Cell phone and Chameleons

Hey folks,
Do we have some more stories to tell? The other Ashley was invited to another going away party for one of the clinical officers going away to school. This one is going to ophthamology school so he may come back and help work with Dr. Roberts here. I was told to come by Casualty (ER) for chai at 10. Well, it was a little more than just that. It ended up being about a 1 hour ceremony with about 50 people present. Their was chai, mendazis, a fancy iced cake, and speeches. And never mind the patients, the curtain was just pulled around their bed. You can imagine the sound an older lady receiving oxygen behind a young man giving a farewell speech.
Ashley also had a malaria conference to attend the other day. It had some educational qualities but was very long. On the second day the participants teamed up and tested each other malaria (and yes, Ashley was negative!) It was funny that this course was led by a national team teaching people from several different hospitals and they would still have their cell phone go off during a lecture and they would walk around and take the call! Another thing here is that when you want to clap for someone, you don’t give around of applause. You hold your hand out far apart and on the signal given by a leader you all make one big loud clap.
We are also learning that scheduling things ahead here are a luxury. We have already had more than one occasion where we find out about a meeting we are to be at with less than 2 weeks notice, or people arbitrarily changing a meeting date at the last minute. This has been a little frustrating and is taking some getting used to.
The other day Ashley was counting the number of words he knew in Swahili and quickly realized it was about the same number that Maggie knows. No wonder she gets so frustrated when she tries to communicate!
On Saturday we had an exciting day. We were invited to our helper’s, Janet, house. Actually, she had inquired earlier if Ashley would be willing to help them build their house. They were moving from a traditional Kipsigi mud house to a wooden one. We were more than glad to help. The walk there was steep and long, taking us over an hour. It was a beautiful walk, however. Janet’s husband, Richard, met us along the way to show us to their home. When we arrived we were all slightly disappointed to learn that the carpenter and his team did not come, mostly likely afraid to work with us white folks. Well, it still ended up being a great day. Ashley and Richard were able to install the boards beneath a few sets of windows, but no other supplies were available. No power tools here! Hand saws and hammers. The handle of the hammer was literally like a lead pipe, which took some getting used to. Maggie also had a lot of fun playing with Janet’s 6 year old daughter, Mercy, and cousins. Janet fixed us a delicious lunch of rice, potatoes, beans and chapatis. We also were given a tour of their land and saw their fields and crops. Later in the afternoon we walked back with Janet as our guide most of the way. It is always humbling to see how people who have so little in earthly terms can be so happy and giving in Christ.
Sunday was a day where we really missed being at our home church in Greenwood, which we learned is not unusual for the local missionaries to have happen as well. That afternoon we spent outside planning to watch a local soccer game that broke out. Ashley was invited to play while Sarah spent some time talking with a friend while Maggie napped. The first soccer game was with the MK kids, the second was with some of the local kids. After this there was a football game (none of the Kenyans were interested in playing this). It was a fun Sunday afternoon.
Last night we attended our first station meeting. These happen occasionally an involve going over all of the non-medical business amongst the missionaries here. Needless to say, we were a little confused and often asked “what is this about?”
Ashley has had some interesting clinic experiences. The other day he had a mom come with her 7 year old child. Both were HIV positive. The mom was complaining of abdominal pain and on further investigation he learned the mom’s daughter died about 1 week earlier. The mom said the little boy had belly pain and a sore throat from crying so much for his sister. The sad part was that Ashley admitted the sister who died about a week earlier to the hospital. The mom said that they were Christians. How else could one deal with such a situation except through the love of Christ.
Later Ashley saw an older lady who was a long-time alcohol, along with a daughter who was as well. We found out that the lady was not a Christian and had quit drinking about 3 mos ago. We encourage her to “not be filled with wine, but to instead be filled with the Holy Spirit”. The lady said her other daughter was a Christian and that she wanted to read the Bible herself first. We felt encouraged that we would be able to share with this lady again.
On a lighter note, the other day we found a chameleon outside. We brought him home as a pet. He said in the kitchen to help us catch flies. We named him Leonard. You are only supposed to keep them for about 3 days before letting them back out and sure enough, around day 3 Leonard took off and left us.