About three weeks ago, Wendy began talking with Emily about a doctor that would be traveling to Tenwik hospital in Kenya on June 2nd. He could do testing to see if Abreham is a candidate for surgery, and not too high risk. A cardiac surgeon is also available at the hospital. The doctors and hospital agreed, and arrangements were made for Abreham to travel to Kenya. I was asked to escort him and his mother, Yangoose, along with my Amharic teacher Ebise to translate.
The Lord marvelously provided
the funds through Wendy’s networking, and everything else fell into place like
stepping stones. The Lord prepared the way for Abreham.
Before leaving, I printed an e-mail
from a lady at the hospital summarized like this:
When you get to Nairobi, get a taxi
to the bus station. Take a bus to Bomet. At Bomet, take a taxi to the hospital.
Ask the guard for operation room reception and ask for Lucy. And then she gave
estimates for how much the tickets and rides would be.
I laughed when I read the e-mail.
“Lord,” I looked up, “you do know I’ve never been to Kenya, right?”
We arrived in Nairobi Saturday night on an uneventful flight.
Yangoose was stoic, and Abreham slept the whole way. We got through the airport
with little delay and out the other side. Several taxis were lined up on the
curb, and I was immediately approached by a smiley gentleman with a lot of teeth.
I told him we needed to go to the bus station and he loaded our bags in his
trunk. All four of us sat in the back. When I looked up, the car was moving but
there was no driver and no steering wheel! I panicked for 3 seconds until
noticing that the driver was directly in front of me clutching a wheel. Kenyans
drive on the left side of the road. The traffic was similar to Ethiopia –
lawless - but much much faster. We bought the fattest bananas I had ever seen
through the window while stuck in a traffic jam.
Found the bus station, got tickets,
four hours on a rock hard seat to Bomet, taxi to the hospital, guard pointed to
reception. No Lucy was to be found, but another sweet nurse led us to the guest
house. Tenwik is a Christian campus including the hospital, a church, housing
for the staff, and a guest house for visiting doctors and patients. It was an
absolutely beautiful, serene Godly atmosphere. Sunday morning we went to the
church on campus and rested.
Monday was the big day. We found the correct line to stand in
for registration, and there we stood for the next three hours. I guess Kenya
and Ethiopia are sisters. J Eventually we were ushered into an examination room
where Dr. Lisky (the traveling doctor) and Dr. White the cardio surgeon were
waiting. They were both wonderful, and good with mother and child.
Monday was the big day. We found the correct line to stand in
for registration, and there we stood for the next three hours. I guess Kenya
and Ethiopia are sisters. J Eventually we were ushered into an examination room
where Dr. Lisky (the traveling doctor) and Dr. White the cardio surgeon were
waiting. They were both wonderful, and good with mother and child. 
At the end
of the echocardiograph they were both in agreement that Abreham’s heart is
inoperable. The two holes are small, and his heart is compensating for them
now. “If we operate,” they told us, “his life will be shorter.” My own heart sank
into my chest. Dr. Lisky explained everything through Ebise to Yangoose, and
prayed with us there in the office. Yangoose wiped her eyes and fastened
Abreham to her back. I thanked the doctor and headed back to the guest house. I
felt as if Yangoose thought the doctors had sentenced her son. Ebise and I sat
down with her again to explain the truth of the situation. She responded well,
and I am convinced she understood.
It was hard for me to understand myself. It’s so hard to look
at a sweet-faced boy like Abreham, know he is sick, and hear a doctor say there
is nothing more we can do. We have done all that we can do for this child. We
often as Christians say, “Well, all we can do is pray.” I have said it myself,
but I think it a grossly inaccurate thing to say. First of all, Abreham’s life
was never in our human hands. His life never depended on what we did for him, and
prayer is not a last resort! God has had his hand over this child’s life the
entire time. He was knit in his mother’s womb, and planned from the beginning.
God’s got it. He has not moved. He is sitting on his throne. We are not in
control. I have peace that God is, and that He will keep Abreham according to
His perfect will. He’s got the whole world in His hands.
I e-mailed their sponsor Wendy and reported the results. She
responded as I did, and said she would change our return date for Wednesday.
She then asked me if I would take them to do something fun before we left. I
asked around the campus, and everyone voted safari. Tuesday morning I spoke
with the visitor’s coordinator who arranged for us to leave within thirty
minutes and to spend the night in what she called “a five star tent”. I loaded
my troop into a pick-up truck, and off we bumped down the bumpiest “road” I
have ever seen. I mean, we could have all used a chiropractor within the first
ten minutes. Haha, I loved it! It was only fifty kilometers or so, but it took
us two and a half hours to make it.
We drove through a gate and into a circle
drive. We fell out of the truck and saw a man and woman standing in the doorway
with a tray of rolled hot cloths. “Jambo!” she greeted us. By tongs he handed
us each a cloth for our faces and a cup of mango juice. The woman continued to
welcome us and explained the schedule. We were to eat lunch on the deck by the
pool, drop our things in the tent, go on the first game drive, and eat dinner.
Tomorrow, we were to go on an early morning game drive, eat breakfast upon
returning, and our driver would come to take us to the airport. The “five star
tent” was a small house inside a large canvas tent, fitted with refrigerator,
flushing toilet, pillow-top beds, and a hot shower.
Our “tent’s” balcony
overlooked a river with hippos and crocodiles we could watch. Everything was
stunning, and the food was like a delicious never ending stream into our
mouths. The game drives were amazing too. We saw every animal I imagined on a
safari, with an exception to elephants. We were so close to them! Yangoose,
Abreham, and Ebise enjoyed it immensely. When would they ever get to do
something like this? It was such a blessing for all of us. My breath was taken
by all the different and wonderful things the Lord has made. We watched the sun
go down and the sun come up on the savanna.
He commands the sun to move. He
fashions the horn of the buffalo and the paw of the lion. He teaches the
gazelle to leap and paints the zebra’s stripes.
Truly, He's got the whole world in His hands.
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