Visiting Friends

(Eric) As I’ve pointed out perhaps too often, we see a lot of kids dying here. After a while you get used to it and realize that you do what is reasonable and then pray for the best. But for whatever reason, sometimes you just latch onto a case and push with all your might. Last night starting at 11pm I had one of those cases. A one year old boy stopped breathing in the E.R. My intern called me up and we worked to get him back and on a ventilator.

This one year old was the second child of a very nice couple who had already lost their first child. The father explained to me, as if he had to, how important this child was to them. I decided I couldn’t let this one die. We did everything we could think of to do for the boy, prayed over him, and went to bed. After an hour of sleep, it hit me that I should try one more thing so I headed back up at 3:30am. But in the end, he was taken off the ventilator at the end of the day after we knew there was nothing we could do to help. I can’t imagine the sorrow.

Just minutes before, we took a 9 year old boy off the ventilator to die after getting hit by a car the night before. This week there have been at least 1-2 pediatric deaths per day (out of about 50 kids admitted in the hospital), mostly avoidable if they would have happened to have been born in America.

But lest we get too sad, today we sent home the baby that was dead for 20 minutes and now is acting like a completely normal baby (see photo with smiling mother). There are so many more good stories than bad.

The rains are tapering off, just when they are supposed to be at their fullest. We generally get about an inch a day here in April, but are instead going days in a row without rain. It seems nice for us to have great weather, but we forget that our pleasure can be hardship or death for many. Our kids are so happy when it doesn’t rain, but we explain to them that it is not our simple pleasures that are important but the lives of the farmers. But as is often the case, our own thoughts and actions as adults are not that different from self-centered kids.

Don’t we close our Mexican border so they won’t disturb our economy? Don’t we subsidize our farmers in spite of how it literally kills farmers in developing countries? Don’t we destroy countries with our bombs so that we can keep our physical and economic security intact? Yes, we too like to keep our “sunny days”, regardless of how it affects the voiceless unseen.

Jodi here – with a lighter side of things. Last Sunday we visited a good friend that we’ve known since our first term here in 2001. Peter Ronoh is a hard working, congenial man, tall with a big smile. We drove about 10 minutes and then hiked up a hill to his home. We enjoyed greeting his wife and two of his children followed by his brother, nephews, nieces and neighbors. His wife prepared delicious chai over an open fire inside their mud home. We saw his mom who looks about 102 years old (see photo), but may only be 76, according to Peter. No birth records exist. It was great to catch up with his family.

This was one day that we are very fortunate it did not rain on our trip. Julia has a true phobia of rain ever since we got caught in the torrential downpour on the side of the hill a month ago. This being rainy season makes it difficult to make plans, especially when the grey clouds begin to roll in and the thunder begins. This is a more serious problem than we ever imagined and know how to handle at times. We appreciate any advice and especially prayers for Julia who reacts with fear and tears until the rain stops. Thank goodness for the IPOD and earphones.

Overall the kids seem to enjoy life here. There are kids outside at almost all hours of the day, ready to play. Imaginations are on cruise control here with fewer toys to play with and no excuse to not be outside in the perfect weather. Homeschooling is going well, although it is a stretch for me. It takes some time each morning for the kids to settle down, but once we are in the spare “school room”, they are all business and work hard to complete all the worksheets, math problems, handwriting pages and station activities that we brought or have had emailed to us by their Kindergarten teacher. We normally work for an hour, take a recess, then work for another hour or so before finishing our school day with recess…all afternoon. Of course, we aren’t strict – often we’ll do reading in the afternoon and two days a week the kids attend an activity hour where books are read, crafts are done, games are played. So lots going on here for them to enjoy.

Another light note – congratulations to Geoffrey Mutai of our local Kenyan tribe who won the Boston Marathon in record time!