church and get a glimpse of how the Maasai live, but that's all it was...a glimpse. The NMSI Summer Intern team that has been in Kenya since the end of May has spent a large amount of their time out in the bush - teaching, building relationships, sharing The Word, and living with the Maasai. It's an experience that I'm very much looking forward to. The AfricaHope team leader in Kenya, Ashleigh, wrote a blog about their experience staying in the village of Morloo. Check it out...welcome to the Maasai village of Morloo...

http://ashleighleenerts.blogspot.com/2009/07/village-called-morloo.html

Bridge Over Troubled Water...

2009-07-12T14:03:00.000-07:00

Praise and worship with Simon & Garfunkel? I'm usually not a lyrics person...music speaks to my heart. I've heard this song many times, but these lyrics caught my attention lately. I can picture Jesus saying this to us...

When youre weary, feeling small,
When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all;
Im on your side. when times get rough
And friends just cant be found,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.

When youre down and out,
When youre on the street,
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you.
Ill take your part.
When darkness comes
And pains is all around,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.

Sail on silvergirl,
Sail on by.
Your time has come to shine.
All your dreams are on their way.
See how they shine.
If you need a friend
Im sailing right behind.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.

~ Bridge Over Troubled Water, by Simon & Garfunkel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYKJuDxYr3I

Project MedSend...

2009-06-04T12:36:00.000-07:00

In 1991, a survey showed that 33 mission agencies had 30 mission hospitals and clinics without a single health professional to minister to the sick and dying arriving at their doors. At the same time, some mission boards had 49 doctors as well as other health care professionals ready for service who were merely working to pay off their school loans. Project MedSend was formed at the request of Christian Medical & Dental Associations to prevent the delay of prospective missionaries from reaching their fields of service by overcoming the barrier of educational debt.

I worked full-time while I was in graduate school so that I was eligible for Vanderbilt’s tuition benefit. They covered 70-80% of my tuition costs (which was wonderful!), but I still graduated with about $7,000 in student loans. I applied for a Project MedSend grant in January, and found out last month that I was one of 45 they had selected this year! They will take over payments for my student loans when I go on salary with NMSI next March, and will continue to pay it as long as I am serving on the mission field! This grant is such a huge blessing, and reaffirms yet again that God has plans for me in Kenya!

P.S. – One requirement of Project MedSend before you leave for the field, is to attend a workshop about community health care in developing countries. That workshop happens to be another workshop at ECHO that I was planning to go to in October! Coincidence?…I think not:)

Florida escape...

2009-06-04T11:15:00.000-07:00

Firsts from my recent trip to the CGO
(Center for Global Outreach for NMSI, my sending agency)
in Fort Myers, Florida:

- shot a cork gun

- went grocery shopping for a stranger
- danced the rumba
- went square dancing!

- modeled a friends beautiful hand-painted scarves

- visited a Florida winery
- sang karaoke!

- learned how to cook sukuma wiki and oogali (Kenyan dishes)!

There was also picnics and walks on the beach, putt-putt on a pirate ship, a Korean dinner party (thank you Shane & Helen!), road trip & concert in St. Pete, and so much fun fellowshipping with friends. I vividly remember once saying that I would never live Florida. Now, I long for this community when I’m away…I think it’s how God created us to live…sharing life, and loving and helping each other. Sadly, it’s hard to find many other places…

Gavin Degraw concert!!!

ECHO...

2009-06-04T09:33:00.000-07:00

If you haven’t heard me talk about ECHO before, now is the time:) ECHO (Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization) is an absolutely amazing organization in Fort Myers, Florida that is fighting world hunger through agriculture. Angie (the other nurse that’s going to Kenya with me) and I were able to spend a week at the HIV/AIDS, Agriculture, & Nutrition workshop at ECHO in May. Through my nursing training, I’ve always known nutrition is important, but I can’t say that I realized the magnitude of its impact until recently, and how big of a part agriculture will play into the medical work Angie and I will be doing. I never thought I would be learning about agricultural techniques (‘crop propagation’ is now in my vocabulary), have thoughts about being a farmer (well…maybe gardener is a better word), or pick leaves off plants and eating them right then and there! :) I have now added to my prayer list that God lead an agricultural person to AfricaHope to help us out!

Moringa = the miracle plant!
I had never heard about Morniga until I went to ECHO. I don't know how that is because it is amazing. Among some of the amazing things it does include: fix malnutrition in children faster than conventional Western medicine, purify water, and when added to the diet with a grain called Amaranth can take away almost all HIV/AIDS symptoms because it makes those people that much healthier through nutrition that their medications work that much better! I'm convinced that Moringa is the tree mentioned in Exodus 15:25 :)

Harvesting Moringa off the ECHO farm

We then dried it, ground it, and sifted it...and now have Moringa powder to add to our food.

Artemesia...
This handy dandy plant can almost "cure" you of malaria when you drink it in tea form 3 times a day! It is recommended that you combine it with Western meds, but still...pretty cool! Too bad it tastes horrible :(

Random picture...dirty feet after a day out on the farm!

One night we cooked dinner off of plants from the ECHO farm. This was our spread and lovely salad...pretty impressive!

I have a bunch more fun ECHO pictures on Facebook if you want to look...this is just the beginning:) Enjoy!

Kenya in Nashville...!

2009-05-30T22:19:00.000-07:00

Someone brought Kenya to the Nashville Zoo for my birthday…yay! (Yeah...this is a couple months late)

Timing...God's timing...

2009-05-26T15:59:00.000-07:00

There really is a time for everything...in God's time...not ours. I have been constantly reminded of this in the past few months. It pertains to every area of my life...starting my new job, support raising, relationships, my future, getting to Kenya... Even this blog! I've been thinking about writing it for months, and I'm just now getting to it. When God reminds me about His timing, it takes so much stress away. He has placed these desires and passions in my heart...so they will happen. Maybe just not as soon as I'd like, and maybe not in the way I picture it. So that leads to the challenge of patience...a whole other topic! :) He has me where I am now for a reason...this time is for a reason. So...there it is...I guess now is the right time for this blog, also :)

There is a time for everthing,
and everything on earth has its special season.
There is a time to be born
and a time to die.
There is a time to plant
and a time to pull up plants
There is a time to kill
and a time to heal.
There is a time to destroy
and a time to build.
There is a time to cry
and a time to laugh.
There is a time to be sad
and a time to dance.
There is a time to throw away stones
and a time to gather them.
There is a time to hug
and a time not to hug.
There is a time to look for something
and a time to stop looking for it.
There is a time to keep things
and a time to throw things away.
There is a time to tear apart
and a time to sew together.
There is a time to be silent
and a time to speak.
There is a time to love
and a time to hate.
There is a time for war
and a time for peace.

- Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNopQq5lWqQ

Water...

2009-05-06T22:03:00.000-07:00

Recently some friends of mine, and fellow NMSI missionaries, visited Kenya. They were able to witness my future teammates at AfricaHope help bring clean water to a Maasai village for the first time...ever. I am continually amazed at the work God is doing there, and can't wait to be a part of it.

In the News...

2009-03-23T20:18:00.000-07:00

Ok...so I may not speak and you may not see my face, but...I was on the news! Check out the new unit at my new job:

http://www.wkrn.com/global/video/popup/pop_playerLaunch.asp?vt1=v&clipFormat=flv&clipId1=3561240&at1=Health&h1=Premature baby leaves hospital after 4 mos

Unexpected...

2009-03-16T19:04:00.001-07:00

I started my new job this past Friday...something I have been waiting for since January. The day, overall, really was okay, but it was Friday the 13th and a little crazy. It started off on a really sad note...a baby coded and died, which is something that rarely happens. My preceptor and I were then busy the rest of the day seeing babies and going on transports. It really was so good to be back around those adorable little babies, though. And they really did seem little again! The past 5.5 months, I have been around normal-sized, healthy babies, so now my NICU babies seem small again! I do love those small ones :)

I have been working in the NICU for 5 years now, and have loved every minute of it. But, something was different on Friday. And it wasn't that my role had changed. I kept thinking of Kenya, and longing to be there. Before I left for COAT (the missionary training program), I could tell this was already starting to happen, but it is much more evident to me now. My heart is there. So...I know the next year in the NICU will bring some wonderful experiences, memories, knowledge, and excitement, but...it will also be hard. I wasn't expecting that.

I am so grateful for this job. It was most definitely a gift from God (I never even applied! And they offered me the job knowing my plans for Kenya!). And I will be working with wonderful people. I just pray that I can find the balance in being a good nurse practitioner that is busy spending time with friends & family and support raising.

My time here is for a purpose, and I pray I can be content in that. While also being reaffirmed in the unexpected...

2009-03-15T13:30:00.000-07:00

Ice/Snow Storm of 2009...

2009-02-14T22:49:00.000-08:00

I hadn't seen this much snow, or ice for that matter, in a long time!

Home...

What do you do when you have 1.5-2 inches of ice enclosing your car and you need to get inside? Enter...the hairdryer...

So many people lost electricity from this storm, and some are still without. The roads back to Nashville were really bad...ice, trees toppled over from the weight of the ice, cars stranded on the side of the road...
But Winston and I made it back safely! :)

25 random things about me...

2009-02-10T02:17:00.000-08:00

Ok...25 random things about me...in no particular order:)

1. My full name is Katherine Elizabeth, but I have been called Katie Beth since the day I was born.

2. I picked up the nickname katebug or katiebug somewhere around jr. high/high school. Even people that have just met me have called me that...guess it was meant to be. Around the same time, I started accumulating ladybug stuff...I guess it was decided I must collect them because of the nickname.

3. I love stars, and just so happen to have one named after me. I love driving with my sunroof open to look at the stars...even if it's cold outside and I have to crank the heat up:)

4. I play piano...it relaxes me. I had 6 weeks of lessons when I was in the 1st grade, and then taught myself the rest. I also play flute. There are a set of bagpipes and a violin waiting for me to learn to play them, as well.

5. Favorite color...cobalt blue. It's all over my kitchen.

6. Favorite flower...daisy.

7. I haven't let a brush touch my hair since high school. Brush = bad news for curly hair!

8. I ran a 1/2 marathon in San Francisco in 2005 for Team In Training. It was a great experience, but didn't turn me into a runner. I would consider walking a full one some day.

9. I am a recycling fanatic. It kills me to throw away something that I know could be recycled. If I know I am going to be around a recycling bin later, I'll take it with me.

10. I love sailing, and at one point seriously looked into what it would take to buy a sailboat. That's as far as it got...looking into it:)

11. I am slightly bow-legged...a feature I inherited from my dad.

12. I love photography (especially black and white's), but I'm not always in the mood to take pictures. I once audited a class that did dark room work, which was sooooo much fun. It made me want a dark room of my own some day. One of my photographs from that class ended up on a Jones Soda bottle label!

13. My talents: a.) I can tie a cherry stem in my mouth into a knot, b.) I can say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious backwards...kind of...ask me some day.

14. I only had 2 wisdom teeth. Does that make me less wise? :(

15. I once road a mechanical bull...shocking, I know. Apparently I was pretty good!

16. I developed a habit in college of taking my showers by candlelight...it's more relaxing that way.

17. Somehow, I was once talked into bungee jumping. It was not an enjoyable experience. It either made me aware of or created my fear of falling. Heights are ok...falling is not!

18. My mom, sister, & I all have birthdays on the 20th...January, March, and April.

19. My nose was broken when I was 10 or 11. My sister and I had decided that we would have much more fun sledding down our slide with snow on it. It was going well until I tried to stop my sister and neighbor from running into a fence. I did such a good job that our neighbor's head slammed into my nose. I had 2 black eyes for a while.

20. I had my first asthma attack when I was about 5 years old...thankfully, too young to remember it. It bothered me a lot when I was young, but I seem to have mostly outgrown it. I still have to use an inhaler before I do active things when it's cold outside.

21. I knit and cross-stitch on occasion...when I'm in the mood:)

22. I am a creature of habit. I get into a habit of wearing certain accessories and don't change them very often...jewelry, shoes, purse, etc. It is cheaper that way:)

23. I can't really say I enjoy shopping. I usually know what I'm looking for, and leave as soon as I find it. I do love a good deal or sale, though, as well as thrift store shopping.

24. I have traveled to 4 of the 7 continents. I was blessed with parents and a family that loves to travel.

25. I love Jesus...I want to be able to love and forgive as much as he did. And I want the rest of the world to see that and know him.

What a year...

2009-01-13T00:13:00.000-08:00

2008 has been over for almost 2 weeks now...sadly. It was a good year. Here was my 2008:

- Studied…a lot
- Was inspired by a video
- Revisited Epcot as an “adult”

- Had pneumonia, bronchitis, & the flu all at the same time...it was a bad couple weeks
- Watched friends move away

- Took shelter in my closet with Winston during a tornado warning

- Got some new, interesting neighbors downstairs
- Watched “Swiss Family Robinson” with Malissa in the grand outdoors of Leiper’s Fork
- Spent 70hrs/wk in the NICU between work & school for 3 months
- Primaried 3 precious babies at work

- Graduated!!!!!...and celebrated at an ice cream tasting

- Saw Gavin with Pam & Amy

- Attended the annual Grayville Days festivities

- Explored the Northwestern US with my family

- Saw an active volcano and a glacier

- Was a waitress/”beer wench” for a weekend…the things I do for Lora:)
- Threw a Bachlorette party

- Left a job I loved

- Was spray tanned…another thing for Lora…apparently I was pale
- Watched my younger (& only) sister get married as her maid-of-honor

- Road trip to Florida with Mary Helen
- Studied some more...this time on the beach
- Became a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner!!!
- Affiliated with NMSI and attended their missionary training & development program

- Lived in Florida for 2 months, & had a roommate for the first time in about 4yrs...it was wonderful

- Learned to be open, honest, & vulnerable
- Was introduced to ECHO...and loved it:)

- Started making plans to move to Kenya in about 1.5yrs…following God

- Saw Coldplay for $5!!!!

- Enjoyed long walks with friends

- Visited Sanibel Island

- Celebrated Lena’s birthday...in surprise fashion

- Saw manatees swimming in the Caloosahatchee

- Wished upon a shooting star
- Saw my first major football game live...the ACC Championship

- Went camping in the middle of winter…in Florida

- Ate 2 meals progressively with friends, & cooked for 20+ people!...Lora was proud

- Got my own video…thank you Ryan!
- Watched the sun rise and set on the beach

- Road trip back to Nashville via Kingsport
- Katie & Katie reunited

- Learned more about Lincoln...and joined his family

- Celebrated Christmas & New Year’s with friends and family

- Learned more about God & his amazing love

I'm looking foward to what 2009 has to offer...I think it will be good...

I can feel the calling...

2009-01-10T19:13:00.000-08:00

There are many new things happening in my life right now...this blog being one of them...Welcome:) But, one thing that has been a constant almost the past 7 years is a calling I have felt for missions. A friend introduced me to this song recently (thanks Eli!). It reminded me of my first trip to Africa 3 years ago...where I fell in love with Kenya...

"Two Weeks In Africa" by Caedmon's Call

Johannesburg to Capetown,

the plane had barely touched down.

She was taking photos for the friends back home.

This was always where she felt her heart belonged.

She was finally here,

the sky was bright and clear.

(Two weeks....)

And we all can feel the calling,

(Two weeks....)

to make the world a little smaller.

And so a girl got on a plane,

for two weeks in Africa.

Johannesburg to Houston,

she came home on a mountain.

But school was starting, things kept moving on.

Before you knew it, seven years had gone.

She found a picture of her,

standing, smiling,

arms around the starving kids.

She swore not to forget,

she swore not to forget...

(Two weeks....)

And we all can feel the calling,

(Two weeks....)

to make the world a little smaller.

And so a girl got on a plane,

for two weeks in Africa.

And if we follow our dear sun

to where the stars are not familiar.

Faces turn to numbers,

numbers fall like manna from the sky.

Why, oh why?

Oh Father, why?

One village in Malawi now has water running pure and clean.

One church alive in Kenya's full of truth and love and medicine.

We put the walls up, but Jesus keeps them standing.

He doesn't need us, but He lets us put our hands in.

So we can see, His love is bigger than you and me.

(Two weeks....)

And we all can feel the calling,

(Two weeks....)

to make the world a little smaller.

And so a girl got on a plane,

for two weeks in Africa.