Jarretts Ministry

June 21, 2003

Dear Friends and Family:

We are beginning our final week in Kenya before our departure at the end of the week. Chris and Susanna will leave on KLM Thursday, June 26, while the remainder of the family will leave Friday, June 27 [so we hope]. It will still be a bit uncertain until we actually board a plane, and British Air is keeping their mouth closed as well as a stiff upper lip. It has been very difficult to get any information, I suspect due to security concerns. Kenya is still on a high alert status for terrorist activity despite the peace and security we feel everywhere we have been. We will keep our eyes open.

Orphans and Widows Project

Today we met with 42 orphans who are enrolled in high school under the sponsorship of our orphan’s education program. Many walked from quite a distance to come to the program held at a local school here at Tenwek. Others were unavailable due to a mid-term break in which they visited relatives.

The students sat through sermons by Pastors David Kilel and Samuel Koskei as well as messages from Marty and me. Our girls sang songs for them and played volleyball with the girls while Chris played soccer with the boys. We ate a Kenya style meal with them [rice, beans, and a very tough meat]. During the entire program, the young people were attentive, courteous, and involved with the program. At the end of the 6-hour day, Pastor Kilel asked those to come forward who were willing to follow the Lord. All came forward to receive his blessing and encouragement.

All in all it was a very encouraging day which, I believe, glorified God in all that was said and done. Whether as a result of spiritual warfare or not, Laura severely sprained her ankle during the mid-day break while playing volleyball with the orphan girls. Please pray that it heals quickly and that she will be back on her feet very quickly. She has had quite a bit of trouble with her joints in the past few months anyway, but this injury seemed to be from stepping into a small hole and falling down.

We met the couple who had donated land for the orphanage. They had identified 32 orphans in the immediate area around the site who seemed to be suffering from severe malnutrition. Their hope is to raise 80,000 Kenya Shillings [just over $1,100.00 US] to complete the floor of the building and the cooking shed so that the site will be ready for orphans to move in. The other requests still require prayer; for God to raise up a couple to live on the site and for proper paperwork to be completed.

We presented a soccer ball to Nancy, the matron of a school near Litein who had come the long distance [about an hour's drive] to the program with two orphans. At the end of the day, all of the orphans expressed their appreciation to the church committee, to our family, and to those of you in the US who contributed to the scholarship program both financially and by your prayers. They say “Asanteni sana.” [Thank you all very much.]

Our visit to a Kenyan Church

Last Sunday, we crowded 9 people into our 7 passenger Pajero for our trip to the local church where I was to preach. This is the home church of my greatly appreciated nursing assistant, Christine Cheruiyot. We were accompanied by Elijah Terer, one of the clinical officers who was to be my interpreter. He is a gifted preacher in his own right, so I’m sure I sounded better in Kipsigis than I did in English. We picked up another passenger, Pastor Helen Tangus, who was to accompany us.

The roads were dry, which was fortunate since a third of the journey was on dirt roads which can be treacherous when wet. The church is growing in this area, and they had built a nice, large permanent building next door to a public school which they sponsor.

I won’t describe the church service, as I did in other letters in the past 2 years, but it was very typical of what we have experienced before. A variation from normal was the attendance of a local dog; he sat near my feet, but didn’t really get into the sermon. He seemed bored by the message of the obligation of the church to care for widows and orphans based on James 1: 27 and other verses. Perhaps if I had addressed the issue of animal rights he would have been more excited.

In contrast, the church members were excited about the message. We presented gifts to the church such as gospel tracts, Sunday school materials, a Bible, and two soccer balls for the local elementary schools in the area. The gifts produced lots of smiles and thanks. Of course, the church sends you their greetings and thanks for sending us.

Following church, we visited Christine’s house for a meal with many of the church members. Her place is on the side of one of the very steep hills in this part of the Western Highlands of Kenya. Formerly, it was rain forest, but it has been cleared since the second world war for agriculture. We had to walk down a dirt trail about 100 yards in length from the road where we parked the car. The trail had been worn to a “V” shape that would be extremely difficult to climb when wet.

Their “shamba” [small farm] has a new wooden house with a concrete floor. Their older son, Duncan, who has gone through the manhood initiation rites must sleep in a separate building from his mother, so there is also a small house next door for him. A cooking shed, corn crib, and out house complete the buildings which are all uphill from the fields that they till for the crops. It appears that they have about an acre of ground. They have planted tea, corn, potatoes, and collared greens, which are all dietary staples, although the tea is to be a cash crop someday when it matures. Christine stays at Tenwek throughout the week and goes home about every other weekend to work at the house. The husband stays around the farm. Duncan and the twins, Enoch and Daisy, attend school and stay in the Tenwek area as well. This kind of separation for a family is very common in Kenya. Christine would appreciate your prayers for the salvation of her husband.

We had a typical Kenyan meal of greens, potatoes, rice, and beef chunks with broth and a Kool-Aid drink. We would have stayed for Chai [equal parts tea, milk, and sugar] but the sky began to threaten rain, and we begged to be excused so that we could make it up the hill safely. Other than a few drops of moisture, we made it safely. We piled back in the car and picked up an eleventh passenger along the road, Pastor Helen’s elderly father-in-law. We took him about a mile to his shamba, and dropped Pastor Helen off at her house another 2 miles down the road. The car felt empty with just the 9 of us in it, so we picked up Daniel in Silobwet. He delivers Coca-Colas to our house once a month, so he is naturally someone we would want to invite for the 2-mile ride back to Tenwek.

Patient Updates

The obstetrical service has been fairly quiet the past week. I did see a patient for a six-week check up who had survived a real ordeal. Florence had come to Tenwek at 30 weeks gestation with her third pregnancy. Her blood pressure was very high and the amount of fluid around the baby was very low. This is a bad combination as far as continuing the pregnancy, so we decided to induce labor after giving steroids to help prepare the baby for delivery.

Since the pregnancy had 10 weeks remaining and the cervix was not favorable for induction, we decided to use a cervical ripening agent, Cytotec, to help prepare for the induction. We used a small dosage of 25 micrograms as it seems to be safer than a 50 or 100 microgram dose, but an occasional patient does seem to have very strong contractions in response. Florence started into labor soon after placement of the Cytotec, but I later got a call from the intern on duty that the baby’s heartbeat had been lost and the umbilical cord had fallen out. This seemed to explain the death of the baby although his hand was also down in the birth canal; the intern felt that the baby’s head was right behind it, so we weren’t too concerned about a shoulder presentation. After all, if there were no amniotic fluid, the baby could hardly have turned from the head down position to present the shoulder and arm.

I came up a few hours later to examine the patient, and I now could feel the shoulder and arm and some feet as well. I took her to the delivery room where I was able to grab the feet and bring the baby out. It was a stillborn premature infant, but things inside Florence just didn’t feel normal. I could feel the cervix as a small ring with a large tear to the right of it. It certainly appeared to be a ruptured uterus as there was a lot of bleeding. I took Florence to surgery to do an exploratory surgery. I found that the uterus had ruptured in the lower right side beneath the surface, although the outer lining [peritoneum] hadn’t torn. The tear had bypassed the cervix and torn back into the vagina allowing the baby to deliver around the cervix. I had never seen anything quite like this before, but we sewed things back the way that they were supposed to be and prayed for healing.

Florence had actually done well in the recovery phase, and now at the check-up, everything had seemed to heal normally. Although she can’t have more children [a tubal ligation is mandatory in cases of repaired complete rupture of the uterus], she has healed without disability, so we are very thankful to God.

Another patient from a remote Masai area came to the hospital with severe bleeding at 29 weeks. An ultrasound done by Solomon, our x-ray technician, shows the placenta is covering the cervix completely [placenta previa]. She happens to be from his home area on the border of Kipsigis-Masai territory. The husband has three wives, all of whom are pregnant; but this is probably his first wife, as this is her eighth pregnancy. Ideal management would be to hospitalize the patient for the next 8 weeks and deliver her by cesarean section after the baby is mature, unless bleeding forces an earlier delivery. To send her home would be fatal in all likelihood. The cost of hospitalization would be very high as well, so the family was caught between a rock and a hard place.

I was impressed that Solomon volunteered to have the patient live with his family for the reminder of the time necessary. He lives just outside the gate of the hospital, so it isn’t too far away from a medical standpoint. This act that is “above and beyond the call of duty” is typical of our staff. Whether it is donating blood in an emergency, working overtime, pastoring a local church, or helping a needy patient financially, it is the illustration of Christianity in action. It’s a privilege to serve with such people.

Solomon is trying to raise money to start a church building in his home area where none exists. There is a group of Pentecostal believers in the area, but they have been unable to raise sufficient funds. Denominational lines tend to blur quite a bit here. Regardless of the doctrine of the founding church, the African daughter church may resemble her cousin more than her mother. One might question the necessity of building of a church for a small fellowship. Why not just meet in a home? The actual building of a church seems to give recognition of the church in the community hence the importance of a structure. It is the same philosophy behind building a temporary building for the orphanage even though permanent buildings will be needed later. It means that you’re serious about what you’re doing. Elegance isn’t an important issue. Anyone wishing to contribute to a non-elegant building for a small Pentecostal fellowship in a relatively unreached area is welcome to let me know; I promised Solomon that I would pass the matter along to you.

Prayer Updates

My father, Paul Jarrett, Sr. is doing much better. Dr. Phil Renfroe is now walking about freely without a splint or crutches. Our car seems to be in near perfect working order now. Our Kipsigis [Kalingen] Bibles have arrived and we are beginning distribution. Our two young house helpers, Jennifer and Caroline, who Marty is discipling, were in tears after receiving their new Bibles. They struggle in English. Thanks for your prayers.

The hospital lorry’s [truck] engine burned up when a driver failed to check the oil level. Our friend and fellow missionary, Chuck Renbarger, now has the task of rebuilding a replacement engine if he can find all the parts necessary. He and his wife, Traci, are scheduled to come back to Indiana at the end of July, so he is under a lot of pressure to get this piece of vital equipment functioning before he leaves for homeland assignment. Please pray for him.

The major building project of a new surgical theatre will begin soon. It was interesting to see the old maternity building taken down by hand with sledgehammers. Now the rubble is being carted away a wheelbarrow load at a time. Come to think of it, if they even had a bulldozer, they couldn’t have gotten it into the inner courtyard where the building to be razed was located. Please pray for this new project.

It will be good to see family next week, but it is hard to leave the ministry here. God has blessed the work at Tenwek and it has been a blessing to our family to be a part of it. We are so thankful for your prayers and support which have enabled us to be here. The Word of God has been given to hundreds of people with your generosity and assistance in getting Bibles to Kenya. Thanks also for your support of the orphans and children of widows project. The lives of over 300 children have been touched in ways that are difficult to imagine. We were blessed this week to see the smiling faces of some of these young people. I’ll try to include some of these smiles in a photo update after our return to the States. The soccer balls have blessed thousands of children here; we continue to see an outpouring of thanks from communities where they have been given. We have more invitations to visit schools than there is time available.

I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ, will certainly not lose his reward. Mark 9:41

Serving Jesus with you,

Paul for the Jarretts ready to leave Kenya

Support can be sent to World Medical Mission, PO Box 3000, Boone, NC 28607. Be sure to include our account #2355 on the check.

AGC Tenwek Area Education Fund [sending orphans to school] contributions: Checks payable to and send to: Christian Foundation of Indiana, 8445 Keystone Crossing Blvd, Suite 200, Indianapolis, IN 46240. Indicate for Tenwek on a separate piece of paper.

June 9, 2003

Dear Friends and Family:

We’ve had a good two weeks since I last wrote. There are answers to prayer to report. Carol Spears is doing well. She is completing her time at Tenwek in the next week. Please pray for her travel back to the States and the adjustments she will need to make in getting back into a surgical residency, buying a car, and seeing family and friends. Life in the USA is quite an adjustment after a year abroad even without all the added difficulties.

An Updated Letter from Carol Spears

Carol has sent another message telling of her struggles through this ordeal. It is again a letter that glorifies God and teaches us all how God can work in such a situation that, humanly speaking, is terrible. I thought her words would encourage you.

“The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth….He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:28-31

God is good. He is faithful. He sustains and renews and gives strength and comfort – through others and through His word. As I have resumed my life here in Kenya, I have been surrounded by the body of Christ in these dear Tenwek friends who have become like family. They have cared for me, listened to me, struggled with questions along with me, uplifted me and walked with me and I am forever grateful for the healing that continues to take place. Additionally, all of you receiving this newsletter have given me an amazing outpouring of love through prayers, email, cards, letters, and calls to me and my family for which I am so grateful. I wish that I could answer each of you personally, but since I cannot, please know that I have been deeply moved and so very appreciative of your Christlike love.

I would like to share openly with you some of my struggles over the past three+ weeks because I hope that it will show God’s love and power even when we question and doubt…..First of all let me tell you the good news: I praise God for protecting me from pregnancy and for a preliminarily negative HIV test….but, initially things did not appear to be working out this way.

For the first 10 or 11 days following the assault of May 12th, I experienced God’s presence and power in such a real and constant manner. I felt that He was just reaching down and taking me in His everlasting arms and comforting and healing me. I was looking forward to a vacation with eight other missionary friends May 25th- 31st. We had rented a house on the beach and had been planning this vacation for months. We were still planning to go, despite terrorist warnings for East Africa and an increased US security level internationally. On May 23rd, I had a test for HIV that came back with a positive result. I was completely devastated. All of a sudden, I was no longer certain of God’s “unfailing love”. I felt alone, betrayed, helpless, and desperate. I called back to the USA to talk things over with Infectious Disease physicians so that I could try to understand what this meant and what should be done. The only thing to do at that point was to continue taking HIV prophylactic meds, wait on a follow up test, and pray. I can tell you that this rather hard-headed, independent surgeon who likes to be able to “fix things” did NOT like that plan. I wanted answers, I wanted immediate results and relief, and I wanted things to turn out my way. At that point, I also still did not have an answer about pregnancy.

We went on our vacation to the incredibly beautiful island of Lamu off the coast of Kenya. I told only two friends on the vacation of the test results because I did not want this issue to overshadow everyone’s vacation. We walked the beach, prayed, cried, talked, and talked some more…. Initially, I was numb and could not feel anything except anger and disbelief that God would be asking me to do this. What about my plans and dreams? What about my career as a surgeon, my plan to pursue medical missions, my plan to return to a developing country, my hope for marriage someday? Didn’t God understand that I couldn’t do all these things for Him if I was HIV positive? I turned to His word – there were so many promises and so many examples of His plans being a better way. I tried to claim them – I wrote them down on 3×5 cards and read them over and over, but I could not really trust Him or believe those promises…..

Over those first few days, I told Him honestly of all my feelings – hurt, doubt, unbelief, anger, fear – and He was faithful even though I was not. I told Him that I wanted to trust Him, I wanted to be able to believe that He had a plan that would be what was best for me. Gradually, He softened my heart. I started to believe again that God truly is who He says He is and that His way is best. I realized that if I didn’t believe that He was God and that He was sovereign, then I was left with only a belief that evil could prevail and that God was powerless against evil. Through His amazing power, He brought me to a place where I could trust Him and I could say that I was willing to walk with Him regardless of which journey He chose – even if it meant being HIV positive, even if it meant having a child as a result of an evil event.

I don’t mind telling you that I was terrified. But once I chose to walk with Him and to trust Him, what an overwhelming peace I experienced. I still told God of the desires of my heart and pleaded with Him to spare me, but I was willing to trust Him for the outcome. Russ White had preached a sermon recently on the testing of our faith using Abraham as an example. The final test for Abraham was being willing to sacrifice Isaac, his only son. My small situation in no way compares to Abraham’s and yet I drew strength as I realized that God wanted me to be willing to walk with Him, even if it meant dying to my future. And, just like with Abraham, once He had my faith and obedience, He blessed me beyond measure and did not require me to make the ultimate sacrifice. For others, it does not turn out this way. I don’t know why. I do know, however, that once I was truly willing to trust Him – even in the hardest thing He had ever asked of me, I experienced His healing power and presence in ways I had never known.

On June 3rd after returning home from a wonderful vacation in Lamu, I had an HIV DNA PCR test that was NEGATIVE!! Praise God!! This is a different test than the one run initially and is the more correct test to use at this point of post-exposure (I found this out through some rather miraculous ways as well). I will still require ongoing testing to confirm these results, but this is fairly accurate even at this point. I had several negative pregnancy tests followed by the start of my menstrual cycle over two weeks late. While I am thankful for these outcomes that are in keeping with my hopes and dreams, I am even more thankful for the stretching of my faith and the mercy and grace that I have seen God give to me personally. You know, God did not change – He was and is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Thank you for your prayers. I praise God for how He is working and for His true and everlasting, unfailing love.

Safe In His Hands and Trusting Him,

Carol Spears

Praises For:

- God’s presence and evidence of His working through this event
- answered prayer in protection from HIV, pregnancy and other diseases so far.
- answered prayer in improvement in the side effects from the HIV meds.
- a wonderful and relaxing and healing vacation.
- friends and family being the body of Christ to me.

Ongoing prayer requests:

- ongoing healing and ability to trust God through this and to see what He wants me to learn
- my remaining time at Tenwek
- my return to surgical residency and life in the US
- my family
- my friend who was with me and who is also doing very well
- the ability to experience true forgiveness of these men through God’s mercy

If you would like to correspond with Carol, send a note to us and I will forward it to her e-mail address in the states.

Orphan Project Updates

We have been praying for wisdom on how to proceed with the starting of an orphanage on the land that has been donated. I was shocked to visit the first site where the local church has already erected a temporary building that is nearly ready for occupancy. The stated goal was to have 10 orphans living there by August. It would actually seem a realistic goal. The greatest need at this time is to identify a set of “parents” who will live on the site with the orphans. There are other details to work out like a clear title for the church, an overall development plan for the site, a separate bank account for the building fund, and other things that haven’t even been thought of yet; but we are off to a wonderful start. Permanent buildings will probably cost between $5,000 and $7,000, so I hope to have enough details before I leave to be able to present this to churches at home as a model building project. Please pray for this all to come together according to God’s will. I had planned on visiting the second site today, but was prohibited from doing so by a heavy workload at the hospital, our car needing repairs, and torrential rains this afternoon.

Our vision that the local church would take responsibility for orphans and widows seems like it is becoming a reality. Last week, David Kilel and I visited four young orphan boys, the oldest of whom is a sixth grader. They are living in their deceased parents’ home and working the gardens; the older three boys are in grade school each day. We took them some clothing and encouraged them with prayer. Five or six neighbor ladies from the surrounding houses came over as we talked with the boys. They reported that already the local church has assigned someone to check on the boys to be sure that they have sugar and other necessities.

Please pray that enough money will come in this summer for the school fees due in September. We have continued to have donations and support come in, including a large Christian school in Indianapolis which adopted the project for students to participate in during the past year. Please let us know if you would like to start a similar project in your local school. The number of orphans who need assistance will continue to grow as the impact of AIDS is felt more and more.

A Trip to Masai Land

This weekend, the family piled into the Pajero for a trip to Olderkessi. I described this place last year when Laura and I visited after the rest of the family had gone home. The site is about 175 kilometers away and a third of the trip is over dirt roads and across creeks and rivers without bridges. Consequently, we planned this trip after rainy season was over.

The Pajero seats five people “comfortably” with two fold down benches in the rear where we put the other 3 people amid the luggage and food supplies which couldn’t fit on the roof rack. It was a bit tight, but we left in good spirits. The first “stretch break” was at the service station in Narok at the halfway point. We stop at the same station every trip where we pass out Bibles to the attendants who always recognize us. One spotted some soccer balls in the rear of the car and asked if he might have one for his “club”. Cephas and Titus said that they are working with some youth to help keep them out of trouble. I felt led to acquiesce to their request. I described the soccer ministry at our home church where we first have Bible study and then we play soccer. They were excited about the idea for their club. Please pray that they are effective in leading young people to the Lord through the use of the soccer ball. The car acted like it didn’t want to start again, but finally it decided to go.

The trip includes traveling along the Eastern border of the Masai Mara where we saw lots of animals. The road kill of the week was a hyena. In many spots, the bushes encroach onto the road, so I try to watch carefully where an animal might hop out in front of the car. We turned off the road fairly close to the Tanzanian border and headed off onto the dirt road. Fortunately, the road was in fairly good shape and the rivers were low.

We pulled into the Olderkessi Development Project grounds about lunch time. The guest house and kitchen facilities were very nice, but unfortunately, Marty had to get right into the meal preparation mode since we were all hungry. We had pitch-ins with the other mission families during our stay, but it still wasn’t as much a vacation for Marty as for the rest of us. This year both the Fullers and Steury families were on site, although John and Vera Steury begin home assignment in July. It was our first chance to spend much time with the Fullers.

Billy Wayne and Jenny Fuller have been missionaries with World Gospel Mission since 1984. There first assignment was Tenwek where Billy Wayne built many of the buildings as well as the dam for the hydroelectric. He grew up on a farm in Alabama and served in Vietnam before taking some technical classes and beginning life as a missionary. He had never built a dam before being at Tenwek, but God enabled him to do some wonderful work here.

They moved to the Olderkessi project in 1992 where they lived in a barn for the first year. Gradually they have built the homes, guest house, roads, bridges, church, and work buildings to the place where it is today – quite a wonderful place out in the middle of nowhere. They have about six acres under cultivation where they teach the nomadic Masai people farming techniques. They have developed a windmill system of pumps to bring water from the river over a kilometer distance down the hill. They store water in two large tanks [one is 65,000 gallons] which then gravity feeds back down to the project. There is clean water for the people to obtain and carry a few kilometers to their villages. They make use of solar power, satellite phones, generators, and wood burners to meet some of their needs. All gasoline, diesel fuel, and L-P gas needs to be brought in from Narok [about 60 miles away].

Billy Wayne estimates that about 80% of the people in the area have heard the gospel now [although not all have responded]. The local church is strong and further outreaches are planned. It is hoped that the Africa Gospel Church can become registered in Tanzania, so that the Masai there can be evangelized as well. That country has expelled many mission organizations with its government under heavily Muslim influence. He is traveling to Dar es Salaam this week in hopes of obtaining the registration. Please pray that roadblocks to his success would be removed. It has already taken several years to get to this point.

One of our early discoveries upon our arrival was that the car would not restart. What better place to have car trouble in the middle of nowhere, but where mechanics are around who are used to fixing whatever is broken? God is so faithful in the midst of problems. Actually, our car used to belong to the Fullers, so the problem was at least temporarily fixed under Billy Wayne’s ministrations. It got us home safely; then it wouldn’t restart in our driveway. Here at Tenwek our friend, Chuck Renbarger, can hopefully resolve the problem with the starter.

The day before our arrival, a young Masai herdsboy had been attacked by a leopard. It had bitten his neck and head, but released him when he struggled and yelled. He survived the attack. These young children spend their days away from the rest of the family tending the cattle and goats. Usually they come home in the evening to the protected village.

The highlight of the trip for me was a visit to a Masai village. This is a rare treat since the Masai are fairly closed to outsiders. They are superstitious about photographs, so we didn’t take any pictures here. Of course, I have worked with lots of Masai women and men, but never had any real interaction with the children. As we walked to the village which was about a kilometer away from the project, children ran out to greet us. Whereas Kipsigis children would offer their hand to shake, Masai children offered us the top of their heads. The proper greeting is for us to place our hand on their head – a form of blessing. They are showing respect for elders with their greeting. Some of the children took our hands as we walked towards the village, called a manyatta. It is a series of low, flat-roofed mud huts surrounding a circular corral [called a kraal] about 150 feet in diameter made of thorn bushes and sticks. The kraal has one entrance and all the cattle except the calves are kept inside at night. The baby animals sleep in the huts with the families, which keeps them from drinking all the mother’s milk during the night.

As we entered the village, other children and some of the women greeted us. Some women stayed by their houses, but Rachel went up and greeted them anyway. Soon she was chatting merrily with them and admiring their bracelets and necklaces. The children were quite inquisitive. One four-year-old persistently buttoned up all the buttons on Marty’s jacket. Another took off her necklace. Several children stroked my hairy arms; most of their men are not very hairy. They admired my $4.67 Wal-Mart watch. One little boy licked Chris’ ear.

Then we met the chief. He was a rather frail man in his sixties; our girls bowed their heads to him for a blessing. He was the father or grandfather of most of the children. The houses belonged to his five wives and the older sons and their wives.

The houses are about 10 x 16 feet in size. They are made of sticks, mud, and cow dung. We were invited into the fourth wife’s home. She and five children live inside the small structure along with some of the goats and calves. The dark house has no windows save a small vent hole in the side of the main room which was about 4 x 6 foot. A cooking fire at one side provided the only light and lots of eye burning smoke. Small cubicles adjoined the main room where there was just room for a child or an adult to lie down. Other partitions were for the animals.

A visitor who was traveling through had also arrived when we came in to the manyatta. The village also doubles as a Holiday Inn for traveling Masai. They are assigned a room with one of the families closest in age to their own. Fortunately, we weren’t spending the night. There was about an hour of daylight left when we arrived.

Soon it was the time for the arrival of the cattle herd. The cows came up to the gate, mooing and looking for their calves which were kept separate all day. Soon the mothers were united with their young who immediately began nursing. We were standing in the middle of all this, trying to avoid getting caught on a stray horn or being shoved aside by an anxious mother. The Masai women now swung into action preparing dinner. They grabbed a container and began milking the cow from the opposite side of where the calf was nursing. No milking stool or stall was used. The women just moved with the cows and got what little milk they could from the pitifully small udders of these rough and tumble bovines who have not been bred for outstanding milk production. All manner of eliminatory functions were also in evidence as the cattle moved about. It is like the people are living in a barnyard. Flies are everywhere; most of the time, the Masai don’t even bother to shoo them away. Chickens and dogs scurry underfoot of the cows as do the children. Some of the older children are picking ticks off of the cows. We didn’t see the men cut the neck veins of the cows to obtain blood. That as well as the milk is the main staple of the Masai’s diet. Maize and goat meat are also used. Since they live so near the project, many are now introducing greens, tomatoes, and onions to the diet; but there certainly isn’t much variation.

The Masai cling to many of their traditions, although many have obtained a fair amount of education. One of the chief’s sons is a teacher involved in adult education. Another is a mechanic at the project. A third is in medical school in Nairobi. Several are Christians. Many of the children are attending Sunday school.

We attended worship at the local Masai church on Sunday morning before returning home. About 100 Masai and about 1000 flies were in attendance. The structure of the church service was much like that of the Kipsigis church, although the songs were in Masai instead. Elements unique to the Masai were introduced. Even the worship songs had a deep male chanting sound in the background which sounds much like their traditional dancing and singing. Their movements with the music are less swaying side to side and more lurching front to back of their heads. And prayer time was certainly more like a charismatic church with lots of noise and emotion shown. But it was a privilege to worship with these people whom Jesus died on the cross to save. In His kingdom will be men from every tribe and nation.

Hospital Updates

I have follow up on both our patients with bone marrow failure. I was pleased to see that Winny’s bone marrow test was completely normal. No evidence of leukemia or lymphoma was there. I saw Monica back for a check this past week. She was feeling stronger but still needs therapy on her feet. We removed her catheter, and she seemed to have good urinary control. Her blood count was nearly normal.

The workload at the hospital is heavy. We are short on staff with some visiting staff having cancelled, missionaries on furlough and vacation, and no medical students in the typical low month of June when they are graduating back in the states. The hospital is out of adhesive tape and we are nearly out of suture. The tape that was purchased was of poor quality and no other is available right now from suppliers. We are using “free” needles on which we load suture. It’s not ideal, but it works. The larger end of the needle which is necessary to thread the suture sometimes causes bleeding itself. The hospital rarely buys suture as it is expensive and of poor quality when purchased locally. We rely very heavily on donations, but when visitors don’t come, neither do supplies. We are thankful that the IV production unit has been functioning all year, and we have not run out of IV fluid. Today, we had to delay a cesarean section for over an hour while drapes and gowns were being sterilized. Even these simple things are in short supply and can’t be prepared quickly enough to keep up with the demand.

Construction has begun on the new operating theatres. Sometimes I wonder how we are going to support the enlarged facilities when we have trouble maintaining and supporting the present ones, but God sees a bigger picture than I do. Some days it feels like we’re working in a house of cards. Sometimes I forget that God is in charge.

Additional Prayer Requests

We have no definite answers on flight schedules, although it appears that we will fly on the original date of June 27. We just don’t know if we’ll fly on British Air out of Nairobi or Entebbe, Uganda. If it’s the latter, then BA will charter a flight from Nairobi to Entebbe if they continue with their present policy. Chris and Susie will fly KLM on the 26th.

My father, Paul Jarrett Sr., was readmitted to the hospital this past weekend with some pneumonia and anemia. He is reportedly improving rapidly. Please pray for his recovery and salvation.

Our car is in for some more repairs prior to a planned safari this weekend. I am scheduled to preach this Sunday in a local church. We still have to prepare talks for the orphans meeting the following Saturday.

Dr. Phil Renfroe is still hobbling about on his sprained ankle. Pray for his complete recovery. Visiting staff in OB is very sparse in the next six months. Pray for some volunteers.

Dr. John Mbogo, our national OBGYN, hopes to take his exams soon. We also pray that the government will post him again here at Tenwek when he is finished. Dr. Caleb Maina, our national junior staff, is interviewing this week for an OBGYN residency for next fall. We would hate to lose him not only because of the heavy workload that he carries here, but also his strong spiritual leadership. We certainly would hope to have him back in three years.

We appreciate your prayers and encouragement. I hope to have one more letter out before our departure at the end of the month. Marty and the girls and I are eager to get home to visit family. But there is lots of work to be done here – while it’s still day.

Serving Jesus with you.

Paul, for the Jarretts in Kenya