Jambo!

That is Swahili for “Hello.” Wow! We haven’t even made it to Sudan yet, and it’s already been an exciting trip. As hard as the enemy is trying to keep us out of Sudan, we are excited to see what God has in store for us there! There has to be a reason the devil doesn’t want us there. From flight delays, lost baggage, migraine headaches, and Kevin’s mysterious illness, it has been amazing to see God’s hand at work. The team has not become discouraged through it all, we have had positive attitudes, and I know at least for myself, I have learned to depend on God like I never have. So, here’s the story so far:

I think the reports of our plane delays have already been made, so I’ll skip ahead to our flight from London to Nairobi. Praise God that because of our flight delay on Sunday, we had to change all of our connecting flights so all five of us were on the same flight from London to Kenya, rather than Kevin and I flying to Amsterdam then to Kenya. About an hour into the seven hour flight, Kevin was asleep and suddenly began throwing up. We managed to get him to the back of the plane where the flight attendant made room for him to lie down on the ground. During that process, he never really woke up, and still doesn’t remember any of it. The flight attendants were wonderful, one even stayed with us the whole flight – I don’t think she ever took a break. As he was lying on the floor, he continued vomiting. As soon as we would give him a sip of water or ginger ale, he would immediately throw it back up. After about 45 minutes of this, they brought out the emergency kit and gave him a pill to stop the vomiting. As soon as it dissolved in his mouth, he threw up again. They waited awhile and tried again with the same results. During all this time, he would wake up occasionally and ask, “What happened?” Then he would immediately go back to sleep. (I should add that he had taken a sleeping pill, so we weren’t sure if he was so “out of it” from that, or some kind of illness.) Also during this time, another flight attendant was on the phone to British Airways medical staff who recommended that he see if there was a doctor on board. They made the announcement, and thank God, there was a pediatrician from Vancouver, Canada. He came back and checked Kevin, took his blood pressure, which was very low, and recommended another pill to stop the vomiting. Again Kevin threw up as soon as he took it. However, he was able to answer the doctor’s questions about his name, who I was, where he was going, etc. so that was progress. Eventually, they moved Kevin to a bed in first class. Thankfully there was only one other person in first class, so there was plenty of room for him and the doctor could examine him better. After examining him, and finding that his stomach and side were very tender and sore, the doctor told me he believed Kevin was having an appendicitis attack. It was decided that there would be an ambulance waiting for the plane to take him directly to the hospital. Kevin was also very dehydrated and the doctor felt he was going into shock. He still could not keep even the smallest amount of liquid down, so the doctor decided to put an IV into him to get some liquids into his body. You can imagine how difficult that was for the doctor, between Kevin’s tremor and the plane bouncing around. It took several tries in both hands before he was able to get it in. He also broke 2 needles trying to give him a shot of medicine to stop the vomiting. He did finally give him the shot, and although the vomiting did not stop completely, it did lessen. Throughout this whole flight, the rest of our team on board was praying and I would go give them updates, and then we would pray again together. I was very nervous about landing in Kenya, getting into an ambulance and going to a hospital where I did not speak the language, or even have the correct kind of currency to pay. I also was unsure of how they would handle the situation of getting our visas, picking up our luggage, and going through customs. Also, because we were on a plane, we had no way of contacting Don Rogers, who was picking us up, to let him know what was going on. As I was praying I really had a sense of peace from the Lord that somehow everything was going to work out. In my mind, I couldn’t image how, but I was trusting God that he had it all worked out. Just like he had it worked out to have us on the same flight as a doctor, before we even knew we would need one. By the time the plane was ready to land, Kevin looked much better. He was awake, aware of what was going on, his blood pressure returned to normal, and he even joked about knowing how to get free upgrades to first class. The pain in his side all but disappeared, and he vomited once during landing and that was the last time. The doctor and other flight attendants who had been helping us were amazed at how well he was doing. Because they had written a report, he still had to see a doctor to get a letter that he is well, or they would not allow him on another British Airways flight. The doctor was still concerned that it could be his appendix and recommended that he still go to the hospital. When we landed, one of the ground crew came on board and let us use his cell phone to contact Don, they had a nurse come onboard to examine him, and since the ambulance was not there, they were going to call for a taxi to drive him to the hospital. However, while talking to Don, we learned that there were 2 vans there to pick us up, so Don said he would take Kevin and I to the hospital in one while the others went in the other one. The workers there at the airport were so helpful. One man pushed Kevin in a wheel chair through the whole airport while holding his bag for the IV in the air for us. They took our whole team to the head of the visa line and got a supervisor to come and then let Kevin and I go through while the rest of our team got our visas for us. They also picked up all the luggage and took it through customs with no questions asked. (Except for 3 pieces of our luggage that were missing.) It was truly a miracle how everything worked out. Don, Kevin, and I went to the hospital in Nairobi, where everyone, and I mean everyone, spoke English and were so helpful. As soon as we walked into the emergency room, I went up to the desk and the man did not even question me, he just told us what room to go to. Imagine walking into an ER in LA at midnight and being put directly into a room, with a doctor following you, and no waiting to fill out paperwork. The doctor and nurse (who was a Christian) were very friendly and efficient. They immediately started another IV and the doctor did an exam. His diagnosis was that it was probably food poisoning, although Kevin had eaten the same as the rest of us. But he saw no signs of appendicitis or any other disease. We were there for about an hour while he got the IV, and I was able to get 3 prescriptions from the doctor filled right there at the hospital. All of this cost only about 1500 shillings which is somewhere around $30! Because of all this drama, we decided not to go to Sudan on Wednesday morning. Thankfully the Missionary Aviation Fellowship was very understanding and worked out a flight for us on Friday to Sudan. Since we had 2 extra days, on Wednesday morning, we drove about 7 hours north of Nairobi to the ELI training site. That is another blessing that came out of all this, because according the original schedule (our schedule, not God’s) Kevin and I were not coming here, the rest of the team was coming after we left from Sudan. I am so glad we were able to come here. First, we got to see beautiful scenery on the drive up, including orangutans and zebras. It was an interesting drive on barely paved roads. It was the bumpiest ride I’ve ever been on, and it is amazing how they drive, making up their own lanes, passing whenever, even if another car is coming straight at us. It was another lesson in trusting God for protection! But we made it safely. Upon our arrival, and having only a few hours notice that we were coming, they had a beautiful welcoming ceremony for us. All 190 orphans, the “parents,” and the staff were lined up to greet us, singing and giving us each a bouquet of roses. We went through and shook each child’s hand as they continued to sing and welcome us. It was a very moving experience for me. The children are beautiful, and the most well-mannered, respectful children I have ever met. They were so happy to see us, and they don’t even know most of us. They did remember Kevin from last year and were especially glad to see him again. They had a wonderful dinner prepared for us, and rooms ready for us. Kevin and I are staying in a house build by a former staff member and we have our own indoor bathroom, with a shower and hot water! It is much more than I would have expected. Thursday we toured the training site where they train local people on how to grow crops, take care of cows and goats, and produce things to sell. It is fascinating and I wish I had more time and room to describe everything. But it really does “empower” the people to make their own lives better and not rely on others. Then we toured the orphanage and met all the children again. There are about 12 children in each hut, 6 sets of bunk beds, and a large table in the middle. They each have a drawer for clothes and a shelf for shoes and books. Each set of parents has their own hut in the middle and a hut for girls and one for boys. There are 4 sets of parents, so there are 4 boys’ huts and 4 girls’ huts. They are the cleanest children’s rooms I have ever seen. They really take pride in taking care of their “stuff.” I visited each hut, sang songs, read stories, and just talked with the kids. Then, before dinner, Kevin did some magic tricks with the kids and I led the evening devotions for 2 of the “families,” about 48 kids, then we helped serve their dinner. They were so happy to have us there and were so attentive to the lesson. Their knowledge of God’s word put me to shame! Then we had our dinner with the team and staff here, a devotion time of our own, and a really focused prayer time for Sudan. Then we repacked our bags for Sudan (and yes, our missing luggage showed up and British Airways had it transported up here to us and we received it today.) Tomorrow morning (Friday) we fly to Sudan where we will stay until Wednesday, then fly back to Kenya. The rest of the team will go on to visit other sites, while Kevin and I will fly back to Nairobi and on Thursday fly home. We have many ideas of what we want to do and accomplish in Sudan, but we have certainly learned that God may have his own, very different plans for us.

We don’t know when we’ll be able to update again. The satellite phone has not been working all the time, and we will not have any more internet access after tomorrow morning. Thank you for your continued prayers. Kevin is feeling much better, we are all well rested and excited to see what God has for us in Sudan.