Arrived!

Thursday March 12, 2009
9:00 PM
Tenwek

The EMI team got together this evening to share testimonies and talk about how we all discovered EMI. There were some amazing testimonies to the wonder and grace of God.

Two Kenyan staff women had prepared a big pot of chili and cornbread that we all enjoyed at the dining room table in the men’s apartment.

Even though it’s relatively early here in Kenya, we’re one tired group of people, so we called it a night early. I brushed my teeth using the boiled and purified water from a jug, not the tap and now I’m ready to curl up in bed (thankfully not airplane seats!) under the mosquito nets and fall asleep listening to the African thunderstorm that just rolled in.

Thursday March 12, 2009
4:37 PM
Tenwek Hospital

After a long layover in Heathrow, we met the rest of the team and boarded the plane for Nairobi. They served us dinner, and then I was able to get a little more sleep before breakfast. The plane was not very crowded, so once again I was blessed with two seats to lay down and attempt to get comfortable all night! They served breakfast and we landed in Nairobi at 6:45 AM local time.

After a lengthy visa process, we got our bags (they all made it!) and met up with the AIM pilot. We loaded our big bags on a bus and boarded a plane that seated twelve plus the pilot. I was a little claustrophobic and nervous at first, but soon the breathtaking scenery distracted me. We flew near the city of Nairobi and saw skyscrapers that looked like any from America, but the size of the slum areas around the city was astonishing. Even from the air we could tell there was a lot of poverty by the continuation of shack after shack after shack.

The tiny plane for 13 people!

Views from the plane

Tenwek Hospital viewed from the airplane

The team

When Nairobi was out of view, we flew over lots of farmland and forested area. The pilot flew us over the Tenwek Hospital as well. Then I finally could release my breath that I’d been holding for an hour when the very bumpy ride landed on a dirt “landing strip” in the middle of nowhere. There were two staff members (missionaries) from Tenwek Hospital waiting for us at the end of the landing strip. They drove us on a bumpy ride to Tenwek Hospital. We saw several local market areas, lots of goats, donkeys, and people along the way. Most of the signs are in English, and we kept seeing signs for “Hotel.” Confused, one team member asked if those were really hotels, but apparently, “hotel” here means “restaurant.”

Sights along the way to Tenwek (sorry about the angle­it was really bumpy!)

Dr. Ben Thomas and his wife Jan are the main host missionaries for us here. Ben is the full time eye doctor/surgeon at Tenwek right now. Jan showed us to the nice apartments where we are staying. Catherine and I are sharing a two-bedroom apartment with a living area and kitchen. It’s much nicer than I anticipated for a missions trip!

I had time for a quick (and by this point much needed) shower before lunch. Jan fixed BBQ, coleslaw, potato salad, and peanut butter cookies. We ate in a second story screened building behind their house where they live with their three sons. Jan had the tables fixed very nicely with fresh flowers. It was a great lunch.

All the members of my team read the book “Miracle at Tenwek” before this trip. It is the amazing story of Dr. Ernie Stuery and his work at Tenwek Hospital. Ben and Jan live in the same house that Dr. Stuery and his family lived in for many years.

The views all around the hospital are breathtaking hill after hill covered with lush farmland and bright beautiful flowers.

After lunch, Ben took us on a comprehensive tour of the hospital. We saw all of the vision and dental related areas that will be relocated to the new facility we’re designing. We saw the patients­all ages. The children were very quick to offer a big smile in return for a smile from one of us. We saw the emergency room, the operating rooms, the patient wards, and the places where they sterilize items, mix IV fluids, and make their own eye drops. We saw the newest building on campus with the operating rooms, a medical library, offices, and an auditorium that was designed by another EMI team a few years ago. We ended out tour at the site for the future dental/eye center.

Water Supply

View from one of the hospital buildings

Buildings of the hospital

Location of and view from the future dental and vision center

I’m sitting on the porch outside the apartment new writing this before our next meeting. The weather is wonderful­warm but not hot and with a cool breeze. I’ve heard a rooster and a donkey since sitting down and have waved at a handful of African children who have walked by. Our trip is just beginning but I’ve already caught myself wondering what it would be like for Matt and me to go to medical school and then move here…

Wednesday March 11, 2009
1:35 PM
London

Last night I boarded the plane in Atlanta to head to London. I met Wes and Catherine, a father and daughter from Rome, Georgia, and on my team. They sat behind me. I was blessed to have the two seats to myself. They served dinner a little after midnight. I would have rather slept than eaten at that time, but I decided I had better eat whatever is put in front of me on this trip, so I did. I was able to get some restless sleep until they served breakfast and coffee. The flight was a little bumpy at times but we landed safely in Heathrow Airport. Wes, Catherine, and I rode the shuttle bus to our terminal for the next flight. We are now killing time before we meet up with the rest of the team in a few hours.