Cholera & water concerns

Hello!
      Please pray for the people of Turkana.  Right now, there are two areas that have cholera.  One is a place connected to lake Turkana.  Because of the drought, this area of water is no longer connected to the lake because the water has receded.  It is called Ferguson's Gulf.  There is about a meter and a half of water in this area and it is believed that there is cholera in this water.  The people are catching fish and eating them and then getting sick.  The other area is similar.  On Friday, there were about 50 people in the government hospital in Lodwar.  5 people had died.  The hospital is running out of IV fluids and I am told that there is no money for more.  They will probably figure out a way to get some here or an aid organization will help get them here before they run out. 

      One of the big problems is the fact that there has really been no response from the capitol except to send a research team to make a report.  No aid is being sent to try to figure out what to do about the contaminated water sources.  So, please pray for wisdom here in Turkana and in the capitol so that this does not become a full fledged crisis.  So far there have been no cases from here in Lodwar, but the people here do buy fish that is caught in Lake Turkana.  So, it is possible for the contaminated fish to make its way here.  So, pray that a solution is found quickly. 

      Another area of concern is water.  The drought is pretty bad here.  Water holes and hand dug wells even in river beds are drying up.  People are walking for several hours to find water holes that have not dried up.  Some of the water holes that they find are 6 or 7 people deep.  They are hand dug so they can collapse fairly easily if they are not shored up well.  People are desperate for water for themselves and their animals.  So, pray that rain will come soon!

      All is not doom and gloom here, but these are serious needs and I wanted to get folks praying.  Thanks for reading this and please share this prayer concern with others!

Mzee update #2

Hello!

      Great news for Mzee.  He and his father traveled back down to visit the doctor on Monday.  The treatment is working.  So, he got some more medicine and will be back in good health very soon.  Thank you all for your prayers for this boy.  It would have been so hard if he had cancer.  This is a wonderful reason to praise the Lord!

      I hope all is well in your part of the world.  My English class is going well.  We will learn about the bedroom and the bathroom tomorrow.  I spent four hours tonight grading homework.  Most of the students were able to complete the homework correctly, so that is good!

      Have a great rest of the week!

Macs and booklets

Hello!

      This week I have been working on making a small 8 page booklet for my English class on things in a house.  That doesn't sound too difficult, but I found that it was harder than I thought.  

      When I was on furlough this last time, I was encouraged to purchase a mac instead of a PC.  I haven't had any problems with this switch until I found out that you can't get publisher for macs.  You can get other microsoft office products and they work great on macs.  You just can't get publisher.  So, when I first got it, I had to figure out how to save my certificates, tests and other publisher files so I could still access them.  They are all now saved as jpeg files.  I am not all that great with a computer, so someone had to help me do that.  Those files can not be changed or updated so the tests and certificates have to stay the same from now on or I have to figure out some other way to do them.

      Now we come to the booklet.  I tried to do it in word for macs.  I just couldn't get the pictures to go where I wanted them or get the page to look right.  So, I went to a local copy place and asked them to help me.  They said they could do it and do it in word so I could have a copy.  Alas,that was not the case.  They resorted to doing it in publisher on their PC.  So, now I have the booklet.  It looks nice, but I don't have a way to store it for the future on my computer because it is in publisher instead of word.

      Okay, I really am not a computer expert :).  I am sure there has to be a program out there for macs that does the same thing as publisher does for PCs.  I just don't know what it is.  So, if anyone reading this blog has an idea, I would be ever so grateful to hear it!!!!!

       Did I mention that it took me three days to write the rhyming little booklet and to get some pictures drawn for it.  They said they would have it done for me with copies by 3 this afternoon.  When I went to get them, they weren't finished.  I stayed there and worked with them until 6:15 this evening.  We have the pages done.  I will have to pick up the copies on Monday.  Things do take much longer here!  It is just 4 pages front and back.

      Okay, enough about that.  I am glad it is done!  The news about Kenya has reached at least one paper in the U.S.  If you want to read it go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/21/AR2009082103698.html?wprss=rss_print/asection   This drought could be a serious problem.  So, please keep Kenya in your thoughts and prayers!!

      Thanks for reading!  Let me know you are as I often think I am writing to the air.  Feedback is nice every now and then.  Have a great weekend! 

Pray for rain!

Hello!

      I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the power rationing in Kenya.  That is because there has been no rain here.  I also mentioned that it is effecting people too in that they are hungry because there hasn't been rain for their crops.  That is only getting worse.  If you want to read about it look at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8211753.stm.  

      Anyway, I just want to encourage you again to pray for rain for Kenya.  Turkana did not get the normal rains and people are hungry here too.  Some of the relief agencies are coming here to measure children and decide when - not if, but when - they will begin distributing relief food.

      Our God is the only one who can break this drought.  He is also the only one who can clean up the problems in this country.  So, pray for rain and pray for him to work in the hearts and minds of the leaders of Kenya!  Thanks for reading and praying! 

A free tip :)

Hello!

      When I first came to Kenya, I ended up with two sets of the same plastic kitchen utensils.  I don't know why, but the extras have come in handy.  I still have them all.  Sometimes you need two narrow spatulas or two slotted spoons.  So, I haven't bemoaned the fact that I had two.  There was only one item that I have had problems figuring out what to do with the second utensil.

      You can only really use one spaghetti "spork" utensil at a time.  It is kind of like a slotted spoon only it has teeth on the outer edges.  They help you get spaghetti out of a common serving bowl onto your plate.  I recently found a use for the spare spaghetti spork.  It makes a great back scratcher!

      So, there is your free tip for the day.  I hope it helps you not have itchy backs!

Mzee update

Hello everyone!
       I thought I would share some good news with you. Mzee went down to Eldoret and visited the doctor there.   When my teammate talked to him on the phone and described the problem, he thought it was probably cancer just like our nurse.  When he examined Mzee, he decided that it is more likely a fungal infection along with a viral infection.  He did some lab tests and then he gave them the medicines to treat it for two weeks and asked them to return so he can make sure that is what it is.
      So, Mzee and his dad came back to Turkana.  They will return in a couple of weeks.  If he is getting better, then that is the end of the story.  If he isn't, then the doctor will do a biopsy to make sure it isn't cancer.  So, the news is really good!  Thanks for your prayers!  Please keep praying that the medicines will help knock out these infections and that he will be better when he has to return to the doctor.

Church

Hello!

      I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful day of praising the Lord!  I have just returned to Turkana and was glad to be able to worship in my local church this morning.  I only understand about 1/2 to 3/4 of what is said during a service, but I know I am joined together with people who love and worship the Lord.  It is good to be able to say amen with brothers and sisters even when I don't understand all that is said.

       This morning there was a young boy - about 12 years old - that we prayed for at the end of the service.  I would like to invite my readers to also pray for him and for his family.  His name is Mzee (old man).  His father brought him to my teammates.  He has an open sore that looks like a spider web.  It starts on his back and comes around his left side to his chest and nipple.  Our nurse thinks it is cancer.  He and his father are traveling tonight on the night bus to Eldoret.  We are sending him to a doctor there who will evaluate him and send him on for a biopsy if he thinks that is what it is.  So, please pray for this young man.  Pray for healing and for our wisdom as we try to help him and his family.  

      We prayed for him this morning at the end of the church service.  There were two prayers in Turkana.  They were very traditional.  They called on the great physician to cast out all evil and any bad health from the boy.  They cast out sickness and invited the spirit to work in his body.  Then we ended with a prayer from a very devout Turkana woman.  She is one of the ladies displaced during the violence of last year's elections.  She prayed in Swahili.  I don't understand any of that language, but I know she was also praying for wisdom, healing and peace for the boy.

       Thanks for reading my ramblings!  Please lift up Mzee today and tomorrow to the throne of grace!  Give thanks that we are all part of the body of Christ and one day will worship together in many different languages.  We may not understand the words, but we will understand the heart and soul!