Mission Trips

New Skin, New Life

This little girl came in with her mother. They were foreigners who did not speak any of the languages that our camp staff spoke. While some of the staff initially thought we couldn’t treat them, we encouraged them to make the effort. The mother pointed at the little girl’s head, which was wrapped in cloth. As the mother removed the cloth, a stench filled the building. It was rotting flesh. The girl’s head had such a severe fungal infection that the flesh on her scalp was dead and rotting. The nurses began the slow process of debriding her scalp. The little girl and her mom returned to camp every day, and by the time camp was over, new skin was beginning to grow on her head. What a picture of what Christ does for us: we are dead in our sins, but he cleanses us and makes us entirely new. Even the little girl and mother could understand that.

Clear Vision

This little girl came with her mother to the camp when she was 4 years old. Her eye was swollen shut. Upon closer examination, the nurses found that she had a serious eye infection. She needed to see an eye specialist at one of the hospitals near Nairobi. Her mother argued that she did not want to take her daughter to the eye doctor because she was afraid the girl would need glasses, which could be considered a sign of defect. We tried explaining that the girl could lose her vision in that eye if it remained untreated. One of the team even gifted the mother with bus fare to take her. We asked that they come back to share the results with us, but we did not see them again. The next year we were at a local school presenting a program. The mother came up to us, and showed us her daughter among the students. She did take her daughter to the hospital and she received treatment from the specialist. The infection cleared up in time and her vision was saved. The mother was so thankful.

Healing Relationships

This young man had been in a motorcycle accident. He woke up in the hospital, not knowing what had happened, but knowing that he had had surgery on his leg. One year later, he came to camp. His surgical wounds were draining heavily and he was in a great deal of pain. His leg was turning septic. The nurses gave him heavy doses of IV antibiotics and cleaned his leg as best they could. He came back every day for more antibiotics and to have the dressing changed. By the end of camp, he was starting to walk again with crutches. Arrangements were made for some community leaders to make sure he returned to the surgeon who had treated him after the accident, as follow up care was needed. In the process, this young man and his mother received some counseling to help restore their relationship. She would again oversee the care of her son. The next year, he came back to greet and thank the camp staff. His leg was doing much better; he could walk without crutches with only a slight limp. He has been able to do some odd jobs. Most significantly, his mother died during that past year. He was so thankful for the help that reconciled his relationship with his mother before it was too late.

A Small Boy's Heart (part 1)

This young boy came to camp alone. He said his face would swell in the morning and he was more tired than usual. After an examination, the nurses realized that there was a serious problem. We asked him to bring one of his parents. It was explained to his father that there seemed to be a problem with his son's heart. He needed some additional testing right away. His father took him to a hospital and brought the results of his bloodwork back within a couple of days. The results confirmed that not only did he have a heart condition that resulted from an illness the previous summer, but that the damage was so bad that it had ruined his kidneys. He needed to see a cardiologist and he needed to begin dialysis. At the time, there were about four cardiologists in the country, and there was a long waiting list to get an appointment with one in Nairobi. The team rallied around the family and raised funds to help him receive dialysis treatments while waiting for his appointment, which would be over 6 months away. Unfortunately, the money ran out before his appointment, and he died. While his parents’ grief was great, they were thankful for the few extra months that they had with their son and that at least they had some answers about what had happened to their son.

A Young Boy's Heart (part 2)

Two years later we saw the young boy's father. After his son's death, they moved out of the village, as the memories were too painful. He explained that his son had had an older sibling who had died a few years prior, and since that time they had lost a third child. The father was heartbroken. He had three children left, and he was very much afraid of something happening to them. He brought the remaining three to the camp, and the prognosis seemed very familiar. Additional testing would be needed, as something seemed wrong with their kidneys. They would need to see specialists in Nairobi. The team helped make the connections, many donated to help the family with the process, and we prayed. We prayed for the family, for the three children, for the doctors, and for God’s mercy.

While we lost touch with the boy’s father, we did see an article in the Kenyan news about five years later. While the article incorrectly attributed our medical camp to being run by Kijabe hospital (we have no affiliation), it did give more of the story. Two more children were lost, the mother left the family, presumably torn by her grief, and a heartsick father is trying to save his last remaining child, who needs a kidney transplant. We have no words to convey our shared grief, but we continue to pray for this father and hope to cross paths again.