100 physicals in 3 days in Illula

My time in Illula has been busy and emotional. En route to Illula (right after my last blog), I received news that my close friend, Jeremiah Murray, passed away on our church's annual houseboat trip. My heart broke into pieces... I thought about the powerful life he led, his family (biological, adopted, and church), his adventurous spirit, energy, and excitement, and all of our memories together. It's hard not being home right now, but I have faith that this is all in God's plan and I am trusting in that. The night that I heard the news, I saw the most incredible Kenyan sunset, and I was comforted knowing that God welcomed Jeremiah home into heaven and that one day, I will be with him again in eternity. I've never had more faith that good things will come out of such a tragedy... he touched so many lives with his short time on earth, and through his death, he will continue to reach people with his story of redemption. Among so many other things, this tragedy is a reminder to me that life is short, and I must never waste a moment, and to love the people in my life with all the love I have.

With that said, here I am in Kenya, following my dreams and passions and a calling God placed on my life to be a nurse and to care for sick and needy people. I'm more grateful than ever to be here right now on this day, in this moment. We came to the village of Illula to give all the children at the orphanage physicals. It has been busy and nonstop go, go, go, but I'm loving every minute of it. Many of the children are in well health, but even with that said, most are at the lowest line or below the growth curve, and many are suffering from colds, allergies, bad vision, worms, and fungi. Then there were a few with malaria, and a few more needing further examination and treatment. Michelle, the nurse for ELI, is superwoman. She is so smart and so observant and so compassionate and giving and hardworking. I really admire her work as a nurse and I'm excited to spend the rest of the month with her as my mentor/teacher.

While giving the physicals and documenting, I read as many of the children's charts as I could. Their stories are incredibly heartbreaking. More than half of their parents died from HIV/AIDS, but other causes were war violence, tuberculosis, malaria, cancer, suicide, and even a lightning case. Many of the kids were abandoned as well. When the kids arrived at the orphanage, they did not have a birthday, so ELI assigned them each birthdays. I'm pretty sure all the ages are correct. While reading these stories, talking with the children, and caring for them medically, my heart was broken in pain and then put back together with love and compassion. I'm still trying to figure out my place in building relationships with patients as a nurse, because it is so different in every setting and with every patient, but I'm excited about the role I have here. I am going back to Kipkaren tomorrow, where I will spend the remainder of the month, and I can't wait to grow closer to the children, especially the girls, in the Children's Home. I don't know if I mentioned this, but the orphanage has 100 kids and it is divided into 4 Children's Homes, and Somerlyn and I were each assigned to one. We eat meals with them and play with them in the evenings and on the weekends. Each children's home has house parents, and my house mom is on maternity leave, so I have a big responsibility to that home this month. It has already been a joy getting to know them and I am excited for these relationships to deepen.. the ages range from toddler to 14ish I believe. College group- ill be giving these kids the clothes I brought! I'll take pictures to show you these precious kids wearing your clothes :) Please pray that I learn all their names faster!!!

On a daily, hourly, mometary basis I am blown away by how different African culture is! I had my first culturally-insensitive mistake last night. I showered in an outhouse just a few feet away from the room I am staying in, and I walked back in my towel. When I came back in the room, Michelle's eyes lit up and said "AHH THATS NOT OK!". I should have known.... common sense... it was late and i'm pretty positive nobody saw me, but still, they are very conservative here. Also, dinner has been interesting eating with 4 American missionaries and 4 Kenyans! The conversations are beyond interesting. Last night, the group realized I was the only single woman, and of course all of the adults have single sons in their 20's, so they start arguing over who to set me up with. The Americans were much more into it (many Kenyans are opposed to cross culture marrying), and one Kenyan man named Lebon speaks up and says, "Well how many cows are you offering?" We all exploded into laughter and he continues to explain that in Kenyan culture, when a man wants to marry a woman, he brings the two families together along with church elders and other important people in the community to negotiate how many cows the man must buy for his woman's father. It is between 4 and 8 usually, but sometimes up to 12! And always an even number. He said he still owes his father in law cows, but he is waiting for his daughters to marry to recieve their cows. In some tribes, the woman is held hostage until the man can pay her cows. I told Lebon that I think I wanted to do it the American way and I pointed to my left ring finger, and we all laughed because he thinks Americans are crazy. We are pretty crazy! Traditions and cultures are so interesting and fun to experience in other countries, and it makes me realize all the weird and quirky things about American culture. I can't get enough of it.

I think that is everything for now. Africa is beautiful... life is crazy... God is amazing. I love you all and miss you so much! Thank you for the love and prayers!!!!