January Medical Missions

In our little village, people have so many needs, and they are poor. Even those who are fortunate enough to have regular work likely only make enough to eat. (“Give us this day our daily bread” takes on real meaning here.) True, some are more well-off than others, but when unexpected illness strikes, it can quickly tap a family’s resources. That’s why the Medical Missions work of KDM is such a blessing to folks here. Let me give you the skinny on this month’s budget figures, but please read on for particulars and for stories/pictures. This month, our Acute/Emergency funding was $250; we spent $435. Our “Special Cases” funding was $1000; we spent about $1400. (Many of these were continuing cases that we just couldn’t drop in mid-stream; once a commitment is made, we feel we must continue until the need is met.)

I can’t count the number of times people have visited our home or the KDM office looking for help with a child or family member who has malaria. I ask them, “Have you taken medicine?” (If they have, and it hasn’t worked, they must go to the clinic for injections; however, if they haven’t, we have some malaria medicine ready on the shelf.) More often than not, they reply in the affirmative—Yes, they have taken medicine and the person is still sick! But upon further questioning, I find that they have taken “Action” or “Mara Moja.” What’s that? Why, pretty much Excedrin, or ibuprofen, or Tylenol. So their symptoms improve for a time, but when the underlying malaria is unmasked once again, the symptoms are worse and often harder to treat with over-the-counter medicines. Why is this so? Simple answer is, they’re doing the best they can with what they have. In our village center (several kilometers’ walk), there is a chemist (pharmacy of sorts) where one can buy malaria medicine, but to do that and pay for the transport on a piki piki is more than most people can manage. So they go to the local duka (small shop, where they probably also get their daily needs of soap, sugar, or vegetables) and pick up some pain reliever/fever reducer while they are there—a two-tablet package for 5 shillings (about 5cents).

We have a regular Medical monthly stipend of $200 that comes in from generous donors state-side; this is the lifeblood of our medical missions, which is designed to treat acute and emergency illnesses and injuries. There are plenty of those, and we’ve never “not” used up our $200 allotment. That, plus the irregular giving for Urgent Needs that comes in throughout the course of a given month has almost always been enough. If you follow us on Facebook or read our blog (even though we admittedly post pretty irregularly), you know that we also fundraise for larger amounts for a needed surgery or other out-of-the ordinary circumstance. For example, last month we funded a $1,500 surgery to re-set the broken arm of an ex-Muslim convert who is struggling to raise his 7 children on his daily wage from driving a piki piki. We also were able to remove the nasal polyp of a 4 year-old boy that became so large it fractured his nose. How can we say no to these needs? We think, What if it was my child?

            This week our 8 year-old Micah suddenly spiked a 104.5 degree fever in the evening. Malaria, for sure. I gave him some malaria tablets and an ibuprofen, which he promptly threw up. When Marc came home from attending communion, he gave Micah an injection (“a shot in the behind,” which no one likes, but which is necessary when you’re vomiting!). We are fortunate enough to have a well-stocked medicine shelf…but we know others do not. And that’s “just” malaria, never mind a traumatic injury.

We had approximately $250 come in during January that was earmarked for regular medical needs, and we spent $435. We also fund-raised for special medical needs to the tune of $1,000, but spent almost $1,400. (The balance for both deficits came out of our “general fund,” which also met a big tax burden this month and dished out a major sum of money to do our Kenyan NGO’s annual returns. I don’t mind being honest enough to say that our general fund is now depleted. That’s how we fund our monthly missions, which by necessity are now going to be quite bare-bones. That’s more than unfortunate.) So look with me at our last month of medical missions, where we well over-spent our monthly budget for the first time ever…but it was necessary, and everyone who was treated would say unequivocally that it was worth it.

 

Little one with malaria
Little one with malaria

Most of our regular medical cases are referred to a local clinic that is close (cheaper on transport costs) and comparatively inexpensive. This month, we treated many cases of malaria, brucella, and typhoid. That’s pretty routine. We also bought Hypertension medicines for a couple of Mamas in our fellowship, which we have done regularly for many months now. Why, since this is not an acute or emergency need? It’s a simple matter of economics. The monthly medication they need to control their hypertension costs about $3. When we were *not* buying it, these same Mamas would end up with an “acute” illness and get treated at the clinic, to the tune of $20 or more. This happened several times within a six-month period before we got wise and realized that it made more sense to spend the $3 per month. Now everyone is happy, and so is our medical budget.

Pius, with knee injury
Pius, with knee injury

I think one reason our medical budget was higher than usual this month was because of the sheer number of cases that had to be referred to the District hospital. (This costs more on transport, and more for treatment.) For example, Pius Omule had a motoribike accident some time ago, and tried to treat it at home. Later, however, it became swollen and infected. At that point, he came seeking help that he could not afford and he was taken to the District Hospital. He had to go back several times over the course of the month, to scrape, clean, bandage, and re-bandage the wound, as well as get antibiotics.

On a Saturday morning, an elderly widow with a severely broken ankle was carried by piki piki to our door (imagine that…how uncomfortable!). She had to make the journey to District Hospital via public transport for casting.

Broken Ankle emergency
Broken Ankle emergency

Another referral to District hospital was Anna, who got gouged in the eye by a bull. Apparently her eyeball was actually popped back into its socket at the scene and again, they played the “wait and see” game, but after a time her eye was severely swollen and bruised, so she was brought to us. The District Hospital tried to treat the eye but determined that it would need to be sewed shut. We learned that she had already had limited use of the eye for some reason, so the disappointment over the complete loss of the eye was somewhat mitigated.

Anna's eye injury
Anna’s eye injury

Special medical needs are also part of our scope and we fund-raise on a case-by-case basis. Our biggest special medical need this month was for Victor, who was sent to Kampala, Uganda for a second round of radiation in hopes of fighting back against the continued onslaught of cancer in his body. The entirety of our Special Medical funds ($1000) were earmarked to Victor, and we sent him to Kampala with approximately $1,060, which we are hopeful will meet all the financial need. Please pray for Victor’s perseverance and healing.

Our brother, Victor
Our brother, Victor

The $400+ overage in our special medical spending went to several patients. We have a few “special” cases of folks who are assisted with getting their monthly HIV medications at the District Hospital. The medicine is free, but transport is a burden so in many cases, we help. One of those cases is Sharon, a two year-old whose mother died of HIV last year and left her an orphan. Another is Daniel, a 14 year-old boy in our Saboti fellowship whose mother had HIV and passed away within the last year (he was treated this month for complications from his TB). Our dear friend, Silas, has a real heart for HIV education and treatment, and this month he asked us if we could help Dickson, a man he knew in the community. As a first step, we also tested Dickson’s wife and children. Unfortunately, his wife and youngest child (about age 2) also tested positive. We brought Dickson and his daughter to the hospital for their first round and second rounds of medications this month.

 

5 year-old Michael Wafula
5 year-old Michael Wafula

Also on the special medical front, we needed to follow up on the treatment for our brother Ishmael’s severely broken arm, though his earmarked funds had been depleted last month following the surgery. We also had some unexpected follow-up on an old case of Spinal TB for 5 year-old Michael Wafula, whose earmarked funds had also run out. He needed new body bracing for correction of his spine, as he was rapidly outgrowing his existing brace. In order to do that, several other steps needed to be completed first, including scans and cortisone injections. We operated on a negative budget for him in January, but thankfully we’ve gotten a generous donation to re-coup those funds and proceed with work in February.

            If you would like to help us fortify our all-important (but oft-neglected) General Fund, or donate to support continued Medical Missions (a need which we see increasing, rather than diminishing), please do so at www.KingdomDriven.org/donate. A monthly subscription donation will help us the most, as we will then have a known budget to work within, but all gifts are of course appreciated. Thank you for your giving and also for your ongoing prayers for the mission here and the folks we serve.

 

 

The Uninteresting, Unromantic Truth (Subtitle: Everyday Missions)

Amy Carmichael’s report to the supporters of her work with orphans in India (quoted in Elisabeth Elliot’s biography, A Chance to Die), has resonated with me since we have come to the mission field in Kenya four years ago:

“It is more important that you should know about the reverses than about the successes of the war. We shall have all eternity to celebrate the victories, but we have only the few hours before sunset in which to win them. We are not winning them as we should, because the fact of the reverses is so little realized, and the needed reinforcements are not forthcoming, as they would be if the position were thoroughly understood….So we have tried to tell you the truth—the uninteresting, unromantic truth.”

So often, missions reports are filled with the successes, which certainly are to be celebrated. However, they usually miss out on the majority of the mundane, behind-the-scenes happenings that occur every day. Why? Certainly, people are more inclined to pray, and financially support, an active and successful mission than one that seems to be struggling to grow churches and make disciples. It’s not so great to talk about financial shortfalls, since we don’t want to be that mission that’s always “begging for money.” On the other hand, there are great needs that we can assist with–and we depend on partners like you to make it possible!

Our missions here in Kenya and Uganda and Glenn Roseberry’s Tanzania and Nairobi missions have had their share of ups and downs. We’ve never tried to hide either one, though it never gets a lot of “likes” on Facebook to talk about “the uninteresting, unromantic truth.” Yet, that’s where many of our missions actually occur! Take, for example, yesterday in our small Kenya village…

Mzee Timothy
Mzee Timothy

The day began with a visit from Mzee Timothy, our fellowship’s deacon and the overseer of our malnutrition and medical programs. He was organizing to take a village Mama to the District Hospital for a follow-up appointment. Earlier this month, she was gored in the eye by a bull (cows are always being herded along the road here, and it’s wise to give them a wide berth!). Apparently her eyeball was actually popped back into its socket, but the area was very bruised and swollen days later so we sent her to the hospital. They determined that it was too damaged to be salvaged, and perhaps thankfully we discovered that she had already lost use of the eye previously, so the decision was made to just sew it shut. So there was that, and then another follow-up appointment for a young boy named Esau. He was treated last

Mama with eye injury
Mama with eye injury

year for visceral leishmaniasis, then (upon little to no improvement in his condition) was re-admitted to the hospital and treated for a sickle-cell anemia. He was due for a check-up, which we suspected might involve further treatment. Unfortunately, our regular medical fund designed to meet “emergency needs” such as the eye injury, was depleted for the month, with still a week to go. And, money which had previously been given and earmarked for Esau was also used up. Thus, Timothy came to see if we could do something to meet these pressing needs. A decision was made to use money from the KDM general fund if necessary, but that the appointments should press forward.

In the afternoon, Mzee Samwell visited to update us and settle accounts for his visit to the District Hospital with 5 year-old Michael Wafula, who had successfully gone through treatment for spinal TB as of last August. However, the little guy’s spine is still deformed and he has had a cast around his trunk for some time. His mom came a couple months ago to say that he had outgrown his cast and it would need to be replaced. Mzee Samwell, a faithful brother here, has been assisting us with medical needs by taking patients to various hospitals, interfacing with staff, and paying bills. He took Michael and his Mom to the hospital responsible for the casting about two weeks ago, but was informed that they could not proceed without a scan confirming that Michael was still clear of TB. That was done last week, but the consulting doctor was not available to read the scan, so they went back again the next day. Then, they were informed that unfortunately the technician had done a chest x-ray for the TB (which is normal procedure) but Michael needed a spinal x-ray, of course. An extra step, and a more expensive one as well. After doing that and then consulting with the doctor again, Michael was given a clean bill of health (praise God!) but would need to return again for a cortisone injection to the spine before the re-casting was done. That was yesterday’s appointment, and now there seems to be another step to be take in his care, as he is scheduled for another appointment on Saturday. At this point, we have tapped out on the special medical funding for Michael, and so had to keep Mzee Samwell going with money from the general fund.

Bro. Victor
Bro. Victor

Marc also met with Victor and Mzee Samwell, to go over details and provide funding for today’s trip to Uganda, where Victor will be receiving a second round of radiation to try to treat a new growth of cancer in his lymph nodes. Sorry for the gruesome picture, but this is Victor’s reality. Please pray for his perseverance and his healing! This another special medical need that is dipping into the general fund, but it is a pressing need in light of Victor’s continued suffering.

Some time ago, we had also treated Daniel, a 14 year-old boy who was diagnosed with both TB and HIV. His mother, who was HIV-positive, had previously died and apparently he has been infected from birth. (Danel’s father is now a member of our Saboti fellowship.) Daniel has been receiving monthly medication and food supplements (it’s a must to take the medication with food), but recently has been experiencing what his father described as “psychological issues,” which is common as HIV advances. Daniel  went to the District Hospital yesterday (also paid out of the general fund), but they could tell us little about how best to treat his issues, other than that they wanted to admit him for further evaluation. That is Kenya-speak for “let us keep him here, do whatever tests we want (even unnecessary ones) and then add charges to your bill for hospital stay until you come up with enough money to pay the bill and have him discharged.” Knowing our financial situation, we decided to postpone “further evaluation” for a short time, at least until we have a new month’s medical budget to work with.

Why is it such a big deal to take money from the general fund? Well, primarily because most of the money that comes in to KDM is earmarked for a specific need. So when we have to file annual returns for the NGO and Society that we operate under here (which was just done last week), we need to pay an accountant about $500. That comes from the general fund, which is usually small in comparison to other designated funds. The general fund is also paying for laborers (three every day for the past couple of weeks) as they empty bags of maize and beans, re-medicate them, and seal them back up again for storage until later in the year. This is part of a project that we’ve undertaken to boost the general fund without outside assistance, so that the mission can be more self-sustaining in the future: we’ve bought maize and beans in large quantities at harvest time when prices were low and will re-sell them later at higher prices. We hope to double the mission’s money, and in the meantime it’s providing regular day labor for brothers in the fellowship and community members in need. Paying our laborers and overseeing their work was also part of our day yesterday…more of the mundane, but necessary.

We also had some funding come in recently to restore a community well that experienced a catastrophic internal collapse and failure. Marc’s to-do list thus also included organizing a digging team to get to the work as soon as possible. The lead digger is a member of our Birunda fellowship; he and two helpers will undertake the often-dangerous task of manning a 50-foot hole with precarious footholds in order to dig out the fallen soil and reinforce the sides of the well with brick. I’m sure they’d appreciate you keeping this project, and their safety, in prayer.

New Testament cover!
New Testament cover!

A publication project has also been underway, which is very exciting! Recently, the Kenya Bible Society stopped making New Testaments available and we can only get full Bibles in Swahili. This is cost-prohibitive on the one hand, and on the other hand, we like people to get a New Testament so they can meet Jesus on the very first page! Thus, a Bible printing project was launched, wherein we obtained an open-copyright Swahili New Testament online and had it pored over and perfected by a translator (it was missing the book of Philippians!). We formatted it for publication, but need to do a print run of 3,000 Bibles. That was organized with a local printer last week, so the proof needed to be edited. That was done by Tony, and Marc met with him yesterday to go over final edits, which were blessedly few. (They were supposed to meet at 3:00 in the afternoon, but Tony showed up at 5:30; as much as we’re used to things happening on “African Time,” our mzungu sensibilities are still occasionally offended, especially when work and family dinner plans collide…)

As you can see, much of the day yesterday was organizational and administrative in nature—no exciting missions, no baptisms, no activity in our local fellowships…but fruitful in the mundane and unromantic, nonetheless. We appreciate your continued prayer support for the daily needs that we address here on the mission every day. We also ask you to prayerfully consider supporting the work, which continually threatens to expand beyond the reach of our limited and grassroots budget (to do so, visit www.kingdomdriven.org/donate.). However, we have seen, and rejoice in, the faithfulness of God, and are thankful for those of you who already join with us to make this work of Kingdom expansion and service in Jesus’ name possible.

The Wisdom of the Aged

[Note: this post was written by Cindy Carrier, with approval by her husband, Marc.]

 

Here in Kenya, unlike in the West, “youth” are identified as those under 35 years of age, whereas wazee (older men) are 40 and over. (As far as I know, there is no name for those in the nebulous 35-40 year-old age range.) The wazee are often leaders in the community, functioning as local/village elders. They are sought for advice and are patriarchs of their families. I love our wazee and am incredibly thankful to have so many in our network of house churches! They meet together on a weekly basis to fellowship, share teachings on the Scriptures, pray, discuss current community or church happenings, and sing. There is nothing like hearing a room full of wazee praising God!

Don’t get me wrong, the wazee are…old…and have their cantankerous moments. They are often frail in health and in need of medical assistance. But they are also awesome sources of wisdom and encouragement and they take seriously their role in the church. A large number of wazee tends to be an anomaly in Kenyan churches, as in many areas (such as the slums) there is a strikingly disproportionate number of women, particularly widows. As well, here in the village, it is the women who tend to go to church regularly (often for social reasons more so than religious), and the men don’t seem to be as involved. Thus, we are blessed to have them among us.

The group after their weekly meeting
The group after their weekly meeting

In this part of the world (unlike the West—according to our observations, at least), there is a healthy respect and honor for the wisdom and life experience of the elderly in all areas of life. An African proverb states the reason quite succinctly: An old man sitting down sees farther than a young man standing in a tree. The Bible is not silent about the value of the aged and the necessity of listening to their wisdom: “’You shall rise up before the grayheaded and honor the aged, and you shall revere your God; I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 19:32, as just one example).

Even the Early Church (Ante-Nicene) writings speak of the honor that is due to those in positions of leadership who serve well. To our modern ears, Ignatius’ teachings sound a bit over-the-top, but he says, “I exhort you to study to do all things with a divine harmony, while your bishop presides in the place of God, and your presbyters in the place of the assembly of the apostles, along with your deacons.”

This wisdom and life experience of the wazee should be leveraged and respected in the Church. The Scriptures identify overseers [or bishops], elders [or presbyters], and deacons, all of whom are expected to be proven in their maturity, with older children and households in proper order. (It is important to note that these terms identify roles rather than titles, as they are commonly used today.) A proven elder is both honorable and worthy of honor, as no accusation against an elder is to be entertained unless it is brought by two or three witnesses (1 Timothy 5:19). Elders not in positions of church leadership are still influential in the life of the church and should be valued for their contribution. In no area is this quite as important as that of church discipline (per Jesus’ instructions in Matthew 18). We have seen first-hand the power of a meeting of wazee as they listen intently, ask thoughtful questions, and come to a wise consensus in matters pertaining to the life and health of the Church body. It is the role of such elders to be a persuasive influence on the congregation.

Happy wazee, having reached a consensus after a challenging, 8-hour church discipline meeting.
Happy wazee, having reached a consensus after a challenging, 8-hour church discipline meeting (some present for photo shared testimony during the meeting)

Though the Apostle Paul admonished his protégé Timothy, “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity,” (1 Timothy 4:12), he also warns him “not to rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father” ( Timothy 5:1). First Peter 5:5 says, “you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders,” and Hebrews 13:17 echoes that sentiment: “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.” First Thessalonians 5:12-13 says,

But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work.

Unfortunately, the role of elders and the respect due them, particularly in the realm of Church leadership, has largely fallen into disrepute in many of our modern churches. This seems to follow the general trend of young people being in rebellion in many areas of life over recent decades. Youth have dishonored and even usurped the authority and influence of the elders. At the same time, there have been some recognized as elders who have not met Biblical qualifications or who have abused the honor of their Biblically-sanctioned roles. This has often led to the general disdain for Church leadership in general. Even the valued wisdom of the older men of the Church has been disregarded. The advancement of youth and the degradation of the aged have worked together to bring a host of negative consequences to the called-out people of God as they assemble and serve in local congregations, often without the valuable leadership and influence of wazee.

Of course, our observations and opinions cannot swing the pendulum back into a healthy balance, but we hope to offer some constructive criticism for growing churches; as they seek to honor God and His Word, may they also value the wisdom and experience of their wazee.

November Medical Missions Update

During the month of November, we treated 16 patients from our village community and our local fellowships. Some were routine care and others were special cases for which we raised additional funding through Kingdom Driven Ministries.

 

IMG_0284One woman, Naomi Wanjala , went to our local clinic at the end of last month (October) with what we thought would be a routine labor and delivery. She did deliver a beautiful baby girl, but suddenly experienced hemorrhaging afterwards and was subsequently referred to the district hospital. When the bleeding ceased, she was discharged. However, her condition did not improve. Her post-partum bleeding abruptly stopped completely and her milk never came in for the baby. We immediately requested special funding from our donors and received enough to send her to a local private hospital where she could receive a better quality of care. Based on our understanding of her symptoms and some good old Google searching, we suspected thyroid problems due to the post-partum hemorrhage, what is known as Sheehan’s Syndrome. She received several blood transfusions at the hospital and also some injections to address the thyroid issues. After an initial visit and follow-up at the hospital, we are happy to report that Naomi is now feeling much improved, and is producing a small amount of mother’s milk for the little one! We had also received some funding earmarked for baby formula, which was received as a great blessing by the family in the initial weeks of stress, and is now still being used to supplement Naomi’s nursing efforts.

IMG_0144Another special case was 4 year-old Alvin, grandson of one our fellowship’s wazee (elder men). He had a bump in his nose which was making breathing difficult and he often cried from discomfort. The family did not have means to even take him in for a diagnosis, much less treatment, so this condition lingered for quite some time until we were able to secure some funding to send him to the District hospital for a consultation. It was diagnosed as a nasal polyp or cyst, and he had a special scan to assess and measure the growth in anticipation of surgical removal. It was so large that it was found to have fractured the bone in his nose, thus the pain he was having, poor little guy! Several families cooperatively gave enough money to fund the surgery, which will take place soon. Praise the Lord! Please pray with us for complete removal of the cyst and healing for Alvin, as in a small percentage of cases the polyp can re-grow.

 

Jeremiah WekesaOur regular medical assistance for the community and for our fellowships goes out as the needs present themselves. This month, several patients were treated for pneumonia and other respiratory infections (including 2 month-old Jeremiah), as well as septic wounds, trauma from assault, malaria, and even a breast ulcer. We also treated a couple of ear infections. Mary Stella, an older Mama in our local fellowship who has had club feet from birth but is remarkably self-sufficient and joyful in the Lord, suffered an unfortunate accident on a motorbike during routine travel and was sent to the District hospital for a cast. Please pray for her complete recovery!

IMG_0949

Our expenses for routine medical care this month (including purchase of OTC malaria medicine and ibuprofen, but excluding special cases, which received their own funding) came to approximately $300. We are thankful for all those who have so generously given to care for these needs. We see their faces, experience their pain, and know their joy in having brothers and sisters around the world care for them!

September Medical Missions Update

We have many faithful partners who regularly give so that the medical needs of the brethren and impoverished in our community can be met. You might not think it much if you can only give $10 or $25 to meet an “urgent need,” but you probably don’t know just how far that can go here in our rural village! Someone suffering from malaria with a high fever and severe body aches can experience relief with a couple ibuprofen that cost about 5 cents per dose; the malaria medicine itself is about $1.00. If there are complications or if there is uncertainty about symptoms and we send folks to the local clinic instead of treating them with over-the-counter medication, the bill might run up to about $8 or $10 for a consultation, injections, and follow-up medication to take at home. When you consider that a decent income here is about $50 per month, an unexpected bill for even $10 can be a hardship, so your assistance with these needs is more of a blessing than you realize–especially if the recipient is a widow, elderly grandparents caring for grandchildren who have been abandoned to them, or others who are struggling to get by on irregular day labor because there are few salaried jobs in the village.

With that being said, look at what approximately $250 did this month!…

We purchased over-the-counter medicines so that our community members in need would have access to both malaria medicine and ibuprofen, at a total cost of about $40 for 30 boxes of malaria meds and a large container of ibuprofen.

primus
Primus

There were several cases of malaria that were referred to our local clinic for further treatment, either because of age or unusual symptoms which we did not feel comfortable treating with the OTC meds. One was a 9 month-old baby who was abandoned by his parents and is now being cared for by his grandmother; Kingdom Driven Ministries has been supporting her with infant formula since Primus was just a couple of months old. He was treated for GI issues and malaria.

Ben
Ben

One member of our fellowship, a young man named Ben (father of three little girls) came for OTC malaria medicine and, by his own report, took only one dose when his little girl began to show symptoms of malaria as well. Rather than come for more medicine, he gave her the remainder of his and continued to struggle with body aches and fever for another week before coming to us for further assistance. Because he had stopped the course of medication, we had to take him to the clinic, where he received quinine injections and more medicine to take at home. He is now doing well and, hopefully, has learned a lesson about the necessity of taking the full course of medication for complete healing!

A young girl in our community was treated for a wound which had become complicated by an abscess, and several elderly were treated for respiratory complications, including pleurisy and pneumonia. One of those was the most senior member of our fellowship, Theophilus.

IMG_1022One night near dark, one of the young boys in our community (about age 12) decided to take part in something that all the kids do for “fun”—jumping on the back of a loaded lorry to get a free ride. Unfortunately, he promptly fell off and received some serious injuries to his face and limbs. The fortunate thing is that it happened near the home/shop of one of our deacons, Silas, who is quick to help those in need. He brought the boy to the clinic and the bill was taken care of by the lorry driver and the boy’s family. However, the next day we ran into the boy and his mother at the clinic, where they did not have enough money to purchase the recommended follow-up medications. Thankfully, KDM was able to assist them with this need.

Rose
Rose

One of our more serious cases was that of Rose Nasambu, who was experiencing many symptoms, including digestive issues and severe headaches. We sent her first to our local clinic, where they tested her for malaria (usually the first course of action). Since the test was negative and the symptoms not definitive, they referred her to our local district hospital. As it turns out, she had been treated for typhoid a couple of weeks earlier and, unbeknownst to her, the medication she was given had wreaked havoc on her stomach, likely because she was not eating food while taking it as recommended. So she ended up compounding her sickness with stomach ulcers and debilitating headaches. Her treatment for the ulcers at the hospital ended up costing $65—more than the usual medical bill for our mission, but I’m sure Rose would say it was well worth the expense.

As of the end of September, we have been able to purchase our OTC medicines and brought 15 people to our local clinic or hospital for care, at a cost of approximately $250. Many thanks to all those who have made this work possible, and may God be given all the glory!

A Man You Might Never Notice…

I spent a long time looking through folders of poorly categorized and labeled ministry photos on our laptop, hoping to find one of Mzee Timothy. (Mzee is a term for a respected elder.) I wasn’t particularly surprised to not see him in any of the snapshots, because he’s a man who often fades into the background. He wouldn’t try to find his way into a group shot with the other wazee at the weddings or funerals. He isn’t a gifted teacher, so you won’t see him leading a group discussion. He’s not ordained to baptize. He misses out on a lot of events because he spends much of his time working, just struggling to eat each day. This is the best I could do–our only photo of Mzee Timothy–one not really representative of his quiet and pleasant demeanor, but one taken during a time of severe illness just before he was admitted to our local district hospital:

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I wanted to introduce you to Mzee Timothy, not because of his notable accomplishments or his superior giftings, but because he is representative of so many in our local fellowships: quiet, unassuming, hard-working…and not out there on the front lines of Kingdom expansion, leading Discovery Bible studies or evangelizing any one of many small groups of men who hang out together here in the village. Instead, he is busy each day caring for his family (which now includes many grandchildren), and perhaps visiting with his neighbors. He rarely misses a Sunday fellowship, and although he doesn’t have a gift for exegesis of the Scriptures, he believes in God’s Word and takes it for what it teaches. Marc has encouraged him, as one of the few wazee in our local fellowship, to share something during our interactive services, and Timothy has taken that responsibility seriously. He is one of the first to stand up and speak; not with the force of personality but with the quiet authority of the Word. Most of the time, he simply shares a Scripture from the New Testament that has been meaningful to him during his week. It is enough.

Now that you know a little about Timothy, and can imagine what a sweet old man he is, you can also perhaps share in my joy as I see and relate the fruit of the Kingdom message in his life. This past Sunday, Alexander, a friend and neighbor of Timothy’s, accompanied him to our fellowship gathering. Alexander shared that he has quietly been watching Timothy’s life since he surrendered to Christ. Marc noted that Alexander usually attends the weekly wazee meeting if Timothy is the host. Alexander shared of his lifelong church attendance and his desire to find the “real thing,” but not really being satisfied with denominations. Instead, he has seen something in Timothy and wants to know more. He expressed a desire to hear the same teaching that changed Timothy, and said that he believes he will need to be baptized into new lifeFrom here, I’m sure one of our gifted teachers will be sharing the Gospel of the Kingdom with Alexander eventually, but this would not have happened without the quiet witness of Timothy’s life. So praise God with us for the fruit that is being born for the Kingdom of God, not in the preaching to hundreds, but in the day-to-day example that so many disciples here live out before their families, friends, and neighbors. And pray with us for a continued harvest here on the mission field in Kenya.

KDM’s Work with Malnourished Children

Through the clinic and medical missions work of the Kingdom Driven Ministries team here in Kenya, many instances of malnourished children have been identified and we have done our best to provide consistent care for these special cases. In almost every case, the children and a family caregiver have spent an initial period of time in a local clinic or hospital getting their medical and dietary needs met, receiving nutritional counseling, and preparing for continued care when returned to the home environment.

The continued care for these patients has been a challenge, as of course there are underlying causes for the malnourishment; in most cases, the family simply lives in poverty and cannot provide the quality and quantity of food necessary for proper child development. Many of these children and their mothers have been abandoned by the husband and father. Even when food assistance is provided, the food intended for the malnourished child is sometimes consumed by equally hungry family members (other children or even parents). This is frustrating, yet understandable. One grandfather (who was caring for his two malnourished grandchildren) basically said, “Of course I need to eat, too. If I can’t work, how can I provide any better for the children?” This is a common quandary: how to provide for the needy children while also helping families and empowering them for continued care of these little ones.

Currently, we have seven children for whom we have been providing regular assistance; not only food but, in some cases, financial help (such as for mothers who have been left on their own by fathers who were the sole support for the family). Some of these children are siblings, and in all cases they remain with family members for their care. We have had regular supporters who have taken on the burden for this financial assistance, but our program is currently undergoing revision and there does not seem to be enough commitment from our donors to continue to help these children.

Our program has been highly individualized and, as stated, has included some supplemental financial assistance. KDM staff has been doing home visits, coordinating appointments with a nutritionist, shopping for special needs, and so on. However, the team feels it best to streamline this process and develop a standardized strategy that can be put in place for all program participants and maximize financial resources. As a result, our desire is to provide weekly food packages with common items that are needed by the malnourished children, as well as a small amount of maize that is intended for use by the rest of the family.

Ideally, we will continue to care for the children on a temporary basis and gradually release them from dependence on the program provisions. We propose 125ml oil, 1kg sugar, 1kg rice, 1kg porridge, 2kg beans, 2litres milk and 10 oranges per “package.” Households will get one or two packages depending on the number of malnourished children. We will add 4kg maize per household to hold up the rest of the family and hopefully prevent them from using resources meant for needy children. A package costs about $12.00. We believe a “package” program will provide sufficient nutritional supplementation to sustain the needy children, without creating a dependence on the part of the caregivers.

Our current population of patients (7), each receiving one package weekly, would total $4368 on an annual basis, which averages $364 per month. Additionally, we hope to offer a monthly stipend of $35 to one of the children’s caregivers, as it is a special situation (see information about Isaac, below), which brings the program total to $399 per month.

Connect to Drop Box for photos of our current patients, some photos “then” (when the children were originally brought to us), and some “now” (current photos showing their progress thus far): https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fz5xvptemp5e7xw/AACrwZvUQSQ-03-clBx00E3ia?dl=0

The majority of children served are currently doing much better than they originally were, but given the circumstances of many of these families, we have seen quite a few of them backslide in health after their release from care at the local clinic and return to the home situation. This is why the provision of a supplemental weekly food package can mean so much in these situations. Here is a list of the children and a short description of their family situations:

 

Isaac, age 13: His malnourishment and development were in critical condition when we began assisting him. His mother has given an Aunt care of him, and she has an additional 4 of her own children in the home. Isaac is malnourished but also suffers from epilepsy and has undiagnosed neurological issues. As a result, it is difficult for his Aunt to both provide for his ongoing medical needs and work full-time outside the home. We have been assisting her with a small stipend to try to stretch her existing funds and would like to continue to do so, at least temporarily.

Carin (4) and her sister, Faith (2), are at home with their mother, who recently gave birth to another baby. She has another, older child who is being cared for by family members. They spent approximately two months at the local clinic, as their initial condition was acute.

Garrison (6) is at home with Mama and 4 siblings. Garrison’s younger siblings, due to being breastfed, are nutritionally and developmentally doing well for now but because Garrison’s Mother was abandoned and he is the oldest, he has suffered the most from malnourishment.

Abigail (6) and Eliya (3) spent a long time at the local clinic and were released with concerns about the mother’s mental and emotional ability to care for the children long-term. The children and the mother spent some time with an alternate care-giver in the community who was taking care of two of her own malnourished grandchildren. After some months in this situation, the woman confirmed that the mother continued to have difficulty with basic responsibilities regarding the children. With approval from our village Chief, a member of our local fellowship brought the children into his family, where their health improved and they began to achieve some developmental milestones (such as walking, which they had not done previously). The children are currently being cared for by their grandfather, who is now also a member of our fellowship. There are several other grandchildren in the home.

Murawa (4), is our most recent addition to the program. His mother has left him in the care of his grandparents since birth. His grandfather, Charles, is an Mzee (respected older man) in our fellowship. He is a hard worker but is an older man, and he recently underwent surgery to repair his femur, which was broken inside the socket. As a church, we began providing him with some food assistance during this time, especially as we began to notice his hair changing color due to pellagra (a nutritional deficiency). Though not acutely malnourished, Murawa is small for his age and would certainly benefit from supplemental food assistance, at least temporarily.

  If you are able to assist on a monthly basis with these needs, visit our donation page and scroll down to sign up for a “monthly subscription” for medical missions in the amount of your choice. To make a one-time gift, you may input any donation amount for either Medical Missions or special needs. You may earmark your donation with a note during the checkout process.
www.KingdomDriven.org/donate

Mosquito nets for Saboti disciples

Greetings Saints,

We recently had a malaria outbreak in Saboti. We treated fourteen children and adults; several were seriously ill. This home fellowship is in the center of a little village planted on the side of a hill. They are very poor people with no farmland (since they are on a rocky hill) or livestock. We were praying for assistance to purchase them mosquito nets to help prevent a repeat of this situation. We hope to get twenty nets at a cost of $6 each (total $120). Please consider helping these people keep their families safe from malaria. You can donate at www.kingdomdriven.org/donate and note “mosquito nets” at checkout.

Thank you and God bless you.

 

Saboti people who live on a rock hill.
Saboti people who live on a rock hill.

Mom gave her child her own medication to better the child.
Mom gave her child her own medication to better the child.
Unfortunately, his wife died but his daughter lived, though very, very sick

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Assistance for Brother Victor

Greetings Saints:

Brother Victor is a terminally ill (yet active and otherwise healthy) cancer patient who recently had a large tumor on his chest removed and received radiation treatment. He serves as the gatekeeper for the medical clinic a couple days a week and is active in the church. He recently received his driver’s license and is still learning to drive (yeah, I know that sounds backward–welcome to Africa.) DSC_0404

His wound where his tumor was removed is still open and requires daily cleanings. Disciples have been volunteering to perform the cleanings for free. However, the supplies and medicine are needed. I am writing for assistance to purchase the necessary cleaning supplies, bandages, and pain medicine. The cost is approximately $50 per month. Please consider donating for these needed supplies to continue caring for our dear brother Victor. Please donate at www.kingdomdriven.org/donate and note “Victor” at checkout.

Thanks and God bless you.IMG_0650

Irene needs your help

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Greetings Saints:

Our dear young disciple needs your help. She has been admitted in the hospital for over a week due to deterioration resulting from her HIV/AIDS. She is 18 years old and has had HIV from an unknown source since early childhood. We really thought we were going to lose her last week, but she miraculously pulled through. Her immune system had totally collapsed; yet after a blood transfusion and some prayer she has made an impressive recovery. Now she is nearing discharge pending payment of the outstanding and daily-increasing hospital bill. We also currently supplement her diet with healthy foods thanks to generous support from brethren. We estimate a need of approximately $120 to clear her medical bills. Please donate at www.kingdomdriven.org/donate.

Thank you and God bless you