Mass posting - Nairobi reflections

Leah’s post:

On Sunday, we were so blessed to be invited to spend the afternoon at our new friend Stewart’s home.  He and his family taught us how to cook various Congolese dishes in a true Congolese kitchen.  Chelsie proved she is ready for marriage after properly preparing Fufu.  Jessie and Ashley helped with making sweet potatoes and cooking the fish.  Stewart and his family were so welcoming.  They filled our hearts with joy as they shared themselves and we had an amazing “Congolese Thanksgiving” meal together.  It is a meal we will remember for a long time to come. 

On Monday, I had a good but difficult day at HEAL.  Mike and I were able to do rounds with Pastor Bizimana.  We visited many patients in the fistula and orthopedic wards.  I was struck by the incredible ministry done by the pastors at HEAL.  During our time in the fistula ward, we encountered a patient of about 8 years old.  Her mother described her as “wrecked”.  My heart broke.  Just imagining the incredible pain of the actual brutal rape and the resulting fistula was hard enough.  But to try to understand the world through her eyes at that very moment in time was devastating.  Being raped leaves a person violated, separates them from their community, and leaves them marked as “ruined” or “wrecked.”  I was moved to tears looking at this little girl.  I was blessed to spend some time with her and have an interpreter present.  In the time I had, I tried to convey that she is a beautiful, beloved, and brilliant child of God.  And told her that she is accepted exactly as she is in this moment, regardless of what has happened to her.   Tears rolled out of the corners of her eyes.  I will not forget this moment.  It is hard to believe that so many horrific things can happen in the most beautiful country in the world. 

Kacia’s post: (added by Jessie: it is Kacia’s birthday today!)

I am currently sitting in Java House Café in the Nairobi airport.  I have already began the journey home and am starting to reflect back on the last 10 days.  I first want to thank everyone who supported me on this trip.  I can’t tell you all how encouraged I felt knowing so many people were lifting me up in prayer.  As I was preparing to leave; with all the hecticness of collecting and sorting and packing donated supplies, I truly felt your prayers.   To everyone at work who donated white coats and textbooks, I thank you!  I think I carried 15 coats and about 100 lbs of books   The staff at HEAL Africa were so appreciative of these gifts and I want to convey that you their gratitude.

This is a picture of the 11 suitcases we lugged around the world to Africa. Thanks again to everyone who gave  us the gifts to transport as well as the prayers to support us through.  God Bless

Jessie and Leah’s post:

It is unbelievable that we have finished our time at HEAL Africa and are on our way home.  Yesterday was a beautiful day.  We started with chapel at HEAL with all of the patients and staff.  The congregation thanked us and prayed over us for safe travels, continued strengthening in our relationship with the Lord, and for our future return to HEAL.  They waved goodbye in a manner that culturally means see you later, rather than goodbye.  Before we left, they asked each of us to speak about our time at HEAL.  In general we all spoke about the amazing strength and joy we see in the Congolese people, the hope they have, their dependence on the Lord, and how very present He is here.  We thanked them for the way they received us, welcomed us into their homes, hospital rooms and hearts, and showed us the light and love of the Lord. 

The day allowed us all the opportunity to say goodbye to those we have worked so closely with.  I (Leah) had a difficult time saying farewell to Samuel and Bizimana.  We had a great week of working alongside each other.  We also said goodbye to all of the amazing ladies at HEALing Arts and the kids that are living in transitional living with their mamas.  Due to the generosity of friends of two group members, there were some awesome experiences to serve and give to these women and 17 vulnerable mamas identified by a local pastor.  The 17 women learned how to make bennes- Congolese donuts that are loved by many.  They not only learned how to do this, but were given small grants to begin their own business.  After the training, they also received new undergarments that were donated.  This was very exciting for all.  Only the pictures can truly capture their excitement and joy!   We also spent the afternoon with HEALing Arts seamstresses and students.  They fully enjoyed the “bra shopping” as well!  And they worked tirelessly to complete all of our projects, staying hours after they generally close to complete the orders.  We shared many hugs and words of encouragement.  There are some really amazing pictures we hope to share with all of you soon. 

I hope this blog portrays to you how important our friends and family were in this project.  Some other donated items we were able to distribute were 8 solar headlamps to the OR, scrubs to the nurses, and medical supplies to the general hospital.  Though distribution was complicated, the staff was ecstatic to receive the donations.  This trip would not have been possible without your generosity, love, and support.  We leave this trip with changed hearts and an ever-growing love for the Congolese people.  We have seen the Lord and feel incredibly blessed to have been able to be at HEAL

Last night we had to say our goodbyes to Chelsie, as she returns to her position in Beani.  We are so thankful to have her on our team.  She provided amazing love and encouragement as well as language skills, cultural teaching, and introduced us to many of our new friends.  We had the joy to leave her with simple gifts of gratefulness, including Trio and cliff bars, bras, candy, cookies, toiletries and even tampons!  She felt like it was Christmas.  These small items do not even start to express our thankfulness to her for her work in Congo and with our team!

We are currently in Nairobi.  We have been traveling since 7am this morning.  Thus far that makes 11 hours.  We will have 27 hours left to go!  We are busy trying to decide our sleeping schedule.  We all have different theories on this!  So why not have a Tusker beer to facilitate the conversation!  

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers over the next day and a half.  And please don’t forget to prey for us as we transition back into our American lives and share our stories with friends, family, and co-workers.

Preparing for Change

Today has been a good and hard day as it is our last day in Congo. It has been good to look back at all the relationships, experiences, and activities that have broadened our perspectives as well as our faith. We look forward to bringing those stories home with us. If we go on for hours it has been because we have been touched by the hand of God through the friends we have meet. The have a saying here in Swahili that goes “Haraka, haraka, hyenia, baraka” (probably not even close the correct spelling!) It basically means you can’t hurry a blessing, and that would be true of our stories.

The hard part truly is saying goodbye to all our friends. In some ways the day has been a day of mourning as we part ways with each person we met for what could be the last time until we see each other again in heaven. It's a sobering thought given the reality of life in Eastern Congo.

Tomorrow begins our journey home. We leave Congo tomorrow morning at 6:00a just as many of you are going to bed. It will be a day and a half of travel that will take us from Congo to Kigali to Nairobi to Amersterdam to Minneapolis. Arrival time is predicted for 12:40p on NWA flight 41. Would love your prayers for boarder crossings and connections. See you Thursday!

Be Blessed!

Mike

Quick thoughts

Yesterday I gave 2 lectures to the doctors here.  It was a really positive experience.  They had received a new defibrillator  and wanted instruction on how to use it.  There were insightful questions asked and thoughtful discussions.  Their eagerness to learn is a huge sign of their desire to help the many patients that are treated at HEAL Africa.  The hospital is full, almost overflowing, with patients at every stage of the health care process.

There is an exciting program here called HEALing Arts. They offer a place to both heal after fistula repair surgery, as well as wait for the procedure to be scheduled.  These women are around every day and their children have been climbing all over us like a jungle gym:)  Sure has been a ton of fun!  These women have lovely smiles and a cheerful jambo-sana in reply.  Even though many have been victims of sexual violence, you can see the hope in their eyes for something better in the future.

The other day we brought treats around to the children of the hospital.   We had some simple puzzles, counting books and candy.  As we passed them out and help the children try the first bite of something sweet,  their eyes lit up and huge smiles shown.  It was so nice to see children who were ill, and some of them even terminally ill,  smile for just a moment.  - The little boy to the left me was very ill, emaciated to skin and bones.  When I hugged him, I could feel every bone in his body.  I suspected he may have AIDS.  In the photo, you can seen a tiny, Mona Lisa-like smile.  He had just put a starburst in his mouth!!!

Tomorrow we leave and I know I will be sad to go.  I cannot put my thoughts about Africa and its people into words.  But I know I will treasure every precious memory from this time in Congo.

working at the hospital: Ashley's blog entry

We have been at HEAL Africa Hospital for a few days now, and each day has offered new experiences and situations both at the hospital and in the community. I have been working with nurses and doctors in the wards at the hospital, seeing trauma injuries and illness that are uncommon back in the states. There were two soldiers brought to HEAL a few days ago, both had been brutally injured by a bomb explosive. One of the men lost both his hands and had his arms amputated in surgery, also lost his left eye and sustained several wounds. I had the opportunity to perform the dressing changes on both these patients, teaching and reinforcing proper wound care for the ICU nurses and medical residents. It has been interesting to see how the healthcare system differs what we are used to in the states. At home, we have endless supplies and specialty products within reach at all times. Here at HEAL, many supplies and medications are donated, and they simply have to conserve as much as possible. There is a central hub where donation are sent, though the hospital is in need of more energy given to inventory and proper distribution of these supplies.

Time has also been spent visiting and observing a few different procedures in the operating room, where I was able to get a front slot standing next to the operative surgeon. At this hospital, surgeons and nurses pray together immediately before each procedure. The doctors were generous and walked me through much of their procedures, explaining the cases and answering any questions I had (between the minimal French I spoke and their little English, we understood each other surprisingly well). I visited Cascade, which is the location for children to come as outpatients and have plaster casts applied for different orthopedic conditions, including club foot (a common congenital malformation requiring ongoing manipulation and physical therapy).

Yesterday, I also spent time with women who are waiting here at the hospital for fistula repair surgery. These women stay together in a large open room with about 20 beds arranged side by side. I imagine it is therapeutic for these women to be able to live together for a time and have each other to talk with. They also have a large garden where they are able to practice growing vegetables, and a wide open court to walk around in and for children to play. This is my favorite place to hang out when I'm not working in the hospital, because when children see us, they are anything but timid. Children charge at us with big smiles and want to be picked up, or of course what "sweets". In my eyes, these children represent joy and hope for others here. So many individuals here have stories of trauma or torture, and lives here are so fragile.

My team continues to pray that we will be bearers of hope and love for our friends that we have met here. We are in ongoing discussion as a team about how we an best serve patients and staff here, when we are in places where we don't fully understand the suffering that exists. I will say that it is a beautiful time when we are able to come together and work, play, worship with those who live here.

We have had two full days of working at HEAL Africa.  The first day was rather challenging.  We spent time orienting ourselves to the hospital, learning about the program with which we are working, and began digging into our work.  Jessie got her feet wet very quickly, as she had a lecture to give at 9am yesterday!  Kacia and Ashley were faced with the many challenges of working alongside medical professionals in a hospital setting that does not have the equipment or medicine that many of the patients need.  In particular, much of their time was consumed with caring for and problem-solving around how to get a Canadian patient medically evacuated when she does not have the funds or insurance to do so.  The woman's story is unbelievable, as she was attacked by a chimpanzee while visiting a local chimp house.  The attack left her with horrific injuries to one of her arms...and placed her in great danger of suffering from infections.  We have prayed diligently for her and many are working to get her the care she needs.  I had the priveledge to spend some time with her yesterday.  I was quickly faced with trying to provide counseling for her while she suffered from great pain and shock. 

Mike and I also began our work with the pastoral team here at HEAL.  The pastors provide a number of services including preaching, counseling, conflict resolution, advocacy, and pastoral care.  I struggled to identify ways in which to provide help to the pastoral team with furthering their counseling skills.  At the end of the day yesterday, I was exhausted and felt clueless as to where to begin.  The Lord was very present today and clearly provided the space and words for a conversation around how the pastors may include more listening and counseling to the patients at HEAL.  A discussion about approaching counseling as an opportunity to provide compassion, empathy, listening, acceptance, and love unfolded.  It was inspiring and encouraging!  I am in awe of the way in which the Lord works through the pastors and staff at HEAL- a setting in which crisis is a constant state.

A few highlights of the last few days have been our time playing with the children and being at HEALing Arts.  The kids are beautiful and joyful.  It is amazing to see the ways in which play overcomes the boundaries created by the lack of understanding each other's language. 

Arrival at HEAL

Jessie's report:
Today we woke up early to head to HEAL Africa.  After about 4 nours of driving, 30 min of waiting for an accident to clear, and over an hour and a half at the border, we made it to HEAL.  Chelsie and I stayed at the border to work on getting our luggage across.  This was a huge task, thank God Chelsie speaks Swahili!  They waited about 45 min deciding on whether they wanted to search our 12 suit cases or not.  It was imposible to determine who was legitamate or not to search or handle our suit cases.  They finally decided to go ahead and search them.  We were really not sure what might happen since there is so much corruption and our suit cases were being opened for all the pubic (and beggers) to see!  My job was to sit in the car and protect our belongings!  All went well and they decided after searching about 8 suit cases that we were tired and they thought we could go.  We finally were able to meet up with the rest of the team at HEAL and tag along with the group on the hospital tour.  The place has been totally transformed from when I was here 2.5 years ago!  There are many  new buildings and departments have expanded and moved around.  I am lost!  I am excited to see the progress they have made, despite the violance in the city last year. I was really excited to see that they have the addition of a legal department at HEAL that works with the women who have been raped and mutilated to bring justice.  It is only a small step in the right direction, as the laws are in place, but the politics do not support them.  I must sign off now as our ride to our new "home" has arrived.

Continue to pray for us as we jump in and get our hands dirty, using our talents and education to further the local work of HEAL.  Tomorrow morning I will present to the physical therapy department and the orthopedic medical students on torticollis in babies.

Jessie

Ashley blogging (way past her bedtime):

Today our team met up with Chelsie at the crack of dawn for a lovely breakfast at Bloom Hotel in Kigali. We shared coffee, spanish omelettes, and opened Christmas presents (wait, what?). Chelsie received her gifts a bit early this year. We then rented our personal taxi drivers for the day, and headed into town.

Our first stop was at women's led initiative called Mbwirandumv ("Speak, I am Listening"). This is an organization that has grown and developed over the years, but first started following the genocide in Rwanda, serving 200 widow survivors. Immediately following the mass killings in 1994, a small group of women began to meet regularly to talk, cry, and pray together over all they had experienced and continue to face as victims of the genocide. The group has since expanded to meet the needs of hundreds of women who receive trauma counseling, education, medical assistance/referrals, and support for income-generating activities. After meeting with some of the staff at "Speak", our team was able to meet groups of women who spend time each day 1) making beautifully hand-crafted greeting cards... which some of us purchased  2) tailoring and sewing purses, bags, napkins, etc. For many of these women, the skills they are learning will equip them with opportunities to earn incomes to support their families.

The amazing thing about this organization is that it offers women and their children a new chance at life, following such a devastating time where many of these women were brutally traumatized, raped, and lost their properties and families. The vision of "Speak" is to support these vulnerable women, encourage them to talk about their feelings as a means of healing, and to help them sustain themselves and maintain their dignity. Movements such as "Speak" are truly the priceless pearls that lead people to forgiveness and renewals. We have much to learn from these women and those who have given their lives to walk along side them.

P.S.  We also ate dinner in Heaven, and visited the Rwandan Genocide Memorial. I'll leave others to blog about this... there is much to tell...