We finally made it to our destination! Early Tuesday morning we boarded two small Cessna airplanes for the last leg of our journey from Nairobi to the mission hospital we will be working at for the next month. The flight took us over the beautiful Rift Valley of Kenya. I (Paul) didn’t see much of the scenery because I had my eyes closed the whole way! I do not like small planes! Our pilots (Matt and Jay) are men who have dedicated their lives to help fly missionaries in and out of remote locations, deliver food and aid, evacuate injured patients, etc… What an important (and often overlooked) role in advancing God’s Kingdom. We are thankful to the African Inland Mission air ministry. We enjoy a smooth landing (laugh)on a dirt strip (after we chased the animals away)!
Dr. Russ (a long term missionary surgeon and friend) met us at the air strip and drove us 35 minutes to the missionary compound–a 300 bed hospital with 5 busy operating rooms serving a large portion of western Kenya. Once we were settled and had lunch…Dr Russ asked me to come assist him with an emergency surgery. As many of you know, the situation in Kenya is somewhat tense with a lot of ethnic, political and tribal tension. The patient was shot with a bow and arrow and had a penetrating arrow injury to his left flank. What a privilege it was to listen as Dr. Russ prayed over the patient, prayed over the operation and then we repaired his injuries. Needless to say, less than 6 hours after being at the mission hospital I had my first ever arrow! (See the pics!).
Jenn has done a marvelous job “setting up shop”–she is unbelievable! The kids are doing well. They finish their school work and then have lots of other missionary kids to play with. I have been very busy in the OR.
It’s 8 p.m. Wednesday evening…you guys are in Wednesday night service and I’m heading back to the OR for another emergency. Keep us in your prayers. We will try to stay in touch often. Thanks for all the comments and encouraging words.
Blessings to all!
Paul