Medical Updates: Victor and Micah

Our gratitude is beyond words’ expression, due to poverty of languages. We cannot express perfectly our thankfulness for all our brothers, sisters, donors and well-wishers who have stood with us in our great mission to expand the Kingdom of God and to meet the needs of the people we minister to and serve. Cooperation is the essence of genuine comradeship, therefore we are grateful for all our comrades who have selflessly cooperated with us in assisting least of these; in this case, Victor Simiyu and Micah Juma.

018Victor Simiyu, a young man in our fellowship and a cancer patient, was re-admitted earlier this year for the second time in Mulago Hospital, Kampala, Uganda, for more and deeper radiation treatment. After earlier operations, he was found with Fibro sarcoma of the anterior chest wall. Thus, on his return to Mulago Hospital, he was carefully planned for radical radio therapy; tangential fields were used in order to save the critical organs and sensitive tissues. Since his return from Kampala, slowly the chest growth is decreasing020, and recently it has started to rot and fall off. Though this is a disturbing image, it represents the work of God, and we praise Him! Victor was further referred back to a Kenyan special surgeon for more evaluations and check ups. Little was done other than re-dressing the wound and providing some non-narcotic pain medications. As Victor prepares to return to Uganda later this month (March 28), for another follow-up, please keep him in prayer. Doctors treat, but God heals.

 

 

069Micah Juma had been using a catheter following a December 2011 road accident. He also had untreated breakage of his backbone and legs. Earlier this month (March 9),we took him to Eldoret Hospital for supra pubic catheter replacement and recommended knee surgery. We also inquired about the possibility of surgically repairing the urethral damage. His treatments and operations have been temporarily put on hold until April 5, his next scheduled appointment. This delay is to allow him to go through a rigorous antibiotic regimen designed to eliminate the infection his is currently suffering, and give his body enough time and strength to prepare for the surgery. Keep Micah in prayers as he prepares for these big next steps!

 

True wealth is investing yourself in that which yields the greatest benefits for yourself and others, storing your treasures in Heaven. God bless ALL of you, for your donations and especially for your prayers.

Pure and Undefiled Religion: Meet Loise Anita

In our previous post  Putting a Face on the HIV/AIDS Tragedy in Rural Africa, we briefly highlighted the impact and tragedy of the epidermic to the community in general, especially to the children.

018Loise Anita, 4 years, is one of the children living with HIV/AIDS in our community. Her parents both died due to HIV and left her under the care of the grandmother, who is a widow. A specific food program was recommended for her by a local government health officer. However, her grandmother cannot provide the special diet needed to keep her strong and healthy, due to the financial pressures of raising Loise alongside of other young children in the home, on her limited means. This situation is a difficult one for little Anita, whose physical growth and  mental development is under threat of compromise.

How much we yearn to help and support this family, especially the children! Currently we don’t have an established food program for families of HIV patients as we do for the malnourished children, yet the needs are just as pressing. We are looking forward to establishing something for these families too, if the Lord will grant us the grace and resources to do so. For a time, we are incorporating Anita into our existing malnourished food program; however, that program is already at its maximum for the funding we’ve received. To help her (according to the health department’s recommendations) and keep the existing program going will cost approximately $40 per month. Not only would we love to help Anita, but other families affected by HIV, whom we are currently assisting in other ways.

” Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in the their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world” said James the Righteous. Join the Kingdom Driven family and help Loise Anita! Help us to create a circle of life with strong hopes for the orphans and widows. Make a father and mother for Anita; be the hands and feet of Jesus.

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Peace and blessing unto ALL souls.

Sympathize with the Needy

IMG_0747Micah Juma, age 28 is a patient who was sent to us by a local government official, the chief of Matunda location, for medical assistance. When the chief summoned Micah’s father at her office to face the charges against him, presented by his creditor for failing to pay back their money, this Mzee broke into tears at the chief’s office. He lamented ”I have sold all that I had to treat my son, I have borrowed from my friends, but the hospital bills are getting higher and higher every day, and my son still suffers. I don’t know what to do next, I have reached the end now, please have mercy and pity on me.” The Chief was filled with great sympathy for the man and she called the missionary Marc Carrier and asked if he can help this patient.

Micah has had a supra pubic catheter since December 2011 following a car accident where his back bone was badly broken and he suffered a severe urethral injury. He was referred to Moi Teaching Referral Hospital for special treatment but due to financial challenges he was not able to go. His condition is deteriorating day by day; now the catheter has stopped draining and the Supra pubic cytostomy has started oozing blood and pus. To do complete surgery replacement will cost not less than K sh 150,000 ($1,500). Also to replace the broken joint in his hip with an artificial component connecting the femur and tibia, will cost not less than K sh 60,000 ($600).

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To do good  at all seasons to those we wish to help is not always possible; only one way is ever open, and that is the way of sympathy; as author James Allen notes, “sympathy given can never be wasted.” One great aspect of sympathy is that of pity–pity for the distressed and pain-stricken, with a desire to alleviate or help them in their suffering. The world needs more of this divine quality, “For pity makes the world soft to the weak and poor, and noble for the strong” (Sir Edwin Arnold). To rejoice with the happy in the day of their happiness, to share their sorrow when ill befalls them, to lend a hand in all their difficulties, to fear disaster for them is the pathway to godliness.

Please help us help Micah by donating at www.kingdomdriven.org/donate. Thanks and God bless you.

 

February 2016 Medical Update

Apparently February was a month for broken bones in our small Kenya village. We sent two young girls to the District Hospital, one to set a hand broken in a fall (pictured below, after cast was removed) and another to set a leg broken when she was hit by a motorbike (pictured below with cast). If you remember the elderly Mama with the broken ankle from last month, she also re-visited the hospital for a follow-up and to have her cast removed. We are pleased to report that she is back on her feet, praise God!

Eunice, a mother of 10 children (nine girls and one boy!) went to the clinic with what she suspected to be malaria, but it turns out she picked up brucellosis, a disease common among those who have milking cows (which Eunice does). This took several visits to the clinic for injections, and she now reports improvement. A neighbor of ours, Rose, a middle-aged Mama, was bitten on the leg by the dog of one of our other neighbors. She also went to the clinic for treatment.

IMG_0742
Judith
Mzee Robert
Mzee Robert

Judith, an abandoned wife with two teen girls in our fellowship, has struggled through TB treatments for the past several months, and had finally been improving. You can imagine how difficult it was for her to get sick again this month, now with malaria and typhoid. After much prayer and treatment, she is now feeling better. Please keep her in prayer, as her TB needs ongoing treatment (it is government subsidized), and when she has other ailments it is very challenging for her physically.

Our Matunda fellowship’s Mzee Robert was assaulted by a neighbor and injured. We sent him to the clinic for treatment. Also visiting the clinic was Lucky, a 16 month-old boy in our church who is always smiling as he toddles around (somewhat unsteadily). Apparently, in toddler fashion, he got an injury that no one noticed until it got good and infected. It was lanced, drained, and cleaned, and Lucky went home with some antibiotics.

Throughout this month, 13 patients were treated (some for more than one problem, i.e., malaria and typhoid) at our local clinic with the following diagnoses: malaria (6), typhoid (5), soft tissue injury (2), septic wound (1), urinary tract infection (1), and brucellosis (1). The total cost for these treatments was $125. We had referrals to the District Hospital for the broken bones and wound care, in the amount of $90. We also replenished our supply of OTC malaria meds and ibuprofen, which were given out as needed. In addition, several HIV patients were assisted with transport to and from the District Hospital to pick up their monthly medications. In total, our routine medical expenditures (excluding special cases such as surgeries and treatment for chronic illnesses) came in just under $350.

Esau
Esau
broken arm
Wafula

Our special medical expenditures for this month amounted to almost $70. We sent Wafula to the Orthopedic Hospital for a checkup on his badly broken arm (which last month was repaired through surgery with screws, etc.). Also, the young boy Esau (about age 13), who has severe swelling of his spleen, went for further appointments. Last year he was treated for visceral leishmaniasis, which proved ineffective. Earlier this year, he was treated for malaria as a possible cause; they also speculated that the problem could be related to sickle-cell anemia. After taking various medications, he went this month for a follow up and it was determined that the treatments made little progress in reducing the swelling. At the end of next month, he will return to the regional teaching/referral hospital to see if we can nail down an underlying cause and get an effective treatment in order. Please pray for him in the coming days; we trust that God can heal him.

Putting a Face on the HIV/AIDS Tragedy in Rural Africa

001According to many statistics, approximately 69% of all people living with HIV/AIDS  are found in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is a serious crisis to many developing nations. Because of the magnitude of HIV-related sickness and death, pain and sorrow is often a part of daily life for those affected and for their relatives. The number of patients admitted to HIV/AIDS wards in hospitals continues to rise, and the number of widows and orphans as a result of AIDS deaths also increases day by day.

Challenges faced

In general, for village communities, the AIDS crisis of downward-spiraling health, death, and creating orphaned or disadvantaged children, is compounded by several issues: the insufficiency of healthcare facilities to deal with with the number of affected individuals;  the inability of people to pay not only for healthcare but even transportation to and from healthcare facilities; and the stigma of HIV/AIDS, which often keeps those infected from seeking treatment. The lack of education in general is another contributing factor for the increasing numbers of HIV-infected individuals in village communities such as ours.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic isn’t pertinent only to the affected individuals; this is a tragedy that effects all of us on the level of our basic humanity.  Untold amounts of money have been invested by governments and non-governmental organizations, with the goal of  equipping health workers and educating the masses. Through this cooperation much has been achieved, but much remains to be accomplished. But let’s back away from the global and even national consequences and look at the individuals and their families.  What happens when families lose their loved ones? What about teen or young adult children that have to nurse and bury their parents?

When parents become too ill to work, to care for the household and even for themselves, it is often children who take on the role of nursing and care giving. Unprepared and untrained, some are forced to drop out of school and seek employment to support their families. Yet, what job will an unsophisticated child  secure? Without education, what opportunities are there for them? Such children are often taken advantage of and even abused; yet, they struggle to care for a family that is falling apart. When the parent dies, these young ones are left orphans and hopeless, often grudgingly taken in by aging or impoverished grandparents, who themselves struggle with the challenges of life. The financial burden of additional mouths to feed, as well as school fees and other expenses, is often too much for the elderly, who typically cannot work themselves. Though in the family-oriented village culture very few would refuse this burden, it is a heavy one to bear.

Perhaps it is not the parents who suffer, but the youth themselves. Like an out-0f-control brush fire, HIV infection is swiftly spreading from the older generation to the younger generation of people age 16 to 35. Because of the stigma of HIV/AIDS, people who suspect they are infected never go for testing, perpetuating the cycle of infection. Education on HIV prevention and treatment are often neglected. Innocent children are born infected from mothers who are sick. Because of their vulnerable position in society, the suffering of children particularly resonates with us when we hear of the ravages of HIV touching them.

Most affected

According to some statistics, of the 23.5 million people living HIV/AIDS  in Sub-Saharan Africa, 3.1 million are children. As we have seen, children suffer both directly and indirectly from the HIV/AIDS epidemic.  They may suffer directly by being infected by a parent. Others suffer indirectly as orphaned and abandoned children; many end up in the streets. Even if family members take them in, oftentimes resources are scarce and they are the first neglected. Or, the stigma of AIDS leads to maltreatment and the streets look more attractive than the current situation.

Let’s put a face to these statistics: just one young girl in our village, Loise Anita (pictured). Her parents both died due to HIV and left her under the care of the grandmother, who is a widow. Although the government provides Antiretroviral (ARV) treatments and some other services free of charge to try to alleviate the effects of AIDS, patients must travel to the District hospital on specified distribution dates in order to receive the benefits. In the case of Loise, her grandmother simply lacks the financial means to do this, therefore compounding the problem.

IMG_0635 Dickson Simiyu (40 years) and his wife Brigit (38 years) are among many couples in this village who are living with HIV/AIDS. They have three young children: Gyan, Densil, and Griffin. So far as testing has revealed to this point, Griffin (4 years) is the only child also living with the virus. It was not until earlier this year, when visiting Kingdom Driven premises for medical and food assistance, that they came to learn of their status. Dickson is a manual laborer and currently able to work, but there is no extra money to take himself, his wife, and his young son into the District hospital on a monthly basis. When an average daily wage is 300 shillings and you’re lucky to feed your family on that, there is no extra 300 shillings once a month for transport. Yet without the medication to maintain his health, Dickson will more quickly lose the ability to work and provide for his family. Certainly, this is a conundrum.

 

What is the Role of KDM?

Though KDM does not have a formally recognized HIV/AIDS program, we have been moved to assist many HIV-infected folks whose paths we have crossed.  Some of these people have surrendered to Christ and been baptized in our fellowships. Within the last year or so, we’ve lost two sisters in the Lord: Violet, wife to David,  and Irene, a young girl of 20 years who we suspect was infected of unknown origin at a young age. One of our small house churches currently has several infected disciples: a widow with numerous children, two widowers with children, and a 14 year-old boy, Daniel. Others have been brought to our attention through community interactions. What do we do to help them?

  • Transport assistance. This is the primary support that we consistently provide. Though it is KDM policy not to give money directly for expressed needs, we call on several of our church’s wazee (“old men”) or our ordained deacons to travel with patients to the hospital on the day given for them to pick up their medications.
  • Food assistance. Though we don’t have an established food program for families of HIV patients (as we do for the malnourished children), we do what we can to provide supplemental nutritious food to those suffering with HIV.
  • Spiritual guidance and discipleship are a high priority. Giving them hope for each day, and true hope for the future, is where they can find peace.
  • Raising awareness to prevent infection and spreading. One of our longest-running disciples and one of our local fellowship’s deacons, Silas, has recently been working with KDM to develop an HIV awareness program that he would like to implement in our community.   He  has begun connecting with government and other organizations to make this possible. His goal, along with KDM, is to raise approximately $1000 to develop a DVD-based curriculum to present to secondary school students, which is a growing, at-risk group. This training will provide HIV education in combination with Kingdom-based spiritual teachings and and an emphasis on abstinence. We are so excited as we look forward to working with Silas and other members of his group, known as Youth Light Group, to give light and hope to our community.

In a recent interview with Silas, he expressed his deep and sincere concern  for the future generation. This is what he shared:

“My vision and mission is to save the future generation. We must teach and educate the young people; they need to be aware of the disease because it is killing our people every day. People must understand the danger and tragedy caused by HIV. We cannot sit aside and look, we need to do something.”

We need to do something. The time is now. KDM is playing only a small part, and we hope to increase that impact into the future. Please keep all these efforts in your prayers. Pray for the many individuals and families affected by the AIDS crisis here. If you wish to donate financially toward this effort, visit www.KingdomDriven.org/donate.

IMG_0639
Brigit, our Mzee Samwell, brother Silas, and Dickson

 

 

The Lord’s Treasures

Currently Kingdom Driven Ministries (KDM) is providing weekly food packages for seven malnourished children. When we first encountered these  children and the opportunity to invest in heaven through them, it also came with its own trepidation and some questions that needed to be answered. Among them, “Is this our responsibility? Should we get involved? Is there hope for restoration for these children?” All these were genuine and sincere questions to be taken seriously and with great humility. By this teaching of Christ we were confident: “Everything is possible to the one who believes, if you ask in prayer and have faith.” Therefore we embarked on the journey with prayers of faith, knowing that with faith mountains can be moved.

Many have been involved in the care of these children, and it has certainly been a case of “seed time and harvest.” After much investment in the lives of these little ones and their families, the majority of the children in our feeding program are getting better and better every day. They can stand, walk, and even run just like any other kids around them! They are gaining weight and developmentally thriving. This is a miracle to their parents, many of whom had given up hope.  Some of them thought their children’s struggles were the result of some kind of witchcraft or dark spell.

In addition to providing these children with weekly food packages, we also take them to the the local district hospital each month, where they are evaluated by a nutritionist and often provided with other vitamins and supplements or medications (such as de-worming). It is quite an organizational feat to get 7 children and their caregivers to the hospital by motorbike, all somewhat on time! Here are some recent photos from a visit to the nutritionist:

056This is Caro, a widow and mother to Garrison (age 4) and Wilson (age 3)

049Robbies Nasimiyu is the young  mother of Abigail (4) and Eliya (3). She was abandoned by her husband due to mental health challenges, and she has since returned to the home of her parents.

059Mzee Charles is a faithful member of our local fellowship. His grandson, Murawa, was abandoned by his parents and is now being taken care of by this sweet, elderly man.

050Caren (6) and Betty (4) are the children of Rose, who was also abandoned by her husband because of mental health challenges.

 

053   Mzee Timothy with families at the hospital

We are so grateful for the partnership between KDM and our beloved brethren and donors who make this program possible. May the Lord bless you all–without your donations and prayers these lives would not have been changed. And above all we have learned a very important lesson: “Cooperation in love, is power in deeds.”

Our Mzee Timothy (pictured above; he is our church’s deacon and he administers our medical and malnourished programs) has been faithful in overseeing these children and their families for about the last six months. He has kept the program on-budget, stayed in contact with the families, and made sure that there is family education to reduce the risk of relapse in the children. He ensures that every family receives a portion of nutritious foods every week. The food package includes:

  • 1 kg sugar
  • 1 kg rice
  • 4 packets of milk (2L total)
  • 2 bags of porridge flour
  • 10  oranges or other fruit
  • 2 kg of maize flour
  • 3 kg of beans
  • 5 ml cooking oil

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Here is Mzee Timothy doing his weekly shopping

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Next time, we’ll share the testimony of Abigail and Eliya’s grandfather–a testimony that would not be told except for the outreach of faith through deeds.

 

Reagan
Kingdom Driven Ministries welcomes Reagan Simiyu as a contributing author to the blog.

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.

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!