Last night we had to take Valerie to the hospital in Narok.

Going to the hospital in Kenya is always on our “Things we don’t want to do” list. We left the tarmac and drove onto a mud road where there were no street lights. We slid up the hill until we came to The Cottage Hospital, one of only two private hospitals in Narok. At first it looked as if no one was home, but after wandering around we finally found a little place where the doctor on call was busy seeing clients. She was a very young and lovely Kenyan woman. Our first thought was that she was a med-student, but it turned out she knew her stuff.

When you go in for examinations in Kenya they always do three things: Urinalysis, Blood Analysis and Stool Exam. They found that Valerie was fighting another strange bacteria in her system, which made her nauseated and gave her the shakes.

After consulting with Dr. George in Kakamega, they gave her another IV injection of antibiotics and we went back to our hotel and prayed for the best. If I need an antibiotic, all I have to do is kiss my wife now, because she has had an unbelievable amount of antibiotics in the past month. She slept through the night but woke up nauseated and has been that way most of the day. In consultation with Dr. George we decided to leave Narok today, head back to Nairobi and check in with our doctors here in Nairobi. More urine, blood and stood analysis, a change of antibiotic and a few more drugs.

So we are now at the point where we will come back to Seattle if she is not better in the next few days. I am really praying that she feels better, though, because I don’t want to try to make that long trip while she is sick. The Lord knows if our assignment is finished or if we should continue for the next three weeks. As we recount all the things that have happened, we feel that we have seen another lifetime of miracles and blessings. God has blessed the work of our hands beyond measure.

Yesterday the Masais gathered around Valerie and I for a “Naming Ceremony” where they gave us new Masai names and decorated us with Masai jewelry. Val’s name is “Nemayian” and mine is “Lemayian”. Both names mean “Blessing or Blessed”.

How we love these people and how we thank the Lord for giving us such a wonderful assignment. We also thank you for giving to WorldComp and allowing us to be so generous to the poor, the sick, the widow and the orphan.

Please keep on praying for us dear friends. You are always in our hearts.

All our love,
Richard and Valerie