Please pray for the permanent missionary doctors who are stationed here in Kapsowar.
1.One of the families have 4 children that range from 7 months to 5 years old. Their youngest is a foster child that they hope to adopt in 3 years, according to the adoption laws in Kenya. This child's mother died at childbirth and the family abandoned him with nobody to care for him.He is now in the missionaries care waiting for the adoption process to start. The law in Kenya forbid any child to be adopted before the age of 3 years old. He is adorable but a very fussy baby and need constant care from his new mom (Ashley) , who have very demanding work days at the hospital and dad (Mike) ( Engineer )who does the maintenance and restoration of the houses on the mission grounds.
2.Another permanent missionary surgeon Bill and his wife Laura,have been working in this hospital for the last 18 years. He is an amazing doctor that can do so many different kinds of surgery that you sometimes wonder if he is a general surgeon ,plastic surgeon,orthopedic surgeon or even a gynecologist. People are flocking to this hospital because of his excellent care. He can also speak Swahili and is a very humble man and he works very long hours every day. People come to Kapsowar from much bigger towns to receive first class Surgeries and medical care.
Bill and Laura also travel to other remote places to provide medical care, and their lives are in constant danger. Please pray for God's protection over their lives and that they will find time to rest to prevent them from burnout.
3. Pray for the Chaplaincy program in the hospital as it is a very important part of this hospital.There are 2 pastors who are doing daily rounds in the different wards and they pray, play music and read God's Word to the patients .Their other important duty is to provide care to the families of patients who died and counseling care to patients who try to commit suicide.One of the pastors told me that the town of Kapsowar had 8 young people last year who committed suicide. The majority of those were patients who heard that they are HIV positive. Many patients that come from other more rural areas have never heard about Jesus and some of them will receive a Bible for the first time. All of the patients constantly request prayer for themselves or families and it is a privilege to see their bold faith in God's Word and the hope that it gives to everybody who believes.
4. Please pray for a female patient who is currently in hospital . She became a paraplegic 2 years ago when she fell out of a mango tree. She is a mom of 4 children and she is hospitalized because of bedsores that wont heal.She was very depressed when she arrived at the hospital but it is beautiful to watch how she says in her own words"the dark in her soul has lifted and she now sees the light" . She received a Bible for the first time and asked me to come and pray everyday with her and explain what the Bible teaches.She reminds me of a child who received a special gift and never leaves it out of sight. Please pray that I will have the wisdom to teach her and help her to know that Jesus loves her and is always with her ,even if the bedsores might not heal.
Sunday, 16 November 2014
Sunday, 9 November 2014
The activities of the past week in Kapsowar - November 09 ,2014
This past week in Kapsowar was very busy for Andre and I. This week was the last week of the school year for most of the schools. I was invited to all the school ceremonies and graduations activities.One thing that I have learned this week is that people here have lots of patience especially when it comes to starting time of programs and appointments. You learn quickly that people and relationships are way more important than starting at the advertised time. The pastor of the AIC church just laughs every time I ask him " when are you going to start with the program " . He says that " we in the West have watches but Africans have time " and that is so true. Everything slows down , way down and for Andre and I it feels like heaven.
The town of Kapsowar is bustling with activities and very dependant on the the hospital .It is fun to stroll through their little shops because it feels as if you step back in time. Where can you still buy a coke out of a 300ml. glass bottles or Fanta orange , Sprite or Bitter Lemon Krest for 25 cents US ? It is as if we experience a little bit of our childhood again and it triggers many wonderful memories of our former years growing up in South Africa.
There are also many very skilled seamstresses who are still using old Singer sewing machines that work with foot action and not electricity. I made friends with one of them the last time we were here and she insisted on making me another skirt. Well I don't think that you can buy a beautiful African printed skirt , lined and tailor made to your body for $8 (material included ) anywhere else in the world, And did I mentioned that it was finished within 2 days ? I showed up a little earlier than the scheduled time and she was busy ironing it with an iron that dated out of the 1800's , it is one of those that still uses hot coals inside .
Speaking of electricity , we have at least one power outages every day and on Thursdays it is longer than just an hour,sometimes up to 5 hours .They do power sharing to overcome the problem of scarcity of electricity. We had many romantic dinners with all the candles burning .I am so thankful for a gas stove and as long as we can eat we are happy. We also have to switch the geyser on for hot showers and when finished you switch the geyser off again. We finally started to remember to switch it on at the right time because it takes an hour and 30 minutes before the water is hot enough for a shower.
One of the permanent missionaries is renovating a house for a family that is suppose to arrive this coming weekend , so everybody that can do something is helping out . I love to paint so I got the job of painting the house on the inside.
I was also asked on Thursday to preach at a women's conference held by the local church for all the churches in the area . The conference was on Saturday , starting at 11 am and end at 4.30 with "lunch".The assigned pastor could not come from Nairobi and they thought that as a women I should be the perfect candidate. What a blessing it was to be accepted as one of them by these beautiful women who love the Lord with all their hearts.
There is one thing that African people can do very well , to sing and dance in their worship services. There are 16 local churches in this area and it was just an amazing experience to hear their testimonies and learn that they have the same joys and sorrows as we do. I think they are more honest and open tho share what is truly on their hearts than us .Kenyan women are very warm and caring and they dress very smart for any event that takes place at the schools or churches. Even the little kids are dressed in their Sunday clothes with the boys in suits and most of the dresses are made locally by seamstresses.
Andre and I try to go for a long walk every day for our daily exercise but this week was also a busy week for Andre at the hospital and today was the first day in a week that we could get our daily exercise.
Andre saw some heartbreaking cases this week and I think the cases that breaks our hearts are those of children who die because of lack of means to get to the hospital in time or patients who just do not have the money for further treatments. Although the missionary doctors work for free , the patients must buy their own medicine and pay for surgeries and hospitalisation if they can afford it
The town of Kapsowar is bustling with activities and very dependant on the the hospital .It is fun to stroll through their little shops because it feels as if you step back in time. Where can you still buy a coke out of a 300ml. glass bottles or Fanta orange , Sprite or Bitter Lemon Krest for 25 cents US ? It is as if we experience a little bit of our childhood again and it triggers many wonderful memories of our former years growing up in South Africa.
There are also many very skilled seamstresses who are still using old Singer sewing machines that work with foot action and not electricity. I made friends with one of them the last time we were here and she insisted on making me another skirt. Well I don't think that you can buy a beautiful African printed skirt , lined and tailor made to your body for $8 (material included ) anywhere else in the world, And did I mentioned that it was finished within 2 days ? I showed up a little earlier than the scheduled time and she was busy ironing it with an iron that dated out of the 1800's , it is one of those that still uses hot coals inside .
Speaking of electricity , we have at least one power outages every day and on Thursdays it is longer than just an hour,sometimes up to 5 hours .They do power sharing to overcome the problem of scarcity of electricity. We had many romantic dinners with all the candles burning .I am so thankful for a gas stove and as long as we can eat we are happy. We also have to switch the geyser on for hot showers and when finished you switch the geyser off again. We finally started to remember to switch it on at the right time because it takes an hour and 30 minutes before the water is hot enough for a shower.
One of the permanent missionaries is renovating a house for a family that is suppose to arrive this coming weekend , so everybody that can do something is helping out . I love to paint so I got the job of painting the house on the inside.
I was also asked on Thursday to preach at a women's conference held by the local church for all the churches in the area . The conference was on Saturday , starting at 11 am and end at 4.30 with "lunch".The assigned pastor could not come from Nairobi and they thought that as a women I should be the perfect candidate. What a blessing it was to be accepted as one of them by these beautiful women who love the Lord with all their hearts.
There is one thing that African people can do very well , to sing and dance in their worship services. There are 16 local churches in this area and it was just an amazing experience to hear their testimonies and learn that they have the same joys and sorrows as we do. I think they are more honest and open tho share what is truly on their hearts than us .Kenyan women are very warm and caring and they dress very smart for any event that takes place at the schools or churches. Even the little kids are dressed in their Sunday clothes with the boys in suits and most of the dresses are made locally by seamstresses.
Andre and I try to go for a long walk every day for our daily exercise but this week was also a busy week for Andre at the hospital and today was the first day in a week that we could get our daily exercise.
Andre saw some heartbreaking cases this week and I think the cases that breaks our hearts are those of children who die because of lack of means to get to the hospital in time or patients who just do not have the money for further treatments. Although the missionary doctors work for free , the patients must buy their own medicine and pay for surgeries and hospitalisation if they can afford it
Tuesday, 4 November 2014
Our daily lives and tasks in Kapsowar.
Andre;
Andre's days starts with fellowship with his colleagues ( Psalms ) every morning 8-8.30 except on Wednesdays when all the Hospital staff attend a church service from 7.30 till 8.30 at the Chapel
His working day starts at 9 am and this past week he was assigned to work at the Emergency ward that screen patients for surgery. The hospital is not as busy this time of the year but two of the permanent doctors are on leave and Andre is standing in for them.He has already seen many trauma cases that you will likely never see elsewhere .He loves working in a environment where the common goal is to "Glorify God in everything we do".
Gerda:
My day starts with leading devotionals for the Nursing students at 8 am .I am so struck by the simplicity of their lives and how good their knowledge is of the Bible. This class is not mandatory but there is a full class every morning. All of the students carry a Bible and when I asked them to quote key verses , they know it by heart. This class is the highlight of my day and they all speak English very well.( likely better than me ) .Kenyan people are very friendly and always tell you that you are " very welcome " but it takes them a while to show their emotions. We seldom see them cry even in the most devastating circumstances and you wonder if the reason is because they see and experience so much trauma.
At 10 am I do hospital rounds with the two pastors from the Chaplaincy and we pray with the patients and talk with the families ,The young people receive their education in English so they are all fluent in English but most of the older people only speak their mother language and then the pastors help with the translation. There are 40 different languages and sometimes patients will be from another region that nobody can understand .Because of the privacy of these patients I cannot share their medical details but there is everyday a case that just breaks my heart. It is always so humbling to see how much they want us to pray for them and how much they cling to the hope that Jesus gives ,
I also spend lots of time at the African Inland Church School that is situated just next to the hospital.
This school has captured my heart and the children are adorable. They range from 3 years to 14 years old with 196 students and 18 teachers. I spend a lot of time taking pictures and notes at this school and will share that when we are home , because our internet in Kapsowar can not load pictures.
Andre's days starts with fellowship with his colleagues ( Psalms ) every morning 8-8.30 except on Wednesdays when all the Hospital staff attend a church service from 7.30 till 8.30 at the Chapel
His working day starts at 9 am and this past week he was assigned to work at the Emergency ward that screen patients for surgery. The hospital is not as busy this time of the year but two of the permanent doctors are on leave and Andre is standing in for them.He has already seen many trauma cases that you will likely never see elsewhere .He loves working in a environment where the common goal is to "Glorify God in everything we do".
Gerda:
My day starts with leading devotionals for the Nursing students at 8 am .I am so struck by the simplicity of their lives and how good their knowledge is of the Bible. This class is not mandatory but there is a full class every morning. All of the students carry a Bible and when I asked them to quote key verses , they know it by heart. This class is the highlight of my day and they all speak English very well.( likely better than me ) .Kenyan people are very friendly and always tell you that you are " very welcome " but it takes them a while to show their emotions. We seldom see them cry even in the most devastating circumstances and you wonder if the reason is because they see and experience so much trauma.
At 10 am I do hospital rounds with the two pastors from the Chaplaincy and we pray with the patients and talk with the families ,The young people receive their education in English so they are all fluent in English but most of the older people only speak their mother language and then the pastors help with the translation. There are 40 different languages and sometimes patients will be from another region that nobody can understand .Because of the privacy of these patients I cannot share their medical details but there is everyday a case that just breaks my heart. It is always so humbling to see how much they want us to pray for them and how much they cling to the hope that Jesus gives ,
I also spend lots of time at the African Inland Church School that is situated just next to the hospital.
This school has captured my heart and the children are adorable. They range from 3 years to 14 years old with 196 students and 18 teachers. I spend a lot of time taking pictures and notes at this school and will share that when we are home , because our internet in Kapsowar can not load pictures.
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