"Uh oh, Kimbo"

Here is the latest since last time.
Well, our adventures in Nairobi continued. On Friday we went to some markets and did some shopping. We met our friends the Ganey’s who were in town and had dinner with them. Saturday was great because the guesthouse was quiet and we rested most of the day. We had lunch there, packed, and didn’t go out until around 4:30. It was good to rest. We talked with one of our friends from here about helping us to find a car, which he said he would. Then we had one of those “God things”. Sarah’s sister sent us 3 large packages to Nairobi for Christmas. She told us to open them when they arrived which we did. Sarah almost cried when she looked in. Not because the customs agents had ripped most things open, but because of what was in side. There were maternity clothes just like Sarah needed, but had not asked anyone for. There were also some things she wanted specifically for Maggie and had been looking for, but had been unable to find. She also did not mention this to anyone and it was in the box as well. God is so good! We met the Ganey’s again and did some running around and then went out to eat and came back to rest for a long Sunday, which involved last minute errands and hitting the road as early as possible to get back to Tenwek.


A view into the Rift Valley outside of Nairobi
Monday was a great day for me to rest and spend time at home doing some administrative tasks. I’ll admit, it is the first I have slept in and stayed home for a day in several weeks. It felt good to get several things accomplished and be at home for a day.

Maggie having fun
Tuesday it was back to work. Not very eventful. Wednesday we had our monthly long term doctors meeting. It feels good to be able to put in what I feel is valuable input and to have my colleagues say that I am doing job. Encouragement for each other is something that is really needed around here.
Thursday was a good day. I’ll admit it is easy to get frustrated at times and today was one of those days. After some time though I started getting some things accomplished. I also chaired another outpatient task force team meeting today. We do this once a month. I went to go to the administrative conference, but was told someone else was meeting. Long story short, we decided to meet at another venue, the open air dining area at the hospital restaurant. It was great! We sat around, drank Cokes, and openly discussed issues. It felt so informal, but we got so much accomplished and at the end everyone was happy and felt the same way. I think that we may continue to meet this way in the future.
We had another funny incident on Thursday. Sarah says someone stole 200 shillings (about $3.00) from our kitchen. Sarah said the money was on the counter and a little girl wandered in the kitchen and her nanny went after her. The helpers were in different portions of the house and when Sarah asked about the money later, it was gone. Everyone was very concerned. Our helpers were even going through the trash looking for the money. Everyone reached the conclusion that the nanny must have taken the money. This made several people upset. Sarah was going to confront the lady the next day. Then later that evening we were greasing a pan to make brownies and she said “Look.” In the lid of the Kimbo (our equivalent of Crisco) was a 200 KSH bill stuck to the lid. It must have fallen there and no one new it. We are glad we had not confronted this nanny!
Christmas time is busy around here as well. It is not as commercial as back in the states, but there are parties and teas for different groups around the hospital. Several of the houses do have lights up, which brings back feelings of home. There are no decorations in the hospital itself because people just do not do that here. On Friday Sarah helped to put on a Christmas tea for all of the missionary househelpers. Sarah said it was a lot of fun and they all appreciated it.


Our home decorated for Christmas
Friday night we were getting ready to have supper at a friends house and we got a phone call. There had been another RTA (road traffic accident). We couldn’t believe it. My friend Mike Ganey, a surgeon, and I walked up. Thankfully there were only about 7-8 victims and the most major injury (at least at that point) was an open humerus fracture. The folks that did arrive all helped out and we were done in less than an hour.
Over the weekend I was on pediatric call. I had good interns working with me and since I have a little more experience now rounds were not nearly as bad as before. I had 3 babies to die at delivery on Sunday, which is something you cannot get used to.
Monday was a relaxing day. Almost all of the missionaries on the compound had left to go to their annual Christmas meeting, which we did not have to attend and decided not to for many reasons. The compound was so quiet with many people gone. The White’s had not left yet, so we loaded Maggie up into the wagon with her lantern and we rode her up to their house to see their outdoor lights. We’ll go out to see the rest when other people are home.


The White's house (much brighter in person)
It is also customary here to leave a set of your house keys with a neighbor when you are going out of town. Needless to say with everyone leaving, we received quite a number of keys when everyone left. The next morning Sarah told me it was funny as all the househelpers came by our house to pick up their keys.
A few other things. There is no such thing as a short office visit here, at least for me. My average time in a room is about 30 minutes (put I have no one pressuring me to hurry up, which is nice as well!) I am also overwhelmed by how many resources there are back in the states. I was reading a US medical journal about different sorts of imaging available for heart disease. Here was are considered advanced because we can get an x-ray and most of the times and EKG!
I was reminded of an important point the other day that I actually heard recently in a sermon. We do not convert anyone. We merely witness, but God does the changing of the heart (Some sow, some water, but God receives the increase). I had to remember this when I shared the gospel with a patient the other day, but he ended up being more concerned about getting his medicine and going home. I realized that it was up to the Lord, not me, to change his heart.