A Visit Upcountry

Upcountry... In Kenya, upcountry is a term often used to describe towns and cities north of Nairobi, which is pretty much everywhere in Kenya. Upcountry is where John, Erin, and I headed to visit the Stanfields. The Stanfields are a missionary family from Newberg Friends Church who have been working at a hospital near Bomet, Kenya for 19 years. I actually visited with Christine Stanfield (center) while they were on furlough in Oregon this summer before I moved to Kenya. Their helpfulness then and their hospitality now were huge blessings to me!During our short visit, Jeff and Christine shared their stories with us, discussed theology, and taught us more about Kenya. I gained so many things from them, of which I'm still processing, including a lot of questions. As I listened to them tell about God's calling in their lives, share anecdotes of life in Kenya, and their thoughts about the future, I was inspired. What will God do in my future? Will I be in Kenya for 19 years?! Will He lead me elsewhere? Then all sorts of ideas came to me about how God could use me... I would love to open a Christian school to train nationals in Western teaching methods. I could start a missionary guest house on the coast. Or maybe I will teach at Rosslyn for many years to come. What does the future hold? It's exciting to think about what God will do. Ten years ago I would have told you I would NEVER live in Kenya. God's plan certainly holds many surprises, and it excites me to think of all the possibilities. I'm grateful to the Stanfields for sparking these thoughts.

As part of our time with the Standfields, we were invited on a community health trip. Edward and Richard (two nurses from Tenwek Hospital, the Stanfield's missionary hospital) took us to a small village in the hills surrounding Bomet to help vaccinate and bring health care, which they do once a week. Although none of us had medical skills, we went along to help in any way we could.

John helped change our tire puncture on the way to the clinic.

The mamas came with their babies for vaccinations.
So I helped draw injections,but didn't give any! (Molly, we thought of you!)

Erin spent time in the clinic with me, then adorned the little girls with flowers.

Being on a medical trip like this was eye-opening to things going on around Kenya and also made me wish I could provide medical assistance. I'll just have to pray for my dear friend, Molly, who is nursing in Malawi, and stick with my teaching skills.