Highlights from 2015

Adventures of Healthcare in Kakamega

Thank you for all your prayers, support, emails and Facebook shares!

Monday was one crazy long day.  After getting the kids ready, strapping Eliana to me in the carrier (which was not comfortable on my chest), walking a ways, taking two motorcycle taxies (one for John and Anna and the other for me and Eliana), we got to the Dr's office only to be told he won't be in for 4 to 5 hours! That's Kakamega.  We took a taxi home so Anna could take her nap before needing to head out a second time.

Disappointed and tired on the way home after being told Dr was not in

Rainy season can get pretty intense here so by the time we were supposed to head back to the Dr's, motorcycle taxies were not an option.  God provided another way from a fellow missionary in the area who was able to take us in their vehicle, wait for us and bring us home.

Exhausted family selfies at the Dr's office the second time

What should have been a quick trip to the Dr's took the entire day; we got home about 8pm.  Then, again because of the rains, we arrived home to no electricity with two cranky and hungry babies ready for bed.  It was an exhausting day, but a good one because I did not need another procedure.

Before he examined me the Dr scared us that, depending on the state of the infection, he might have to re-open and re-drain the infection!  The idea of having yet another trip to the theater was scary.

But, thankfully, after examining me he said we did good to come at the first sign of infection and that we caught it early enough.  He said another round of antibiotics (this will make my fifth) and pain meds, to help with the pain of feeding Eliana, should do the trick.

We appreciate all the continued prayers for complete healing and provision for ongoing medical expenses and a vehicle. 

Sincerely,

The Lwoyelo Family

To make a donation toward medical expenses or a vehicle Click Here
To join our monthly support team Click Here

I could have died! Thank you!!

Thank you so very much to everyone who gave financial gifts and have kept me and our family in prayers during this difficult time.  Our gratitude is beyond words.  May God richly bless each of you for your generosity, your love and kindness in giving. Please take a moment to watch a short video we put together to say thank you.  (See below)

After being cleared to travel by the doctor we arrived safely home in Kakamega on the 7^th.  I cannot begin to describe how good it feels to be home, healthy and all together as a family again

Your generous gifts have gone a long way in helping with medical bills.  The way it works here in Kenya is I would not have been allowed to leave the hospital until we paid our bill.  Thank you. Please continue to stand with us in prayer as we face ongoing follow up medical bills and expenses.    

 

This whole experience was a wakeup call to us of just how urgent a vehicle is.  This emergency could have been avoided had we had a vehicle to access better medical care sooner.  I am just thankful that it was me and not one of our babies. 

The reality of life in Kakamega is that the medical care here is extremely limited especially in the case of any emergency.  The closest emergency facility is a two hour drive away in Kisumu and this is still limited care.  Depending on the emergency, a transfer to Nairobi would be required.  Without a vehicle we rely on public transportation or taxi.  With two young children the public option is not safe and the taxi option is quite expensive.  If an emergency occurred at night the chances of us getting a taxi are almost zero which would leave us frantically calling other missionaries in the area or praying that morning would come. 

I know that God was in control the entire time, but after being told that I had the beginning of sepsis, flying to Nairobi and being taken to emergency surgery upon arriving, has all hit home really hard.  What if I had not insisted on them checking my blood? I was having fevers of 104*F and such violent chills that I almost dropped Ellie once and couldn’t stop shaking.  I thought I was having seizures.  Yet the doctors never thought to check my blood and were still telling me it wasn’t abscesses and I just needed another round of antibiotics. At what point would they have figured out that sepsis had begun?  I could have died. What if this was Anna or Ellie?  Honestly this is all I can think about.  A car is a necessity.

We are so thankful to be serving God as missionaries here in Kenya and we know that ultimately He is our provider as well as healer.  We love living here, ministering to the Kenyan people and being part of what God is doing in this country to mobilize His church for missions.

As we continue our ministry and calling to serve here, in order to be fully effective, we need a car. And of course serving in a country with a history of instability requires we have the ability to leave if necessary with very little notice.

Thank you to everyone who makes it possible for us to be here serving.  Please join us in praying that God would provide the rest of the funds needed to purchase a car.  We have raised 40% of what we need so far.  If you would like to give toward this need the GoFundMe account my sister set up is still active Click Here. Or if you would like to join our monthly support team, please clickhere.  Or visit: https://bethanyinternational.givingfire.com/. 

Thank you again for all your love, prayers, encouragement and gifts. 

Sincerely,

The Lwoyelo family

 

 

 

 

Our visiting mission pastor

It was so fun having Joe McGinnis our mission pastor from FBC, our home church in Ohio, visit us here in Kenya for three days!!  Though it was Joe’s first time to Kenya he is not a stranger to Africa.  He and his wife, Aimee, have two beautiful children they have adopted from Ethiopia and have a huge heart for all of Africa.  In fact Joe was leading a short term mission team from the church to Ethiopia and decided to swing by Kenya to meet us before heading back home to Ohio.  Aimee, I know it was a sacrifice to let Joe be gone for as long as he was.  Thank you!!

On the first day Joe came to where John and I are staying and John did the honors of cooking a good traditional Kenyan welcoming meal, chicken stew with ugali and mboga. 

Cheff John

It’s the whole chicken, including head and claws because as the Kenyans say, "How else will you know that I’m really serving you chicken and not some wildlife bird?"  Ugali which is made from millet and maize flour cooked into a hard mound similar to plenta.  And Mboga which are traditional greens, or weeds, as I know some missionaries call them =).  Joe was very adventurous and the head in the pot didn’t stop him for going in for seconds.  A nice large cup of piping hot Kenyan Chai Tea followed along with good conversation and fellowship.  Joe’s comment after the meal was, “Where’s a hammock when you need one?” 

 

Notice the size of the cup of tea Joe has =)

 

 

The second day of Joe’s visit was by far the highlight.  John and Joe went on an adventure together.  They flew to Kakamega early in the morning and flew back the same day. The reason this is such a big deal is that it was John’s first time every flying.  Joe did a great job documenting the entire experience, thank you Joe. I of course stayed back in Nairobi and prayed that would not be the day I went into labor.   To read more about this adventure Click Here.



Adventurous guys...Read More

On the last day we took Joe to Dominoes Pizza here in Kenya.  Now I must admit it was more for me than for anyone else.  I felt since I wasn’t able to join in on their adventure to Kakamega I deserved something special too. And what makes a pregnant lady happier than food?  Not much.

 

 

 

 

 

Joe’s visit was a big deal for many reasons.  It was the first time our home church has been able to come to see firsthand the ministry we are involved in here in Kenya.  It was such an answer to prayer for John to be able to take Joe all the way to Kakamega so he could see our home, our hostel project and see what ministry on ground looks like for us. 

 

 

 

A day well spent

Once on the ground in Kisumu John and Joe had to take public transportation the rest of the way.  Joe had no idea what he was in for.  In one day he flew in a plane, road in a Matatu, a public vehicle that they squish way too  many people into for any form of comfort, locally known as a "ngurue" or pig.  After that he enjoyed a ride on the back of a pikipiki, motorcycle taxi, and a boda boda, bicycle taxi and lastly a Tuk Tuk, a motorized rickshaw.  The first three they took from Kisumu to our house in Kakamega then another Matatu ride and the Tuk Tuk to get back to the airport in Kisumu. 

Here they are totally squished in the Matatu. No shoulder room guys.

No one else is smiling, haha

 

 

On the back of a Pikipiki, motorcycle taxi

 

 

Tying the luggage onto the back of a Bodaboda, bicycle taxi

On the back of a boda boda, bicycle taxi, heading to our home

A nice surprise upon arriving at our home.  The terrible road is being fixed as well as the opposite plot that used to be a dump site and attracted all the "street families".

 

 

After all the traveling John took Joe for a nice Kenyan lunch at Lawino 2000 downtown Kakamega.  They had a traditional delicacy known as "Aliya."  It is beef that has been salted and dried in the sun for five days before being made into a stew.  Of course this was accompanied by Ugali and traditional greens.

Quite a feast!!



John teaching Joe how to properly eat the meal. No silverware necessary.

In a Tuktuk, a motorized rickshaw, back to the Kisumu airport

 

About to board their flight back to Nairobi

 

John wore Joe out with all the adventure.  Apparently once back at the guest house Joe passed out while sitting up texting his wife back home and didn't wake till the following morning.  As soon as John got home he too passed out while I was talking to him.  =)

John's first flight!

Oh what a day to remember.  The flight was at 6:40am.  John had to leave the house at 3:00am to pick Joe at the guest house and head to the airport.  Needless to say with the excitement and anticipation, John didn’t sleep that night.

I woke up to see John off, kissed him on the cheek and said, “Have a good flight dear.”  That totally made John’s day =). 
 

3:00am Taxi pick up. 

 

I had always hoped to be the one to share that experience with John.  I had naughty plans of scaring him at take-off and landing so maybe it was God’s mercy that I wasn’t able to fly with them. =)  Joe was much nicer and documented the entire trip. 

 

Grabbing a cup of early morning coffee at Java House before the flight


 

Getting his boarding pass.  "They called me Sir." - John recalls with excitement


 

Walking to the plane

 

 

Boarding: "Goodbye Nairobi."

 

 

Tell your wife how excited you are =)

 

 

He knows where his exits are =)

 

 

 

The anticipation!

 

 

 

  

Take off part one:

 

 

Take off part two:

 

 

Continental breakfast.  Because it was his first flight they gave him 5 extra bags of peanuts and an extra yogurt =).  Plus he got to keep the magazines in the pocket in front of him.  These as well as napkins with "Kenya Airways" printed on them plus the unused barf bag are among John's prized souvenirs. Haha

 

 

 

 

 

In the air over Lake Victoria

 

 

Touch down. Never been so relieved to be back on the ground.

 

Proud to display his unused barf bag =)

 

 

At the Kisumu airport. John's first flight:  a success!!

 

 

 Click Here to continue reading about Joe and John's time in Kakamega before heading back to Nairobi that evening.

 

 

 

 

 



Safe in Nairobi

Our plan was to get on the road as early as 7am so that we could take it easy making stops every hour or two. However, when making plans in Kenya you just expect them to not work out exactly the way you've planned and yesterday was exactly that.  We didn't get on the road till 1pm!  Why?  For many reasons including the rental car apparently didn't have insurance and the driver had to renew that first which took forever. 

We rented a minivan which I'm very thankful for. I didn't realize how much stuff I'd packed until we began putting it in the car!  But can you really blame me?  Packing for an unspecified amount of time, for a one year old, my pregnant self and post pregnant self, for a birth and a newborn.  And since comfort is one of the biggest priorities to me right now, I took everything but the kitchen sink, or maybe that was in there somewhere too.



Notice how much stuff!

 

 

 

And we wouldn’t be proper Luyha Kenyans if we didn’t travel with “Ingokho,” chicken.  That’s right.  We may not have taken the kitchen sink but we did take along two of our chickens.

There are two live chickens in that box right there

Anna did good most of the trip entertaining herself with things
like water bottles.

I am very thankful we didn't wait any longer to make this trip.  Any later than 34 weeks pregnant and I might have been having this baby on the way.  There were parts that were quite bumpy and uncomfortable.  No rest areas to stop at, which means hiding behind a bush or tree on the side of the road.

Changing Anna

 



Daddy is good at getting her to smile for the camera =)

By the time we arrived at the house we were staying at it was past 11pm!  After offloading our stuff and setting up everything for bed my head hit the pillow at almost 2am!  Needless to say we are all exhausted and very thankful that the trip is over and we can settle in. 

The house is beautiful!  We are so blessed to be able to stay in this beautiful, spacious home as we wait for baby Lwoyelo.  Thank you Lord for such amazing provision! 

My very dear childhood friend, Lilian, has graciously offered to come with us and stay for the entire time. She will be my "personal assistant" and make sure that I don't have to worry about things like washing laundry by hand, making meals from scratch and keeping a clean house.  She is also a midwife in training and attended Anna's birth.

Tired Selfie with Lilian

I'm also waiting for another very dear friend of mine, Emily, to join us in a few weeks to help out as well.  Emily and I were college mates and she is very much a sister to me.  She is amazing at back rubs and pampering. 

So between staying in this luxurious home, having my hubby and two friends to pamper me, I’m in good hands. =)

 

 

 

 

July 4th in Kenya!

As missionaries many times its holidays that remind us of just how far away we are from friends and family.

No matter how different you are, what State you come from, or even what country, on the mission field you are automatically family.  So today we celebrated Fourth of July with family from England, Russia, Kenya, Ohio, California, Michigan, Louisiana, Texas and Kentucky and we had a blast!  Thank you Dennis and Michelle Freeland for hosting all us crazies. 

Just part of the group.  We all rode in the same car.

 

 

Some America Trivia.  How did my husband get more right than I did?

 

 

We all brought various meats and yummy dishes, played games and had a cookout just like we all would have done if we were back home in America. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course there were a few differences.  Some of our family here are Brits.  They made sure “we Americans” knew how proud they were of that fact too.  A grand entrance with the British flag on top of their vehicle and the British anthem blaring left no doubt of that, haha.   

The Brits =)

 

 

Of course we Americans couldn’t be shown up so to quote one patriotic Louisiana lady, Michelle, “They brought flags but I am the flag!” 

 

 

 

That's how we do it!

 

 

And of course what would Fourth of July be without sparklers?  Now we can’t do fireworks and can’t really even do sparklers here, but we can sure try.  We found some sparkling birthday candles and that was enough for us. =)

 

 

You can't tell from the pictures but they did sparkle a little, kinda sorta, ok ok it
was pretty pathetic =)

 

 

As we wind up our day of celebration and all our family and friends State side are waking up to begin theirs we can’t help but wish we could be in two places at once.  I know each of us today felt a little sting but yet we are so thankful to be surrounded with friends and our family here.  We all miss home and today especially. So as you pick out your patriotic outfits and have cookouts and go watch the fireworks, remember us as we do you. 

Happy Fourth of July everyone!! And Happy Birthday America!!

 

 

A visit from my brother!

My brother Luqman is in Kenya!  He is currently studying to be a doctor at Stanford University and is here doing research.  We are VERY proud of him!! I can’t begin to express how awesome it is to be with family.  He’ll be here just long enough to meet his new niece in August! 

At first Anna was shy but it didn’t take her long to warm up to her uncle.  In Kenyan culture Luqman is supposed to give Anna, his niece, a calf or goat.  In honor of that Luqman gave Anna the money to buy a milk goat which we plan to do once back from Nairobi.  Anna happily received the gift

Anna accepting the money for the goat =)

 

Traditionally there must be song as the gift is given.  Here we are singing a traditional Luhya song for such an occasion. 

 

 

 

It was fun to show my brother our project and walk around the town we both grew up in. 

 

At the site

 



Trying out John's weights.  My brother always has been buff =)

 

Walkin around the old neighborhood

 

 

 

Doreen Update

Since Doreen joined our family in July 2014 it has been an interesting journey.  After losing the only mother she had ever known, Doreen came to us full of conflicting emotions.  She has never been part of a structured family so it has been challenging for her to adjust.  In the past months we have seen much growth in her and we are thankful. 

Took Doreen out for her first hamburger

 

The school she was attending when she came to us was a coed boarding school near where her grandmother lived.  It was a very rural and basic school with no field trips or laboratory and had very limited resources.  The teacher to student ratio was terrible.  Her grades were not good; she was failing most of her classes.  We quickly realized that Doreen is a bright student with potential but the environment she was in was not good.  She had gotten herself into the wrong crowd and as we all know, peer pressure at that age can cause poor choices to be made.

After much prayer we began searching for a better school closer to home.  Because of her poor grades we were turned away again and again.  We had almost given up when God opened the door at a Christian private school in a town nearby called Bungoma, Beulah Girls High School.    We knew it was a divine thing when we walked into the principal’s office.  The principle and founder of the school is one of John’s old high school teachers who was a big influence on John.  She runs an all-girl boarding school and has a huge heart especially for girls who are having various difficulties both in their personal lives as well as academically.   She really is a mother figure to her students.  After sharing Doreen’s story with her she agreed to take Doreen under her wing. 

 

 

Doreen began attending Beulah Girls in February.  Since that time we have already seen improvement not only in her grades but also in her character and as a whole.  Her grades are slowly getting better.  She comes home for all her school breaks.  That’s an extended weekend every month and half, a month after each three month term and an extended Christmas break. 

We are thankful to be Doreen’s family and play the role of guardian/parent to her.  The teenage years are hard for anyone and with Doreen’s past they seem to be particularly challenging for her. There are a lot of behavioral issues that we have had to address with her as we try to help her grow into the young woman we know she can be.  She’ll be an adult soon and our prayer is that when she finishes school and leaves our home to find a life of her own, she will have learned valuable life lessons and be able to make wise choices for her future. 

John recently went to see her for Academic Day, it’s a bit harder for me to make it these days without our own vehicle. 

 

John with Doreen and Linzy who was one of John's former students at
Serve Academy where John was a primary school teacher for five years. 

It's hard to capture Doreen smiling =)

 

Doreen is a little shorty =).