Good Morning Prayer Warriors,
Today we were back in Kibera. We mainly saw AIDS and HIV + patients. The patients that attend the support group here are very educated about AIDS by Mary, one of the church members, who leads the support group. They all know their CD4 counts and what will make them better. If their CD4 count is below 200 that will give them a diagnosis of AIDS. Then they will be placed on ARV drugs with the hope that they will raise their CD4 count above 200. If not, their immune system will not be able to fight off disease and they will be very sick.
Ariel and Katie taught a class on Sexually Transmitted Diseases to a group of women and it was very interactive. The patients asked lots of questions and they all enjoyed it. Diane and Hazen had a backyard Bible Club for the students in the school on their break and after school. Over 100 children were present and had a great time.
The pharmacy is probably one of the busiest places here at the clinic. Lauren was the "pharmacist" yesterday and most of the patients were prescribed at least three drugs.
The clinic is very busy and it can be exhausting at times. Karen, Mandy, Anna and Hugh saw a record number of patients yesterday. Today we will not be seeing as many patients. There are many coming to know the Lord through our presence here. That is the most exciting thing. It is not all about practicing medicine because we know that the Lord is the healer.
When we closed the clinic and school was out, Ed held a group counseling session for all the workers and teachers. He talked to them and discussed abused, raped, defiled amd escaped children and how to listen, talk to and counsel them.
Most of the women here have been raped or assaulted as children first and then later as adolescents and young women. Some of the families will even prostitute their children out for money. Many of the women contracted HIV from their husbands who have either died or have abandoned their
families.
Hugh saw the men patients in a private area and that was a blessing. The hope is that this will bring more men into the church. The church has a lot more women and children than men. We pray that we can be the light of Jesus to these men and all and they will know that they are loved unconditionally in spite of their HIV status.
We are running out of medicines in some categories and are going to the local
hospital pharmacy to see about buying more on the way to clinic in the morning.
We do not have unlimited Pray that they will have the meds we need..
Please continue to pray for us, especially in the area of spiritual warfare.
Many of our patients today had amulets or bracelets they have purchased by the
witch doctors. We cut most of them off and discarded them. The witch doctors
will not be happy.
We Love you and miss you dear friends and family!
We feel your prayers. Please don't stop praying!,
In Christ,
Karen (McClure) and the Kenya Team
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Monday in Nairobi
Hello Prayer Warriors,
Today we were in another slum of Nairobi called Makura Kayaba. Our patient population was primarily AIDS patients. The church has an AIDS support group here and there is also a school here.
Before we left to travel to our clinic, Ed shared a devotion on "Weakness". It helped us all to share our weaknesses. When we share it helps others to know that we all have weaknesses and struggles. It made me think of Paul talking of his weaknesses in 1 Corinthians 2. Oh how I can relate! Each of will share a devotion on this mission trip in the morning and then will share at the clinic as well.
We saw a patient today named Evelyn who has 2 sets of twins, a set of triplets and another child. She also had a child die in the past year. She lives with AIDS and breast cancer. Please keep her in your prayers. We saw another patient named Esther who is very angry. Her mother is Muslim and abused her and she was raped by her father. I assisted Dr. Karen G with a small surgical procedure called an I and D. Karen and I both love surgery and the patient was very stoic.
In the areas that we work, almost every female has been physically and sexually abused. They have sexually transmitted infections and there is a lot with AIDS. We do not treat AIDS because the patients are treated at the clinic. There are still many that will not go to the clinic to get diagnosed. For about $1/day the government will provide the drugs called ARV's. What we are treating is oportunistic infections.
You will probably not see pictures of the walk that we take to the medical clinic because the people are sensitive to their living conditions and we respect them.We must walk through streams of garbage, human excrement, chickens, dogs, etc to get to where we are going. It can be terribly nauseating but we must look past that. I am just eager to serve God in Kenya.
We are enjoying working here with Pastor Imboumi Makuku, his wife Martha, Pastor Patrick, Wycliff and James with the African Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Every day is and adventure and if you dont't like adventures and like to handle problems yourself and not ask the Lord for help, then this is no place for you. This is what increases my faith and grows me spiritually.
After we closed the clinic today we came back to the Guest house and Imboumi gave us a cultural orientation. He talked about Spiritual warfare here. Satanic shamans and witch doctors and cults are everywhere and in the open. Many of the Christians still try to keep a foot in both camps. They believe that if anything out of the
ordinary happens that it is because someone has put a spell or a hex on them or
one of the gods is angry with them. They then take their scarce monies and go
to the witch doctor to buy a counter spell. They wear amulets to protect themselves
from evil.
We asked Imboumi, how does a Kenyan get married? He said, you ask the girl to marry you. Then you must go to her parents with an elder person and negotiate a dowry. For example, the family may decide that you must give a "gift" of 14 cattle or goats to the parents for your bride. To all those who have daughters and have to pay for weddings in the states...come to Kenya where you actually receive a "gift" for your daughter.
Please pray for our day tomorrow. Besides our medical clinic, Ariel and Katie will be teaching a group about STD's and Lauren and Hazen will teach another group about Hygiene.Diane will teach the children, about the Bible and Ed, our counselor will meet with teachers to discuss topics surrounding abused, defiled and escaped children. Hugh is providing care for a group of men who probably all have STD's but will only be seen by a male provider.
We Love you and Miss you all!
May God richly bless you,
Karen (McClure) and the Kenya Team
Today we were in another slum of Nairobi called Makura Kayaba. Our patient population was primarily AIDS patients. The church has an AIDS support group here and there is also a school here.
Before we left to travel to our clinic, Ed shared a devotion on "Weakness". It helped us all to share our weaknesses. When we share it helps others to know that we all have weaknesses and struggles. It made me think of Paul talking of his weaknesses in 1 Corinthians 2. Oh how I can relate! Each of will share a devotion on this mission trip in the morning and then will share at the clinic as well.
We saw a patient today named Evelyn who has 2 sets of twins, a set of triplets and another child. She also had a child die in the past year. She lives with AIDS and breast cancer. Please keep her in your prayers. We saw another patient named Esther who is very angry. Her mother is Muslim and abused her and she was raped by her father. I assisted Dr. Karen G with a small surgical procedure called an I and D. Karen and I both love surgery and the patient was very stoic.
In the areas that we work, almost every female has been physically and sexually abused. They have sexually transmitted infections and there is a lot with AIDS. We do not treat AIDS because the patients are treated at the clinic. There are still many that will not go to the clinic to get diagnosed. For about $1/day the government will provide the drugs called ARV's. What we are treating is oportunistic infections.
You will probably not see pictures of the walk that we take to the medical clinic because the people are sensitive to their living conditions and we respect them.We must walk through streams of garbage, human excrement, chickens, dogs, etc to get to where we are going. It can be terribly nauseating but we must look past that. I am just eager to serve God in Kenya.
We are enjoying working here with Pastor Imboumi Makuku, his wife Martha, Pastor Patrick, Wycliff and James with the African Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Every day is and adventure and if you dont't like adventures and like to handle problems yourself and not ask the Lord for help, then this is no place for you. This is what increases my faith and grows me spiritually.
After we closed the clinic today we came back to the Guest house and Imboumi gave us a cultural orientation. He talked about Spiritual warfare here. Satanic shamans and witch doctors and cults are everywhere and in the open. Many of the Christians still try to keep a foot in both camps. They believe that if anything out of the
ordinary happens that it is because someone has put a spell or a hex on them or
one of the gods is angry with them. They then take their scarce monies and go
to the witch doctor to buy a counter spell. They wear amulets to protect themselves
from evil.
We asked Imboumi, how does a Kenyan get married? He said, you ask the girl to marry you. Then you must go to her parents with an elder person and negotiate a dowry. For example, the family may decide that you must give a "gift" of 14 cattle or goats to the parents for your bride. To all those who have daughters and have to pay for weddings in the states...come to Kenya where you actually receive a "gift" for your daughter.
Please pray for our day tomorrow. Besides our medical clinic, Ariel and Katie will be teaching a group about STD's and Lauren and Hazen will teach another group about Hygiene.Diane will teach the children, about the Bible and Ed, our counselor will meet with teachers to discuss topics surrounding abused, defiled and escaped children. Hugh is providing care for a group of men who probably all have STD's but will only be seen by a male provider.
We Love you and Miss you all!
May God richly bless you,
Karen (McClure) and the Kenya Team
Sunday in Nairobi
Good Morning Prayer Warriors,
Just a short note to tell you not to worry. I usually send a note sooner however our electricity was out most of the evening and all night. We had a great Lord's Day-Sunday which was actually Pentacost Sunday. The team sang like angels. Ariel gave her testimony and Imboumi translated for her. She is a born speaker! She was a little concerned because of translating it to the culture here. All eyes were focused on her so I think that was indication enough that it was greatly received. Katie will give her testimony this week. I have great pictures and we will be sending pictures to Katie to make a disc so we can share in our churches and with friends and family.
Hazen preached and the sermon was translated into Swahilli by Imboumi. Now Hazen is very young and his sermon was preached with emotion and vigor that only the Lord could have spoken through him. Who knows what God has in store for his future.
Thank-you friends and family for sending encouraging e-mails. I will try to answer but we are so busy that its difficult.
I had to laugh last night after the electricity when out. We still had work to do to prepare for today. I looked over and there was Lauren wearing her headlamp making teaching materials for today..Diane and Karen G were refilling our medicines--actually counting meds and putting in bags. Others were wrapping gifts for our translators. Precious moments.....Only in Nairobi.......
Well it is 6:10 AM and I must sign off to do my devotions and help the team prepare for the day.
We Love you and Miss you all!
May God richly bless you today and always,
Karen (McClure) and the Kenya Team
Just a short note to tell you not to worry. I usually send a note sooner however our electricity was out most of the evening and all night. We had a great Lord's Day-Sunday which was actually Pentacost Sunday. The team sang like angels. Ariel gave her testimony and Imboumi translated for her. She is a born speaker! She was a little concerned because of translating it to the culture here. All eyes were focused on her so I think that was indication enough that it was greatly received. Katie will give her testimony this week. I have great pictures and we will be sending pictures to Katie to make a disc so we can share in our churches and with friends and family.
Hazen preached and the sermon was translated into Swahilli by Imboumi. Now Hazen is very young and his sermon was preached with emotion and vigor that only the Lord could have spoken through him. Who knows what God has in store for his future.
Thank-you friends and family for sending encouraging e-mails. I will try to answer but we are so busy that its difficult.
I had to laugh last night after the electricity when out. We still had work to do to prepare for today. I looked over and there was Lauren wearing her headlamp making teaching materials for today..Diane and Karen G were refilling our medicines--actually counting meds and putting in bags. Others were wrapping gifts for our translators. Precious moments.....Only in Nairobi.......
Well it is 6:10 AM and I must sign off to do my devotions and help the team prepare for the day.
We Love you and Miss you all!
May God richly bless you today and always,
Karen (McClure) and the Kenya Team
Saturday in Nairobi
Hello Prayer Warriors,
I guess you are wondering what happened to the attachment from last night's e-mail. Well I wonder myself. It must be the dial up connection that didn't allow it to go through. If I can post pictures to my blog tomorrow, then I will send a link.,otherwise it will have to wait until I return home. So sorry....
Today we held a medical clinic in Muthiga, a village in Nairobi. After driving up red very muddy, rocky hills and mountains here, I don't think I will ever complain about a road in Maryland again. Pastor Imboumi calls them "bone breakers". By the way, we are at 8,000 feet elevation here. No one on the team has been bothered by it, though.
Each day in clinic is an adventure . We always go in with a plan and know we must be "semper gumby". What is that you ask? It means that things are always changing so we must be very patient and very flexible. But the good news is that through this process God is changing us. He is refining us and will give us a peace about things that used to give us anxiety. We learn to relinquish control to God, our father in Heaven. Today it was the pharmacy again that we had to revise. We were seeing both adults and children and set up 4 provider stations and Dr. Karen G, Amanda-RN, Anna- RN and Hugh-RN saw patients and prescribed medications. I believe they saw over 70 patients and prayed for them as well.
Ariel, Katie and Lauren rotated between registration and taking patient history's and working with one of the providers. Each one of them are growing more confident with their skills and most important to me is the love that I see in them for the people. They are truly sharing the love that Jesus shared with the people. Some removed stitches, treated parasites (intestinal worms), bacterial infections, many skin infections and lacerations just to name a few.
Ed worked and played (and evangelized) with the children and I understand they just loved him. Hazen assisted Diane in the pharmacy, which is one of the busiest places to work here.
Something to behold is the smile on the face of a 46 year old woman, nearing the end of her life (average life span of a woman here is 48 yrs), when she puts on a pair of glasses and can see clearly! We had the joy of seeing that on quite a few faces.
Again today I was "floating" team leader, which means that I took the reponsibility of managing the clinic, medical consultant and floating to whichever station needed assistance to keep things moving smoothly. For those of you who know me well, you know how I multi-task.
At the end of clinic we were treated to African tribal music with drums and chanting/singing which involved clapping and jumping and was very lively! What a way to end a day!
You will be pleased to know that my luggage was delivered to the convent here today. Sister Bonnie sent a paid driver to the airport and he was there for 8 1/2 hrs just to retrieve my luggage! What a wonderful patient man. He made it possible for me to have clean clothes and other things. But you know that God has supplied all my needs through my wonderful teamates who gave me clothes, protein bars to eat, shoes, etc and I didn't even need to go shopping.
Praise God that nobody has been sick We are very strict about what we eat and we treat our own drinking water. Since we have followed this policy we have an almost 0% sick rate.
Tomorrow is the Lord's day and I am excited that we will be singing and Hazen will play his guitar. Hazen will also preach and Ariel will share her testimony. They will do this through a Swahilli translator, which is not always easy. Please pray for the team again tomorrow.
Please send me or the team an e-mail if you can dear family and friends as we are praying for you too daily.
We Love you all and miss you!
May God richly bless you,
Karen (McClure) and the Kenya Team
I guess you are wondering what happened to the attachment from last night's e-mail. Well I wonder myself. It must be the dial up connection that didn't allow it to go through. If I can post pictures to my blog tomorrow, then I will send a link.,otherwise it will have to wait until I return home. So sorry....
Today we held a medical clinic in Muthiga, a village in Nairobi. After driving up red very muddy, rocky hills and mountains here, I don't think I will ever complain about a road in Maryland again. Pastor Imboumi calls them "bone breakers". By the way, we are at 8,000 feet elevation here. No one on the team has been bothered by it, though.
Each day in clinic is an adventure . We always go in with a plan and know we must be "semper gumby". What is that you ask? It means that things are always changing so we must be very patient and very flexible. But the good news is that through this process God is changing us. He is refining us and will give us a peace about things that used to give us anxiety. We learn to relinquish control to God, our father in Heaven. Today it was the pharmacy again that we had to revise. We were seeing both adults and children and set up 4 provider stations and Dr. Karen G, Amanda-RN, Anna- RN and Hugh-RN saw patients and prescribed medications. I believe they saw over 70 patients and prayed for them as well.
Ariel, Katie and Lauren rotated between registration and taking patient history's and working with one of the providers. Each one of them are growing more confident with their skills and most important to me is the love that I see in them for the people. They are truly sharing the love that Jesus shared with the people. Some removed stitches, treated parasites (intestinal worms), bacterial infections, many skin infections and lacerations just to name a few.
Ed worked and played (and evangelized) with the children and I understand they just loved him. Hazen assisted Diane in the pharmacy, which is one of the busiest places to work here.
Something to behold is the smile on the face of a 46 year old woman, nearing the end of her life (average life span of a woman here is 48 yrs), when she puts on a pair of glasses and can see clearly! We had the joy of seeing that on quite a few faces.
Again today I was "floating" team leader, which means that I took the reponsibility of managing the clinic, medical consultant and floating to whichever station needed assistance to keep things moving smoothly. For those of you who know me well, you know how I multi-task.
At the end of clinic we were treated to African tribal music with drums and chanting/singing which involved clapping and jumping and was very lively! What a way to end a day!
You will be pleased to know that my luggage was delivered to the convent here today. Sister Bonnie sent a paid driver to the airport and he was there for 8 1/2 hrs just to retrieve my luggage! What a wonderful patient man. He made it possible for me to have clean clothes and other things. But you know that God has supplied all my needs through my wonderful teamates who gave me clothes, protein bars to eat, shoes, etc and I didn't even need to go shopping.
Praise God that nobody has been sick We are very strict about what we eat and we treat our own drinking water. Since we have followed this policy we have an almost 0% sick rate.
Tomorrow is the Lord's day and I am excited that we will be singing and Hazen will play his guitar. Hazen will also preach and Ariel will share her testimony. They will do this through a Swahilli translator, which is not always easy. Please pray for the team again tomorrow.
Please send me or the team an e-mail if you can dear family and friends as we are praying for you too daily.
We Love you all and miss you!
May God richly bless you,
Karen (McClure) and the Kenya Team
First Day in Kenyan Clinic
Hi prayer warriors,
Thank-you so much for praying for us! We had a great first day in the clinic today. Our purpose was to screen children and their teachers in the Kibera Reformed Presbyterian Church School. For most of us, the trek into the school was an eye opener. There was waste that runs like a river through this very large slum area.I myself have been doing mission work around the globe since 1995 and have never seen poverty like this. We thought that we would see a lot of children with scabies and lice and profound malnutrition. We were surprised to see that although they were malnourished, we did not see the red hair, thin limbs and other things we typically see in profound malnutrition. They have a feeding program at the school so the children are getting at least 5 good meals each week. We also did not see any children with scabies or lice. Karen G saw a little girl that was crying and found out that the girls parents both have AIDS. One out of every 3 people has AIDS. Every child was given Albendazole, a medication for intestinal worms.I have attached a picture of a little boy. Tomorrow I will try to send more.
Hazen, a young man on our team will preach in church this Sunday and next. He has been blessing us with his guitar music and sweet spirit. Hugh, my co-team leader, wife Diane and twin daughters, Amanda and Anna have been joys to work with. We have a large pharmacy and the pharmacist has a really big job, especially on the first day. Diane was a trooper, cutting pills and bagging them as drugs were prescribed. Anna and Amanda worked with the patients and mentored the students here. Katie is a fast leaner and learned head to toe assessments, as did Lauren. Ariel is in her junior year of nursing school and perfected her skills. She and Hazen are also leading our music and we will sing in the church on both Sundays.We are blessed to have Ed, a counselor on our team. Today he and Hazen did the eyeglass clinic and the children just loved them. Next week, Ed will be counseling AIDS patients and the staff.
We are blessed to have you supporting us in prayer. We could not do this without you! Please pray for:
1-Continued team unity and flexibility
2-That the people would see the love of Jesus in us
3- Safety
4-That we would change and grow spiritually. I am never the same person when I return home!
5- Be with our families
6- Be with us as we care for the people, evangelize and teach in the clinic.
7- That my luggage would be delivered tomorrow. ( I thank my friends here for supplying me with what I need.)
If you feel that the Lord may be calling you to go on a mission trip, Steve and I will lead another trip, with students and others Dec, 29- Jan. 6 to Trinidad. Please consider praying about that. We welcome, physicians, students, nurses, pastors, youth leaders, counselors and we definitely need non-medical people.
We pray also for you dear friends and family!
We love you and miss you!
Many Blessings,
Karen (McClure) and the Kenya team
Thank-you so much for praying for us! We had a great first day in the clinic today. Our purpose was to screen children and their teachers in the Kibera Reformed Presbyterian Church School. For most of us, the trek into the school was an eye opener. There was waste that runs like a river through this very large slum area.I myself have been doing mission work around the globe since 1995 and have never seen poverty like this. We thought that we would see a lot of children with scabies and lice and profound malnutrition. We were surprised to see that although they were malnourished, we did not see the red hair, thin limbs and other things we typically see in profound malnutrition. They have a feeding program at the school so the children are getting at least 5 good meals each week. We also did not see any children with scabies or lice. Karen G saw a little girl that was crying and found out that the girls parents both have AIDS. One out of every 3 people has AIDS. Every child was given Albendazole, a medication for intestinal worms.I have attached a picture of a little boy. Tomorrow I will try to send more.
Hazen, a young man on our team will preach in church this Sunday and next. He has been blessing us with his guitar music and sweet spirit. Hugh, my co-team leader, wife Diane and twin daughters, Amanda and Anna have been joys to work with. We have a large pharmacy and the pharmacist has a really big job, especially on the first day. Diane was a trooper, cutting pills and bagging them as drugs were prescribed. Anna and Amanda worked with the patients and mentored the students here. Katie is a fast leaner and learned head to toe assessments, as did Lauren. Ariel is in her junior year of nursing school and perfected her skills. She and Hazen are also leading our music and we will sing in the church on both Sundays.We are blessed to have Ed, a counselor on our team. Today he and Hazen did the eyeglass clinic and the children just loved them. Next week, Ed will be counseling AIDS patients and the staff.
We are blessed to have you supporting us in prayer. We could not do this without you! Please pray for:
1-Continued team unity and flexibility
2-That the people would see the love of Jesus in us
3- Safety
4-That we would change and grow spiritually. I am never the same person when I return home!
5- Be with our families
6- Be with us as we care for the people, evangelize and teach in the clinic.
7- That my luggage would be delivered tomorrow. ( I thank my friends here for supplying me with what I need.)
If you feel that the Lord may be calling you to go on a mission trip, Steve and I will lead another trip, with students and others Dec, 29- Jan. 6 to Trinidad. Please consider praying about that. We welcome, physicians, students, nurses, pastors, youth leaders, counselors and we definitely need non-medical people.
We pray also for you dear friends and family!
We love you and miss you!
Many Blessings,
Karen (McClure) and the Kenya team
Thursday May 24-Arrival in Nairobi
Hi everyone,
Just a quick note to let you know we arrived safely in Nairobi, Kenya on Thursday May 24 at 7:30 PM. Nairobi is 8 hrs ahead of east coast time. Imboumi and his family met us at the airport and drove us to Subiaco Guest House, a former convent. We were greeted by Sister Bonnie who made sure we had a hot meal of goat, rice and bread.
I was hoping to send pictures but this is dial-up. I'll post pictures when I return.
Please pray for:
1- Karen McClure's bag to arrive in the morning. It has clothing and all personal items.
2-Pediatric clinic that we will do tomorrow in the school.
3-Health and safety of the team.
4- Be with our families that we left behind. I especially pray for Ashley as she takes intensive summer classes. If anyone would like to assist with child care so she can study please call her.
Many Blessings to you my little prayer warriors. I feel covered in prayer.
Karen
Thursday, May 24-Arrival in Nairobi
Hi everyone,
Just a quick note to let you know we arrived safely in Nairobi, Kenya on Thursday May 24 at 7:30 PM. Nairobi is 8 hrs ahead of east coast time. Imboumi and his family met us at the airport and drove us to Subiaco Guest House, a former convent. We were greeted by Sister Bonnie who made sure we had a hot meal of goat, rice and bread.
I was hoping to send pictures but this is dial-up. I'll post pictures when I return.
Please pray for:
1- Karen McClure's bag to arrive in the morning. It has clothing and all personal items.
2-Pediatric clinic that we will do tomorrow in the school.
3-Health and safety of the team.
4- Be with our families that we left behind. I especially pray for Ashley as she takes intensive summer classes. If anyone would like to assist with child care so she can study please call her.
Many Blessings to you my little prayer warriors. I feel covered in prayer.
Karen
Just a quick note to let you know we arrived safely in Nairobi, Kenya on Thursday May 24 at 7:30 PM. Nairobi is 8 hrs ahead of east coast time. Imboumi and his family met us at the airport and drove us to Subiaco Guest House, a former convent. We were greeted by Sister Bonnie who made sure we had a hot meal of goat, rice and bread.
I was hoping to send pictures but this is dial-up. I'll post pictures when I return.
Please pray for:
1- Karen McClure's bag to arrive in the morning. It has clothing and all personal items.
2-Pediatric clinic that we will do tomorrow in the school.
3-Health and safety of the team.
4- Be with our families that we left behind. I especially pray for Ashley as she takes intensive summer classes. If anyone would like to assist with child care so she can study please call her.
Many Blessings to you my little prayer warriors. I feel covered in prayer.
Karen
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
