This is my first mission trip and my first day in Kenya. It has been absolutely amazing already. The country is gorgeous and the people are so genuine and kind. The journey here was a long one but it was completely worth it. Today we went to Mbewau and met the staff, some church members and some of the kids. Everyone welcomed us with open arms and a huge smile on their faces, I felt at ease immediately. Today, I was able to help Lisa in her clinic. As a nurse, medicine is what I know and love so I was really excited to be able to use what I know and what God has given me to help the people in the village. The clinic is like none other I have ever seen. The people lined up outside and waited for us to see them and filed in one by one all day. One thing I noticed immediately is how patient they were. In the US, we are constantly running and with technology moving as quickly as it is, we just continue to move faster. Patients in the US tend to get very angry if they are not seen within 30 minutes. Some of the people waited almost 4 hours to be seen in the clinic and that was so new to me. Another thing that I noticed was the lack of resources. The majority of things that we saw the people for were things that we take for granted like rashes and allergies. The things I saw today most today between 30 people was Seasonal allergies, Skin rashes/irritation, and dehydration. The people do so much manual labor outside in the heat that dehydration becomes a problem. They don't have fresh water at their finger tips like we do, getting more water is a chore. Literally! Another resource that I noticed is lacking is general education about how to treat a mild rash, what allergies are and how to prevent/treat them. I know I completely take for granted that I can go to Walgreens, buy allergy medicine and hydrocortisone cream over the counter and treat things at home. Today we had to make do with what we had - which was not much but we made it work and it was awesome.
In the midst of all of these new experiences, I was walking in the village by some of their homes and there was a very small little boy - probably 2 maybe 3 at the most and he was crying because he had cut his finger. The cut was tiny but his hand was completely bloody. I walked over to him, cleaned his precious little hands and the tiny cut for him. He was so sweet! At that moment he just looked at me and stopped crying and my heart melted! That moment made my trip, I can't explain how a tiny cut on a tiny little boy made such an impact but it did! It's only day one! I know there's much more in store and I can't wait!...Chelsea Outhier
Today was my first day in Kenya and we went to MBEWAU Church and Christian school. As soon as I sat down in the chapel, I saw these two little girls. I noticed that one little girl had a friend with what I figured out was cerebal palsy. It was the pastors daughter. I called her over to me and asked her if she wanted smarties and thats when I realized she couldn't talk to me, but she made hand motions and smiled so big. Her left eye is how she made eye contact with me. She didn't take the smarties but I started taking pictures with her. We were smiling, laughing in one, and looking at the smarties. After showing her the pictures we took, she pointed at the camera, smiling, and laughing. I have never seen someone so excited to see their picture before. Nothing melted my heart more than seeing her so happy about getting her pictures taken. She continued to follow me around for a majority of the day, and every time someone took her picture, I told them to show it to her and see her expression and how happy she was. For the people that don't know me, I have a huge heart for children with special needs. I will never forget this little girl, I will continue to pray for her and I hope to come back to Kenya yearly to see her grow....Riley Craig
My how little Henrietta has GROWN since last June. Please give her a hug for me. : )
ReplyDeleteKaren R