"Dry" Season

It is currently the "dry" season. However, and thankfully, it has been raining everyday! So, I'm not sure if that means the dry season is over, or it is just not so dry this year. Either way we are thankful for the rain.

So how does that effect our daily life? Well, we do not have a dryer for our clothes. We do have a washing machine, which is amazing and for that we are thankful. All our clothes hang to dry outside everyday. It gives them a nice "crunch", but a freshness nonetheless. Recently it is a daily ritual that the rains start mid-day. It happens so quickly. It will be sunny one minute, then the clouds roll in and the tall African trees start rustling. Before you know it, the skies open and water, sometimes even hail, pour out. As my luck would have it, it happens approximately 5 or 6 minutes after Nancy leaves for her lunch. So I am left to rush outside in the wind and yank the clothes off the line. No problem. Except I don't want to leave Liam alone for a minute. We will discuss that shortly. He is walking, but not quickly enough to run out to the line and back. So, I throw him into the laundry basket and run across the mud and grass. The faster I pile clothes on top of him, the more likely he will remain seated. I think he kinda enjoys the ride and gets a kick out of seeing Mommy hustle and bustle so quickly.



If we don't catch it in time, we just call the rain "a second rinse cycle." Usually I do get the damp clothes inside. But now what? Our house is turned into something resembling the UN, but instead of colorful flags, our dingy towels and fading clothes. Maybe it looks more like a garage sale.



Liam is a good helper, but his "helping" is usually undoing, unfolding, and overall adding to the mess. I have been reading online about all these solutions to your baby getting into things. They tell me to create a "yes" environment by babyproofing your home. Great idea! The problem is, there is no Babies R Us, Wal-Mart, or Target in rural Kenya to purchase all the items they tell me I need for my child's proper development. So, I resort to tying Logan's socks on cabinet doors. The problem is, socks stretch. Liam has figured out how to pull it open just enough to squeeze his little arm through the door. He handed me a bottle of Window cleaner he worked hard to get this morning, so I duct taped our kitchen cabinets closed so I could tackle the sink full of dishes without worrying about Liam. Little did I know, he is stronger than duct tape! Next week Riley and Luke arrive and I hear they are bringing some items from my parents which includes baby proof guards! Yea! I look forward to it. And our Liam will not suffer emotional damage caused by a lack of "yes environment!"



Daddy is on call all weekend long, so Liam and I are left to fend for ourselves. We will miss spending time with him. Liam sure loves to wrestle with Logan. They are a fun pair.

I pray the Lord will continue to give me the ability to be flexible and laugh at things that I am tempted to stress about. May the Lord continue to pour out His Living Water to keep me from a dry season, spiritually. I thank God for His refreshing water, seen and unseen!

Toothy grin!

 

Can you see it?! Liam's teeth are finally showing! This top tooth was actually his second, but it is coming in much more quickly than the bottom left. His other top tooth is so close to poking out too! He is getting alot better at chewing his food, and loves to run his tongue across his new pearly whites! He is looking much older these days, and a little chunkier as we are giving him more food. Oh, I know he is wearing a pumpkin sleeper, but here it doesn't really matter. There are not gender associations with colors, or seasonal distictions. It is not uncommon to see Santa sweaters, or little boys wearing pink. So, no one really cares about a "Little Pumpkin" sleeper in mid-February. Just roll with it!

Kenyan friends

Today we were invited over for dinner to Alfred and Nancy's house. Nancy is the lady we employ that helps Julie around the house. Alfred works at the hospital in the sterilization department (cleaning surgical instruments, not doing vasectomies). They are a great couple.

They live just down the street, within a stone's throw from our house. Julie has been over a few times, but this was my first time to visit them in their home. We visited for a couple hours, which drew the attention of the neighbors, so all the local kids started gathering around the house. Liam really wanted to go out and play with them.





We had a wonderful dinner. We had ugali, which was a first for us in Kenya. It is a staple here, made from maize, which you cook in water, down to a mushy consistency that you can mold in your hands, and dip into another side dish. Today we had goat, cooked with onions and tomatoes. Very delicious.

It started raining during the meal, cooling off the afternoon and making a pleasant noise coming down on their tin roof. Their house is very typical for a Kenyan home. One room, which contains a bed, separated from the rest of the room by a curtain. They have a table and a few stools. There is a small pot of coals, which Nancy used to boil water and cook the food. The inside is wall-papered with newspaper which serves as both decoration and insulation. We read a headline about Beyonce at an awards show. There is no electricity or running water.

Another missionary dropped by our apartment to bring us some dessert. He knocked on the door but we weren't home. Luckily, the local kids saw him and directed him to where we were. He gave us some pecan pie, which we shared with our friends. Alfred's brother Raymond was visiting from Kericho (which is about an hour away). They had never seen a pecan before, so this meal included a first for them as well.



We had a wonderful time visiting with them. I learned several more Swahili words, we talked about our families, jobs, popular music (guess who is very popular in Kenya -- Kenny Rogers!!), and politics (everyone here is a big fan of Obama, he even has his own flavor of gum). We were honored to be invited over, and we could tell it was an honor for them to have mzungus (white people) visit them in their home. For example, Raymond stayed later than he had planned to visit with us, and ended up missing his ride back to Kericho, so he will have to take a sick day tomorrow, which he was more than happy to do.

We said our goodbyes and shook hands, a very common custom here. Alfred explained that now it is customary that we should shake hands whenever we see each other. It was a joy for us to experience the warm hospitality of this young Kenyan family, that we can now call our new friends.

Turning the other cheek

As part of the training I've received during this fellowship I had the opportunity to learn some dental skills, namely, dental extractions. It was a very enjoyable part of the training, because it is a gratifying procedure, you get to learn dental blocks, and you help patients feel better almost immediately. However, I haven't had the opportunity yet to use those newly acquired skills here at Tenwek. That is, until now.

Let's rewind to last Friday, on the last day of the CMDA Brackenhurst conference. I attended a lecture entitled "Management of Mandibular Fractures". This was a lecture/workshop given by Tim Bartholomew, an oral maxillofacial surgeon that is a long-term missionary in Africa. We had actually met before, at the WVU tropical medicine course. He gave a great lecture on maxillomandibular fixation, and then we got to play with some model teeth and practice wiring them.

Now fast forward to Monday, I'm back at Tenwek, rounding with the surgical team, when we come across a patient that had been stabbed in the face/neck during an assault. He had been taken urgently to the theatre to make sure no blood vessels had been damaged. As we were discussing him, the attending said, "Oh, by the way, this guy has a mandibular fracture, our dentist is out of town, can anyone fix that?"

"...Sure!"

One of the PAACS residents, Dr. Arega and I took the patient to the dental clinic. Dr. Arega -- who actually has had some experience wiring someone's mouth before (and not just on a model) -- let me do pretty much everything, which included local anesthesia to the entire mouth, placing and wiring on the arch bars, reducing the fracture, and wiring the arch bars together. This will have to stay on about three weeks. In the meantime, he'll have to eat through a straw.



I was able to talk to him after the procedure (which, by the way, is a horrible time to talk to someone when you've just wired their jaw shut). We talked about the circumstances regarding his stabbing, and about God's grace, how Jesus can heal and forgive us of our sins, and give us the power to forgive others, including those that have hurt us.

He smiled, pointed up to the sky, and through clenched teeth said, "Jesus". He didn't seem to hold any animosity toward the person that had done this to him. Which made me think how I would react if someone stabbed me in the face? I don't think it would be exactly how Jesus commands in Matthew 5:39:

But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Jump! Jump! Jump! (video)

It was a long and lonely week here at Tenwek while Logan was at Brackenhurst! Most of the long term wives were left "holding down the fort" while our husbands were taking part in the CMDA Mission Conference.

On Friday, Nancy and I worked hard preparing the house all day for Logan's return. Liam found his own little broom and "helped" us clean by literally taking it everywhere he went all day long! It is brand new, so don't worry about it being too dirty.

We listened to James River Worship music which I had downloaded from itunes. Needless to say, there was alot of dancing, clapping, and jumping going on! I was thrilled to discover that our music was available to the public, and was excited to have a taste (or sound actually) of home while here in Africa.

Liam learns so quickly! He loves to clap, and now has learned to "jump!" This video shows our sweet boy, in his "I've Got an Awesome Dad" shirt, going jump, jump, jump! There are a few words that he will surprise by saying. "Jump Liam!"



I know what a treasure this video will be to my parents as they check our blog many times daily. I wish we could post more videos. We try quite often. It takes so long for videos to upload! Many times the internet will cut out while it is uploading, or a number of other issues occur. Many nights we set something up to upload (or download) only to be disappointed in the morning that it failed. Overnight is the best time to try anything that requires a lot of bandwidth. So I was thrilled to wake up this morning to a successful video upload! Hopefully more will follow. Thank you to both sets of parents. Mine for this video camera, and Logan's for the laptop! With your help we are staying connected to many friends and family! We love you and have fun JUMPING with our boy!

Brackenhurst! (lots of links)

This past week I went to the Christian Medical and Dental Association's biannual CME conference held at Brackenhurst conference center in Limuru, Kenya.

At first, I didn't think I'd be able to go, because this conference is mainly for long-term medical missionaries in Africa, so all of the other long-term staff at Tenwek were planning on going. I assumed I'd have to stay and help the hospital run in their absence. But a large team came over from Southwest Medical Clinic in Michigan to help with coverage so the long-termers could go to Brackenhurst. That meant that I could go, too!

The director of my fellowship, Dr. Todd Stephens, as well as his colleague in Wichita, Dr. Leu, and Dr. Leu's son-in-law travelled together with me from Tenwek to the conference. It was great to spend more time with Dr. Todd than just the one day he was here at Tenwek. Dr. Todd and Dr. Leu both gave a few of the lectures at the conference. Dr. Todd talked about chronic diseases in the third world, as well as community management of malaria (both huge topics as you can imagine). And Dr. Leu talked about critically evaluating evidence-based medical literature, and also gave an update to the missionaries on recertification for the ABFM

The conference was amazing! I met so many inspiring medical missionaries serving all over Africa. There were probably around 250 people at the conference, some big names in medical missions, who have dedicated their entire life to serving on the mission field, some for 40+ years.

Dr. Todd was definitely in his element. He remarked about how meaningful this conference was for him, because he was able to reconnect with many of the missionaries he had served with in Rwanda and in Kenya. He ran into his old mentor, Tim Teusink, who helped him when he first arrived on the mission field at Kibogora hospital in Rwanda, when he was still a resident. Dr. Teusink is now teaching theology at a seminary in Ethiopia, here's a bio I found on the internet. He gave a great lecture at the conference on lessons learned in 20 years of overseas medical experience: the good, the bad, and the ugly. It was great to hear some of these lessons that took a career to learn, while I'm still on the front-side of the missions experience.

There were some great lectures and workshops. Some of my favorite included workshops on management of ascites, echocardiography, mandibular fracture workshop, and a dermatology workshop by the author of the only dermatology book written exclusively for Africa, Dr. Barbara Leppard.



You can get this book for about $250 online, but I was able to buy a copy at the conference for 2500/= (/= is the symbol for Kenyan shillings), which is about $35 US.

I ran into several people that I met last summer at the tropical medicine course offered at WVU (I just looked at this site, and there are some pics of the IFMF fellows at the course last summer). Dr. Juckett came over and gave a great lecture on snake bites in Africa.
Aaron Santmire is an Assembly of God missionary serving in Madagascar. He was a lot of fun getting to know in West Virginia, and it was good to run into him again back on the mission field. They spent some time in Springfield as part of their A/G training, and he remarked about how much they enjoyed going to James River Assembly.

I could go on and on telling you about the amazing people I met, and maybe I'll include some more specific stories later.

Overall, the conference was a wonderful experience. I think I learned a lot from the lectures, but even more than that, it was such a blessing to meet so many experienced medical missionaries, network with them, and learn from them about following hard after God to discover His will for my life.

Rhino up close and personal!

So, when we set out on the safari, we did not know that we would get out and walk some! It was a surprise to me and I was not really dressed for it. (I was wearing a long skirt, as is the uniform for me these days.) But, they have the Rhinos in an area with guards all around. They are endangered, so they like to keep them safe. Every other animal just completely roams free. It was amazing to see! Just think, most of the African animals I have ever seen in a zoo came from right here! This is their home!

We stayed at the Fairmont Mara Safari Club. It was beautiful. The "rooms" are actually thick canvas tents. The beds were comfortable and the mattress thicker than 6 inches which was enjoyable! We could hear all the sounds of the wild so well. Hippos swam right below us outside our door! What an experience. We have synced pictures to a web album which is much easier than uploading to the Blog. It does not require a sign-in, or a subscription. Mostly there are just pictures of Liam in our living room, so don't feel like you have to look at all of them! But, if your favorite part of our blog is the pictures, then this is for you! We will keep updating it as we take more pictures, so save the site and keep checking periodically. This is the link to our web album: www.picasaweb.google.com/loganandjulie

Logan is out of town this week at an Africa-wide Mission Conference called Brackenhurst. Doctors travel from all corners of Africa to attend this for two weeks. Fortunately it is held right outside Nairobi, a mere 3 hour drive, so Logan is able to attend for half of it. I spoke with him briefly last night and he said it is going well. He is getting to meet people he has read and heard about. These guys are literally the ones they write books about! We pray he is refreshed and is able to meet and connect with the people the Lord wants him to get to know.

We had a wonderful little 24 hour visit with Dr. Todd Stephens, Dr. Leu and his son-in-law Craig from Wichita. Dr. Todd was "checking up on us" as well as visiting his old friends. Dr. Todd is the director of this International Family Medicine Fellowship we are a part of. He and his family got their start with Missions right here at Tenwek. In fact, they lived in the very same apartment we are living in! So he felt RIGHT at home! He brought us parmesan cheese, cinnamon gum, and other goodies that are treasures here.

For those of you who are still thinking about how close we are to that Rhino in the above picture, yes we were that close! It was amazing. We felt plenty safe with the guards (not pictured) around us. That was the only time we got out of the vehicle. The rest was viewed from the safari jeep. This location is one of the most famous African Safari destinations. What you picture in your mind of a "safari"? That is exactly where we were. We constantly hummed and quoted bits from the Lion King. Their researchers came to Kenya for their inspiration. It was amazing to see all these unique animals and marvel at the creativity and brilliance of our Lord the Creator. Indescribable.

Find the giraffe!

 

Do you see them? There are two! This is but one picture of our little 24 hour getaway safari trip. We decided to jump ship for the weekend. Logan had been sick, and we just needed a little break! It was wonderful, but not long enough. We will come back to Masai Mara when Luke and Riley come visit us.

Liam did great! He was a good sport. It was a very, very bumpy ride, but he slept some. He did look at the animals and said Moo to some of them. We tried to teach him that not all four legged animals are cows! We got really close to many animals, but never felt unsafe.

I can't wait to show all the video footage we have! It would be insane to upload it, so you will have to wait until we return. Luke and Riley: you are going to have a great time!

Praise reports!

Good News! Logan is feeling much better. He went in to work this morning. Pictured above is the doctor receiving his own home visit from Dr. Steve Manchester, one of the long-term missionaries here. Logan had strep throat, and Dr. Manchester gave him a shot of penicillin. Logan's fever broke last night. He had been having temps over 100 for 6 days straight! He ate his first real meal last night too! He is on call tonight as well, so pray for his strength. Thank you for your comments, emails, and prayers for Logan this week. We are happy to report that Liam and I remained healthy throughout Logan's illness. Praise the Lord!

Another praise: it rained yesterday! Our rainwater tank has been totally empty all week. We have had to get rain water (which is what we drink, cook, and brush our teeth with) from another tank on campus up the hill. It was not a ton of rain, but every little bit helps!

Logan is happy to be joining the ranks at the hospital again. It was hard for him to be stuck at home this whole time. I admit it was kinda nice to have him here all day! BUT not good that he was sick. Thanks again for all your prayers. Common illnesses somehow seem more serious when you are living in the third world. But the Lord was our Protector and Comforter.

Have a great weekend!

Happy Anniversary!

Today is our 4th Anniversary! We can not believe it! On our Anniversary, I am reminded that from day one the Lord had purposed for our lives and marriage to be committed to serving Him.

Logan and I met at Missouri Scholars Academy, an academic summer camp for 330 high school sophomores from all over the state of Missouri. We hit it off as friends and remained in touch through letters (yes like paper, pen, stamps) and eventually email. Lucky for me, Logan's brother Luke moved to Branson, so we were able to see each other a couple times a year when he would visit Luke, Tracy, and the kids.

Unfortunately I strayed from the Lord's path for several years. Logan remained a follower of Christ and knew his calling to Medical Missions while he was still in undergrad at Truman State University in Kirksville, MO. I chased after some empty dreams touring the US with a theatre company, living in NYC, and singing on a cruise ship. It was always so good to hear from Logan. Butterflies swirled in my stomach when his name popped up in my Inbox every few months. I knew no matter what happened in life, I would always wonder what happened to Logan, where he was, and imagined being jealous of his wife if I ever met her.

Well, the Lord really got a hold of me in August of 2004. I finally surrendered my whole life to Him and felt such release. I was instantly a new person. I had not read my Bible in years, but thought the New Testament would perhaps be easier to understand, so I started there. I kept seeing how people would make a decision to follow Christ and immediately get baptized. Even Jesus himself was baptized before embarking on his Ministry. That's what I needed! I desired a physical "washing" to mirror what I had experienced inside. I flew to Springfield to make up with my parents and to take part in the weekly baptisms at James River Assembly. I went back to NY, but just knew I was not meant to be there anymore. I desired all things Christ, and He was not a part of anything in my life before this time. So I moved back to Missouri.

Days later, I get an email from Logan. "Hey, how's New York? How are auditions?" I hit reply so quickly. "I'm in Missouri!" He called and I told him the story. This is where the lightbulb dings over Logan's head. Fortunately a girl had not snagged him up yet! The Lord gave him the ok to pursue me and we dated 11 months before he proposed.

Now, I knew Logan wanted to do Medical Missions. I knew in my head, but it wasn't until the ring was on my finger that it really hit me. It was as if the Lord said, "You know Julie, if I have called Logan, I have called you too!" At that time I knew I needed to submit to a life of Missions and that we were going to commit our marriage and union from day one to His purpose. In fact, I felt that we should be joined together while serving on a Mission Trip.

Logan had already been planning a 5 week trip to Bolivia. I knew then that I needed to go with him, and that we would serve there together as a "first fruits" of our marriage. So I packed a dress, a veil, and headed to Bolivia!

We did not know where or exactly how it would all happen, but that the Lord was in it. It turned out being a beautiful, stress-free day (see picture above). All I remember is Logan. I was so happy to be joined to him! I couldn't believe I got Logan Banks! How did I get so lucky?!

Well, fast forward 4 years and here we are again on the Mission Field. It is good for me to remember the promises of God over the last few years. We know we are in His hands. When we return in June, we have a 5 year commitment to the state of Missouri, then we are open to what and where the Lord has for us to go. It scares me to say that, but we have to trust the Lord will continue to guide and protect us just as he has been doing the last 4 years.

I am so happy to be married to Logan. He is the best husband a woman could ask for! He is still sick right now, so I can't even give him an Anniversary kiss! We think it is strep throat. Although there are no rapid strep tests here, he has the classic symptoms with high fever, swollen throat and puss. He took a penicillin shot and we hope it will kick in soon. This is starting day 6 of fevers! Liam and I are both well, and please continue to pray for our protection. Logan is eager to get back to work.

We thank you for your thoughts and prayers. Do something special for your spouse today and think of us!

Logan, I love you more than words!
Julie

Play Date

We have now started a Play Date every Monday with all the little Missionary babies! Let me introduce you to Liam's new friends. Clara (12 mo) in the leopard print, Maggie (9 mo) is looking at the camera, Liam (11 mo), Micah (12 mo), and Abigail (14 mo). Liam played wonderfully with the other kids! He really had a good time. There are older sisters not pictured as well. Right now he is the only walker of the baby bunch. Everyone is amazed to see Liam "the walking baby!" I am excited to watch these little ones grow while we are here.

Liam has some big news: he has a tooth coming in! The skin is broken on his bottom left tooth (number 15 if you're medical). We will give you drooly updates as it comes in. Maybe it will be fully grown in by his 1st Birthday March 2nd! He has already grown up so much just in the month we have been here. What a joy to be with him every day!