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 girls left, there was a little ruckus. One of the Masai guards was sitting in his house when he heard a “ping, ping” sound, followed by some distinctly disturbed bellows from the cattle. He recognized the sounds as being the barbed wire snapping. Thinking that there must be poachers cutting the fence, he rushed outside only to confront three hungry male lions in the front yard. How they had broken the fence seemed academic. He tried to frighten them off, but they began to encircle him. He ran back in the house and alerted others in the compound. They chased the lions out of the compound and into the bush. The next morning, the local police were present and chased the lions further away, apparently wounding one of the lions in the process. This is the first real trouble they’ve had at the compound, and they are hopeful it is the last.

The Bow and Arrow Club

When I was at Wishard Hospital, the trauma doctors used to refer to the Friday and Saturday night shootings and knifings as the meetings of the Knife and Gun Club. It seems that we are having regular meetings of the Bow and Arrow Club outside Tenwek these days. Wednesday night I went up to do a Cesarean section for a mother whose pelvis had not developed properly, as well as her right leg being a full foot shorter than her left. The femur bone was abnormally short and the foot turned out. I’m sorry that I didn’t see her walking with her 7-lb baby still inside. It’s a wonder she didn’t fall over continually. Personnel at another facility had allowed her to labor for 18 hours before transporting her to Tenwek at 11PM. This type of late-night referral seems to be a rather regular event on night call so far.

I found that the general surgeons were also busy late that night following the “club meeting”. They were pulling an arrow out of the chest of a young Kipsigis man. They stated that he was lucky to have the arrow only puncture one of the lungs and miss the heart and large vessels completely. I remarked that we probably didn’t see the unlucky ones at Tenwek. They agreed and said that two others in the fight were dead at the scene. The fight had been with the Masai over some cows. “Can’t we all just get along here?” [Remember, the Masai believe that God told them long ago that “all the cattle belong to them”.]

Mark 9:47 says: And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, (NIV). We have seen this scripture fulfilled here at Tenwek this month. A young Masai warrior, John, was with his “fraternity” brothers in their four-year initiation period where they live apart from the rest of the tribal families. They became involved in a cattle dispute with some Kipsigis. He came in with an arrow in his head. It had entered his right eye and came out the back of his neck. Somehow it had missed the brain and other vital structures, so he lost an eye but not his life. But he gained eternal life here at Tenwek as he was led to the Lord during his recovery. Like many new believers, he seems enthusiastic and eager to tell others of the peace and joy he has found in his new life with Jesus Christ. As other Masai patients come in to the hospital, he seems to be witnessing to them. One might see him sitting in the center court talking with others or lying in bed on the ward with another patient talking about Jesus. Sometimes I think that new believers put the rest of us to shame. Could we be in danger of “losing our first love”? Please pray that John maintains his witness and enthusiasm as he grows in his relationship with the Lord.

Patient Follow-up

Chelangat is the 12-year-old girl with a large abdominal mass whom I took to surgery on Monday. Howard Johnson and I operated together to explore the nature of the tumor. Unfortunately, the large mass was a cancer arising from the left ovary or perhaps the uterus. In either event, the cancer that had also invaded the outside of the colon destroyed both structures. We picked our way around it and located both ureters to avoid injury to them. It was necessary to do a hysterectomy and remove part of the bowel wall to get out the tumor. The tumor showed no other signs of spread, and we think we got all of it out; but the long-term prognosis is certainly unclear. I left the normal-appearing right ovary so she can develop into womanhood if she survives the first year after surgery.

Eunice is a 51-year-old mother of 15 children who had come with a large abdominal mass, severe anemia [Hemoglobin 3.0 instead of 12], and infection draining from the uterus. We thought it would be fibroids [a benign tumor] and prepared her for surgery with 3 transfusions. So the day after Chelangat’s surgery, I took Eunice to the theatre for exploratory surgery. I was welcomed by a large abscess-riddled mass of bowel and uterus. I couldn’t even begin to get at the tumor with my standard incision. As I made it larger, I called once again for Howard Johnson to come in. What a blessing it is to have such a skilled surgeon at my side in these horrendous surgeries. He determined that the right side of the colon had to go since the appendix was in the middle of the mess, and the bowel stuck so intimately with the uterus. So off we went into very foreign territory for a gynecologist. We saw the right kidney, the duodenum and other structures that I don’t ever get into as we detached the right half of the colon. That allowed us to get behind the tumor and bring it off the big blood vessels and ureters. We got into the urinary bladder in front of the tumor and had to remove over half of it. We handed the tumor off the field to Dr. Gambel, another visiting surgeon. He opened it up for us and found it was an endometrial cancer that was badly infected. Again, we found no certain evidence of retained tumor, but this kind often sends out metastasis to distant organs through the lymph channels. I will probably put her on Depo-Provera, the only hormonal suppressive chemotherapy that is available. Pray for Eunice’s recovery as well.

During this 5-hour surgery, the medical student on our service, Anne-Marie, came in the operating room to say that she was very concerned about the condition of Janeth, our young mother in ICU. She had made an amazing recovery from the DIC and abruption of the placenta 60 hours before but had some pneumonia developing. Suddenly she was on the downhill slide again with oxygen saturation falling into the 60% range despite administered oxygen. I asked that one of the other doctors be summoned to evaluate her for re-intubation and ventilator management. Anne-Marie returned 30 minutes later to say that Janeth was dead despite the efforts of the ICU personnel and another doctor. I had seen her before surgery and noted that she had reaffirmed her faith in God with the chaplain. Her death put a real damper on the remainder of the day. There were still two major cases to do, including a hysterectomy for choriocarcinoma [placenta cancer] on Decla, a mother of 4 in her late 20’s. Although that surgery went well, as did the next case, I was really tired after operating from 8-5.

I was glad to have a day in the clinic on Wednesday as my legs were still tired. It was a little slower than usual, but it ended with the evaluation of a patient who had been unable to conceive after a cesarean section at another hospital a few years ago. In fact, she had hardly any menstrual flow after that surgery. We did a hysterosalpingogram [which means we injected dye into the uterus and took an x-ray] only to find that most of the uterus had been removed at the time of that delivery. I asked the chaplain to come and translate as I broke the news to her that she couldn’t have more children. I then left her with him rather than having her leave immediately with the heartbreaking news to take home.

Thursday was supposed to be my day off, but I had scheduled more surgery before I had realized the mistake. So this morning, I began with a 3-hour case of a difficult myomectomy [removal of uterine fibroids] to try and restore fertility to a young second wife of a Kisii man. Unfortunately the Fallopian tubes were badly scarred from previous infection. One tube could be restored, so I proceeded to remove a baseball-size tumor as well as three golf balls from the uterus. Please pray that Moraa will find Jesus as well as be able to have a child. It was nice to be outside the operating room the rest of the day.

The Reason we are here

I never considered myself primarily a surgeon before, but it seems that here that is the nature of much of my work, or at least where I make the largest impact of a temporal nature. But I have to keep in focus that every patient that enters Tenwek Hospital is going to die. They may die here or long after they leave, but the reality is that this life on earth is temporary and only a preparation for eternal life. Eternity will either be spent with God in Heaven or in a conscious, tormented death apart from God in Hell. The determining factor is the decision a person has made in regards to Jesus Christ. Does he accept Him as the Son of God and His payment for his sins by Christ’s death on the cross? To reject this gift is an eternally tragic decision come judgement day.

The prophet Isaiah foretold hundreds of years before Jesus came to earth that He would conquer death and that He would be the salvation of those who trusted in Him. Isaiah 25:6-9 On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine– the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken. In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.” (NIV)

In the New Testament, the author of Hebrews [many believe it was Paul, but it is truly unknown for certain] speaks again of this mountain referring to Jesus: Hebrews 12:18-25 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.” The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.” But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? (NIV)

It is clear that we must make a decision. Jesus offers us eternal life by washing away our sins with His blood; His was the perfect sacrifice. We can join Him in heaven, along with the angels and those saints who have gone before us. It requires a personal decision. Salvation isn’t by joining a church, by sacrificial works, or by following rules. It isn’t a weighing on the scales of justice the good and bad a person has done. It is simply the recognition of Jesus Christ as Lord in the simple plea for Him to come into your heart and be your Savior. It is in this repentance that salvation is found; not in coming to God on your own merit, but confessing that you are sinful and inadequate. What will you do about Jesus?

We again thank you for your prayers and notes of encouragement, even those we have not yet received. Please be persistent. Pray for those who are trying to fix our e-mail. Pray as we drive to Nairobi tomorrow for dental work and supplies.

Serving Jesus with you in Kenya.

Paul for the Jarretts

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 morning. He fell ill on the drive in to the guesthouse and another guest, a Scandinavian missionary, took him to Nairobi Hospital. The guest knew the way to the hospital all too well. He had just been released after being shot in the neck during a carjacking in Nairobi three months previously. By flight time, Sam was still too ill to drive, so an acquaintance from their Christian Blind Mission went to the airport and picked up Rachel. After medication and fluids, the pain had eased and it was assumed the stone had passed. Their trip to Tenwek was uneventful, but 24 hours later, he is back to square one with the pain. He had just enough time to complete an eye surgery before the pain intensified enough to send him home to bed. Please pray for a speedy resolution to the problem.

Becki and Debbye Report from Masai land

We, Debbye and Becki, recently went on a four day trip with some friends to Olderkesi, a Community Development project out in Masai Land. Here is a summation of the adventures we encountered:

We made it to Olderkesi with getting stuck in the mud (called “black cotton”) only twice. This mud makes the road tricky; you try to find the best path, but none is any better than another. The rivers weren’t too high, but we had a lot of rain, which is unusual for the dry season. So we hung out with the John and Vera Steury family who have 2 boys and a girl. They have a 3-month-old Thompson’s gazelle that they rescued from shepherd boys who were starting to cut it up into pieces to feed their dogs! They had already cut half of an ear when 10 shillings was given in exchange for the baby. It is so adorable. They named her Newsu (spelling?) which means “half” in Masai. So Debbye and I enjoyed feeding her bottles that she downed in 20 seconds and petting an animal that you normally can’t get close to. Also, the kids have a mini motorbike that is called a Piki and they taught us how to drive it…so we were riding along on the closest thing we will ever get to a motorcycle…it was fun!

We watched two Masai men harvest ant honey, which looks like molasses, and they ate it for dinner! To harvest honey they dig with spears in the ground until they come to a hollow area. They break the shell of dirt and scoop out combs and honey with their hands. It is a very messy and sticky dinner. ? The ants look like miniature bees, but they don’t sting and their larva and pupa in the combs are eaten along with the honey. The Masai warriors were not even brushing off the ants before putting it in their mouths. I, Becki, was grossed out and didn’t try it but the others kids including Debbye tried it and said that it tasted good…kind of like sweet gum. I wasn’t about to try something that had bugs in it! ? One of the coolest things was when a hyena killed an Impala right outside the house! Yeah! Scary! We retraced the whole scene by looking at the tracks. We saw where the impala had fallen and then was dragged by the hyena. We saw the antler markings and then a huge circle of blood. It certainly made us keep our eyes open and put us on our guard. We went on a night drive around the bush and had a big spotlight to help us find animals. The only nocturnal animals we saw were bush babies, springhare (looks like a rabbit but hops like a kangaroo and has a long tail) and an ardwolf (looks like a baby hyena with a long tail)…really strange looking creatures. It was so awesome. We were really disappointed not to see any stars though because it was raining at night and cloudy. (So with none of the stars to light up the sky…it was pitch black. You could not even see your hand a centimeter in front of your face.) Power for electricity is run on a generator and we turn off the lights whenever possible. We brought home an albino rabbit that the Steurys gave us and named it Frodo. (This name came from the book The Lord of the Rings which has had us engrossed since we saw the movie) She is adorable! We are fixing up a nice hut for her and are excited to have a pet! We had a wonderful time despite killing really big spiders and banana slugs. We hope to go back again sometime.

Prayer Requested for Ernie Steury

The only doctor at Tenwek Hospital during its first 10 years was Dr. Ernie Steury. Although he retired a number of years ago, he is currently in Kenya visiting his children who are serving here with their families. This past year has been a severe trial for him as he developed an inoperable brain cancer which has been treated with radiation. The treatment has given him some time to visit family and friends, but the tumor is growing again, so he and the family need our prayers during this difficult time.

Pray for the Hospital Work

I will operate tomorrow on a 12-year-old girl with a very large tumor in her lower abdomen. She is small in stature and development compared to a child of similar age in the States. Poor nutrition seems to delay puberty in the third world. There is at least a 30% chance that the solid tumor is a malignancy. Please pray for Chelangat. I am not accustomed to pediatric surgery, so I will have Dr. Howard Johnson assist me. He is fully recovered from his four brain operations for the subdural hematoma he developed last May at Tenwek and is carrying a full load as Russ White’s replacement. We are very thankful to have he and his wife, Marilyn, here at Tenwek.

I have two patients with the very aggressive cancer of the placenta, choriocarcinoma. Every patient that I have seen here has died of the disease, although in the States there is a 95% cure rate. We have a single chemotherapy agent available which is often effective. Grace will start Methotrexate this week after her hysterectomy last week. The other patient will have surgery on Tuesday, provided we have enough blood available in the blood bank. We have used a lot in recent weeks, so the bank is operating much of the time in the “just in time” mode. In another 3 months, we may have the technology to run the highly useful Beta HCG blood test which tells whether any of this cancer is left in the body. Until then, it is pretty much guess work.

I’ve had some pretty challenging Cesarean sections. One patient was of very short stature and had labored in a nearby clinic for too long. We were unable to deliver the baby with a vacuum extractor, so it was necessary to do a cesarean. Already there were signs of infection and the baby’s head was so far down the birth canal that the nurse’s strength was insufficient to push it up to me as I operated from above. The anesthetist came to her rescue and pushed the baby up where I could get it out, although it was a real test of strength at 3AM. It also took a while to figure out that the incision was actually through the upper vagina and not in the uterus, which made for some really strange surgical anatomy to repair. We were disappointed that the baby died immediately after delivery.

I was already tired from the cesarean immediately beforehand, which was also very difficult. The mother was having her 7th baby, but it was coming with the arm and shoulder presenting. She had been at another facility for too long as well. I made an incision that I thought would allow me to extend it upwards as much as I needed to get the baby out. I grabbed the feet and began to lift them out, but the uterus just split in two sideways which resulted in a fair amount of bleeding. I had no assistant to help other than the scrub tech, so a circulating tech scrubbed in to give me more exposure. I’ve taken to looking really hard for a first assistant since then. A sleepy medical student is better than none at all.

Last night, I had an instant replay of the first cesarean that I described. A very small mother came in with the baby stuck low in the birth canal. She had required a cesarean section for her first delivery and then tried to deliver the second, despite having clearly inadequate bone structure to allow it. [I'm told that sometimes a woman is looked down on if she needs surgery for delivery, so the husband might take her to another hospital to see if the results will be different.] There was a lot of bleeding suggesting either rupture of the uterine scar [previous incision] or a premature separation of the placenta [placental abruption]. We went immediately to surgery and went above the old incision which had obviously healed with an infection complication. Unfortunately, the baby had multiple birth defects which were fatal. But soon we became concerned that we might lose the mother as well.

With placental abruption, many of the body’s clotting factors are used up in an attempt to seal off the bleeding. Soon the blood won’t clot effectively at all, a condition known as disseminated intravascular coagulopathy [DIC]. We noted that the patient was now bleeding from the places where blood had been drawn previous to surgery. She vomited coming out of her anesthetic, and now we were concerned about aspiration pneumonia as well. Fortunately, she didn’t have this complication. Her blood pressure began to fall and the blood oxygen saturation percentage also dropped into the low 70’s despite oxygen [normal 99%]. Before she slipped out of consciousness, I called the chaplain to pray with her. He found that she was already a Christian. As she gradually lost consciousness we decided to put her on the ventilator as well as give blood transfusions to replace the blood and clotting factors that had been lost. A dopamine infusion was used to raise the blood pressure. Finally the blood pressure returned, and the kidneys began to function again. The oxygen saturation reached 99% after a few hours and the patient awakened. I left the ICU at 2AM. I was very happy to see her awake again this morning, and I have great hopes for her recovery. Please pray for Janeth.

Lightening Storms Frighten Local Residents

It is dry season, but it has rained each day since we’ve been here. One book I read states that Western Kenya has more lightening than anywhere else on earth. But on Monday night we had a storm that locals say is unequaled in Western Kenya in recent memory. It began with lots of rain [total 3 inches] and then the fireworks started. The thunder sounded like bombs going off. Soon our Kenyan neighbors called. The husband was away at Kericho and the wife, housemaid, and 3 small infants were home by themselves. Lightening had come down their chimney and they were not going to stay there anylonger. They piled into our living room to wait out the storm. We served them tea and pancakes after praying for protection and peace during the storm.

Several people were struck by lightening. One family was lying down in their grass hut when a strike hit the center pole. The woman was struck in the head by the bolt that then traveled out her hand. She was burned but not killed. She is not a believer, but I would think this event might cause her to think more seriously of her mortality and need for God. Actually, the report on this lady is that she stated during the storm, “If there is a God, then let Him strike me with lighning.”

Orphans and Widows Project Update

We have had several meetings with David Kilel about the school fund project. So far it has met our hopes and expectations, and it has also raised some questions as to its scope. We have 43 students who have completed the first term and others who are now being enrolled for the current term. Eight are in High School and the rest are elementary. One orphan has applied for a two-year secretarial school which is comparatively more expensive and outside the scope of what we originally envisioned. Yet we want to be sensitive to God’s leading. Please pray for wisdom for this exceptional case, which could open the door to a lot of other requests that could rapidly deplete the fund if honored. So far, all on the committee [along with Marty and me] are leery of proceeding in this direction.

One widow was preparing to divide her land to sell off parcels in order to send her children to school. She was not a member of a church; but when the church offered her assistance, she was overwhelmed with gratitude. She has been regularly attending church and learning more about the love of God and God’s people for her and her family. Pray for more opportunities to show God’s love to those who don’t know Him.

My first day at the hospital was a bit of an adjustment to the heavy workload and running the busy service. My Kindergarten teaching days at Pleasant View seemed a long way away. God was gracious to encourage me by allowing me to participate in His harvest. A young Masai woman had come in after delivery with heavy bleeding. I asked her through the intern’s interpretation if she was a Christian. She said “No, but I would like to become one.” So we all prayed with her in Swahili as she accepted Jesus as her Savior. The scripture says that some sow and others reap. That day I got to be a reaper where someone else had sown the seed. Pray that this seed will produce fruit 100-fold.

Thank you for your prayers that make the harvest possible. We appreciate your standing with us in the work that God is doing in Kenya. Pray for our safety as we drive into Nairobi on Friday for Amy and Laura’s braces adjustment. Alicia Bechtle has been a real blessing to us and is helping with Rachel’s schooling. They are good buddies. Pray for wisdom for her as to how long she will stay here. [We are all praying that she stays our whole term if that is God's will.] She’s enjoying all of the experiences God has planned for her. Pray for comfort for the entire Tenwek family tomorrow as the one-year anniversary of Tammie King’s death is commemorated with a memorial celebration.

Serving Christ with you,

Paul, for the Jarretts and Alicia in Kenya

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 a stethoscope. Consequently, at the hospital, I usually wear the right one, which is more comfortable. Even though they are small, I have managed not to lose or damage one until two days before our departure. I was very tired coming home Friday night from a family outing and the hilarious noise level in the car with us were loud enough to make me take out one aid and put it in my shirt pocket. I forgot to take it out when I got home. I remembered early Saturday morning, but not before Marty had run the shirt through the washing machine. I had been warned that the aids are not waterproof, so I had to leave it to be repaired. Early estimates are for $100 to repair or replace it. [That's less than I feared.] I hope to function with just the left for the time being.

On Sunday morning we were surprised to learn while reading the church bulletin that there was a reception in our honor that evening from 5-8PM. Since that was our final packing time slot after a family gathering in the afternoon, we realized that we were in for a late night. We got to bed about 1:30AM; but it was worth it, as the time at the reception with friends was a wonderful blessing. We are so appreciative of our Castleview family.

The remainder of the packing and loading went well. By taking out two seats of the 1987 15-passenger van, we were able to load all 24 pieces of luggage inside with the help of our nephew, David Paul. Each piece weighed just under the 70-lb limit acceptable to the airlines. Four girls rode in this van and 7 people rode in the 1994 van. Alicia Bechtle’s parents and our daughter, Beth, were the drivers for the return trip from Chicago. We got away at 10:30 AM for our 9:15PM flight out of O’Hare.

The weather for the trip was sunny but cold. The roads were dry despite the snow the day before. Shortly after getting on I-65 at Lebanon, a truck threw a rock up and cracked the windshield of the ‘94 van that most of us were riding in. An hour down the road, another 18-wheeler passed us at 65 mph and began pulling over into us with his load. We all shouted and John eased the van onto the shoulder to avoid the collision which most certainly would have occurred. Otherwise the trip through downtown Chicago was fine and felt safer than rural Indiana had a few hours earlier.

I had received assurance from the agents on the British Air national reservation line that we were cleared for the extra suitcase per person and that the computer would reflect that when the ticket agent pulled up our record. This was a long process requiring over 20 phone calls in trying to get a clear yes or no answer. The problem seemed to be that neither the travel agent nor the reservations personnel were able to write questions or answers in unambiguous English [or British]. There may indeed be a literacy crisis in our country. Sure enough, the ticket agent looking at all the attachments on the record wasn’t sure if we were entitled to the extra luggage. She called in a supervisor. He wasn’t sure either, so he needed to talk with someone else. I gave him a copy of our letter from March 2000 expressing British Air’s desire to be of service to missionaries by allowing an extra bag. So while he conferred somewhere deep in the bowels of the airport with the individual who supposedly has “ultimate power” [in reality, God always has ultimate authority], we prayed along with many of you who had prayed for this specific moment. He returned with a smile and the news that they were giving us the benefit of what little doubt there was. He also said that from his personal view we really were entitled to this. It turns out that he was a believer who reads God’s word daily. We traded favorite verses while he placed tags on the luggage. Although we were 6 hours early for our flight but we were well on our way.

The flight to London was smooth, and we slept a little on the plane. We had a 12-hour layover; so taking our carry-on luggage with us, we boarded the Metro [underground subway] at Heathrow and headed for Dave and Amy Brown’s house. They are former Tenwek missionaries who are in London for 3 months where Dave has just begun taking classes towards a master’s degree in delivering eye care for the third world. We changed to a bus and got off at the stop just outside their rented apartment in the upscale Barnes section of London. The former small town has a 1000-year history and has been absorbed into greater London. Their quaint apartment was built around 1875 as a school, and they are staying in what formerly was the matron’s quarters. We were greeted by their landlord who escorted us through a portion of his home on the way up the stairs to the Brown’s flat.

Happily, Dave’s day off was the day of our arrival, so we got to spend some time with him as well as the rest of the family. Most of us slept after lunch, while Dave and 9-year-old Davis took Alicia and Laura on a whirlwind walking tour of downtown London past Parliament, 10 Downing Street, and Westminster Abbey. Later we walked down into the center of Barnes past the old church, cemetery, and historic pond until we found an Italian restaurant in one of the old buildings. We eschewed the fast-food fish and chips franchise and 2 old pubs that now serve Thai food.

We then retraced our steps to Heathrow in time for the 10:30 PM flight for Nairobi. Only a minor panic caused by my placing the tickets separate from the boarding passes issued in Chicago marred the departure. This occurred in the middle of a cattle stampede which occurred when, for some reason, the gate agents decided to conduct boarding of the loaded-to-capacity jumbo jet with a general call and alarm bell instead of the usual orderly pre-boarding, first-class, and sectional boarding beginning with the rear of the aircraft. Any terrorist wannabes must have lost their shoes or their will in the crush as the flight was uneventful. Rachel fell asleep just after takeoff and slept nearly all the way to Nairobi.

The passage through the passport control section in Nairobi was uneventful, although we did need to encourage Alicia to return and ask for her $10 in change where she had gotten her visa. We descended the stairs into the cavernous baggage and customs hall, which isn’t so dark and gloomy during the day as it was the first night we arrived in 1999. We grabbed 7 pushcarts and tried to squeeze into the crowd surrounding the baggage carrousel. Becki reached the front and began tossing out the bags like they were pillows. She seemed to have supernatural strength, but it probably was just an adrenaline rush. The rest of us had left our adrenal gland hormones somewhere in London or Chicago. We did have one nervous moment when Rachel looked a little pale and made suspicious movements and noises resembling an airsick person. With a plastic bag in hand [Marty is always prepared] and some rest on an empty baggage conveyor belt, Rachel rallied to the long car trip ahead to Tenwek.

Twenty-three of the 24 checked pieces made it. Somewhere along the 9000-mile journey, a Rubbermaid Action Packer loaded with brownie mix and my electric toothbrush among other items decided to make an unscheduled layover. This is where our system, which has been finely honed by experience, broke down due to human error. The carefully typed list with the contents of each bag was temporarily unavailable due to memory loss as to its whereabouts, so I couldn’t tell the agent what was in the trunk. I took a one-in-three shot and said the girls’ CD player, but it was in one of the two that made it. You might pray that the trunk is located and delivered to Tenwek safely. Once again, the customs agent waved us through when he found out we were one family and there are 10 children. Next year we may need to bring pictures to prove it; since we won’t have Debbye and Becki with us, our numbers won’t be so impressive.

One Last Dart on the Road to Tenwek

Three vehicles from Mountaintop car hire met us outside. We knew the driver, Robinson, who met us. He didn’t even bother holding up a sign for us, since he knew who we were from past years. Everyone else must look for his or her name on a placard. We divvied up the luggage, the errands, and the passengers for the trip to Tenwek. Marty and I were to come last since we needed to make the longest stop for groceries. We didn’t think too much of Robinson’s taking out the spare tire and giving it to the other driver. He said he’d had a flat and the other driver would drop it off ahead of us for repair so we could pick it up on the way out of town. We exchanged money, shopped for groceries, and then picked up the frozen meat order that was called in ahead by another missionary. So far, so good. When we pulled off at the tyre [tire] repair facility, Robinson returned empty-handed. It wasn’t ready, but he said we’d go on up the road. I thought he was just going to make another stop and return for it, but 15 minutes later as I realized that we had been headed on out the road to Tenwek, a front tire began to make the familiar flip flap sound of a tire-going-flat.

We pulled to the side of the main highway near the crest of a hill. Robinson assessed the situation, took the keys, and announced that he would return soon. He climbed over the median-dividing wall of the four-lane and was gone in pursuit of a passing matatu. It was 2 o’clock in the afternoon and we parked with the sun shining into the front of the car. We rigged up some jackets as both a screen from the sun and a visual obstruction to any passerby who might be more of a menace than the passing lorries [trucks] and matatus. I knew this to be a somewhat dangerous situation, but took comfort that at 6AM in Indy, our prayer warriors were rising to greet the day and would hold us up. I added my own prayers to theirs, while Marty kept falling asleep even though I told her to watch and pray. Jesus had help like that too. [Editor Marty has informed me that contrary to my maligning of her, she WAS praying in between shut eye moments.] After 90 minutes, Robinson returned with the tire and mounted it, and we were on the road again. We remarked that we were fortunate to have been so close to the repair shop and whistled in the dark as we proceeded to Tenwek without a spare.

During the drive over I dozed a little, but had the chance to talk with Robinson about the impact of September 11 on people in Kenya. Naturally, tourism is down and some businesses have closed in that sector. Those who live in Nairobi and have access to television remained riveted to their sets as they watched the towers collapse real-time during the evening news. People here felt the tragedy very acutely because of the bombing of our embassy here in Nairobi in 1997 by the same faction of terrorists. Over 200 Kenyans were killed during that attack. But some had even closer connections. Robinson, a Kenyan national from Mombassa, has a close relative who is a New York firefighter and knew the 33 men that were killed. His wife would have been in the building; but she had forgotten something in her office on the way to the bank in the World Trade Center and had returned to her office. This is a small world we live in.

The road construction in the middle segment between Narok and Longisa is finally complete, but as has happened before, the road has deteriorated because of heavy usage on either side of the new section. Marty held her breath as we bumped our way over the craters in the road and was very thankful for the pillows she brought. The section just east of Bomet looks like it would be impassable if it rains heavily. Fortunately, it is dry season, and the short rainy season was not very wet, so the road is open. But then there wasn’t enough rain for the farmers either, so they are hurting once again from the drought. I guess you can’t have it both ways. The trip still took over 4 hours not including the pit stop. We drove slow enough to spot two Masai ostriches [largest flightless birds weighing 200 lb.] and two Kori Bustards, Africa’s heaviest flying birds weighing about 40 lbs. We arrived at dusk at Tenwek. The girls were only an hour ahead of us as their car had overheated several times. God was faithful to get us all here safely.

The trip from Indianapolis to Tenwek took just over 48 hours. We are safely at our second home with a back-up toothbrush and high hopes of recovery of the primary. I haven’t found my backup glasses yet. The left ear can hear fairly well. Our legs are swollen and, paradoxically, our bodies dehydrated despite imbibing fluids at every opportunity. Flying 7 miles above the earth for 17 hours will do that to you. The pain of separation from family is probably greater than the other minor discomforts, but God’s love and comfort is stronger than Advil and will see us through. The jet lag is real. During the day, we feel like we haven’t slept at all. But none of us seemed to sleep between midnight and 4AM this morning as I discovered while making the rounds through the house. We all forced ourselves out of our beds between 8:30AM and 10AM. And the crazy dreams brought on by the Larium [which we take to prevent malaria] have resumed. Last night I dreamed I was Osama bin Laden and was pursued for 3 hours through forests, swamps, and lakes, being shot at the whole way. I was glad enough to be alive that I got out of bed rather than take a chance on being shot at again. Some of the dangers were real enough without the imaginary ones being added.

Today, I went up to the hospital to get the call schedule. I shouldn’t have because I found that I’m on call 8 nights for the remainder of the month. That’s a good amount for a whole month. Pray for a quick recovery from the jet lag! But the lingering doubt that had been gnawing at me “Can I still really do this job?” seemed to fade as I greeted staff and walked around the buildings. In my own strength, I’ll fail, but God is faithful to provide all that I’ll need to get by and do His work.

We appreciate your standing with us in prayer. We miss you all and hope to hear from each of you. E-mail has been unreliable again lately. If you send us an e-mail and get no response, it probably means it didn’t get here. We will try to acknowledge each letter as we know that’s the only way you will know that we heard from you.

Serving Jesus with you,

Paul, for the Jarretts in Africa

Philippians 1:3-5 I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.