The Home Stretch

       The last couple of weeks have flown by. We got back from the retreat and had 2 weeks before everyone went to Greece for a Doctors program. During these two weeks we celebrated Rebecca's and Ben's birthdays, and spent time with the high school kids who were still on break. We finished up preschool (which was so relieving and sad at the same time) and went to the hospital to visit the sick kids in PEDS. We had to say goodbye to so many people already because we will leave before all the families get back to Tenwek. Right now we are staying with 4 adopted Kenyan children until their parents return from Greece in a few weeks. Hannah is 7 and Shaddy, Ellie, and Esther are 4. While being a "mother" is super tiring, I have had the best time getting to love on these kids. Rebecca and I are going to have the hardest time saying goodbye for sure. These are my babies! Shaddy and Esther doing the dishes. Esther being carried traditional Kenyan style. All the kids reading before bed. Gotta love 'em.

Compassion International

These past couple of weeks have been super crazy, from traveling to Ethiopia, to relaxing at a beach resort for vacation! Today I had the amazing opportunity to meet my families Compassion International child in Nairobi. His name is Peter and he is 11 years old. My dad had met him a couple years back when he came to Kenya on a retreat with a group of pastors and Peter recognized my dad when he was looking through pictures on my camera which was super cool. We started our day at the "Zoo" and then traveled to the Elephant Sanctuary to see all the rescued baby elephants. Peter didn't really talk much, mainly because his english wasn't that good, and he was nervous/excited to meet me. After the Elephant Sanctuary we went to a restaurant to eat lunch. He ordered chicken fingers and chips(fries) and ate it all in about 3 minutes. After lunch we went to the store and I bought him a toothbrush and toothpaste and some other basic supplies. I also bought him some candy and cookies for him to share with his sister and brother. His face lit up when I gave him the bag of goodies. One of the things that living in Kenya has taught me is that I take so much for granted in the states. I am blessed with so much and I never take the time to just sit back and think about all that God has blessed me and my family with. So often I complain about not having things that I want when the people here in Kenya couldn't even imagine having such things. This trip has taught me to be content in all things even if the circumstances aren't going my way. 

"Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content."

                          1 Timothy 6:6-8

So basically Peter and I had a great time together and I can't wait to send him the pictures I took of our time together! As for prayer requests you can be praying that the Lord will continue to use the support our family gives to Peter to continue to help his family with their everyday needs. You can also be praying that Peter will continue to walk with the Lord and continue to go to church and read the Bible that Compassion has provided him with. Below is a picture of me and Peter during our time at the elephant sanctuary.

The School of the Blind

Last week we had the opportunity to go to a blind school and perform various tests on the children. We went with one of Ben’s assistants Leia who we have traveled with before perviously to Nairobi. We had a great time helping these kids and learning how the braille machine works! Seeing these kids and how they interact with one another was really neat. This school has 10 blind girls and 10 blind boys who all live at the school and are taking care of by volunteers.This trip really helped me realize not only am I blessed because of  the nice school facilities we have in America, but I am blessed to have my eye sight as well.  Keep this school in your prayers as they are trying to get the government to approve new cement sidewalks around the school facilities so that the blind students don't trip on rocks and ditches in the ground. 

Triplets

About a week ago a mother gave birth to triplets so Rebecca and I got to go up to the NICU and help the mother feed her babies! The mother got her 3 cups and made the milk so we could feed them. It took about an hour to feed each baby so the mom was very grateful that we were there to help. She has to feed them every 3 hours! I fed Bruce, while Rebecca fed Brenda and the mom fed Bernard. 

Chai Time

        Every day at 10:00am all of Kenya takes a break from work called Chai time. They all get their cup of tea and sit and talk before getting back to work. The picture below is when me and Rebecca went to a school in Nairobi and they gave us some of their Chai. They take pride in their tea and they consider it an honor when you drink it, so while me and Rebecca really don’t like the tea we still manage to get it down for the sake of respecting their culture. I definitely will not miss drinking Chai, but I will miss how it brings everyone together no matter who you are or where you're from. 

Community Health

             This Monday I had the opportunity to go out into the community and give the Kenyan babies the health care they need. I went with three Kenyan doctors and one Kenyan medical student. We drove about 30 minutes to a location where there is no hospitals nearby. As soon as we set up mothers came with their babies strapped on there backs from around the village to get health care. First, the doctors weighed the babies and then gave them shots if needed. I had the privilege of putting them in the bag so they could be weighed (pictured below). Next time I hope to be able to even give some of the shots! 

Motigo

About three weeks ago a group of people asked Rebecca and I if we wanted to go hike up a mountain called Motigo at 5 am. Well first, I hate hiking and second, I hate waking up early so I really was dreading having to go, but Rebecca and I had made a pact to “just say yes” ( meaning we would get out of our comfort zones and say yes to things that we really don't want to do). So we woke up at 4:45 and started our journey up the mountain so we could make it to see the sunrise. It was freezing cold and I couldn’t see where I was going. We hadn’t even gotten half  way up the mountain and I was ready to turn back around, but I kept going even though I thought I was going to keel over and die and Im pretty sure everyone else thought I was going to die too because of my excessive breathing. We finally made it to the top just in time for the sunset. Turns out I still hate hiking and waking up early, but witnessing the beauty of Gods creation was definitely worth it. 

                 Psalms 113:3  From the rising of the sun to its setting The name of the LORD is to be praised.

Rising Sun by All Sons & Daughters

Maternity Ward

Today I was able to go to the maternity ward and I just want to go ahead and give a big shout out to my mom for giving birth to 3 kids, and any other of you mothers out there because oh my goodness I  have seen it all. I first went to see a c-section. The doctor asked me how I did with blood because she said the first time she watched a c-section she passed out. I went from being pretty confident to praying that God would provide someone to catch me when I passed out. I walked in and the mother was getting her epidural…biggest needle I have ever seen, but the mother handled it like a pro. Then they laid her down and we all prayed over her like we do for every surgery. They started the surgery and it was the grossest/coolest experience. The surgery took about 20 minutes to even get to the baby, but when they finally did pull the baby out it was so neat and a moment I will never forget. They stitched up the mom and took her to another room so she could hold her baby. I'm not going to lie, I had to sit down a couple of times. It got a little hot in there and the smells were a little overwhelming. I took a lunch break after the c-section and then went back to see the natural births. I walked in a small room and there were three beds divided by bedsheets and about 7 nurses/midwives crowded inside. The first lady had already given birth, but was still in a lot of pain. The second lady had an abruption and had to be rushed off to get a c-section. The third lady was in labor and I got to see her deliver the baby! While it was totally gross it was also super cool and it will be something I will remember for the rest of my life. I am going to continue going to the maternity ward this week and maybe to the orthopedics ward next week. The pictures below are babies that are premature or have other complications and staying in the NICU until they are healthy enough to go home. Rebecca and I hope to be able to feed these babies soon. 

Rebecca Wesson Photography

The Beginning

Hello friends and family! I have finally given in to the whole blogging thing so here it goes. I have officially been here for a month now and I have loved every second of it. I have definitely had my ups and downs, but over all this has been an experience that I will never forget. The first month has been mainly just getting settled in and getting the feel of things. The first week I was here my dad took me and Rebecca on a Safari, he got to spend some time with the family I am staying with, and we got to visit and orphanage together. Having my dad here for those first couple of days was a great beginning to my trip and I am so glad I got to share those incredible experiences with him. I started teaching the preschool class with Rebecca a week after we arrived. There are 7 missionary kids, 4 of which are adopted from kenya. Me and Rebecca definitely enjoy teaching, but those kids sure can be a handful! I look forward to seeing how they progress in these next couple of months…hopefully they can learn something haha. The third week Rebecca and I were able to visit The Baby Center (about 3 hours away from Tenwek). This facility is for babies that have been abandoned and now are being taken care of until they can hopefully be adopted. We had so much fun showing these babies the love of Christ and can not wait to go back again! This past week we had the privilege of attending an Indian wedding.  One of the patients that loves Tenwek invited some of the doctors and their families to his sons wedding, so we had a fun 4 hour road trip to kisumu. The wedding was totally different from American weddings and it will be something I will never forget. It was one of the most beautiful and coolest experiences ever. This week I was able to shadow surgeries in the hospital. I was able to see many eye surgeries and help out when they needed me. I also went to the PEDS ward and was able to observe there as well. It is so cool how just one smile can make a child's day. One child was abandoned in the hospital about a week ago. The nurses were taking care of him until the mother came back, but she never came. So our family took the child in and are keeping him until tomorrow. He had a severe burn to his eye, but is quickly healing. This Wednesday Rebecca and I went to Nairobi to help/shadow The Least Of These Ministry. We were able to go to a facility for special needs children and then to a school for k5-5th grade. We played all day and when one child let go of my hand there was one waiting to grab it next. I have never been so popular in my life. We actually signed autographs today haha. We will be traveling back to Tenwek tomorrow so pray for safe travels. Much love, Mal