Wednesday the 15th - Orientation and Anxiety Day

After arrival to Kijabe on Tuesday, we had dinner that evening with Rhett and Megan Shirley.  Rhett, for those of you who aren't reading Amy's blog, is Amy's 2nd cousin.  He is an infectious disease doc and will be here for about another year.  It was great to finally meet them after communicating with them over the last few months as we prepared to come to Kijabe.  After dinner, we made our way back up the hill in the dark, with our flashlights (or "torches" as they say here) to guide our steps. 

I am reminded of Psalm 119:105.  Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and light unto my path.  When you are walking along in the dark, you need to shine your light on your next few steps, not 30 yards ahead of you.  Similarly, God's word will help reveal to us our daily path, but not necessarily what His will is 10 years into the future, or even a few days in the future.  If you want to know where you are going in the darkness of this world, use the lamp that God has given you, His word.

On Wednesday, they have a hospital chapel service which I wanted to attend.  Jet lag, however, had taken hold and I was unable to get up and ready in time.  I was a little nervous about attending chapel that day, because Rhett informed me I would have to give a greeting in the service.  Greetings are a big deal here, and it would go something like this:  Hi, my name is (or, if you have been here awhile: Hi, my names are...) David Sprayberry.  I am saved.  I bring you greetings from Watkinsville First Baptist Church in Georgia.  I am a visiting pediatrician, and I will be here for the next 3 weeks.

Once I finally did get ready, I made contact with the visiting coordinator, Godfrey, and was given some basic background about the hospital.  As Godfrey was going to give a tour of the hospital, Paul Jaster came and found us and gave me the tour instead.  Dr. Jaster is a family physician from Kansas who has spent the last 4 years here.  As I would come to learn over the next week or so, he has an incredible depth and breadth of medical knowledge and was currently running the Nursery, which is more like a small NICU in the States.  He informed me that I would function as a "consultant", which is roughly equivalent to an attending physician in an academic hospital, with responsibility for teaching students, interns, and residents.  I was also informed that I would very likely be involved in neonatal and pediatric resuscitations while I am here.

The resuscitation stuff is when the anxiety part starts to kick in, since I have not been involved in a resuscitation since residency about 6 years ago.  In a prior post, I mentioned that I would be dependent on God to provide for me the appropriate knowledge and decision-making when the time comes, and I would come to find out over the next few weeks that He is faithful to do that.  More to come on that in future posts.

We then delivered the 6 suitcases full of donated supplies to the hospital, for which they were very grateful.  Thanks to all who made that possible.  We finished the day with an enjoyable dinner with the Jasters, during which time he assured me that he would help me settle in before I would be left on my own.  That did help relieve the anxiety a bit.  But I did go home and start studying.

Two weeks ago - travel days

For those of you who have been keeping up with Amy's blog, she is well ahead of me with her blogging about this trip, especially since this is my first post.  I have had very few times since I have been here where the internet was functioning.  I have been able to occasionally check my email, but that is about it.  I plan to blog in chronological order about the trip, even though I am two weeks behind.  That being said, here goes:

Travel days:  Sunday 9/12 - Tuesday 9/14

I have to admit that I was really not looking forward to the long flights that would be necessary to get us to Kenya and was hoping I would sleep for large portions of the trip.  Alas, that would not be the case.  We arrived at the airport about 3-3 1/2 hours before the flight, and that turned out to be barely enough time to get checked in, go through security, grab a bite to eat, and board the plane.  The flight to Amsterdam took nearly 8 hours.  Sleep was elusive, but I did manage to catch a few winks. 

We arrived in Amsterdam at about 8 a.m. and found that our connecting flight had changed gates, so we had to hustle a little.  The second flight seemed interminable, thanks to more cramped seating and a sinus headache for the duration of the flight.  I was very thankful when the flight finally ended and we touched down in Nairobi.

Arrived in Nairobi about 7:30 p.m., but it took about two hours to get our visas, gather the 12 checked bags and 10 carry-ons, get through customs, change money, and meet the driver.  We were blessed to have a lady working on visas who pulled us to another line to speed our passage through, since we had very tired children with us.  We also saw God smooth the way through customs for us, since there was risk that customs might hold onto some of the items or charge us to get them through.  The customs agent saw that we were taking donated items to Kijabe and let us pass through without looking in a single bag.

As we stepped out of the airport to meet our driver from Samaritan's purse, Gerald, we were greeted by the most pleasant and refreshing cool breeze.  Gerald was extremely amiable and helped us load the luggage and get to the Mennonite Guest House in Nairobi, which was a welcome relief to the weary travelers that we were after nearly 24 hours of travel. 

The following morning, Tuesday, we awoke at the MGH to a beautifully landscaped lawn and garden.  We had a rather tasty breakfast, where we met a missionary couple from Tanzania who were traveling back to the States for a few months.  Shortly after breakfast, another Sam's Purse drive, Jonathan, picked us up and took us to the Nakumatt to do our grocery shopping for the month.  The Nakumatt was located in an upscale 3 story mall in Nairobi and was a lot like a WalMart, but with higher prices.  The shopping trip took 3 hours and cost $35000 shillings (roughly $450).  Jonathan told us we set a record for the time we spent in the store.

After shopping was done, we hit the road for Kijabe.   The drive up revealed a lot of beautiful scenery interspersed with areas of significant poverty.  Along the road we saw many interesting things, including donkeys, chickens, sheep, cows, turkeys, and goats.  Many of the animals were wandering about essentially free, though some were herded.  We arrived at Kijabe about an hour later, unloaded, and got ready to go over to the Shirleys' (Amy's 2nd cousin) for dinner.

The travel was exhausting, but we were thankful to finally be here.  More to come later on the start at the hospital.

Dependent

That's not a word most of us like to use very often, unless we are referring to tax deductions.  The American spirit teaches us to be independent and to rely on ourselves.  Humanism tells us we can do anything we want if we just believe in ourselves.  This humanistic perspective permeates our culture.  Just watch Disney channel for a couple of hours.  Listen to Lenny Kravitz and dozens of other recording artists.  You can find this theme in the writings of many Christian authors.  It is certainly an accepted idea in our American society, but is self-belief really what God wants from us?  Would he instead prefer that we put our faith in Him, rather than ourselves?

I must confess that, despite faith in Jesus Christ for my ultimate salvation and perfection, my daily life has often been marked by self-belief.  I have gone through long periods in my life where I have primarily relied on myself and my gifts and talents to run my daily life.  I would occasionally get to the end of myself and then rely on God to get me through the difficult things, but I was not reliant on Him each day as I should be.

I don't mean to say that we should not put forth our best effort at whatever we do.  We certainly should use the talents and abilities that God has given us, but our confidence should be in Him, not in ourselves.

So why am I bringing this up now? Because I have now reached the point in my preparation for the upcoming trip to Kenya where it is apparent that I can not possibly study or prepare enough.  There is no way I can study all the topics I need to know.  There is no way I can do the additional training that I had hoped to accomplish before the trip.  I have been diligent in my preparation, but I can't possibly get it all done.

And I think this is exactly where God wants me to be.

I think He wants me to have to depend on Him.  If I could be completely prepared for what I am about to do, then I would likely try to depend on my own talents and skills, rather than depending on God to do what only He can do.  Any good thing, medically or spiritually, that is accomplished through me on this trip will be because of Him.  If I am successful in resuscitating babies or making the right treatment decisions for tropical diseases I have never seen or in leading others to Christ, it will be because He has provided me with the right knowledge combined with the right skill and the right decision-making at the right time to accomplish His purpose.