It's been raining so much that there has been more motorcycle vehicles and accidents lately. The picture below shows a 23 year old guy come into the clinic all bloodied up from crashing in the mud. We helped clean him up and one of the doctors gave him stitches.
Along with the rain, comes the cold and for me- the struggles with loneliness. Yesterday I took my friend from Pacific Union College- Kirpa- who has been living and adventuring with me here for the past 2 months to the airport. It's crazy how close mission work can bring you to someone- especially when you share a room, cook together, and basically do everything together. Truly missionary relationships are special because you see so much more of a person then you normally do. You see the good, bad, and ugly and when you choose to love each other through it all and through the differences it's really special.
Well Kirpa just flew out of nowhere land- so it seems. The plane landed on a strip in the middle of the game field. A car drove by to clear the wild animals. And within minutes she was on her way to Nairobi and then back to the states- to a totally different land. I will miss her. Thankfully for me, in one week one of my good friends from back home Anna will be coming here to visit. I'm truly so thankful for good friends like her and her upcoming visit. It truly is a blessing and answer to prayer for me.
Some days I wake up in the morning, or find myself riding the motorcycle along the savannas and am just simply amazed. I wonder "How did I get here?" How did I get the opportunity to live in such an amazing, wild, beautiful place. Nature here is simply stunning and it's the place where God lives and reveals Himself so freely. Often I'm in awe when I look at the wild beauty around me.
Yet other days I look around me and I wonder "What am I doing here? " Am I even making a difference? Do I even have a missionary spirit? -- I think all in all these are normal feelings many volunteers or missionaries face.
Friends are such a blessing. That's one thing that Kenya helps me realize: the importance of relationships. Truly relationships are one of the only things we will have forever. No matter where we are in the world, no matter how poor or rich we can be, in the end- it comes down to people and our love for them. Jesus said himself that the most important commandments are to Love God and to love our neighbor.
Which challenges me… How do we focus on relationships in a world with so many pressures to achieve and be busy? How do we focus on our hearts and our love lives once again on other people and not just ourselves? How do we live investing in the one thing most important- each other.
In clinic lately, we've been doing a lot of pre natal classes and immunizations. The classes have been going well. It is exciting to see women learning about their bodies and about the process of birth and what to expect. As well, there have been a few births I have helped with lately. Many times during a birth, I just support the mother and assist the doctor or nurse who is doing it. I cut the cord, occasionally deliver the placenta, and I take care of the baby warming and drying it right after it's born. I have delivered a few babies on my own and that has been something super special. I still think birth is beautiful and amazing and I think I would like to be a labor and delivery nurse when I get back to the states as well as working in pediatrics nursing.
I appreciate the job of nursing much more than I did when I was in America. The opportunity to care for someone when they are sick and struggling. It's something I've realized I do like doing, in fact I love doing it. Kenya has given me hope for my profession- and helped me understand why God called me to be a nurse in the first place. For that, I'm so grateful.