Mission Safari: The Next Chapter(s)

On the Radio

May continues to be a month of "I've never done that before..."  Until this month, I've never had a meeting with military planners looking for an treating hospital in case of evacuation.  I've never met (knowingly) with the Secret Service.  And now, I can say I've never been on a major radio station.

Friday, I was the invited for an hour long interview on EastFM in Nairobi.  It is the leading radio station aimed at the Asian (Indian and Pakistani) community.  It has about 60,000 listeners in Nairobi, but broadcasts via WorldNet on satellite and is heard in 110 countries.  It is a major player in Nairobi as it has the 2nd most ad time purchased.

Anyway, the I was invited to speak about "Bird Flu."  Somehow, I have become the Hospital's "expert."  I have given two lectures to our medical staff and one to the general public.  It was because of this last lecture that I was invited to speak on the radio; they saw the advert in the paper.

Although I was nervous, it was a fun experience.  Because of a lot of the listeners were Indian, the host spoke in the vernacular language (Urdu).  However, the interview was in English.  The hostess was well prepared which made the interview more fun.  And, she allowed for callers to ask questions which made for some interesting questions - "can I still eat my egg omelet?" or "do you think this is God's way of saying we should all be vegetarians?" of which I answered "Yes - eat the omelet" and "No - Bird flu is not God's wrath on bad meat-eaters."  Well, I didn't exactly say those things but you get the point.

Marti listened in and said I did a good job.  I didn't stutter or stammer or say "uhh, umm, uhh."  I have already been asked to return.  I think it will be to talk about "heart disease."

Freddie and His Pit Bull

The following is a poem from a good friend of mine.  I thought it was funny and decided to share it.  He calls this type of poetry "red neck poetry" - that is probably an oxymoron.  Enjoy!

There was this good ole boy named Fred

Who wished for a dog that was respectably bred

So that dumb flake made a terrible mistake

He bought a pit bull pup and tied it to a stake

Now when he left to go see Susie he put the pup up inside

And that hound soon dismantled his precious double wide

He ripped down the curtains, the blinds, and the pictures

He broke all the plates, cups, saucers, and pitchers

The cur chewed through the rugs, charged right through the doors

He broke all the windows and tore open the floors

That canine even yanked down the head of a deer

Knocked over some glasses and a bottle of beer

Now that mutt began to relieve himself the way doggies do

He pooped on the table he peed in Freddie’s shoe

It began to smell atrocious, like a latrine door ajar

You could smell it in the trailer and smell it from afar

So when Fred left Susie and came home from his date

He had no idea of his upcoming fate

When he arrived at his trailer, his castle, his house

He saw nothing left standing, not even a mouse

There was just a pile of rubble and one surly dog

He began to babble and mumble his mind in a fog

“I must have been crazy. I surely lost my noodle.

I now can see I should have bought a poodle.”

Shortfellow II  (David Foster)

The Masai and Nakumatt

In Kenya we have a Wal-Mart.  Well, not exactly Wal-Mart, but something that looks and feels much like one.  It is called Nakumatt.  It is really a fascinating place.  It has the groceries, and a full range of merchandise including furniture, sporting equipment, automotive repair, and electronics.  Except for the lack of usual brand names we see at Wal-Mart, it sure does seem like Wal-Mart. 

Another interesting similarity, Nakumatt is popping up all over the place in Kenya.  And they all have the same set up.  Obviously we were glad to see something like this, but then we began to wonder whether the average Kenyan would be able to shop at such a place.  Were the prices too expensive for the staple items of most Kenyans?

Apparently not.  Over the past month, we have seen more and more Masai shopping at Nakumatt.  It has been quite the sight to see these guys wearing their traditional red "outfits" shopping in a modern "supermarket"!  But it was also reassuring that the company was keeping a balanced approach - providing staple items inexpensively while at the same time offering a broad range of products.  Let's hope it continues to build a strong and community oriented approach.

Visit By the Secret Service

One of the unexpected surprises in my role at the University Hospital is the interactions I have with governmental agencies.  For instance, I have been approached by the CDC Kenya to have our hospital participate in a surveillance study.  I have recently had meetings with military planners from Belgium.  And last week, I had a visit from the Secret Service.

Yep, I am talking about the guys in suits wearing the little earpieces and sunglasses.  Apparently, one of the President's (the Big Guy living in the White House) daughters was visiting Kenya last week and the Secret Service was doing their usual pre-trip security screening.  Seems the U.S. Embassy recommended that our little ole hospital be the place to come "just in case."  Anyway, the visit by the Secret Service was quite interesting...they needed to know which entrances were secure, what the GPS coordinates of the athletic field behind was (just in case they landed a chopper there in an emergency), and where the biohazard decontamination area was (I thought about it, told them we didn't have one, but that we had a large water hose outside the ER!).  But hey, they were just doing their job!

Anyway, fortunately, the visit with off without any problems (at least medical emergencies) for the POTUS daughter.  Of course, I am glad to know that I cleared the CIA/FBI background check (that I am sure they ran on me)! 

Using the Word Effectively

I have mentioned my growing relationship with one of the Muslim faculty members here.  The other day he started sharing with me some of his frustrations in his role.  It is a difficult one for sure and he was faced with a difficult decision.  I spent an hour just listening to him, allowing him to vent his frustrations.

 

The next day, I was reading from the Word and came across Psalm 37.  It spoke to the very issues my friend was dealing with.  I decided to send him an email quoting this Scripture.  I wasn't sure how he would receive it.  I was pleasantly surprised when he wrote back with a very long response thanking me for my friendship.  It was a blessing to see how God would use His Word to encourage my Muslim friend.

America's Idol

One of the things that I like to do early in the morning when I get to work (at 6:30am local time) is to listen to a radio stream over the internet of a local radio station from the Columbia, South Carolina area.  It is a happy reminder of my "former" life.  However, I was dismayed this morning as I listened to the "big news" back home.

Apparently one of the things we are "missing" by living in Kenya is American T.V.  And apparently the number one show on T.V. is "American Idol."  I learned today that there was a near "scandal" this week as Chris was "voted" off of the show.  I also learned that over 25 million Americans tune into American Idol every week. 

It is hard for me to understand this.  The big news around here was not who did or who didn't advance to the finals of American Idol.  It was the fact that there are over 200,000 Sudanese refugees living in eastern Chad in near-starvation.  It was also the fact that Darfur continues to experience genocide.  Also big was the fact that a radical Islamist group has gained control of 80% of Mogadishu in Somalia in increased intense fighting with an alliance of war lords.  Also in this region was the increased violence in Sri Lanka where over 200 people have died in the past two weeks as the cease fire between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan Army evaporates.  And finally, the long awaited rains in parts of Kenya have caused flooding and loss of life.

I am proud to be an American.  I do not think of myself as superior just because I live abroad.  But I am sorry to say that we as Americans have no clue what is going on around the world.  We think the most shocking news is that Chris won't win this year's "American Idol."  To that I say "Who cares?"  Sadly though, when others hear about the news from East Africa they ask, "who cares?"

Obviously we have lost perspective.  I am not one who advocates the worship of statues or idols.  However, I am proud that our heritage has been one that has been symbolized by a Statue.  Unfortunately this Lady Liberty has been replaced with a different idol.  Entertainment has now become America's Idol. 

May God so move in our lives and wake us from our idolatorous slumber that 25 million Americans will submit themselves fully in obedience to the True Master.

Do The Right Thing

One of the more discouraging things I am experiencing lately is the sad reality that there is a lack of patient-centered care in our hospital.  Sadly, I realize that this is actually the norm here in Kenya.  Many Kenyan doctors would probably disagree with this bold "accusation" but I just don't see it happening. 

Case in point, we recently had a patient who had an accident.  Nothing serious, but nonetheless they needed to be admitted.  Plain xrays of the patient's back showed nothing obvious.  A CT was ordered and read as normal.  However, the patient continued to suffer back pain.  The CT was reconfigured into 3-D images and showed clearly three small fractures in the spine.  Reviewing the first CT showed that the radiologist missed these. 

In reality, this was no big deal.  The fractures were not life or limb threatening.  The treatment was the same either way.  The only difference was the prognosis - the patient will have pain two to three weeks longer.  All that needed to be done was to admit the mistake to the patient, reassure them, and wish them the best.  That would have been the right thing to do.

Unfortunately, that is not what happened.  The admitting doctor started accusing the radiologist of switching films.  This conspiracy theory upset and worried the patient a great deal.  The radiologist tried to avoid blame and ignore it.  It become a fiasco.  Eventually I ended up intervening (as I had initially seen the patient in the ER and had established some rapport with them) and helped relieve some of the patient's stress.

Another sad case to illustrate this.  Yesterday we had a police officer come in who had been shot in the neck.  He almost died in our ER.  We resuscitated him and got him to the O.R.  The surgeons realized that they needed a Cardiovascular Surgeo n.  They tried for an hour to get the doctor on call to answer his phone.  He did not respond.  The other surgeon they called took 3 hours to get here.  The patient died.  It was probably an avoidable death.

I am so annoyed that these doctors, highly respected doctors in this country nonetheless, were so slow in doing the right thing.  And as I compared this to my past experience here it was sad to realize it was the standard course - fingerpointing and blameshifting.  There is little sense of urgency or responsibility.  There seems to be a lack of regard for human life.

I write this not to complain, or make myself look better, but to point out that although this is a "Christian" country, there is very little Biblical worldview in action here.  Biblically we need to admit our faults.  We need to be humble.  We need to take responsibility.  We need to confess to the other person our mistakes .  We need to ask their forgiveness.  We need to do the right thing. Certainly this is harder to do.  But that is what is required of us.  To love mercy, walk humbly, and pursue justice.

God help us if we chose any other path.

Sin Is Ugly

My annoyance and irritation with traffic and rude/stupid drivers here continues to persist.  I was talking to Marti about it Monday evening and she said she definitely understood.  Then she said something very simple yet very profound, "Sin is Ugly."

 

I realized that is what really does make living here more challenging.  We are much more aware of the sin around us.  Poverty is sin.  Impatient driving is sin.  Corruption is sin.  Child abuse is sin.  Litter is sin.  Apathy towards human life is sin.  People drinking water from roadside gutters is sin. And so, in our daily lives we see very vividly the effects of sin. 

 

We see it much more clearly than we did in small-town USA.  We are not denying that sin is present in the more sophisticated West.  We are just saying that sin is much more clearly visible here.  And that is a burden.  It is a heaviness that discourages.  It is difficult because it reveals the hidden sin in our own lives - the irritation, the anger, the attitudes, and so on.

 

Sin is ugly.

Ben's Softball Debut

One of the best moves I made the other day as coach in our losing effort was to allow Ben to bat in my place in the bottom of the 7th.  He has talked about that non-stop since then.  Even though we played lousy and lost, he keeps talking about what a great game it was. 

 

I was definitely proud of him though.  His first at-bat, I told him he couldn't swing until after the pitcher threw a strike.  He walked on four pitches.  He later scored in our mini-rally.  At his next at-bat, there were two runners on base with two outs.  He took a ball for the first pitch.  The second was a strike.  On the next pitch he swung and missed.  With the count 1-2, he showed great plate discipline and took the next three pitches for another walk.  This loaded the bases for our clean up hitter. 

 

Ben had a great time being a part of the team.  I am glad I took myself out of the game and let him have a chance.  He really did contribute to the rally by taking the two walks.  I told him he could make the team on a more permanent basis once he started hitting line drives out of the infield!

Another Random Moment

One positive about driving in the crazy traffic here is the random moments you experience.  Yesterday, at a busy intersection, I had to wait for a bicycle to pass me.  On the back of this bike was a beautiful royal blue executive office chair.  I couldn't help but smile and wonder if he would make it to his destination before the approaching cloud burst would douse him and the chair!

Rising Fuel Costs

Fuel costs continue to rise all over the place.  It has dramatically gone up here as well.  There is a shortage here that is starting to complicate things.  Apparently some of the oil refineries and pipeline companies here are in arrears with the tax authorities and so the tax guys are keeping the fuel in port down in Mombasa. 

Unfortunately, the dollar continues to decline against the Kenyan shilling here.  When we arrived in 2004 we were getting 80 KSh per dollar.  Now it is down to 68 KSh per dollar - a 15% decrease.  In the meantime, fuel costs have gone from 72 Ksh per liter to 77 Ksh per liter - a 7% increase.  More importantly the cost of a gallon of gas has increased from $3.47 per gallon to $4.37 per gallon (when you consider the decline in the purchasing power of the dollar and the increase in fuel costs).  This is an overall increase in 21%. 

More Random Moments

We continue to experience "random moments" here.  These are what we call experiences that just seem to occur without reason or explanation.  For instance, while driving home the other day, I rounded the corner, looked up and saw an oil tanker truck in the stopped in the other lane.  And it was on fire.  I quickly turned down another street as they were quickly working to put out the fire (which they did by the time we stopped and looked back!).

Also, during a yard sale this weekend, we had a few items in our stand given to us by a friend to sell.  One item was in a bag and was an assortment of stuff.  A buyer looked at it and asked Sarah what it was.  Sarah said, "I don't know."  The buyer said, "Ok, I'll take it."  Not sure what she got but it was a good deal!

We continue to look for random moments because it helps keep us laughing!

China-Kenya Connection

Ever since we got involved in the adoption process, we have become much more concerned about the current events in China.  We have been reading books on the history of China as well.  It has been an interesting time learning about this country from which our next daughter will come. 

Interestingly, there is a growing China-Kenya connection.  A few weeks ago, I noticed a billboard advertising a new radio station in Kenya.  It is China Radio International.  It plays Chinese pop music, has news programs and updates from China, and even has Swahili broadcasting programmes. 

Then last week the Chinese president was in Nairobi for a State Visit with the President of Kenya.  The streets in City Centre were lined with the Chinese flag and the Kenyan flag.  I even stopped to take a picture of it.

It is interesting to see how much we have become aware of all things Chinese since we are closing in on finalizing our adoption from China. 

Rhinos Lose Championship Game

A four week lay off between games was evident today as the Rhinos lost 16-11 to the U.S. Embassy in the Championship Game. Sluggish hitting and poor fielding doomed the Rhinos.

The score was 1-0 after 2 innings. In the top of the 3rd the U.S. Embassy Warthogs scored 4, but the Rhinos responded with 2 runs to close the gap to 5-2 after 3. However, in the 4th a controversial missed 3rd out allowed the Warthogs to score 5 more runs. The Rhinos never recovered as they played sloppy defense making several mental errors. The only bright spot was in the bottom of the 7th, the Rhino's coach allowed his 10 year old son go to bat in his place. The young gun was walked on 4 straight pitches and eventually scored. This sparked a 9 run rally. However, the 14 run lead was too much to overcome.

The Rhinos won the Fall League Regular Season and Championship. They also won the Spring League Regular Season before losing today's Spring League Championship. They have compiled a 17-4 record in this span. They will have a 3 month lay off before starting again in September. They will lose 3 starters and will need to recruit heavily over the summer.

Rude Drivers

I am losing my patience. Or should I say I have LOST my patience. I have commented a few times about the dangers of driving here. Part of what makes it dangerous is the rude drivers. People are so aggressive in trying to gain little advantages here and there that they really put others in danger. There seems to be little concern for the heavy risk that they put others at when they do this.

To make matters worse, the rains have damaged the roads intolerably creating huge craters in the roadways. People are swerving left and right avoiding these potholes. It is often said that the way you tell a driver is drunk is that he is the only one driving straight.

I don't know how to process this whole thing. The bad roads make me frustrated. Looking at them makes me irritated at the government officials here. Driving on them makes me annoyed. Avoiding potholes and rude drivers makes me mad.

Lord please give me patience.