Jarretts Ministry

January 24, 2002

Dear Friends and Family:

This has been a frustrating week with e-mail not coming in all week. We haven’t heard world events for 6 days, and only a handful of e-mails trickled through. So, if any of you wrote back to us in the last eight days, please send your note again, as it likely didn’t get through. We realize that many if not all our messages get out, but no replies get back to us. Thank you for praying for us. I wanted to update you on the progress of those requests and share some additional stories of life in Kenya. Sam Powdrill is well now; thanks for praying. The Steury family will need your ongoing prayers, as will the extended WGM family, as they have lost two other Kenya field members in the past year – Tammie King and Marge Campbell.

A little excitement at Olderkessi

Last week Debbye and Becki wrote of their adventure at our friends’ house out at Olderkessi. Marty and I still hope to visit there this term, as the opportunity has never arisen for the rest of family to go there. It is very near the border to Tanzania on the flat plain that is the northernmost reaches of the Serengeti Plain. The wild animals have free range throughout the area, so one can see almost any of the large animals near the compound. A taut barbed wire fence surrounds the compound for protection of the humans and livestock alike.

Two nights after the

January 20, 2002

Dear Friends and Family:

We’ve been back at Tenwek for 10 days now and I wanted to share some answers to prayer, some prayer requests, and some stories with you. We are all well and enjoying the reunion with our many friends here. The work at the hospital has been challenging with some new “firsts” even in the initial week of work.

Some answers to prayer

You may remember the laundering of my hearing aid that occurred during all the excitement of our leaving. We had no expectation of its working again; we had drained water out of the tiny sophisticated electronic device with its miles of microcircuitry. You can imagine our surprise when the assessment of the damage was limited to the need for a new battery. Today, Rachel Powdrill dropped by and brought a package from home. She left Lexington, KY on Thursday and, thanks to the wonder of overnight mail, she brought my hearing aid with her. Also, our missing suitcase arrived unharmed in the midst of a driving rainstorm via a Tenwek employee who had picked it up in Bomet at the Securicor courier office. It had been addressed simply to “Paul Jr., Tenwek Hospital.” I guess it helps to live in a small town.

Speaking of the Powdrills, they have a prayer request of a rather urgent nature. Sam is in the process of trying to pass a kidney stone. He went to Nairobi on Friday night to pick up Rachel at the airport the following

January 11, 2002

Dear Friends and Family:

Thanks for your prayers for our trip to Tenwek. It is great to be back with our friends and staff here at the hospital, and I’m looking forward to starting work on Monday. Marty’s back held up well for the long trip. We have some jet lag to deal with and a suitcase to recover; but all in all, we are thankful to be here safely.

Our Trip Here

The preparation time and the trip here had some strange moments and I’ll let you be the judge whether or not spiritual warfare was involved. Our packing time was a little hectic after Christmas especially with Marty’s limitations on bending, lifting, and standing for long periods. A disappointment was the limited number of medical supplies that I was able to bring. Some sources of supplies just seemed to dry up. On the bright side, we were able to bring lots of Bibles, clothing for some of the orphans and widows, and a dozen soccer balls as well as our personal things.

Many of you don’t know that I have worn hearing aids for the last three or four years. I have a hereditary high-frequency hearing loss that makes it difficult to hear women’s voices clearly. That’s a problem for a gynecologist and father of seven daughters. [or maybe a benefit] The aids help a lot in normal conversation as well as hearing speakers in meetings. The small “in-the-canal” aids are not noticeable, but they do interfere with using