CATCHING UP ON THE NEWS

It has been a long time since I have updated this blog so let me catch you up on some news. In May our rains stopped but the Arsim River continued to flow and still is flowing up to now. This is good as the heavy rains did badly damage the intake in the gravity feed water system up in the mountains at the source of Arsim River. So we have been without any water in the system for 3 months which makes it more difficult for people to access water. So many have reverted to going to the river to draw water where many bathe and wash clothes as well. We have a shallow well on the mission compound we use for water when the gravity system is down so we who live on the mission station have not noted much difference in water quality, only the quantity is less. I expect that to go dry any time soon as the dry season has come upon us. Then we have another backup of a borehole in town. I think I will start buying water containers in anticipation of having to draw water at the borehole! In end of may all the nurses and other health professionals in North Samburu District had to go to a training in Baragoi to prepare for the mass distribution of Zithromax to all the people to prevent trachoma. Just before my vehicle left Arsim to go to the training we got a critical patient with severe abdominal pain and a paralytic ileus. He was a case for referral to the hospital and since all us nurses were leaving our stations for a day of training I took him along and put him in Baragoi Hospital overnight. After the training the next day it was determined he needed a bigger hospital for treatment so we decided to drive him to Maralal that evening. About 45 minutes out of Baragoi just at sunset, our vehicle was shot by bandits, but thanks be to God no one was hurt and we were not robbed. We did not even see any of the culprits, only 2 red flashes in the bushes by the road as we heard the gunshots. I initially thought that I had burst a tire as that section of road was very rocky and steep going up a hill. So I had stopped and shut off the headlights and the engine in anticipation of getting out to see what was wrong with the car that it made such a loud noise. Then I realized that the noise was gunshots and I wondered what to do as the bandits were just ahead in the bushes about 20 feet away on the right side. Someone in the back of the pickup, Christine Lekuyie, shouted "go back!" I couldn't think of a better option so I started the engine and started to go back down slowly using by brake lights to see behind me so I wouldn't drive off the edge of the cliff. Something inside told me not to turn on the headlights. After about a minute or so of backing down, someone shouted "here" which I figured meant the road was wide enough to turn around, which I did, and then put on the headlights and drove back to Baragoi as fast as I could. About half way there I calmed down enough to think I should stop and see if anyone was injured in the back, which no one was. At the police station in Baragoi I discovered the vehicle had been hit by the 2 bullets in the area of the right front fender (cosmetic damage only). The police said I used wonderful military tactics in dealing with my enemy, when the truth is I really didn't know what I was doing and why I did what I did to escape. We thank God for his protection and covet your prayers always as we travel! This kind of event always takes some enthusiasm out of the work and makes it harder to trust people. I have had some post-trauma counseling again with a professional Christian counselor, which is helpful. Pray for complete emotional healing from this event for me and all the passengers. I did get the patient to Maralal the next day under armed police escort and he has recovered nicely and has now gone home completely normal. We are thinking about our routes for travel more and how to keep them secret! One option I would like to do more is to fly from Arsim. However our airstrip is badly damaged from heavy floods and rain earlier in April and is not usable unless it is repaired again. Pray for funds to see this important project to get done. In June I kept busy with audit preparations and meetings with a big donor from Australia. That all went fairly well. Then in early July we finally did the mass distribution of Zithromax to all our people. I helped our new nurse Rophina with some of the mobile stations we had to visit to get to all the people living out in the countryside. Then immediately after that we had a tough visit from an Australian donor who has not liked the price quotes we have been getting on our water projects. He is pretty OK about the rest of our work but we have to try to get cheaper prices or replan all the kinds of water projects we do. Pray with us about this issue as it is dragging us and the work down to some degree. Now I am in Nairobi getting the ambulance repaired as one of our new drivers hit a big rock at high speed and damaged the differential, front and back, at least on the outside. If the inside is also damaged it will really be a big repair. This is a matter for prayer as well. We still have to get the dispensary audit done soon, and then I need some vacation! One more prayer item- pray for conflict resolution in the Samburu ELCK Parish. I do not want to go into detail, but there have been offences committed by some and people offended and it is hurting the work of the church until matters are resolved. Here is a news flash. Our government counsellor at Arsim resigned last year to take a job with the National Health Insurance Fund in Maralal. That is an elected position and so last week Arsim Location had a special byelection to vote for a new counsellor. 2 Lutherans and another fellow from Ngurunit ran for the position and Christine Hadijah Lekuyie (formerly Lekadaa, Mary's daughter, as she is now married to one of our dispensary drivers), won the election. Yes, she is the one in the back of the pickup who told me to "go back"! She is the first woman in our area elected to a government position and one of the few Samburu women ever elected to any position! The women at Arsim are feeling pretty good right now! Pray for her to be wise and effective in her position.