It is a beautiful morning out here on the Hill. The birds are singing, roosters crowing, chickens clucking. We were awakened for the third morning in a row by the sound of a donkey braying. The wind is blowing over the hills as the sun rises. How easy it is to see God in the beauty and simplicity of life here. No one is in a hurry. Everyone stops as they walk along the well worn paths to give a greeting.
As I went to sleep last night, I couldn’t help but thank God for all of the many blessings we have encountered as we have been here. First on my mind are my dad and Anita Kaiser. I can’t count the number of times Livia and I have looked at each other and said, “What would we have done without their help?” My Dad has checked all of the boys and Anita has examined all of the girls. They have worked tirelessly and their experience has been invaluable. Livia and I have pre-screened each of the children and done all of the vitals and charting. Danna has done audiology screenings and the girls have been giving eye screenings. Each part has been important as there has been at least one child that has an issue in each area. What a blessing to have such experts here to make sure these children get the help that they need.
Today we have the opportunity to give typhoid vaccines to the children and their care givers. Then we will teach the community our health training. And this afternoon is a ceremony to welcome the new sheep. Yes! A sheep ceremony. Thanks to the Zoners at the Chapel and a few donors we were able to purchase 11 sheep. We originally thought we would get goats but they prefer sheep because they don’t get into the gardens and can eat grass rather than food that needs to be purchased. Three sheep will go to the orphanage, 3 to the widows. 3 to the women in the community, and 2 to the men in the community. They were so excited that they called everyone in the area to come and celebrate with a ceremony! We are looking forward to it! More tonight…
Friday, February 27, 2009
Scott K – Resident male reporting
Today, we had a truly rewarding day. Countless children were examined by our medical team and many others were taught of the benefits of proper nutrition and combating diarrhea and dehydration. Even though it is only our third day on the hill, I feel a tremendous bond forming with these children. As they have all come from so much pain and suffering it is wonderful blessing for these kids to have an “Oasis” in the storm of life. A highlight for me today after a hard (and tremendously rewarding) day was the quiet time spent playing and speaking with the children. As they get to know us, their affection grows and grows. I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to come to the beautiful country of Kenya !!!
Day 3 on the hill – Sherry Boyack reporting
God is awesome! His beautiful creation is so evident in the wonderful people and in our amazing surroundings! Simplicity is another beauty of our Maasai family so far from home. Today Katy and I taught handwashing skills to the 5th and 6th grades. They were so attentive, and we enjoyed interacting with them very much. The highlight of the hour was giving water bottles to all of the children filled with health & hygiene supplies. Each child was very excited to put his name on the bottle and call it his own. We held the water bottles high and cheered with joy! The teacher was so helpful with translation and was also excited to receive a water bottle. Katy and I were so blessed to experience their joy and the hope of better health. We are grateful for clean water coming to this community and for Living Water that can change our lives for eternity.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Danna Herden thoughts
Though our time here has been very busy, I have had such a wonderful time getting to know all the children who are new since I was last here. They have been patient with me, reminding me of their names when I ask again! Another thing that the children still love is to see themselves in pictures. When we arrived, they all wanted their picture taken and then they wanted to see it. Their joy at seeing themselves in pictures was contagious! Then they began taking pictures of us and each other. They were having so much fun it was hard to get the camera back at the end of the evening.
Last night I had a wonderful time playing with some of the local children with my flashlight. They were very intrigued with the flashlight and would chase the light on the ground as I moved it around. The squeals of laughter that erupted when they would jump on the light and try to catch it made it difficult when I finally had to stop for dinner.
Last night I had a wonderful time playing with some of the local children with my flashlight. They were very intrigued with the flashlight and would chase the light on the ground as I moved it around. The squeals of laughter that erupted when they would jump on the light and try to catch it made it difficult when I finally had to stop for dinner.
Noah Leboo Update – Jill Hayward
I had the most touching experience with Noah Leboo today. Noah as you remember had his foot repaired last week and he is cruising around all over on his crutches! We were sitting on the ground and he was writing in my little book. We each have these little books that have all the children’s pictures in them and I was letting all the kids write in it. They love seeing their picture and how much we care for them. Noah told me that he no longer wanted to be a driver and a teacher; he wanted to be a professor. He asked me to change that information in my book and then he asked for my pen. I watched as he wrote “I love Gregory Woodside” on his palm. Gregory is an 11-year old boy from Gurnee, who sponsors Noah. He had his classmates write ‘Get Well’ letters for him in the hospital. I was so touched by his love for this boy that he has never even met!
Day 2 on the Hill – Livia reporting:
“ This morning we accompanied Vincent and LeMashon to the Kilgoris clinic for a follow up medical visit. We met with his health care professional and discussed his plan of care. We then met with several regional public health officials talked about the major health issues, preventive health topics, and causes of death in the region. They expressed their interest working together to improve the health of the orphans. It was such a great learning experience to see the how the local clinic operates and listen to the perspectives of the local health care professionals and public health officials. We realized the importance of having transportation from the orphanage to the local clinic, as the road to get there is very rough, and the walk is very long (2 hours). For example, if a child is ill and needs to be transferred to the clinic, he would currently need to be carried in a blanket by several men.
This afternoon we continued to do physical examinations on the children, working from the older children to the younger ones. It is so much fun addressing each child individually and getting to know their unique personalities. Each child is a gem."
This afternoon we continued to do physical examinations on the children, working from the older children to the younger ones. It is so much fun addressing each child individually and getting to know their unique personalities. Each child is a gem."
Day 2 on the Hill – Interviews from the girls
“When I was walking Lemashon down the hill to Miss Danna to get his ears checked, I let him hold my sunglasses. He was smiling when he had them on. Last year he was so sick. It made me really happy to see him doing so well.” – Piper Hayward
“Today after we were done teaching, the kids started to feel my hair like it was gold. Then we started to walk up the hill and all the school kids came around us. We taught them how to do the wave and they taught us how to play some of their games. It was really cool to share what we have with them and have them share what they have.” – Katie Smith
“We started walking down the hill and we saw Mercy and Rose and Barnaba carrying tubs of water from the creek. We decided instead of going back that we would help them carry it to the orphanage and it made us feel good that we could help them.” - Kira Herden
(Thank God for the well! It will be an enormous time saver and life saver for this community. We have found out that this area of Kenya has the worst water in the entire country! We already knew that it was difficult to access, taking more than 45 minutes to just get it to a home and then needing to boil and filter it. Thanks to all of you who have helped contribute to this project! You are making an impact beyond description.)
“Tippy Taps are hand-washing stations that are made of empty jugs. They have soap that hangs by a string near the jug. Today we made 5 of them and we’re going to put them up at the orphanage for the kids. It was long but fun!” -Katy Boyack
“Today after we were done teaching, the kids started to feel my hair like it was gold. Then we started to walk up the hill and all the school kids came around us. We taught them how to do the wave and they taught us how to play some of their games. It was really cool to share what we have with them and have them share what they have.” – Katie Smith
“We started walking down the hill and we saw Mercy and Rose and Barnaba carrying tubs of water from the creek. We decided instead of going back that we would help them carry it to the orphanage and it made us feel good that we could help them.” - Kira Herden
(Thank God for the well! It will be an enormous time saver and life saver for this community. We have found out that this area of Kenya has the worst water in the entire country! We already knew that it was difficult to access, taking more than 45 minutes to just get it to a home and then needing to boil and filter it. Thanks to all of you who have helped contribute to this project! You are making an impact beyond description.)
“Tippy Taps are hand-washing stations that are made of empty jugs. They have soap that hangs by a string near the jug. Today we made 5 of them and we’re going to put them up at the orphanage for the kids. It was long but fun!” -Katy Boyack
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
We arrived last night in the rain, greeted by the children singing. Yesterday’s travel was long, but the roads were much better than on previous trips. I had an unforgettable time with a group of about 12 kids. I was sitting on the grass after having taught two health sessions in the school and there were children laying all over my lap and all around me. Half of the kids were boys. All they wanted was to be touched. They were so loving and just eating up all my arm rubs. They were laughing as I was trying to learn the Maasai language. I never realized how significant it was to them that I knew all their names. Every chance I got, I called them by name and they would just melt. Two children in particular just clung to me for hours, Jemila and one of the newest kids, Boke. Jemila actually took off her little beaded ring and put it on my pinky to give to my daughter Willow. As I was missing my kids at home, I was happy to put all my mother’s love into these precious kids.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
First day on the hill - Scott Hayward
I will apologize up front for this posting as it will not be nearly as exciting as the last one by Ann. While the team is on the hill, they are struggling with the internet connection. Hopefully they will be able to navigate a solution soon so that we can get some direct information and some great photographs. What follows is an update from Jill and Nate over the phone....
The team made it to the hill on Tuesday late afternoon. The drive was fairly uneventful, but thunder clouds rolled in making their arrival to Kilgoris and the TMD community spectacular. While it rained quite a bit, it did not limit their progress. They were a little worried about the sleeping arrangements, but Joseph cleared out his entire house and filled it full of beds. Sounds like the accommodations are working quite well. I can only imagine the arrival ceremony: probably about 30-40 men and women dancing and singing thanks to God for their arrival. They were all up late talking and preparing for the first day of work. The power situation at Joseph's was a little iffy; on and off. The portable generator was having a hard time keeping up and came to a complete halt when they plugged in the new laser printer that they brought out from Nairobi. They set out the following morning to purchase one that had the necessary power.
Nate was up first at 5am and quickly put his plans in motion. No surprise there. Last time he was there, he made it to the children's home so early one morning that he forgot to change out of his pajamas. Nate quickly scouted out the appropriate rooms needed for the teaching and medical evaluations so that the team could hit the ground running. The first day was a full one for everyone! The medical assessment teams got to work and made great progress. The expertise of Anita and Dr. Matlak were very obvious as they went from child to child. The teaching teams also had a great start. Jill's oral hygiene monkey was huge hit with the little kids who were a little rambunctious (sp?). The hearing tests run by Danna were also very successful. They were able to move the generator far enough away so as to not affect the results. A lot more work to go, but great starts on all fronts.
Nate had quite a bit of time with the General Contractor and his engineering team and it was great that he was there. As much detail as he put into the drawings, there is always a need for clarification. One of the big discrepancies was the target elevation of the new dormitory floor. They were using some pretty old technology which resulted in some errors. Nate quickly pulled out the Site Level that one of our team members donated on our last trip and corrected the situation (thanks Bob!).
Jill described a very special moment that she had with some of the smaller children there, specifically with Jamilla. To put this in context, Jamilla was born on the same day as our youngest daughter Willow, except 8,000 miles apart. Jamilla and Willow struck up almost a sister like relationship when we were they last April. Well, back to the story: Jill found herself laying down in the grass taking a little break with kids climbing and laying all over her, including Jamilla, Boke and many others. This went on for some time. At the end of their lounging time Jamilla removed a small beaded ring from her finger and gave it to Jill and said in very broken English "this is for Willow". Willow will wear that ring for a long time. Just a reminder of how important our friendships are to these kids and to us.
The last update is on the food. We always prep our teams to expect to be presented with things that they may not recognize or particularly enjoy. But hey, the least we can do is eat what they eat - it is only for 6 days. Well this trip is a little different. Joseph has a cousin who is a chef at a very high end resort in the Maasai Mara called Little Governor's camp. Guess who is on the hill doing all of the cooking for the team - yep, the chef! Still probably not like home, but it sounds like they are doing quite well.
That is it for now. I wish I had more details from others on the trip, but I only had a chance to speak with Jill and Nate. Please continue to pray for them and they have a lot of work ahead. Specifically you can pray for the installation of the well pump, holding tanks, generator, valves, controls etc.. They have received a proposal from the drilling contractor yesterday and will be sifting through it tomorrow (Thursday). It is a little expensive!
Joyfully,
Scott Hayward
The team made it to the hill on Tuesday late afternoon. The drive was fairly uneventful, but thunder clouds rolled in making their arrival to Kilgoris and the TMD community spectacular. While it rained quite a bit, it did not limit their progress. They were a little worried about the sleeping arrangements, but Joseph cleared out his entire house and filled it full of beds. Sounds like the accommodations are working quite well. I can only imagine the arrival ceremony: probably about 30-40 men and women dancing and singing thanks to God for their arrival. They were all up late talking and preparing for the first day of work. The power situation at Joseph's was a little iffy; on and off. The portable generator was having a hard time keeping up and came to a complete halt when they plugged in the new laser printer that they brought out from Nairobi. They set out the following morning to purchase one that had the necessary power.
Nate was up first at 5am and quickly put his plans in motion. No surprise there. Last time he was there, he made it to the children's home so early one morning that he forgot to change out of his pajamas. Nate quickly scouted out the appropriate rooms needed for the teaching and medical evaluations so that the team could hit the ground running. The first day was a full one for everyone! The medical assessment teams got to work and made great progress. The expertise of Anita and Dr. Matlak were very obvious as they went from child to child. The teaching teams also had a great start. Jill's oral hygiene monkey was huge hit with the little kids who were a little rambunctious (sp?). The hearing tests run by Danna were also very successful. They were able to move the generator far enough away so as to not affect the results. A lot more work to go, but great starts on all fronts.
Nate had quite a bit of time with the General Contractor and his engineering team and it was great that he was there. As much detail as he put into the drawings, there is always a need for clarification. One of the big discrepancies was the target elevation of the new dormitory floor. They were using some pretty old technology which resulted in some errors. Nate quickly pulled out the Site Level that one of our team members donated on our last trip and corrected the situation (thanks Bob!).
Jill described a very special moment that she had with some of the smaller children there, specifically with Jamilla. To put this in context, Jamilla was born on the same day as our youngest daughter Willow, except 8,000 miles apart. Jamilla and Willow struck up almost a sister like relationship when we were they last April. Well, back to the story: Jill found herself laying down in the grass taking a little break with kids climbing and laying all over her, including Jamilla, Boke and many others. This went on for some time. At the end of their lounging time Jamilla removed a small beaded ring from her finger and gave it to Jill and said in very broken English "this is for Willow". Willow will wear that ring for a long time. Just a reminder of how important our friendships are to these kids and to us.
The last update is on the food. We always prep our teams to expect to be presented with things that they may not recognize or particularly enjoy. But hey, the least we can do is eat what they eat - it is only for 6 days. Well this trip is a little different. Joseph has a cousin who is a chef at a very high end resort in the Maasai Mara called Little Governor's camp. Guess who is on the hill doing all of the cooking for the team - yep, the chef! Still probably not like home, but it sounds like they are doing quite well.
That is it for now. I wish I had more details from others on the trip, but I only had a chance to speak with Jill and Nate. Please continue to pray for them and they have a lot of work ahead. Specifically you can pray for the installation of the well pump, holding tanks, generator, valves, controls etc.. They have received a proposal from the drilling contractor yesterday and will be sifting through it tomorrow (Thursday). It is a little expensive!
Joyfully,
Scott Hayward
Monday, February 23, 2009
Monday Feb 23 - Nairobi in a Day - Ann Smith reporting
The team all safely arrived last night and surprisingly 'ran into' the other Chapel team that had been in Kenya as they were leaving the country. What a fun reunion on the other side of the world.
Today was a tour of Nairobi. The team split up with the majority of them going to the beautiful Kiambethu Tea Farm. Tea is the second major export of Kenya and is primarily run by the British who colonized Africa many years ago. It was a good opportunity to see why Africa suffers so much. Many of their valuable resources are eaten up by outsiders and while end up doing the 'grunt' work and getting paid very little.
The other party went to do a video shoot of Noah in the hospital. He is now a 'movie star.' Look for this video to come out when we return!
After this, the team met up at the Nest. The Nest is a home for children whose parents are in prison. These precious children previously had been left homeless to fend for themselves. A wonderful lady named Irene Baumgarter caught a vision for saving these children and has opened up a home for them. There are 75 currently living there. Once the parents are released, they are given parental training and assistance re-uniting under supervised care. We were particularly interested in seeing how they care for 70+ children as that is the same amount that the Oasis Orphanage will house!
We finished the day with dinner at the Java House!
Tomorrow we head off bright and early for the Trans Mara! Please pray for our safe travel!
Sunday, Feb 22 - Ann Smith reporting
Noah Leboo is one of the now 70 orphans in the Trans Mara Children's home. After leaving last year and accepting the role of Health Provider for the children along with Livia, we began making plans to visit Kenya again. About two days after taking on this role, I started thinking about Noah and his congenital foot defect. And then I couldn't stop thinking about it. We began exploring a road that has ultimately led to his having surgery at Kijabe hospital here in Kenya.
Today is day 4 post op and was our first opportunity to lay eyes on him. He is doing awesome! He is pain free and smiling. He is very excited that his foot is 'straight.' A family from America gave up Christmas gifts this year to pay for his surgery and sent him a book. He absolutely loves it! His sponsor family sent letters from their son, Greg's, sixth grade class and he is looking forward to reading all the letters. We met with his doctor who said he is healing wonderfully!
What a huge answer to many, many prayers!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The team is off!!!
The rest of the team got off last night from O'Hare, all 10 of them. It made us a little nervous when we learned, however, that the computers for the whole international terminal were down, not a very comforting feeling. After a good 90 minute wait, they came back on the check in went smoothly. I just love the image of people from Oasis standing in front of a mountain of footlockers with huge smiles. God has great things in store for this team. I am especially excited for the two "3 generation" families. Ann Smith has both her father, Dr. Matlak and daughter Katie with her and my wife Jill has her mother, Anita, and daughter Piper along as well. There is also a Herden 2 Generation mother daughter team (Danna and Kira) as well as a Boyack 2 Gen. team of Sherrie and Katy. Sherri and Katy are first timers for Kenya. We are also blessed to have the husband/wife combo of Livia and Scott (first timers to Kenya too). Lastly, the well seasoned world traveler, Nate who has been in more developing countries than I have States.
Flight left got off the ground at 5:50 and made it to London just fine. The should be arriving Nairobi about noon today our time.
Got word from Ann who is already in Nairboi. Joseph and his son Michael along with Vincent's brother came in to Nairobi to see Noah Leboo as he is recovering from surgery. They have hooked up with Ann, Dr. Matlak and Katie and are all headed to Kijabe hospital together. I am sure Noah will greatly appreciate the greeting committee.
We hope to get blog posting directly from the team as they get their feet on the on the ground in Kenya. Please keep them in your prayers for the next 2 weeks.
Scott Hayward
Flight left got off the ground at 5:50 and made it to London just fine. The should be arriving Nairobi about noon today our time.
Got word from Ann who is already in Nairboi. Joseph and his son Michael along with Vincent's brother came in to Nairobi to see Noah Leboo as he is recovering from surgery. They have hooked up with Ann, Dr. Matlak and Katie and are all headed to Kijabe hospital together. I am sure Noah will greatly appreciate the greeting committee.
We hope to get blog posting directly from the team as they get their feet on the on the ground in Kenya. Please keep them in your prayers for the next 2 weeks.
Scott Hayward
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Oasis for Orphans Medical Missions Trip 2009
Team I: Ann and Katie Smith and Dr. Matlak depart tomorrow for Kenya while Team II will depart on Saturday. Team II members are: Nate Kaiser, Danna and Kira Herden, Sherry and Katie Boyack, Scott and Livia Krzeminski, Anita Kaiser, and Jill and Piper Hayward. We are frantically getting all the trunks packed and making all the arrangements for our families that are left behind.
Great News: One of the children in the Transmara Children's Home underwent surgery yesterday to correct a deformed foot and hand. His name is Noah and his surgery was a success! We are so blessed that he had such a wonderfully skilled doctor! Now he begins the healing process and our team will be there with him to bring him back to Trans Mara from Kijabe. We are thrilled to be a part of such a momentous occasion in the life of this child! Please pray for a thorough and speedy healing of his foot. Many of you may know this already, but we are especially thankful for the family that stepped forward to pay for his surgery, as well as, his monthly sponsor (Gregory-age 11!) who had his classmates write get-well letters! Knowing that we are partnering with so many selfless and generous people is so encouraging!
We are still working to secure free immunizations for all the children through the Kenyan Ministry of Health. These children need basic immunizations and since we are bringing several RN's and Dr. Matlak with us this would be the perfect timing to get them done. As a small organization we could not afford to pay what the pharmacy was requiring, so stay tuned for updates on that!
Great News: One of the children in the Transmara Children's Home underwent surgery yesterday to correct a deformed foot and hand. His name is Noah and his surgery was a success! We are so blessed that he had such a wonderfully skilled doctor! Now he begins the healing process and our team will be there with him to bring him back to Trans Mara from Kijabe. We are thrilled to be a part of such a momentous occasion in the life of this child! Please pray for a thorough and speedy healing of his foot. Many of you may know this already, but we are especially thankful for the family that stepped forward to pay for his surgery, as well as, his monthly sponsor (Gregory-age 11!) who had his classmates write get-well letters! Knowing that we are partnering with so many selfless and generous people is so encouraging!
We are still working to secure free immunizations for all the children through the Kenyan Ministry of Health. These children need basic immunizations and since we are bringing several RN's and Dr. Matlak with us this would be the perfect timing to get them done. As a small organization we could not afford to pay what the pharmacy was requiring, so stay tuned for updates on that!
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