Jigger Clinic Follow Up

Thursday was definitely a highlight for me. It was jigger clinic follow up day. We are so blessed to have been able to engage with that project....

[We helped Charlton out by drawing water for the day, Kenyan style]

The teams met at the compound around 9:30 and after debriefing, we loaded the van and into the van. Meaning, bins of shoes and tables and chairs went onto the roof, and people and bags and sodas and snacks went into the van. Tara and Cody willingly offered to ride on the roof with the paraphenalia...

We drove from our village to a neighboring one about 10 minutes away. We got to the church and set up. The plan was for Brent and Cody to help out with the teams that donned masks and backpack sprayers and walk thru the village spraying homes there.

Tara and I would assist the team that stayed at the church and fit people with shoes.

Natasha stayed and helped me get set up. We had 3 young men helping us,

Nashon who was an excellent translater, and two others who understood English pretty well. 

The people were there, crowding in.

Many bare black feet or almost bare. 

Many sandals that would have been in my landfill looong ago..

One of the first things I said to Natasha as we were setting up was, 

"This puts a whole new perspective on shoe shopping."

We had three sheets of names for this particular village. Patients that had been treated at the jigger clinic held in this village a week earlier. I donned gloves and my helpers began calling out names.
First of all they wanted me to call out the names, but I said no, no. You see, even simple names are pronounced and accented very differently.  They wouldn't have even recognized their own name!

So I relied on the black voices to do the calling, and soon I had my first person sitting on the bench in front of me. I wiped the dust from the bottom of his foot and judged the size, called out to Tara the size number and after a couple attempts, we had him fitted with a pair of shoes.

Little boys, little girls, big boys, big girls. 

Mamas and Wasai (older men) all with black eyes.

All with dirty feet.

All with a heart that feels the same things you and I feel.

All with a hole in their heart that can only be filled with Jesus...Just like you and me.

And as I wiped feet and slipped shoes on each of their feet,

I would always look into their eyes and often would cry out to Jesus for their souls. 

We worked for over 4 hours inspecting feet and fitting shoes.

Feet that still had jiggers had to be seen by Wanda or Charlton for jigger treatment. 

One older man came in with not only shoes on, but socks as well. I sat in front of him as he took off his shoes. I immediately noticed the dire condition of his socks. Appearing wet and moldy and with a smell that made me think about the extra masks left by the spray team. I guessed him as an 8, and came back with the shoes and after trying to slip a shoe over that horrible sock, I knew what I needed to do. I asked my translater to have him remove his socks. And then I felt bad.

The smell went to stench of oozing flesh and blood. His feet and toes were actually deformed from the jiggers.

There were obviously still jiggers at work. I knew i could'nt fit those feet into shoes and so I told him he would need to be seen by Charlton, who would treat and remove those remaining jiggers.
It was not a quick ordeal and I noticed he was still there an hour or two later.

Charlton working at this man's feet....

Poor man...I don't think anyone, not even an older Kenyan man, wakes up in the morning and says, "I hope that my feet smell like oozing rotting flesh today." My heart goes out, because I say regardless of skin color, poverty level, Kenyan or American, our basic human emotional needs are all the same. Or am I wrong?

How did I get so blessed? But Kenya is reinforcing in my mind that 'more is not always more', sometimes, (can I say often) "less is more"?

We finished up just before 3:00, though I have a ferocious hard time keeping track of time here, even a hard time knowing which day of the month it is...But I do know we finished up on time-yay!!

We piled all the bins and paraphenalia back into and on top of the van. The native teams filled the inside of the van and

the Rosenberry clan and Wanda(Mama Charlton) and Cosmos( 69 yr old Kenyan brother) climbed the ladder and rode home on top of the bins on top of the van!! 
Charlton drove cautiously and we arrived safely back at the compound after feeling the energy from the sun on our face and the wind in our hair. Ahh!

After we got back to the clinic, Charlton and Wanda set our family up with basins of bleach water and brushes and we had a good old foot scrubbing and checking for jiggers on our own feet.

We all, except for Tara, pulled at least one off, some of us two. 

Mama Charlton is an amazing woman that I quickly came to love. She came from Kentucky to this village in April, and offers basic health and hygience to the people that come to her clinic each week. I watched her. Her heart is here. She loves the people. Her hands touch the black skin and she offers hope with her love. I believe with all my heart that people sense the love. That they feel the touch of Jesus flowing from her. I can!

And so it was that I found it an honor to scrub her feet at the end of the day.

Later that afternoon, Marc and Cindy left for a hospital 1.5 hours away to get a spider bite checked out. The day before, Marc had gotten, what he researched to be a brown recluse spider bite on his calf. They had treated it with charcoal and also a garlic/baking soda poultice. But today as he talked to his American doctor, he was encouraged to see a doctor asap, so they left hurriedly.

Our family continued with the plan to eat supper with Charlton and Natasha. We were doing a neat little thing of high, low and thankful, where we went around the circle and each shared about our day in those 3 categories. It was Amber's turn when we were interrupted with a disturbance outside. Someone was yelling and it seemed to be getting closer.

We looked out the window and there was a piki coming into the yard with what first appeared to be a medical emergency. It didn't take long to realize maybe it was a spiritual emergency as well. An 18 year old girl, who was apparently demon possessed. I have never seen anything like it. I can't even make myself write out the details. I will say, it took 4 strong men to hold her down on the ground. Charlton, Brent and Wanda were there, holding and praying and the girl lay struggling and yelling. 

And Natasha and I stood on the veranda, alternately watching, crying out to Jesus, singing, comforting the little ones, reminding them that God is stronger and we don't need to be afraid.

This went on for some time until the men decided to load her into the van and transport her to Salona Medical Ctr, which is about 10 minutes away. The men carried her to the van and held her down as the van drove away.

Natasha and I were the only adults who stayed behind with all the wazunga(white)children-16 of them.

I pulled out my mega pack of glow sticks...Thank you Jesus! The attention was diverted as the children, most of them for the very first time, excitedly snapped and banded glow sticks into bracelets. They had a grand time, pitching those glowing rings into the African night sky. 

Our trio returned about an hour or so later with the report that the woman had been sedated. But they were exhausted. We continued our circle of high, low and thankful, all agreeing that we now had a new low. Not a fun thing to see, but also not a bad thing for our family to experience. 

We all were aware that this was our last time together, because we were planning to leave 8ish in the morning. None of us were excited about that. In fact, there were tears and hugs, knowing quite well that we may never see each other again...here.

As we got ready for bed that night, Cody said it well "we have only known Sweazy's for one week, but it feels like we've been friends for a long time".

He was right. It wasn't something that we had planned on. It wasn't anything that we had expected. It just happened. Or did it? I will just say "thank you God, it feels like a gift". 

We went to bed-our last night in the village....already!? Knowing that it would feel good to be with Marlin and Darla again.

Wzee

Wzee(wzay) simply mean's old men. In Kiminini, which is the closest 'town' to the village where we are, you are considered a young person until you're 35. At 40, you are considered an old man. So, Brent being 41 was invited to the 'Wzee meeting'(old men's meeting, which is held Tuesday mornings.

Since 'Mama Tara' is not 40 or a man, I was not invited:), so I don't have words to tell you about the meeting. Thankfully, Brent took a few pictures on his phone and I will share those with you.

Brent and Marc headed out on the piki.

The Wzee

Brent says, "If a meeting starts, lets say 10 o'clock. In Africa we say "Africa time" because your meeting may not start for another hour. People show up slowly and may come 1 1/2 hrs late. I must say we had a wonderful time of fellowship and singing.  It is good to see old men (our brothers) that love The Lord." 

The men were served plain bread and chai...

you will notice that the cups are really full, rule of thumb for Kenyan hospitality is "full and running over."

The day before, Charlton and Brent installed a clean water well pump.

It is the first public clean water source for this village and was a very exciting project. 

The guys' satisfaction maxed out as the pump was primed and out gushed the water....at 10 gallons a minute.

The little things we take for granted in America!! Not only the Fresh, clean water.

But here is another great picture.

This is a boy's toy. The two bottle caps fastened to the old jug and a maize stalk stuffed into the opening for the handle to push the toy along....

"Lord Jesus, help us to never forget, and please teach our hearts what You want to through this time in this third world land."

Wednesday in the bush...

Wednesday in the village began with fresh mandazes made by Silas, (the man that owns the shop that I talked about), lemongrass tea and mangoes. The only 'program' that we had for that day was for Brent to accompany Mr. Carrier(Marc) on a mission.

Brent witnessed several baptisms..

After they left, we developed a plan for the rest of us for the day. Shoe organizing and shopping.

Charlton, Natasha, Tara and I sorted and organized shoes for the jigger clinic. There was a follow-up scheduled for Thursday and our job was to pack up the sizes of shoes that we would need for that.

Jigger clinic was held the two weeks before with Charlton, Wanda(his mom) and the team going from village to village, removing jiggers from toes and feet of old and young alike. Follow-up would consist of several teams walking thru the village, spraying pesticide in the homes. Another team would set up shop in a local church and all those treated in that village would come and get fit with a pair of shoes.

Jiggers are a sand flea that first attaches to the foot, then burrows into the foot, laying eggs as it goes, which hatch and burrow deeper into the foot. Since many of the people in this area have few/no chairs and beds in their homes, they spend a lot of time on the ground and infestation is rampid.

So we packed the shoes in the sizes that we needed and organized the shoe room. A donor had given 1000 pairs of shoes for the jigger project. Don't picture individual shoe boxes, but rather cases with 24 pr of shoes in each case. Men's, Ladies', and children's.

[Natasha and I sorting shoes]

When that was finished, we piled into the van. All the Sweazy's, all the Rosenberry females, and Mrs. Carrier. We travelled the 35 minute drive to Kitale, and I noticed my eyes were less wide than the first few days in Kenya. But still I took in the sights along the way. 

We ate lunch and shopped in two nice 'department' stores. The shopping alone was rather chaotic with the large group. Inside the buildings, it didn't strike me as so very different from what I was used to. Cindy told me later that we were in very nice stores. Sometime I want to go to the market and experience that style of shopping.

Natalie and her new friend, Ava, posing in the dept store in Kitale. 

What felt VERY different was the moment that we left the building and came into the street. Vendors and trash and noisy cars and honking. It felt very different crossing the street. No crosswalk signals here. Charlton led the way and we all stuck together. Still, it was not a safe cozy feeling.

And then there were glue boys...

street boys who sniff glue to kill the emotional and physical pain in their lives. They beg for money, wear ragged clothes and walk barefooted thru the streets. They came to our van, three of them, I'm guessing ages 11-15, wearing huge smiles and empty wasted eyes. Holding out hands for shillings. Wanting bread or possibly more glue.

Charlton bought their glue from them.  He gave them 10 shillings(11 cents) if they would hand their bottle over to him. Two of them chose to do that, the third valued his glue too much. Charlton said he prefers to buy the glue bottle in exchange for bread, but he didn't have the bread, so he gave the shillings, hoping they would feel the hunger enough to use it on food and not glue. Sniffing the glue makes life on the street tolerable, they don't feel the hunger, they don't feel the cold...My heart simply went out to these boys whose life seems such a waste, wondering what chance they ever have to hear about Jesus, the only One who can free from such vices...

We travelled home and had chicken (that was being butchered as we left for town) scuma and cabbage, and mashed potatoes for supper. We all went to bed early that night.

A Few Things That I love...

I love this place...

Yes, the work is hard and you cannot get away from the red mud, but I love this place. 

I love the black faces. The white smiles. 

Just finished talking with a young man who works at translating here at the ministry. 

Intelligent young man. His name is Reagan and his parents have sacrificed very much to pay his school fees. Now Reagan is not pursuing the field he studied in because he met Jesus and now his only concern is to tell the lost there is a Savior. He has great talent and could have ended being one of the top musicians in Africa, but he chose the kingdom of God. His parents are not happy, but Reagan says the rewards of following Christ are so much better than merely entertaining people with music. Reagan told me about his work in the slums which he is not currently involved in. He wants to go back to rescue the men among the trash. Reagan told me, "I want to tell them they have a Great Lover. I think that's all I would need to say, 'SomeOne loves you.'" I just knew by his eyes and his words that he KNOWS the One he's talking about. That he has experienced the love he longs to share..and I had to swipe at the tears...

That's the thing I love about God. I never know who or what He is going to use to touch a deep chord in my heart. I find He uses the most unlikeliest faces and places. Thank you, Jesus! 

I love the food. Last night we ate supper with Charlton and Natasha. 

Little Boaz stole my heart...

Charlton cooked us rolex, which is a common Ugandan dish. It was both delicious and beautiful and we all enjoyed it very much. My highlight of the evening, however, was the fellowship. We sang together for an hour, I would guess, and my heart was filled once again with awe at Father God. 

Ava

Today I went with Wanda to a women's Bible study she holds weekly. 

I loved it! I love how the women track with nods and how their eyes light up as they understand.

I was able to share a tiny bit with them thru an interpreter and that was a good experience. There were 12 native women(one serving as interpreter) plus Wanda and myself. We were all in half of 'Judith's mud home. In a room 10x10.? Some of the ladies wedged onto the 'sofas', some of the latecomers sat on feed sacks on the floor, but all were very attentive. Wanda taught on Mark 7:1-23, in keeping with her theme of comparing the kingdom of God to the kingdom of the world. Specifically noticing different ways culture clashes with scripture. Be it Kenyan culture, Bakusu culture,(that's the tribe here) or American culture. It was a challenging lesson and I could see the Holy Spirit working among the ladies. Praise God!

This afternoon we went with Charlton and Wanda to place 2 neglected children with a forever family. 

Little Abigail is 4 yrs old and her brother 2, tho to look at them and guess their ages, you would think they were 12 and 18 months, maybe.? They were near to death a few months ago from malnutrition and at that time were placed in a temp foster home.

Today we placed them with a family to raise them as their own.

Charlton and Wanda checking out the bedroom where the 6 children would sleep. 

The children showed little to no emotion and when I sat them on this bed inside their new mud home,

I didn't know Abigail was crying until the flash on my phone lit up her face. It made me cry and I wanted to bring them both home to America. 

Their new home...

Thank you for your prayers. Amber and Natalie were both not feeling well today. A few of us have taken medicine for amebas. We are thankful for the general health that were enjoying. We are thankful for safety so far and for the privilege to spend this week here in the bush.