Kenya Mission Trip notes

Well we are all back safely on USA soil, and all tired, but feeling like God truly went with us.  I will try to relay different stories, challenges, celebrations, etc as my brain continues to try to function! HA!  But overall, I am grateful that I feel healthy, just tired from the experience physically.  The first story I care to relate is one of a new challenge.  But before I go further, I will also tell you of a success story we witnessed first. You see we do see differences this ministry has made with God's help in huge differences!  Our children of His Arms were all happy and currently quite healthy!  PRAISE THE LORD!  That even meant our children who are HIV+ and the two we have that have "full blown AIDS" which just means they are dealing with not so good blood levels of HIV.  But we saw happy smiles, dancing kids, loving the games that wild Besan and Jeanne taught them, and laughter like you would not believe!  You see it takes protein and nutrition that gives our children their energy. Most of our healthy kids in USA have tons of energy!! But to see these kids with energy, makes one jump and down ourselves to witness such an improvement.  We have three young little pre-schoolers that even had a bit of a fight during one of our games.....ok, good...showed them to be energetic little 4 yr olds loving competition!!! With sparkles in their eyes!!! That was a GREAT thing!  I know...who would have thought that, huh???

But one of the new challenges we heard is of the lack of Orphan Feed that used to occur in the community around us. In the past they were heavily sponsored by USA donors thru a local church denomination. Now since the missionaries have retired and returned to USA we did witness many signs, hear stories, where corruption has entered in. Unfortunately the local ladies in that parish we visited, see hungry children, see sick children, but now little funds are getting to them to help these community kids.  And lest you think, they should do something about it themselves, they all live in poverty themselves, all have extra children they now have in their own homes they are guardians of, but just no funds to put on these huge feeds that used to feed 300-500 children their one protein meal a week.  Now about 50 come (some used to walk up to 5 K each way to get there and that takes energy itself) but often are only given a little to eat.  But the hardest part of hearing this story, is that several of the children we had played with, fed, etc in the past when mission trips in the past helped at the Orphan Feeds, have died since December when the missionaries returned home. You see Malaria is still the huge killer of children in sub-saharin Africa.  Malaria is a treatable disease.  Caught in early stages it merely takes an antibiotic to wipe it out.  But that means you have to get to the clinic, meaning a bus ride which cost up to 100 Kenya shillings and then buy the meds ($22 or so)   The average person working in that area still only earns 75 Kenya shillings a day...which is about $1 US dollar.  So if your food for your family is going to cost about 75 Kenya shillings a day.....you see where there is often no money left to support medical needs.

The good news. We are starting a fund you may donate to which will be called "Community Emergency Medical Fund" which will be handled by FLorence Oyosi our coordinator of His Arms. But this is not funds for our His Arms children. We already save part of your monthly support funds for our own medical fund to help our kids.  But when a community adult comes to Florence and refers some ill child to her, and it has been verified from one of these valued community caring individuals, we can offer a gift of some funds to obtain that emergency acute care.  So if the child is seen to be extremely ill and needing to get to a clinic, we may be able to offer some funds. Of course, it is our dream that in this small community of Ekwanda/rural Maseno, we will not hear of a child dying for the lack of $25 US for care for this treatable disease. 

If you can help, please donate to His Arms, Peace Lutheran, 2084 County Rd N, Baldwin WI 54002.  Consider telling others in your church or group of friends. We are going to suggest that perhaps you take away $25 off your budget for Christmas presents and instead donate to this fund.  Again, this is not for our His Arms children. They are getting adequate and great care. It is for those in the community around us, who have children ill.  Thanks so much for reading our blog. To think only $25 may have saved those kids we played with.....well it makes one ill!   But we can maybe stop further children from dying. Asante Sana!  Thanks for reading our blog!

As someone recently reminded me, we cannot do everything, but all of us can do something!
Nancy Rowe