Lauren

Spike

Barb teaching toothbrushing :)

Lauren & friends!

Corey

Vipingo

     Wow today was amazing taking care of the medical needs of the children at Crossroads Academy in Vipingo. By now the team is working very efficiently & becoming familiar with the common medical conditions in these villages. We are also learning about the cultural differences that are essential to providing good care and building relationships. I think this may be the most challenging part of our mission. The team has so much love and respect for the Kenyan people & it is very apparent in the care given to each person.  We are so grateful for the Kenyans who helped us communicate with the children. Without them we would not be able to find out what they need or what problems they are having. They also help the children feel more comfortable in an unfamiliar situation.
     We ate lunch with the kids, pilau (rice, meat, potatoes, carrots & spices). It was delicious! Paul O. who runs the school had cold soda on hand for us! It was great!
     After the medical clinic we headed to Shanzu for some shopping, I only bought 2 bags. Kristen says "Wow! That's a miracle!" HaHa! I love those bags!   
     It was a great day!

 
    

Medical Clinic Saturday & Sunday



Started the day with church at Crossroads

getting ready for the day

Bomani New Life Center



our medical station!



Brandon having fun with the kids

Christopher

Flying kites!

Steve treating patient on Bomani community day

Jiggers, poor little feet

Barb & Kristen



Ann

Steve

     We worked with children and adults today from the community of Bomani. Everyone enjoyed treating medical conditions, UTI's, asthma, appendicitis, pneumonia, ear infections, tooth extractions, hypertension, jiggers, musculoskeletal problems (inflammation), chronic pain, allergies..... Unfortunately we had to turn people away at the end of the day, there are so many people in need of basic health care, we all felt heart broken that we couldn't help everyone. There were a few emergent cardiac conditions that had to be referred to a medical clinic in town, hopefully they will follow up & get treatment.

     Again, another very successful day and excellent teamwork. Some of the team stayed up late tonight to organize the supplies for our medical clinic tomorrow with the children at Crossroads Academy in Vipingo. Such enthusiasm & dedication, it blows me away.  



First Medical Clinic

Roger

Brandon

Bruce & Ted

Brandon, Rosie, Jen & Ann

Paul





Corey

Paul

     Our first day of medical clinic at Bomani's New Life Center. What an amazing experience. We had 4 medical stations and one dental station. We saw over 200 children with many medical condtions. We spent over 7 hours assessing and treating our precious children. Some of the medical conditions we assessed / treated included: congenital aortic valve stenosis, heart murmurs, chicken pox, pneumonia, allergies, impetigo, contact dermititis, ring worm, UTI's, kidney stones, jiggers, dehydration, fevers, etc.... With the help and teaching of our friend Lisa, a nurse who is a missionary here, we were able to recognize, diagnose and treat many conditions we hadn't seen before. She was such a blessing to us!
     The team, from the start (on the long journey here) began to gel in an awesome way. Even before we left actually, the team worked through their first medical trauma together in a very impressive way (a papercut on my finger, hey, it really hurt!)
     There was so much teamwork today it blew my mind! I knew they would, but they surpassed my expectations on the very first day.  Each person on this team loved sharing their talents to make an incredible difference in the lives of these sweet children. They loved every exhausting moment! Of course in Kenya, you have to be flexible, go with the flow and be open to critically solving problems. Which is exactly what they did. It was an great day. We can't wait to do it all over again tomorrow with the adults from the community of Bomani.

We made it!

     After hours & hours of preparations.....many hours of flight.....we finally made it!
Today we arrived in Mombasa Africa at 9:00am. We were able to check into our hotel, shower and meet the missionaries to Bomani & Vipingo. Jim & Susie Horne (Vipingo) and Bobby & Lisa Bechtel (Bomani). We also met Bruce O'Neal from MANNA Worldwide and Kristen Missiaen, our friend from Fox River Christian Church who has been doing mission work here since July.
     After lunch we headed to Bomani to experience the beautiful children's performance for us and tour Bomani's New Life Center. A little shopping and back to the hotel for a meeting with Lisa (a nurse here) to prep for our medical days to come. After dinner everyone was happy to retire to their rooms for some much needed sleep!
     Will write more tomorrow after our medical clinic in Bomani :) (Did I mention how hot it is here??)