It’s Saturday and we’ve made it to Eburru, healthy and safe. Ministry has already begun, mixed with some tremendous opportunities! Our first stop was Kijabe. Kijabe is primarily a missionary and medical town. It sits atop a gorgeous hill with a spectacular view and was an amazing place to unwind from our long journey. It is home to many missionary schools, a bible college, and a large Christian hospital. Mary Njenga, one of our hosts, runs the hospital’s operating suite. She was eager to show us the new theatres (operating rooms). We assumed this would mean a simple tour, but in fact, after some time visiting with and praying with patients, we spent the afternoon in surgery!

I observed a laparoscopy. And when I say observe, I mean I was only 10 small feet away as the doctors looked inside a woman’s gut after a car accident. For those of you less medically inclined, I’ll spare you the details, but to me, it was very cool and the opportunity of a lifetime. I also saw a facial reconstruction, while my teammates observed a prostate removal and the insertion of a brain shunt to alleviate pressure in a baby’s brain. When could you ever do this in the states? It was also an honor to watch well skilled doctors with limited resources, improvise to provide great medicine. They also prayed before each surgery, something I’m sure you don’t see in most American surgical theatres.

Which I suppose brings me to the real lesson of our day. It was a constant reminder as we sat with patients, talked to chaplains, and even as I watched my laparoscopy woman code (her heart stopped), that God is the only true healer and the one that we must rely on. I was reminded yet again that I, or we, put too much emphasis on our own resources, skills, and intellect… and actually push God out of the way. How can he show himself to be big, while we’re trying to get everyone around to pay attention to us? At the same time, what unnecessary pressure! Last evening, Cindy (our female leader) shared with us a devotional reminding us that we have to rely on God, lean on him, look to him, even if it means stepping out of our comfort zones, and accepting failures, because only then will we really learn and be alive and see all God can do in and through us and all around us.

With everyone we spoke to, we heard a deep understanding of God’s love, and an overwhelming ability to trust and rely on him. Why can’t I? We talked a lot today about distractions. What a blessing from God to give us time away from DC to refresh us and show himself in ways that we’re just too busy to see in DC, where our eyes and ear are too often closed. God wants to show us himself. He wants to draw us in, and have fellowship with us, right where we are. We don’t have to fly to Kenya for that. But we may need to slow down enough to pay attention.

Today was mostly a travel day and we picked up our meds for clinic this week. We sorted out our schedule a bit more. We’ll work in the school and clinic most of the early part of this week, and then prepare for the opening of the new church later in the week and next weekend. We’ll also just live life with the people of Eburru. It was a joy tonight to meet some of these people and share a meal with them. It was true biblical fellowship… and we all walked away blessed and thankful.

That’s in for now. Good night from Eburru. Love and miss you all.

Anjanette (and the team)