Perspective

As I began writing I was still riding an emotional roller coaster of highs and lows and my mind is still trying to process the images and conditions I experienced that day.  The events of the day, the favor and support we received and seeing God’s hand in every step of the way has forever changed my life and the true perspective of this world that we live in.

Monday was scheduled as a day of rest for the team and a “fun day” with some shopping in town and a trip to the source of the Nile.  I planned on using the time the team was shopping as some much needed down time to recharge and get ready for the days ahead.  However, I received a phone call from the Mafubiri Village that a young burn victim we had been trying to treat needed her bandages changed.  This poor child had been burned by hot cooking oil over 80% of her body with second and third degree burns. The burns covered half of her stomach, half of her back, one entire leg, most of one arm and part of her face. It was by far the worst burn victim I have seen in person and it is a miracle she was still alive.

Once we arrived I knew this was an issue that I was no longer capable of handling.  I could smell the infection as soon as I walked in the room, even before I removed the dressings to check the wounds. As I began assessing the wounds I knew we needed to get this child to a hospital capable of handling burn victims. I am trained to handle burns for a short time but not the longer term healing process.  We made the decision to get her to a clinic to better assess her wounds and get her the treatment she needed.  We took her to a local clinic where they were able to clean and dress the wounds.  However, they were not equipped to handle the severity of the case and she needed to go to Kampala.  My wife in her infinite wisdom knew that I was in not condition emotionally or physically to make the two hour drive to Kampala.  She hired a driver to take us to the Malago Hospital in Kampala which is a government hopspital. 

At this point I started to become aware of the fact God was, and had been, working in this situation. Without hesitation two amazing men, Jonathan Stark and Dawson Skow, made the decision that I was not going on this journey alone.  They set aside there plans for the day to help this child and her mother.  Our amazingly strong wives, Kari Segner and Michelle Skow, stayed behind to handle the kids and continue on with the team.  As we began our journey, the mother held the burned child and Dawson held the infant who had to come with mom due to breastfeeding, God was already doing His thing.  We had to stop for fuel before heading for Kampala, the gas gauge was below empty and the first station had no petrol.  The second station again had no petrol.  As we turned around and headed down the highway the driver suddenly began swerving back and forth. After my initial alarm I asked what in the world he was doing. Jonathan informed me he was swerving to “slosh” the remaining gas around in the tank so that we could make it to the gas station.  As we coasted into the third gas station, with literally no gas left, we were relieved to see a petrol tanker truck filling up the tanks at the station.

Our journey to Kampala was as smooth as a trip to Kampala can be, and the child was thankfully able to rest and even sleep for some of the trip.  She did not even cry out until about 5 minutes from the hospital.  God also provided peace for the young infant who was absolutely mesmerized by Dawson and his goatee.

Once we arrived at the hospital we began searching for the right place for the baby to receive treatment. We were directed to the completely wrong end of the complex and we ended up turning around and heading right back to the place we started.  Momma was exhausted and was struggling to carry her poor child.  As we were walking a doctor saw the child’s leg and began asking questions and led us to the exact spot we needed to be.  When we entered the waiting area it was unlike any scene I had ever seen.  Words and even images cannot begin to describe the shear about of people waiting to be seen and the dire conditions some of the people were in.  We found favor once again and were taken in to see the triage doctor immediately.  Again the scene was unlike anything I have ever seen.  We were taken to a room with multiple patients, but it was the environment around me that shocked me.  There were hundreds of people lining the hallways waiting for treatment, blood on the floor, and the atmosphere of despair. The scene looked like something from a Hollywood movie set.  Only there were no cameras and no movie stars, it was real life. This hospital would make any under funded county hospital in America look like a pristine, state of the art facility.

 The doctor began examining this little girl in the midst of this chaos, the man next to us had been beaten so severely his eyes were completely swollen shut and blood was trickling down his face.  The woman across from us had a severely broken leg.  Yet among all this chaos God was there and was whisking this little girl through to get treatment. We arrived in a room with about 45 beds lining the walls and walkways, this was the area she was to receive more long term treatment.  Again, the scene was unlike anything I could begin to describe. There were people with all types of ailments and conditions in this small cramped room.  I was amazed at how the people came together to help each other.  Kobasinja had been wrapped in her mother’s shawl, but as soon as her mother unwrapped her and her wounds were revealed, the people in the room joined together to help out.  One Jaja (grandmother) took the infant and changed her diaper, another woman laid out sheets to make the bed for Kobasinja to lay on and yet another woman brought soup for the child to eat.  It was amazing to see all the people join together to help this mother and her children.  The doctors came in to start their rounds and I did not wait for them to make their way over to us.  I went and grabbed one of the doctors and told him this child was burned very badly.  He immediately came over to access her wounds.  He got IV antibiotics flowing and fluids for re-hydration and began a plan for long term care.   

The hardest part of the trip was the ride home…. The adrenaline stopped pumping and the reality and emotions all came crashing down.  To make matters worse we learned from our driver the true story of what really happened to Kobasinja. The story that her mother told us was that the cooking oil spilled onto her.  However, she told the driver that the co-mother, the second wife of her husband had a disagreement. The two wives had been fighting a lot since the husband had recently been killed in an accident.  The co-mother ended the argument by intentionally dumping boiling cooking oil onto the child.  The co-wife then ran away and authorities are still searching for her. It was so hard to hear that so much evil exists in this world that someone would intentionally burn an innocent child.

However, God even had a plan for our trip home.  We had received a recommendation for a guest house, which first of all we could not find in the dark.  Second, once we did find the guest house, it looked liked an abandoned warehouse. Once we saw the place and the surrounding, Jonathan said “to Jinja.” We drove in the dark back to Jinja which was an adventure in its self and is about a 2-2.5 hour trip. On the way home we were able to talk to our driver, David, about Jesus and his relationship with Christ.  David is on the brink of accepting Christ, he knows all about the Bible, the story of Jesus and that He is the only way to salvation.  However, he has not yet accepted Christ, but he is close.  So it was awesome to be able to talk with David and to hear his story and to share our stories as well.

God moved that day in a big big way.  It is a reminder that we serve a very big God.  The images and experiences from this day have forever changed me as a person and my perspective.

*Update on Kobasinja’s conditions:  She was taken in to surgery to have wound debridement (the removal of unhealthy tissue).  She had been put on an NG tube for feeding, but that has been recently removed.  She was taken today into surgery for skin graphs. She came through the surgery fine but she still has a long recovery process. Please continue to keep this young child and her mother in your prayers.  

Encouraging Week

We have had a really encouraging week and God is really presenting Healing Faith with some great opportunities to serve. We met with a ministry called Welcome Home this past week.  It started as a place for the kids to visit on “Field Trip Fridays”.  Kari came up with the idea of taking the kids on field trips on Fridays since they have home school Monday through Thursday. We visited an orphanage called Welcome Home.  This led to a meeting with the Ugandan Director of the ministry which led to a meeting with the American Director who happened to be in Uganda this month. She shared her heart and her vision with Kari and I and we did the same. This led to an opportunity for us to provide medical care to the villages they already have relationships with and minister to.  This is exactly the vision Kari and I have for Healing Faith.  We want to come alongside already established ministries to help provide medical care and alleviate medical expenses for those ministries.  We are not here because we want to start another orphanage or children’s home, we want to help fill a a void of  medical need in those  that already exist.  God is really providing us with great  relationships

I was able to go into a couple of villages deep in the sugar cane fields with a “Village Team” from Welcome Home.  They have teams already assembled that have relationships formed with the villagers and they provide Bible lessons. This will be one of the areas we work with the team that is coming from Brazos Fellowship.  Our goal, deworm a mere 600 kids and check for jiggers. It was really encouraging when we visited the second village.  There was a malnourished baby in the village and the director of Welcome Home took matters into her own hands.  She asked the villagers which one of them owned chickens.  At first nobody raised their hands, but after some persistence she found one man who stepped forward.  She asked him if he wanted Jesus to bless him, to which he answered yes.  She told him that in order to be blessed he needed to bless this child.  She told him to bring the mother one egg a week for the child for two months.  She told him she would be back to check with the mother and to check with him to make sure he followed through. It was great to see how she got the fellow villagers involved instead of just  giving hand outs.

We also had the opportunity to do a follow up visit on two of the malnourished babies from the village team with Arise Africa.  Baby Aminia was the only one who was at the meeting but praise God she looked much better. She had more life in her eyes, her face was fattened up,  her skin was not sagging nearly as much and she was able to sit up on her own.

Follow up 2 weeks later

Original photo 2 weeks ago

The only down side was that her belly was infested with parasites, however we are planning on getting medicine back to her village.  We did find one little boy with a severe rash that he has had for two years.  I am planning on doing some research on his condition and going back for a follow up.  There was also a child with a large half dollar sized wound on her leg that was severely infected.  I was able to clean it, wrap it and send her home with materials to keep it clean and dry. We  will have to return with medication since there was such severe infection.   It was encouraging to see the improvements in some of the kids we had visited at the end of June, the power of prayer is at work in their village. It was also encouraging to see the children more welcoming.  The first visit they were very afraid of me and cried when we I was assessing them.  This time they only cried when Megan was around, she seems to have a knack for that in this village.

Here are some pictures of the children we are treating.

Playing futbol with the kids. Their ball is made of plastic bags tied together with a banana fiber.

Wakisi Village

We started the day by driving into theWakisiVillage, traveling deep into the village on nothing more than a dirt walking path.  At times it was questionable if there was enough room for the vehicle to make it down the “road”.  The surroundings were amazing, with the village just at the edge of the Nile River. The area could not have been more beautiful.  When we arrived we were met by a large group of kids eager to greet us and to sing and dance with some welcome songs they had prepared.  Most of the songs were upbeat and welcoming; however there was one song that was really sobering.  The song’s lyrics were as follows:

“We are the younger generation

We arise from our elders

AIDS AIDS have killed more people everyday

Maybe from your advice we’ll see what shall we do”

After the songs we began the process of beginning our medical clinic. As we started assembling our medical supplies and setting up stations, I realized how big the line was that had gathered.  We started with the elders and began assessing their needs. The biggest thing we found was that jiggers had infested the feet of the villagers. Jiggers are small flea like insects that live in dirt; they burrow into your skin and lay eggs.  The only way to get them out is to “dig” them out with a strong needle.  The process starts by washing and soaking the feet, then the removal process can begin. Once the jiggers have been removed the area is cleansed with iodine and bandaged. Kari and Megan did an amazing job and just jumped right in to help. Luffafa Emanuel (Emma) and Kari set up a jigger removal station and Megan and I had a medical assessment station. I looked up after about an hour or an hour and a half and the line had grown instead of getting smaller. There was a storm rolling in over the river and the hills in the distance.  We kept watching as the storm crept closer and closer and the thunder got louder and louder.  Finally the storm let lose and we were forced to move inside into a building made of sticks and mud with a tin roof.  Once we got inside and set things back up, I realized our numbers had once again grown. I also realized how tough it was to listen to lungs sounds through a stethoscope with rain pounding on the tin rood.  We saw many cases of jigger infestation, malaria, respiratory infections, open wounds, parasite infestations, TB and people requesting HIV tests. The worst of the cases was an emaciated old man that was severely malnourished and a woman with severe abdominal ascites, which is fluid in the abdominal area.  By far the worst case of the day was a 10 month old baby that had such severe malaria she vomited every time we tried to give her medication. We got her temperature down by bathing her and we will have to return with malaria medication for infants.  Amidst all the sickness and despair there was some humor as well.  One of the men asked if he could buy Megan for his son.  I was able to negotiate for 5 meat goats and one dairy goat. Afterwards, I learned I should have held out for cows…..oh the learning curve.  Next time I will be more prepared!

The line began forming for medical care

One of the elders in the village who needed some serious care

Kari at work washing feet and removing jiggers

The rain forced us indoors to continue medical care

The team began working at 10am and we did not stop until 4pm, none of us wanted to stop until we had seen everyone that had been waiting.  Finally, we resounded to the fact that we were physically and mentally exhausted and our medications were almost depleted as well. We are planning on going back next week to finish our treatments.

After we had packed up the last of our medical supplies they brought us a dish of posho, beans and roasted maize.  It was the first time our team of 4 had stopped for food or rest.  I am not normally a big posho fan (see former post “Culture Club” about my opinions of Posho http://www.healingfaithuganda.org/stories-from-uganda/culture-club/) however today I ate a large serving of posho, all my beans and an ear and a half of roasted maize. While we were eating five more people showed up seeking medical care that we had to tell to come back next week.

Dirty and exhausted we loaded back into the van and headed back down the foot path. I was so very proud of Kari and our intern Megan, they jumped right in and began working to remove jiggers. Having Emma there to work by our side was an amazing blessing. It was the most exhausting day physically and mentally since we have arrived in Jinja, but it was one of the most fulfilling days.  It was so exciting to see God in action and see the impact of the work being done in the WakisiVillage.

You can see more images from the day on our Healing Faith Facebook page:

*some of the images and medical conditions are a bit graphic*

https://www.facebook.com/healingfaithuganda

Malnourished Babies

Today we had the opportunity to travel into a village to check on some babies in need. We went with an amazing ministry called Serving His Children run by Renee Bach. Renee specializes in malnutrition cases.  We had the opportunity to check the babies over medically looking for signs of malnutrition and dehydration.  

There were 4 babies we were checking on; there was a set of twins.  One of the twins was very severe and was just recovering from the measles.  Renee made the decision to bring the mom and the twins back to her clinic so she could watch over them and nurse the sick one back to health.  Serving His Children also taught a nutrition class that covered the signs and symptoms of malnutrition and the importance of a balanced diet.  They taught the mother’s how to provide a proper balanced meal for their children and gave them examples of things readily available in the village or directly from the garden. They taught the very basics such as what are proteins, carbohydrates, sugars, vegetables and fruits.  We were also able to provide 2 other mother’s with malnourished children a “Malnutrition Pack” which consists of ground up G-nuts, ground up fish, porridge and powdered milk. The mothers were giving instruction on how to prepare the malnutrition pack to help boost their baby’s nutrition. 

 

One of the biggest problems faced is that when children in the village get sick, people think that it is due to a curse. Many of them take the children to a Traditional Healer or Witch Doctor. When you try to teach them about malnutrition and teach them about a balanced diet, they get frustrated because you are not “healing” the child right then and there.  It takes time, education, trust and relationship to make a difference.  We are headed back to the village in two weeks to do a follow up on the babies and to see if there is any improvement.  We will pray that the education was well received and the babies will receive and benefit from the malnutrition packs provided.

 

During the lesson one of the mothers brought her 3 year old over to me to look at a couple of spots on his arm and on his chest.  He also had a runny nose.  I was able to look him over and check for an ear infection, his ears were clear of infection but just needed a good cleaning.  At first he was very afraid of me working on him, but after letting him play with some of the medical equipment I was using, he warmed up enough to let me take care of him.  He even got brave enough to sit with us for just a second but then went back to the comfort of his mom’s lap.  I am not 100% sure but I think Megan and I were able to get a hint of a smile from him. Just before we left a Jajja (grandmother) brought me over her baby.  She wanted me to look at him to make sure he was ok.  His mother died during child birth and she was left to care for the baby. She came to the training to make sure that she was giving the baby the right foods.  Baby Faizo was very healthy and it took some convincing for Megan and I to give him back to Jajja!  I think both of us would have been content just taking him home with us.

 

I am anxious to learn more about malnutrition and nursing these young ones back to health.  I feel a real calling to work with the children who are malnourished and it could be an amazing ministry opportunity for Kari and I to work side by side providing medical care and ministering to the mothers.

You can check out more images from our day in the village at:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/set=a.376047412451114.99148.179693938753130&type=1&l=aadf869859

Babies in Need

Meet baby Jessica and her mother, baby Jessica is about 4 months old. We got a call from a friend here asking if I could take a look at this child. We met them at the local children's hospital where she had been diagnosed with a medical condition called Imperforate Anus (those of you who want to read more can go to:
 http://surgery.med.umich.edu/pediatric/clinical/physician_content/am/imperforate_anus.shtml

In addition to her congenital anomaly baby Jessica has stage 3 malaria and a very low hemoglobin count.  Her hemoglobin level was only about 1/3 of what is should have been for her age due to malnutrition. Hemoglobin is the protein found in red blood cells that is responsible for carrying oxygen. She was given a quinine injection to fight the malaria and was in need of a blood transfusion for the low hemoglobin level.  After calls to multiple hospitals looking for blood, we found one across the Nile River. We all loaded up and took of for the Nyenga hospital for the much needed blood transfusion. Once we arrived we were informed they only had type B blood left.  So we prayed and had her blood group tested.  Unfortunately she was type A and the only unit of blood left was not compatible.  As it turns out a young boy received the much needed last unit of blood for a sickle cell crisis. After more failed phone calls to locate blood, we loaded baby Jessica and her mother up to rest back at the guest house.  They were going to be transported the next morning to a better hospital in a different town. The plan is to rid baby Jessica of the malaria, get her stronger and send her to surgery for her congenital anomaly.

                     

Earlier in the week we got a call for a severely malnourished child in the Mafubari Village.  Shauntina is about  3 to 3 1/2 years old.  Her Jajja (grandmother) is left to take care of her and her sibling, who is in worse shape,  so that her mother can work to support them.  They traveled 3 hours from deep in the village to make it to the Mafubari clinic to meet with us.  Shauntina is suffering from bouts of diarrhea due to the poor nutrition.  Shauntina is around Hadlee's age, but smaller than Pierce.

In order to help with the malnutrition we were able to assemble a "Malnutrition Pack"  The pack consists of ground up G-nuts (peanuts), ground up Mekena (small fish), powdered milk, porridge and children's multivitamins. The G-nuts and fish are packed full of protein and vitamins that when mixed with the porridge will help to bring back her strength.

We were able to assemble this malnutrition pack for about $20.  If you are interested in donating a malnutrition pack you can send an online donation or a check with "Malnutition Pack" in the memo line.

http://www.healingfaithuganda.org/donate/

Musana Mishap

We started the day bright and early headed to the Musana Camps on Lake Victoria.  Getting 10 people out of the house and into the van by a set time proved to be a bit of a challenge, but we made it out the gates by8:05am.  Everyone was excited for the day and the adventure ahead………little did we know.

 The trip did not go exactly as planned.  We saw some absolutely beautiful country and enjoyed our adventure.

Then we hit the “bad roads” as our directions indicated.  However, I use the term road loosely. We are use to bad roads since we have been living inUgandafor 6 months; however this took it to a whole new level.  We hit ruts and pot holes so bad that at one point everyone got out of the van to lighten the load so that we did not bottom out again. Once we cleared the bad area everyone loaded back up, only to have to unload again. Isaac had to lead the way and pick out the best path for us to navigate the road.  He would have to squat down and look under the van to make sure the differential would clear the ruts, bumps, holes and rocks.  While Isaac and I tried to navigate the roads, Kari, the four kids, Auntie Megan, Auntie Fara and MeMe all walked up the road to meet up with us again when the road was “better”. Karson had a run in with a praying mantis that attacked from the bush, but to get the full story you will have to check out Karson’s Korner (http://www.healingfaithuganda.org/karsons-korner) At one point the road got so bad we decided to cut our loses and turn around.  We never made it to the Musana Camps, however we did try to salvage the day by having a picnic overlooking a beautiful valley.  We got to share our picnic with one of the local little boys who joined us.

Everett is actually standing knee deep in one of the ruts in the road

On the way home, back down the dusty bumpy road the kiddos crashed out.  We somewhat redeemed the day when we came around the corner and saw a monkey run across the road.  We woke the kids and stopped to take pictures and the more we looked the more monkeys we saw. There must have been 10-15 monkeys in the grove of trees.  We were all so excited.  Karson kept saying over and over “It’s my first time to ever see a monkey!” We took pictures and watched them for about 10-15 minutes.  Isaac thought we were all crazy and thought it was funny that a car full of Muzungus was so excited about monkeys.

 After 8 hours of driving, we finally made it back home.  We never reached our destination but we had quiet an adventure along the way.

The Training Wheels are Off

We have officially completed our 5 months of training at New Hope Uganda and the training wheels are off!  We had an incredible experience and learned so much, we are thankful that God provided us the time at New Hope to learn.  Had we not gone through training our hearts would have been in the right place, but our minds would have been lost. The training we received will be very valuable as we begin working in the field.  We covered a variety of topics; cultural training, world view, child care and family training, Old Testament, New Testament, Orphan heart, manhood/womanhood, orphan care and raising a family in the mission field.

We have officially made it to Jinja and have begun the process of settling into our new home for the next six months. We have had a busy week of unpacking, getting supplies for the house and having furniture built.

I started working in the Mafabira community with Emanuel Luffafa and we discussed plans for healthcare and hygiene for his village.  I am very excited to be starting medical care there and assessing the strengths of the people within the community and determining where we can be of the most assistance.  Emma and I also went to the Karamoga Village to discuss the possibility of working on healthcare and hygiene in that area. We waited to talk to the Chairman who is the head of the village. We had to speak to him first because nothing in the village happens without his blessing and we would not be granted access without his permission.  He told us he would meet with us in 10 minutes, which turned in to 2 hours of waiting.  While we waited I had the opportunity to speak with the people of the area, play with some of the kids, make a poor excuse for a hand rolled bead with the women of the village and talk to the head of the Village Health Team.  She was very excited about the possibility of us assisting with medical care and hygiene within the community.  The Chairman was very receptive of us assisting the village. We hope to begin that work in the upcoming week.

My attempt at a hand made paper bead. 

Working with a sick child in the village. 

We look forward to what God has in store for us here in Jinja and where he is leading our family.