God is Good.

We have internet again! We're sorry it's been so long since we last updated. The trip to Western Kenya was a safe one and we've also travelled to Bungoma for two days of clinic. Both clinics were successful (: Thanks again for all your prayer and support!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello everyone!

We did it! We finished the clinics!!! It has been amazing to see God work the past 3 weeks. Not only how we had a seemingly unlimited supply of meds (thank you for continuing to support us financially, you have no idea how that has helped us run more clinic days) but also being blessed with lots of wonderful volunteers. Please continue to pray that the ppl we helped will continue to seek God for healing and also pray for the large number of ppl we were unable to help. Their faith amazes me! It has been very inspiring!

My favourite day so far has been last week at the IDP camp. The ppl there were so nice and grateful but my favourite part was playing with the kids there. It was so much fun!!! I will never forget their little giggles! (:

Today was our last day working together…we are one well oiled machine now! Every now and then I’ll step back and watch and to see everyone doing their job at maximum efficiency and most importantly having fun…I will miss it! I’ll even miss the fish bowl effect (ppl just stare and stare when they’re waiting)!

The next few days we’re going to finally get a chance to walk around the town! Yeah! (:

jaime

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

<><,

Kenya Team

Only in Western Kenya!

We'll be heading off to Western Kenya (Bunyore) tomorrow morning and will be staying there for two days. Unfortunately, we won't have internet access but we will update once we get back! Please continue to pray for us as we travel~

Love,

The Kenya Team

20,000 Multivits.

We'd just like to thank everyone again for all your prayers as well as financial support! There's been a total of seven clinics (almost one per weekday!). We did not expect to hand out so much meds, but we were able to purchase a lot more with the money we raised. Without your help, we would not have been able to provide medical help to so manypeople. So far we've seen approximately 1200 patients, and we still have five clinics to go! We'll try to keep you guys updated as best as we can, so be sure to check back (:

Kenya Team w/ Volunteers

<><,
The Kenya Team

VBS (:

---------------------------------------------------------

Hi!

Just finished our first VBS today…yesterday, they told us to prepare for 200!!! Kids!!! So, naturally I freaked out! J but thank God that it was only 47! And that there were 10 adults! It was very cute to see them all sing and dance! Kenyans can dance! All the kids have this natural rhythm that, well, to be racist…Chinese ppl just don’t have! ;) You can imagine how the kids giggle at how I can NOT do half of what they can! They love it! J

I have had the most wonderful time here the last week. I can’t believe we have seen 900 ppl in the past 4 days of clinic. We have all become drug pushers! Amoxycillin, paracetamol or amodiquine anyone? Yes…that’s for all you pharmacists (or if you are here you would be called a chemist!) out there! J It has been amazing to also see how God’s given us the strength and energy to keep on going and going and going AND still smile and have fun afterwards! Although, at the rate we are going we are training our bodies to not eat lunch and to drink only a sip of water (b/c I’m afraid of using an outdoor squat potty!). We’re saving some meds for UTI’s for us! J The ppl at the clinic wait for hours and yet they don’t complain, they wait patiently and are grateful for what we are doing. EVEN the kids wait patiently and quietly!!! Cynthia mentioned how “can you imagine doing this in china?!!” it would be soooo loud!

AND I gotta say how we are so spoiled here!! We live in a beautiful house and when we come back from a long day we have this delicious home cooked meal for us! Kenyan food is so good!!! Some of my favourites have been Mandazi (like a donut), pancakes, fried potatoes, stews, peas, beans, cabbage and in the morning: Uji (a porridge made out of wheat millet). It has also been great to eat together as a team and with our Kenyan family at the dinner table. So many stories and laughter!

I guess I could go for awhile, but I won’t drag this on…one more side note…I super LOVE the music here!! It’s like a mix of latin, reggae and good hip hop! The beats are awesome! AND they play praise music on the “normal” radio stations and even at the supermarket!

Take care my lovelies!!!
---------------------------------------------------------

Hi again everyone! (:

We attended our second African worship service today! It was so fun and inspiring. The only instruments they have are drums and a keyboard, and they like to blast the keyboard and microphones super loud. The cool part about it is that even though the worship team and music is extremely loud, you can still hear the congregation sing because everyone sings loudly and passionately. What’s even cooler is that all the children sing and dance too, and they’re just adorable!

It’s been a great weekend of rest and I’m so ready to work again this week. We ordered thousands of multivitamin pills and a whole bunch of other meds…so we will be sorting them once they arrive. This week we’re making visits to IDP camps and having one last day of clinic at the church. Apparently there will be thousands of people there so we’ll try to do as much as can to help. We might have to work out of our van. Don’t worry though because we’re all pro pharmacists. The coolest drugs I think are probably Cephalexin (cause it’s so fun to say) and Promethazine (cause it looks like candy and it’s blue!). I also got to do HIV tests for some people as well as follow through with several patients’ counselling. I have to say it’s not the easiest breaking the news, and to hear some of their stories..it was really hard ): I can only pray that God will bless them and protect them. So please remember to pray for all our patients and the people we meet here! It is God who really does the healing here. We’re just his servants after all!
---------------------------------------------------------

Hello everyone: Thank you for all your prayer and support. We’ve had an exhausting week but thanks to your prayers, we don’t usually feel tired until the end of the day when the clinics are over. Practicing third world medicine here is everything I imagined it to be. It’s primitive and challenging because of the limitations in resources and complexity of medical and social problems. There are too many patients for us to see but we try the best we can.

It has been so rewarding to take part in God’s work here in Eldoret. At times, I’ve felt so discouraged because I feel like I’m doing so little to help these people. What can I possibly do to help people with muscle pain secondary to years of hard physical labour? What difference can thirty tablets of multivitamins make in a malnourished person’s life? How do you help a man with severe high blood pressure requiring lifelong medications if he can’t afford to eat three square meals a day? Bishop encouraged us by saying that everything we do, say or give is God’s love poured out to these people. Everything we’re doing is only the tip of the iceberg of something greater that God is orchestrating.

God is doing something amazing in this town and we’re so thrilled to be a part of it. Please continue to pray for the people in this town. Pray that their lives and experiences of healing can be a blessing to those around them.
---------------------------------------------------------

AH MA NGO SEUNG DEEN SEE!!!!
Habari zenu kila mtu! Tunafuraha hapa lakini tumechoka!

Ok, I’ll write in English now because I’m limited in all the other languages. Well, it has definitely been an eventful week, from the clinics to the VBS. But God has been good to us and have kept us safe and well. On Thursday, we were to have our last clinic at the church and many people had come for the clinic. When we arrived at the church, there were a good 200 people already waiting for us. 2 hours into it, we decided to stop giving out forms to people so that we wouldn’t be there til midnight. You can only imagine how hard it was to turn away people from getting treatment when they have never even had the chance of seeing a doctor for their ailments. By the end of the day, we had seen 291 patients. Since there were many more who wanted to be seen, we are now going back to the church on Wednesday to do another clinic.

Many things have not gone the way we had hoped it would, but God is faithful and He sees us through. By the end of the last clinic, we didn’t know if we would have enough meds to give to the people, but we were able to. On Saturday, the cars that were to bring the food to children broke down and we waited for a couple of hours for it to come, but the children were happy to have rice and potatoes. We are constantly reminded that all things are possible with God. He’s the One who gives us strength throughout the days; He’s the One who gives us abilities we never thought we would have (drug pushers); He’s the One who gives us grace to love each person who walks through the doors.

As mentioned by others, please continue to pray for us as we move to different areas to do clinics. We are going to the biggest IDP (internally displaced people) camps in Kenya right now on Monday. God is doing wonders here and miracles are being done.

(On Thursday, during our busiest day, the “media” came and interviewed Cynthia, Bishop and myself. We were on TV and the radio on Friday, but never got to see it. We’re trying to get a copy of it.)

Au revoir pour maintenant!
---------------------------------------------------------
<><

Only in Kenya we've got Internet!

Hi everyone! Sorry we took so long to update, but here are a couple of blog posts from our team members (:

July 4th

Planes, trains and automobiles…. and taxis and boats!!!
Our stopover in Amsterdam gave us quite the adventure. After a day exploring Amsterdam, we were ready to take the train back to the airport to catch our connecting flight…. We planned to head back at 6 BUT, the train had broken down! Amsterdam was beautiful but not too tourist friendly….we couldn’t find anyone that could help us…the bus drivers knew their own route only. Anyway, we did manage to get back to catch our connecting flight with time to spare….we experienced almost every type of transportation possible!!
---------------------------------------------------------

WE’RE HERE!!!! WE’RE HERE! WE’RE HERE!!

I can’t believe we’re here!!! It was a very very long day but we are finally in Eldoret! It’s amazing here! We saw zebras and crazy baboons running after our mini-buses…I think I was the only one that thought they were kind of creepy looking…and did NOT want them to come into our bus!! And we met our host . family, Bishop and his wife, Florence…finally faces to names! Their whole family have been very welcoming and it feels like a good place to call home for the next 3 weeks. We took yesterday to rest and then today we’re getting going on setting up the medical clinics! All these months of planning and wow…I can’t believe the day has come! Wow. Thanks again for all the prayer and support! God is Good. :)
---------------------------------------------------------

Here at LAST!!! After a long and long and long journey lol we are finally in Eldoret, Kenya. MAN thank God we made it after all the complications we had. Kenya is BEAUTIFUL, I am so thankful for this opportunity to serve God here. Well one thing we are learning already is that nothing is possible without God and the strength and power of prayer. Well there is still 3 weeks so still lots of wonderful and weird things to be seen and do!!
---------------------------------------------------------

July 8th

Hard to believe it’s only been a week…the start was slow cuz we were just prepping but we’re finally into our clinics and it’s been crazy busy. Our host family is awesome, they have welcomed us so warmly that we all feel like part of the family. The Bishop has a great sense of humor and keeps us rolling with laughter, but he’s also a man with deep compassion and conviction…truly inspiring. Oh yeah, the family has goats and sheep that graze in the backyard…lol…so every night we are serenaded by baa baa baa.

The depth of poverty here is overwhelmingly heartbreaking. Every day we pass by people sitting in the streets, some selling goods, some just plain sitting and staring…this included men, women and children. What struck me most were women who would tend to 3-4 cobs of corn cooking over hot coals…it appears they would sit there all day in the baking sun…I have yet to find out how much a corn on the cob would cost but I would bet it’s not very much. We haven’t been to the IDP camps or slum areas yet – I hope I can handle it. That’s it for now.
---------------------------------------------------------
Horray! Internet! I’ve been dying to update our blog so as to keep you all in the loop! Anyway, we’ve been here for a week and everything has been fantastic! Clinic started two days ago and the first day was a little rough…trying to sort meds and run the pharmacy and all. I believe we saw around 116 people for the first day. We made some changes and improvements for the pharmacy and the second day we managed to see 275 people! Just incredible.

Our host family has a couple of animals in the backyard and I went out one morning to look at them. There’s this white goat that kneeled down on its two front legs like it was praying, so I named it Praise. We thought it was unique but then found out that all the goats do that so as to get closer to the grass and eat it. Meh. I still love Praise. J But everyone is thinking of eating Praise… (Don’t worry. I’ll break her outta there and ride her back to Canada. [and Cynthia says she’ll help but we can’t both fit on Praise so I guess she’ll ride on her warthog, Pumbaa])

I cannot even begin to describe life here in Kenya. Every day we ride through town to get to the church and to see the poverty here is extremely disheartening. I know we hardly get a chance to talk or interact with the patients that come through the clinic because we’re so busy, but to see each and every one of their faces and know that they all have a different story, different struggles…it just makes me want to work harder and do more. Not just for them but also for God. Anyway, that’s it for now. Thanks for all your prayers everyone!
---------------------------------------------------------

It is great to be back home! But after speaking with the people, they still remember what happened last year with the post-election violence. The church was in the middle of the battle field where one side would be fighting the other. During that time, the church housed a thousand people, but soon had to send them to the police station when people threatened to burn down the church. It is surreal to be here and know that such gruesome things have happened in the past. But it is also good to see how God is working in people and changing their hearts and seeing tribes come together again.

Aside from all that, the team is doing well. We are all being good and taking our malaria pills together. However, I choose to forget mine in my room during dinner time and steal other peoples. But my plan is to use up theirs and then when they have no pills left, I will sell mine to them.

(Karen thinks she’s going to save Praise the Goat from being dinner on the 24^th, but we all know different. It will be the yummiest dinner we have here!)

But in all seriousness, God is doing wonders here and it is truly by His grace that these clinics are happening. None of us are pharmacists, but we’ve been able to be organized and give out medicine accordingly. It is by God’s grace that we have been able to see more than 500 people in the last 3 days. Every experience has taught us to trust in God and know that the only reason why any of this can go on is because of Him. Thank you for your prayers!
---------------------------------------------------------

It’s been quite the journey the last few days. It’s been about a week since we began this journey; we were very blessed with all the support from the send off from YVR. The journey across the country was long and tiring and it was so good to land in Kenya. It was actually warmer in Vancouver than Kenya when we landed. Fanta tastes sooooo good here. The Swahili language is so beautiful; it’s got a great rhythm and flow to it. The pace of life is totally different, there isn’t the same sense of rush that we have in N. America, even when we were rushed ….really it wasn’t that rushed.

We’ve eaten breakfast everyday (crazy for half of us) and eaten really well. The food is so good. The Bishops and mama’s place has been so hospitable. It has been a blessing. Despite all the busyness, I have found that there is a lot of opportunity to spend with God. There is a different feeling here, time to meditate and you can sense God working in this country. There are so many churches, churches all over the place. The days at the clinics have been ridiculously busy by the end of the day you don’t even realize the time has gone by so quickly. We’ve been helped so much by the members of the church here in Eldoret, the translation and zeal to help of 3 of the young people Jeff, Steve and James is something we are so grateful for as we have seen over 500 people. We hope that they will be able to come to the IDP camps and Western Kenya with us next week.

God is working, and it’s amazing to be able to be a part of it. Thank you for your prayers and continue to pray for us as the days are packed with busyness. I love it here.

-Aaron
---------------------------------------------------------

Here we go!

We're currently in the airport waiting for departure! We'll be heading to Amsterdam first, then off to Nairobi. Thank you to everyone who came to see us off! It was amazing to see so many people come to say goodbye and we're sorry we couldn't say bye to everyone! We'll update as much as we can so be sure to check back for more!

RCAC Kenya Mission Team 2009.

Thanks for coming out!

<><, Kenya Team

Horray!

We want to extend our biggest thanks to everyone who has supported us financially up to this point. We are happy to announce that we have achieved our fundraising goal of $17,000. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we continue to prepare to go to Kenya in July. Your support has meant so much to us. Keep posted on what's happening with the team!

♥ Kenya Team