ClustrMaps

Keeping a blog while we were in Kenya had many benefits. Our family and friends were able to follow our daily adventures. Also, we can now print out our blog and have a journal with pictures as a keepsake. One of the most entertaining aspects for us, however, was pulling up ClustrMaps which maps all the visitors to our blog. We have had 7,238 hits to our blog as of today and it's exciting to see every continent represented. Our map shies in comparison to the McCropder blog (see our link) who have had over 26,000 visitors to their blog! In fact, many of the people viewing our blog probably found us through the McCropder blog. That's okay, we'll happily accept any visitors - especially if that means we get hits from countries like Slovenia or Saint Kitts and Nevis or Oman. Great geography lessons for us! And many thanks to our loyal followers in the US and Kenya!



Current Country Totals: 7,238 visits
From 6 Aug 2010 to 1 Jul 2011

United States (US) 6,233

Michigan (MI) 3,435
Indiana (IN) 928
Kentucky (KY) 223
Tennessee (TN) 165
California (CA) 163
Illinois (IL) 135
Ohio (OH) 94
Arizona (AZ) 80
Wisconsin (WI) 69
Pennsylvania (PA) 62
New York (NY) 55
Texas (TX) 47
North Carolina (NC) 47
Maryland (MD) 39
Florida (FL) 32
Oregon (OR) 31
Colorado (CO) 30
Virginia (VA) 23
Alabama (AL) 22
Georgia (GA) 21
Washington (WA) 20
Missouri (MO) 19
South Carolina (SC) 14
New Jersey (NJ) 11
Utah (UT) 11
Massachusetts (MA) 10
New Mexico (NM) 10
Iowa (IA) 9
Minnesota (MN) 7
Rhode Island (RI) 6
Kansas (KS) 5
Louisiana (LA) 5
Arkansas (AR) 5
Hawaii (HI) 4
Nevada (NV) 4
Mississippi (MS) 3
District of Columbia (DC) 3
Connecticut (CT) 2
Montana (MT) 2
Idaho (ID) 2
Oklahoma (OK) 2
North Dakota (ND) 1
Wyoming (WY) 1
West Virginia (WV) 1
N/A 375

Kenya (KE) 531
United Kingdom (GB) 92
Canada (CA) 78
Germany (DE) 25
Australia (AU) 16
Madagascar (MG) 16
Sweden (SE) 6
Ghana (GH) 5
Vietnam (VN) 5
Philippines (PH) 5
Italy (IT) 4
New Zealand (NZ) 3
Taiwan (TW) 3
Spain (ES) 3
India (IN) 3
France (FR) 3
Norway (NO) 3
Iceland (IS) 2
Russian Federation (RU) 2
Poland (PL) 2
Europe (EU) 2
Serbia (RS) 2
Saudi Arabia (SA) 2
Tanzania, United Republic of (TZ) 2
Thailand (TH) 2
Netherlands (NL) 1
Belgium (BE) 1
Uganda (UG) 1
Ecuador (EC) 1
Slovakia (SK) 1
Burundi (BI) 1
Indonesia (ID) 1
Finland (FI) 1
Argentina (AR) 1
South Africa (ZA) 1
Mozambique (MZ) 1
Denmark (DK) 1
Switzerland (CH) 1
Hungary (HU) 1
United Arab Emirates (AE) 1
Malta (MT) 1
Saint Kitts and Nevis (KN) 1
Oman (OM) 1
Jamaica (JM) 1
Niger (NE) 1
Korea, Republic of (KR) 1
Slovenia (SI) 1
Singapore (SG) 1
Romania (RO) 1
Malaysia (MY) 1
Nigeria (NG) 1
Turks and Caicos Islands (TC) 1

Re-entry

Getting back into the swing of daily life in the US has been interesting. Slightly overwhelming in the fact that some things seem so easy and other things seem so difficult.

It started with the drinking fountain at the Chicago airport. It was the coldest, most delicious water we had tasted in a long time. We looked around and couldn't understand why everyone was actually paying for water in a bottle. We filled our stainless steel water bottles which became almost too cold to hold.

We're not sure if we will be able to come to terms with how expensive everything is here! The first morning at home, we were too lazy to go into the basement and look for our coffee maker. Bryan went to our local coffee shop in Plymouth. He paid $7.00 for a plain coffee and a caramel latte! Our entire meal for 7 people cost this much when we went to a local "restaurant" near Tenwek with the McLaughlins. Needless to say, we then went down to our basement and found our coffee maker.

After spending $10 on a salad from a carry-out pizza chain, we realized we could not delay going to the grocery store any longer. We usually like Trader Joe's but unfortunately it wasn't yet open for the morning. The next closest grocery store...Meijer's. Talk about reverse culture shock! The fruits and vegetable aisles almost made us pass out. The red, green, orange, and yellow bell peppers were so shiny and polished that we could see our own reflection. I kept thinking this is exactly how my parents felt when they first shopped in an American grocery store after leaving Vietnam in 1975.

We thought we would be prepared for the Meijer experience since every few months in Kenya we would drive in to Nairobi and shop at the Nakumatt. Nakumatt, like we mentioned in a previous blog, is a gigantic mega-superstore selling everything from food to home appliances. But Meijer's was hands-down cleaner, bigger, and more overwhelming. I almost lost Bryan in the laundry detergent aisle. He was completely frustrated by all the choices. I told him to just get Tide. His response, "there's about ten different varieties of Tide!" We again had sticker shock when our grocery bill for maybe 1-2 weeks of groceries came to $204.

Driving home on the 6-lane highway, we noticed how the roads are so clean and trash-free. Everyone stayed in their own lanes and obeyed the traffic signs. Anna and Leo weren't too happy that they had to wear their seatbelts again. When we got closer to home, Bryan stopped at a stop sign and Leo asked, "Why are you stopping Dad?" Bryan explained that we had to obey the signs. Anna then responded, "I liked it better in Africa when you can go when you want to." Luckily, she will not be driving for another ten years.

Our re-entry to life in the States was definitely made easier by Plymouth having one of the most beautiful and perfect weather days ever. Our re-entry to Plymouth, however, became official when we walked to the Dairy King to get ice cream. Delicious. Some things are easier to get used to.

Safely Home

Almost 48 hours after leaving Tenwek, we have arrived home in Michigan exhausted but safe. Our scheduled 4-hour layover in Chicago turned into a 10-hour debacle due to severe thunderstorms in the Midwest. When we finally boarded the same plane in Chicago a second time (we were de-planed due to poor weather), the First Officer made an announcement that we did not have a pilot. That announcement did not go over well with our fellow passengers. People started yelling, really truly yelling at the Flight Attendant and First Officer. We feared that a full-fledged riot was underway. They threatened to call security to kick the yelling passengers off and things finally calmed down. Luckily, Anna and Leo had quickly fallen asleep as soon as we sat down, so they missed the ridiculous behavior of certain adults. We sat for another two hours on the plane. Finally, a pilot was located and we took off. Thirty-eight minutes later, we landed in Detroit. At baggage claim, we saw the smiling faces of our friends--the Rolfsen family-- who had come to pick us up at 2 am! How sweet to see the kids hugging and not missing a beat. Thank you for all your prayers for a safe journey! Our next task...to locate two of our missing bags :)

Leaving

The bags are packed. The good-byes are underway. We feel so blessed to have had our time here at Tenwek. Please pray for our safe travel home and for those who continue to serve here. We will miss our Tenwek family very much.

Homeschooling Success

It's amazing that Anna has completed an entire second grade homeschooling curriculum in less than nine months. She worked very hard and learned so many new things. We would be lying if we said that homeschooling was a walk-in-the-park. But, as with anything challenging, you receive so much more satisfaction and reward when you successfully complete it.

We used the Sonlight Curriculum and loved it. It offered a lot of variety in subject matter and Anna enjoyed the Christian-based curriculum. We also loved the one-on-one reading time we had with her. Anna learned to improve her writing skills. Here is a sample of her writing. She is given a picture (notice the boy in the bell). She then uses her imagination and writes a story about the picture. We were pretty impressed with this story.


When we packed up for home, her books totaled 75 pounds! Even more impressive is that she read all of them. Homeschooling was an invaluable experience for both Anna and us.

The Bemm Family

Chuck and Amy with David, Abby, Lydia, Hannah, Shadrach, Ellie, and Esther

The McCropders

McLaughlins (Eric, Rachel, Maggie) and Faders (Jason, Heather, Anna, Abi) and Cropseys (John, Jessica, Elise, Micah)


with Alyssa Pfister and newest McCropder: Ben McLaughlin

Sheila and Lilian

Day to day life in Kenya would have been much harder without our House Helpers: Sheila and Lilian. We will greatly miss them.

Daisy

We were "welcomed" back from holiday to a busy OB/GYN service. Daisy came in early Tuesday morning. She had labored at home and then started bleeding. She went to 3 smaller health care facilities, prior to Tenwek. By the time she arrived, her baby had died (a common and frequent scenario here that we will never get used to). Daisy continued to bleed very heavily. Her legs and feet were covered in blood. She delivered her stillborn fetus vaginally. She received IV fluids, oxygen, cytotec and pitocin to help firm up the uterus, aggressive uterine massage and intrauterine foley balloon placement. Her hemoglobin came back at 1.2! (Normal is 12-14). At this point, the patient was becoming more lethargic but amazingly still alive.

Because she was still bleeding and her hemoglobin was alarmingly low, we decided she needed a hysterectomy. We prayed with her as she was getting prepped. She received her first unit of blood as we began her surgery. Her hysterectomy went smoothly and she was then taken to the ICU.

Daisy is now post-operative day 8 - having received 4 units of blood. She is eating, walking, smiling, and ready to go home. Although she lost her uterus at age 26, we are thankful she does have one healthy child at home.

We have never seen a patient with a hemoglobin as low as 1.2. It's by God's grace that she survived. Please continue to pray for Daisy's recovery. Pray for emotional healing- for the loss of her baby and future pregnancies. Pray for hope. As our time here at Tenwek sadly comes to a close, we will remember and pray for all our patients. A friend of ours who is a missionary in southern Sudan said, "We cannot prevent death, but we can provide hope."

Holiday in Lamu, Kenya

I think "holiday" is my new favorite word. It just sounds so much more festive and happy than "vacation". Well, we just went on holiday with some friends from Tenwek. Without a doubt, Lamu, Kenya has one of the most beautiful beaches we have ever seen. Specifically, we were in an area called Kizingoni Beach which was only accessible by speedboat or dhow. We were spoiled with memorable fellowship with friends, great weather, and delicious seafood.


Dhow sailing is one of the main modes of travel in Lamu.


Lobster anyone?


Our holiday group (clockwise from left) Joy, Anna, Carol, Jodi, Eric, Bryan, Leo, Toanh, Nathan, Julia.


A beach all to themselves (Nathan and Anna looking for seashells).


Good friendships last a lifetime.

Pizza Night

Fridays are pizza and movie night. This has been our family tradition for awhile - even in the States. The only difference in Kenya is that we have to make our pizza from scratch. We have come to love making pizza with the kids. In fact, most of the missionary families here at Tenwek have Friday pizza nights. We often have had "communal pizza nights", where each family brings their own pizza to someone's home and we all get to try each other's pizza combos.

We start with making the pizza dough. Our favorite recipe is a wheat pizza dough which we have shared with you at the end of this blog. Anna and Leo love rolling out the dough. Of course, flour goes everywhere! Sometimes I just have to look the other way. The mess is worth seeing their smiles. Once we roll out the dough, we like to bake it for a few minutes before topping it. This helps prevent a soggy pizza.


Now the crusts are ready to top. This is the creative part. We use whatever we have in the fridge or ready locally. Some of our favorite combos: spinach, caramelized onions, and a drizzle of barbecue sauce/ pepperoni and pineapple (kids' favorite)/ green olives, roasted cauliflower, and chickpeas/ tomatoes, basil, red pepper/ and the list can go on and on. We then bake the pizza only a few minutes to just melt the mozzarella cheese. Yum!


After a belly full of pizza, we usually watch a movie with the kids on our laptop. It does get cozy with four of us huddled around a 15-inch screen, but I can't think of a better way to spend a Friday night!

Friday Night Pizza dough (makes two 12-inch pizzas or three thin crusts)
-3 tsp yeast
-1 1/2 cups warm water
-3 Tbs. olive oil
-1 tsp salt
-2 1/2 cups white flour
-2 cups whole wheat flour
Dissolve the yeast in warm water. Add oil and salt to that mixture. Mix the flours and knead them into the liquid mixture. (It will be sticky.) Cover with towel. Let dough rise for 30 to 40 minutes.

A Root Canal in Africa

There are many things I thought I would experience in Africa, but a root canal was not on the list!

Over the last month, I was experiencing pain on my left top molar. I suspected a cavity (this would not be my first) and started brushing and flossing multiple times a day. As the weeks went on, the pain worsened. I knew I needed help when I was getting up at night to take pain medication to sleep. So I went to the Tenwek dentist.

We are very blessed to have a great dentist serving our community. Dr. Kuyaya has been at Tenwek for 10 years. I was expecting him to treat me for a cavity and I would be on my way. You can imagine my surprise when we started to discuss root canals. The X-ray showed an area of decay under a filling I already had. Once he drilled out this filling, the decay reached the pulp of my tooth. So the only option was a root canal. He performed the procedure in a two-step approach. And today, I had the procedure completed. I am not sure the price of a root canal in the US, but I am quite certain it is more than $53!

Oh, the memories I will treasure from my time in Africa.


Files placed in my molar to clean out the roots

X-ray verification of proper placement

Anyone for a hot dental tool?

The old spittoon - thought I had seen the last one of these when I was 10 years old.

Easter

Here are some pictures we'd like to share from last weekend's Easter festivities. Good Friday and Monday were considered holidays so we had a four day weekend with the kids. Even in Kenya, there was plenty of Easter fun for Anna and Leo.

On Friday, the kids decorated sugar cookies at Dr. Carol Spears' house.


On Saturday, all the kids on the compound joined together for an Easter Egg Hunt with plenty of candy-filled eggs for everyone.

We then had a "surprise treat". One of the pet turtles, Baringo, died and Uncle Jason Fader decided to perform an autopsy to find the cause of death. Gruesome but quite interesting. The kids on the compound loved it...how often will they ever get a chance to be this close to turtle anatomy. Cause of death...likely cancer (a lot of swollen lymph nodes, but then again, do we really know what normal-sized turtle lymph nodes are?).

Sunday started with an amazing sunrise Easter service. We woke up and walked out our front door...the service was held on our front lawn since we get a beautiful view of the sun coming up over the hills at 6:20am. Everyone brought flowers to place on the cross.



Monday, we took a leisurely hike down to the waterfall which was a great ending to our Easter weekend.

Architect or Future Band Member?

Leo woke up today with a 102F fever. He was pretty subdued and sleepy since he was up most of the night coughing. Needless to say, he didn't go to preschool today. Instead, he spent the morning with us, laying on the couch while Anna was homeschooling. The ibuprofen must have kicked in, because he started wanting to play with his Trio building set (similar to Legos).

Without any guidance or help from us, he started putting pieces together. We realized he was working on a musical theme.

His first creation- a violin...

guitar...

drums...OK, not so creative but I think his fever was coming back.

Leo, however, redeemed himself. He went back to building his most favorite thing in the world...DINOSAURS!

Hungry Baboons

We noticed the over-abundance of baboons at Nakuru National Park. Initially, we thought they were kind of cute, especially the babies. We soon realized why the baboons were also very interested in us.

We drove up to Baboon Cliff where you can look down and see most of the park. Park guards approached us and told us to roll up our windows since the baboons like to steal food from cars. We followed their recommendations. We then noticed a very large baboon checking us out. We very carefully took some pictures of the baboon, then decided to leave.

Before we drove off, I decided to go into the trunk to get a snack out of the cooler for the kids. Big Mistake. All of a sudden, I heard a loud thud next to me. My first thought was, "I thought I buckled the kids in. How did one of them get out of their car seat and jump back here??" Next thing I knew, a big hairy arm reached in front of me, knocked the lid off the cooler, and snatched a ziplock bag of fruit. The baboon then took off with the park guards trying to chase after him. All of this happened in a matter of seconds! It took awhile to get over the shock that a baboon was inches from me. Bryan said he looked in the rear view mirror when he heard the noise. All he saw was "my wife with a big hairy baboon next to her". Thanks Bryan.

Leo was very sad because the baboon stole our only fruit. I have to admit I was pretty sad also. We can only buy apples and pears in Nairobi. "He stole our last 2 red apples, 2 green apples, and 2 green pears and our plastic bag" states Leo anytime he retells the story. Ziplock bags are valuable here in Kenya and reused multiple times.

Notice the baboon staking out our car. We should've known...

After recovering from this altercation, we decided to go eat lunch at the lodge. We were seated at a lovely table outside. We noticed some baboons on the other side of the fence. Anna was very worried that one would jump the fence and come after us. Bryan told her to keep a watch on the baboons.

Well, you know where this is going...Anna's eyes got as big as saucers. "Daddy, daddy - a baboon's coming!" Bryan looks up to see a baboon running towards our table. All of a sudden, Bryan starts making ridiculous noises to scare the baboon. He said he was speaking baboon. Again, thanks Bryan. The baboon ran up to our table and stole my mom's cheeseburger - all before we can say, "shoo". Our server was nice enough to bring my mom another cheeseburger, but we had all lost our appetite.

Leo- not so sure about finishing his lunch

Daniel and Christian

We had the privilege of caring for two Kenyan children in our home. Both Daniel and Christian are orphans and they are cared for at the AGC Baby Center. When the children at the Baby Center need hospital admission, they are brought to Tenwek. Occasionally, the children are well enough to be discharged but do not have a ride back to Nakuru immediately. That's when we get to step in. We help care for the children until they go back to the Baby Center. Daniel stayed with us in November and Christian in December. What a blessing. Anna and Leo helped care for them and showered them with hugs and kisses.

Daniel

Christian

Anna and Leo were so excited to visit Daniel and Christian at the Baby Center. How the boys have grown - Christian was drinking out of a cup!


Anna spending a special moment with Daniel