Friday, December 21, 2012

Paradox - Merry Christmas and Good-Byes


I’m home in southern Alberta after being on the road for 8 weeks, and putting 12 000km on my car (It’s for sale if you’re interested).  It’s good to be home. I would say I have unpacked but really the last few days have been packing, repacking, unpacking, and piling more stuff on the floor.  Trying to pack 2 years worth of medical equipment, clothing, books and random personal stuff in 3 - 23kg suitcases is a challenge.

Aside from packing, I have been enjoying the Christmas season, I’m looking forward to spending time with family, playing games, going to movies, and enjoying good food. Throughout these good times, I’m also sad as this will be the last time for a while that I can do these same things with my family. Throughout this happiness is sadness. It’s a paradox.

Paradox was one of the topics covered in my missionary training  course. When they taught this to the kids they said pair of ducks, as that what paradox said slowly sounds like. So the kids had the "happy yay duck" and the "unhappy yuck duck". Many times both the Yay duck and the Yuck duck are in our lives. I am glad to hear feeling this is normal.
Christmas YAY duck


Good-bye YUCK Duck
I have gotten used to living away from home the last few weeks – Packing and unpacking every few days I am looking forward to settling in to my new home in Kenya, however that home is still a few months away. Just so you know where I am at here is my itinerary:
 
Now-Dec 27 – Home at my parents in Alberta
Dec 27-Jan 4 – Visiting my Grandma in Holland with Mom and Dad.
Jan 4 – Feb 1 – Practicum in Nairobi, This is a requirement of the Kenya Society of Physiotherapists, I am still waiting for the details of it and I pray it all goes smoothly.
Feb 4-April 30 – Language school just outside of Nairobi – during this time I will be living with a Kenyan lady in her home, this will be a good experience for me and help me understand a little more of Kenyan culture
May 1 – I settle in to my new home at Tenwek and finally get to work.

I appreciate all your prayers as this settling continues, I am sure I will continue to experience many paradoxical emotions. I am excited for the next few months and I am excited to challenge myself with new learning – please remind me of this when I am complaining in a few months.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and A Blessed New Year.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

New Faces, New Friends

I arrived in Palmer Lake Colorado last Monday (Nov 26). I am attending a 3 week course from Mission Training international called SPLICE.
Spiritual
Personal
Lifestyle
Interpersonal
Cultural
Endure/Enjoy
2 weeks are complete and we have already covered a lot things such as interpersonal conflict, cultural types and so much more. I have enjoyed getting to know my classmates - we are diverse in age, background, education and denomination but are drawn together under the common flag of soon heading out  to some form of cross cultural missionaries. We are united by the struggles of saying good-bye to family, fundraising and not knowing what God has in store for us. This connection makes dinner table conversation flow easily and we are quick to get to many heart issues.
I have enjoyed getting to know these people the past week and look forward to getting to know them more.

Also interestingly enough this week and next week will be the longest I have been in one place since I left Edmonton Oct 28, 2012 and this will be the longest I will be in one place until I arrive in Nairobi Jan 4. Those of you who have read closely may be wondering why I'm talking about 2 weeks when it is a 3 week course. The answer is I skipped out of Palmer Lake on Thursday afternoon and flew to Minot ND. Here my entire immediate family  (Parents, siblings  nieces and nephews) met together. We enjoyed a hotel that had a swimming pool with fun watersides, had a family dinner complete with speeches, singing children and good food. It was great to be all together as a family as it has been a while. It was also goodbyes to some of the family who I will not see until I return from Kenya in 2015.

So back to now. I am loving the time here in Colorado the course is located at the foot of the mountain, below some pictures of what I took just outside the door of the training centre, where I am staying and learning.
View from the back balcony

Elephant rock out the front door. 

Garden of the gods
I also headed out to the Garden of the god's outside of Colorado Springs. There are all these crazy rock formations.

So if anyone is still reading this I should share one last thing. I received a fundraising update last week I am at 100% of the support raised, PRAISE THE LORD. This is such a blessing and it is great to go to Kenya with the knowledge that my bills will be paid. Even greater than the financial support is the prayer support that many individuals have committed to. Those of you who are now thinking: well, I guess I don't have to give anymore,I ask that you think and pray about it. You can also read this former blog post. http://respiratorykenya.blogspot.com/2012/10/fundraising-info-and-good-byes.html 

Sunday, November 25, 2012

The shortest distance between 2 points is a straight line, but it is more fun togo in circles

I am road tripping it across the USA, last I looked at my odometer I think I have put 7000km on it since October 30. I should probably check the oil before I continue driving. I am currently in Oklahoma and have gotten a strange look or two when I say I drove here from Alberta via Iowa, Kentucky, the Carolinas and Ohio. However when you road-trip it is not about the destination as much as it is about the journey.
I had a few musts on this trip, visit my brother in Iowa, attend a conference in Louisville KY, and attend a 3 week course in Colorado. I could have just bought a plane ticket and flew from place to place but I would have missed so much. Being mobile as well as having some time, since I quit my job the end of October, has allowed me to drive in circles and I have been loving it.
Here are a few highlights

  • en-route to Iowa -  I saw Mount Rushmore, those presidents are large, and the amount of work required to carve a face out of the mountain  is phenomenal. 
  • Iowa  - I was able to stay with my brother and his family I enjoyed playing with my nieces and nephew, making cookies, going for walks and just doing life with them.
  • Louisville KY - Here I attended the Global Mission Health Conference, 2000-3000 past, present and future medical missionaries all in one place networking and learning. I was able to talk catch up with some long term Tenwek missionaries, meet some new ones and the best part was reconnect with a great group of friends that I met at Tenwek in 2011

This is the second year in a row that the six of us were able to reunite at the conference. We crammed in a as much conversation as we could in a few days, staying up late trying not to waste a moment. Despite the miles between us and busy lives that limit communication throughout the rest of the year when we are reunited it feels like we have never been apart. I'm sad that I will miss this next year, maybe they can Skype me in but it won't be the same. 
  • Greenville SC- After the conference I drove down to Greenville, one of these great friends I mentioned above lives there, she was working nights so we were only able to spend time together in the mid-afternoon only, but it was totally worth it. I spent the rest of the day exploring Greenville - is a beautiful city.


  • Boone NC - en-route from Greenville to Duke I stopped in the Samaritan's purse office in NC, It was only 2 1/2 hours out of the way so since I was close it was a good visit. I was able to connect names to faces as well as talk with the bio-med guys. They receive all sorts of medical equipment from around the USA, fix it up (if possible) and then send it off. Being there to share ideas was helpful to all of us
  • Duke University NC- Here I was able to visit another friend that was also at the conference we had great times playing Frisbee, having challenging conversations and  attending interesting classes (IE problems with the American health care system)
  • Piqua Ohio - This was the last visit with a friend who was also part of the six of us. I was able to meet her family, make cookies enjoy walks and eat some good food. 
  • Tulsa OK - So this I where I am now, I am reunited with a friend who moved here from Kenya in the spring. We have shared some great memories about Tenwek. I also attended a Thanksgiving dinner with her, my second American thanksgiving and her first. We will see what the next few days have in store for us.

So this weekend I will head north west to Colorado where I will spend three weeks in a missionary training course. It will be fun to not live out of a suitcase for a while, although there is that quick flight to Minot for a family get together...

As you can see the journey has been exciting and this is something I need to apply to life in general. When I get to Kenya in January I have a practicum and language training to do, it will be May before I settle in at Tenwek - it is important that I remind myself that this will be like a road-trip with fun detours along the way and rather than fly through it to get to my goal of being at Tenwek I should just enjoy the journey.




Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Fundraising info and Good-byes

Those of you on facebook may have seen my most recent fundraising update - I am currently at 80% of needed funds. This is a definite blessing, praise the Lord.  Being close to my goal has raised a question: what if one raises too much money?

The answer to this is complex. My budget is based on estimates of what I think I will spend, based on numbers I received from Tenwek and what I spent last time. The budget is not set in stone and things, like my rent, are quoted in American dollars, if the American or Canadian economy changes and the dollars no longer line up, I will need additional funds. Prices in Kenya such as lodging, food and transportation could also change while I am there or since my last visit.
 That being said, if it looks like I will have too much money I have a few options. First -  all the monies raised go to Samaritan's Purse.  They reimburse me for expenses, and must approve all of them.  They would not reimburse me just because the money is there or because I feel like taking off to Hawaii. So given their approval here are a few options for extra money in no particular order:

~Using the funds for a trip to Burundi to work with some missionary doctors who I met at Tenwek. They are restarting a hospital there and I would love to go and help them out, by offering education and support, for a week or two. Burundi is close to Kenya and going from there would be an economical decision.

~Purchasing medical equipment that will be utilized by Tenwek.

~Help the community with contributions to local orphanages, needy patient fund etc.

~Keep the money in the account for my future work at Tenwek, if I intend to return after my first 2 years.

~Transfer the funds to other work the Samaritan's Purse is doing.

So there are plenty of good reasons for you to continue giving, if you feel called, as funds will not go to waste.

I have also been asked how much Samaritan's Purse takes for administration expenses. When I proposed this question to my contact at Samaritan's Purse the answer is that they will not charge any fees or percentages for their administration costs. These are recouped through their general fundraising drives.

On a completely separate note I have started saying good-byes, I only have a little less then a week before I head south. So I am saying good bye to Edmonton, the city I will not miss, it is a city. When I say I'm saying good-bye to Edmonton I mean the people here. My friends, co-workers (most of whom are also friends), and church family. It is crazy when I think that it will be years before I see all these people again. I will miss weddings, and babies more that I will miss time together, fun laughs and conversations at the end of a long night shift, it seems the most serious and/or hilarious conversations take place at this time.

So if you live in Edmonton, good-bye, I love ya and will miss ya. Come find me in the next week for a hug. And remember e-mail works (most of the time) in Kenya too. And if you ever find yourself in Kenya, spend a day or a week with me at Tenwek.


Thursday, October 4, 2012

Much to be Thankful For


It’s almost thanksgiving, wow, time flies. Back in the spring when I was accepted by Samaritan’s purse to go to Kenya I looked at the long list of things to do before my departure in January. Much of this list has been checked off, however, I keep adding to it so it does not seem to get any shorter and the time to complete my tasks keeps passing by. I am very excited for the next step and that next step will be hitting the road.
The end of October I will be resigning from my permanent position at the Misericordia. This same job that I was so excited to get upon graduation in 2008 I am walking away from. I am sad to say good-bye to my friends, a familiar work environment, knowing what to (mostly) expect when I  get to work each day and my paycheck. I am trading this in for new friends, a different work environment and day to day work full of new surprises – will there be oxygen coming out of the wall today? Will my equipment work? Will anyone show up for the lecture I prepared?
As I mentioned earlier I am hitting the road, early November my roadtrip begins. I am heading south, to visit family and friends. I start out with a visit with my brother in Iowa and then head to the Global Mission Health conference in Kentucky. This is a great place to network with medical missionaries – past, present and future. From Kenutky I have some time, 2 weeks until I must be in Colorado for a 3 week mission training course, so I will spend time with friends who I met previously in Tenwek. Here is a map of my proposed trip

you can see it in more detail here (http://goo.gl/maps/PRJu6)
Between points "D" and "I", my timing is a little flexible, so if you live anywhere along here and think I should stop by send me an e-mail. If you live along one of the long stretches I may be looking for a place to spend the night so if you live there and have some couch space for me let me know. 

I am thankful for this opportunity to spend time with my family and friends. I met these friends during my time in Kenya in 2011 and we experienced a lot together and I hope this friendship will be able to withstand the test of time.

As its thanksgiving I will end this post with a list of things I am thankful for:
  • Donations received by Samaritans Purse as of Oct 1, 60% of my funds are raised
  • Family who are supportive despite the fact I am moving to another continent
  • God who has given me Salvation and guidance
  • Friends who are excited for me and listen to the same stories over and over again
  • a great job that has given me flexibility and funds over the past year
  • a place to live with a great friend 
  • the time to travel to see friends and family

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Home Again

In my last post I shared that I was off to Ontario. The trip was very successful. It started with 2 weeks in the big city of Toronto. There I took a course on Language basics called PLANTS. Highlights of this course were meeting with other missionaries from all over going all over, spending 10 hours learning Swahili, and learning different methods of learning outside of language school.

The timing in Toronto also coincided with a visit my brother was taking to Ontario with his family. I was able to connect with them and meet my newest niece. It was great to see them again. My nephew was quite jealous as I got to take the train to meet them.
My Niece

My weekend in Toronto was spent exploring with a few other course participants. We went out for Dim Sum and saw Chinatown, Kensington Market and headed out to Queens Quay to explore there.  This involved taking streetcars which as a small town girl I found rather fun; it's the small things in life. After spending the first week in the dorms I spent the second week with my cousin's family in Toronto. I got the full Toronto experience as I stood in the crowded subway to and from my course each day. It was also great to reconnect with her and her family.



The tourists, CN tower in the background
Kensington Market


Downtown Toronto at night

From Toronto I spent a week visiting my extended family. It was great to catch up with most of the Ontario relatives. The holiday ended with camping on the shores of Lake Huron. This is an annual weekend and a one day picnic that is attended by most of the aunts and Uncles and cousins. I shared a campsite with my cousins the Pots, they have 4 beautiful daughters, 2 of which have special needs. I enjoyed spending a few days getting to know them all better and lending a hand. You can read about it on on their blog http://thepotfamily.blogspot.ca/2012/09/we-camped.html

It was great to reconnect with so many people in such a short time, I also enjoyed swimming in lake Huron, Alberta doesn't have beaches and lakes like that. 
Sunset over lake Huron
After all the fun of traveling it is good to be back home in my own bed. Now its back to work for 2 more months after which I will hit the road again.




Friday, August 10, 2012

Fundraising update, and PLANTS

Blog posts while home in Canada are probably much less interesting than posts written from Kenyan soil, they are also harder to write, but I have an exciting fundraising update and I take off next week for a few weeks so it seems like a good time to share.

Fundraising has been going well. Back in May I sent out my very 1st prayer letter and prayer card, sharing the need with my community (If you never received one, and would like one, send an e-mail to annette.lie.87@gmail.com). I also shared at my parents' church and anticipate sharing at my own church this September  I have now received totals of where I am at and God has been good: 40% of my budget has been raised. Thank you to all of you that have contributed thus far. That being said, I still need 60% so your support is still needed, please contact me if you have any questions,

As I alluded to earlier in this post I am taking off Monday. I am going to Ontario for a course called PLANTS.

 While I love plants, the course is actually about language. Principles of Language Acquisition: Natural Techniques and Strategies. I will be spending two weeks in Toronto learning how to learn a language and  hopefully also spend some time actually learning Swahili. I am looking forward to learning some tricks that will make the three months of Language learning in Kenya, that I will do in January, a little easier.

The course also coincides with my Ontario relatives' family picnic every Labour day. I will be spending time  visiting family and camping in the Pineries. It has been a few years since I have seen many of my Ontario relatives and I look forward to reconnecting with many of them.


Thursday, July 19, 2012

What I've Been Up To


It’s been a little while since I have posted, so it's about time to share with you all. I am continuing to prepare for my departure in January, this has involved becoming homeless – not really I have moved in with a friend. The early weeks of June were busy sorting through my stuff – what do I need here in Canada now until I go, what do I hope to bring with me to Kenya but don’t need now – my textbooks and good paring knife made this pile, the third pile was things I don’t need but neither could I part with, my parents have been kind enough to store these items for me. The last pile, and a large pile it was, consisted of stuff I no longer need. It has been rather freeing to destuff my life and it will make things easier before my departure as I won’t have to do it then.
the Truck all packed up and ready to go, Happy Father's Day Dad

Preparation has also involved starting to raise support. I have sent out letters and have shared at my parent’s church. I pray that support raising will continue to go well, and that I will I have my total anticipated budget of $30 000, raised or committed to before I leave. If you would like to receive my newsletter (3-4/year) please e-mail me your address (annette.lie.87@gmail.com). Thanks for those of you who have already supported me, if you haven’t yet but are interested just click the link on the side of the page.
I also have had some fun lately I’ve had 2 weddings to attend, neither of them here at home, this has given me a good excuse to get away and enjoy some of the beauty of God’s Creation. Here’s some pictures for you.
Arizona Wedding with my Tenwek Friends

Grand Canyon

Banff with my new roommate

Its summer, so hiking must lead to snow

My RT friends

This coming summer I am sure will go by quickly and before I know it I will be starting some missionary training courses in Ontario and Colorado. I will keep you posted. 

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Next Steps


The time has come for me to move forward with my plans to go to Kenya. I have been approved by Samaritan’s Purse to serve for two years, and the Kenya Society of Physiotherapists has accepted me.  There have been a lot waiting on this final approval and now time to get things done. What are these things you may ask?  There are two main things: training and support-raising.
 The training is related to the mission field.  I have just completed a week long course in Calgary called Perspectives on the World Christian Movement – I highly recommend this course to anyone looking into missions, (it is offered all around North America). I will also be taking five weeks of training on learning how to interact with other cultures and how to learn language.
Support-raising is my other project. Support-raising goes by many names fundraising, friend raising etc. I need support in two ways: prayer and financial. It will take these two things to sustain me for the time I am in Kenya. I ask for your help in this. For information on how to give either read the next blog post or click on the donation link on the side of the page.  Thank you.

How To Give

As my time with Samaritans Purse is done support raising is on hold until I am accepted by Reach Beyond. So stay tuned
Thanks

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Tenwek

Sorry for not posting earlier, I have been busy here at Tenwek. I was planning on posting when I had heard back from the Kenya Society of Phsyiotherapists (KSP) so that should have been Tuesday but I had forgotten that I am now on Kenya time. I heard back from the KSP on Wednesday. After no news on Tuesday, I had e-mailed them a reminder and was therefore quite sure I would hear back on Wednesday.


On Wednesday I attempted to check my e-mail often, however the entire network was down, not a Tenwek problem but a safraricom problem. In order to get my results I called my sister who checked my e-mail for me – thankfully I was successful in all parts of the examination.  Through an e-mail mix-up by KSP I also know the other student was successful – so professional.

 I am very thankful that this exam was a success.  There is only one problem: I am required to do a four week practicum in Nairobi within in the next six months. The fact that I have to do a practicum is fine but the time constraint is frustrating. I have asked and been denied an extension, my Kenyan Physiotherapist friend, who I just met today, is going to ask for me as well.  I am hoping he will have success but otherwise it looks like I will be doing another trip to Kenya sometime in the fall, before THE TRIP in January (dv). Please pray that I have patience to deal all of this.

In the meantime, I have been busy this last week at Tenwek.  It has been wonderful to see everyone, from the missionaries and their families to the nurses at the hospital. It has been great to reconnect as well as see that many of the procedures I had put in place are still being followed. They are always using HME’s now and from what I can tell suctioning is being done sterile. This made me very glad. The hospital has a new unit called the HDU (High Dependency Unit), this is equivalent to an ICU step down and it is great to have the space. I also have spent some time going to CT, another new thing for Tenwek. After bagging my first patient here and having his SpO2 drop to the 70’s because all the oxygen tanks were empty I quickly set up an oxygen concentrator in the radiology dept.

I spent the week working at the hospital, I relearned how to use the Bear ventilator and reacquainted myself with patients suffering with meningitis, HIV and TB.

Tomorrow (Friday) I head home, I will be spending a week in Calgary and then back to Edmonton. I am sad to leave Tenwek but I am looking forward to not living out of a suitcase anymore.

I will end here with a picture for you of the beauty around Tenwek.

Friday, April 20, 2012

Learning Patience


I have just returned from my meeting with the Kenya Society of Physiotherapists. In similar fashion to my exam (which I will tell you about later in this post) it involved waiting.  The interview started only an hour late. In the interview I was told that I had successfully passed my exam – Praise the Lord. However, the written exam will not be the only condition by which my application is judged.

The interview today was many questions concerning my knowledge and skills. They have promised to give me the final results, via e-mail, on Tuesday.  Needless to say, I hope the internet at Tenwek is working well on Tuesday.
Now that I have you caught up in what you really want to know I will share with you what else I have been doing.
On Wednesday, I had my written exam.  It was a very interesting experience. I arrived at the college at 8:30am as I had been told. When I met the examiner he said “you're early just sit and wait”. So I sat and waited. At 9:00am someone else came who was also writing the exam so together we sat, chatted and waited. The waiting lasted until 10:40am when he finally brought the exams in. He apologized for being late and gave the explanation that he had been finishing creating my exam.

The exam was, thankfully, a lot of what I expected it did have a few wild card questions that made no sense but as it was multiple choice chances were good, and apparently I passed.  There was one question which gave me a blood gas PaO2 40/ PaCO2 60 /pH 7.36/ HCO3-24, from this I was supposed to decide if the patient had aspirated or was hypoventilating. I found that quite hard, if I got a gas like this I would throw it out, as it is impossible aghh.   

I finished the first paper quickly (big surprise there) and then waited from 11:15-1:15 when I could finally write paper two, which was only 30 questions and 10 of those questions were also on paper one??? It was an interesting ordeal but it is finished.  At the end I felt confident of success but over the next few days I did have some anxiety about the results.  I thank you all for your prayers and support it encouraged me throughout the process.
Aside from writing exams and studying, I have enjoyed my time in Nairobi. I am staying at the Mayfield guesthouse. Everyone here shares meals together and I have spent time in the lounge getting to know the other guests. I have also spent some time with a friend in Nairobi which has been great fun.
Tomorrow (Saturday) morning I am off to Tenwek.  I am excited to see everyone there.  So the next post will be written from my future(dv) home of Tenwek.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

In Kenya


So here I am in warm and humid Kenya. The trip here went fine. The most exciting parts being getting to the airport in Calgary – really snowy and white-outs in April, and arriving in Nairobi. The middle part was a boring long plane ride full of airplane food, a good movie selection and failed attempts at studying. Coming over the desert was pretty and we saw the sun set. My seat mate, who was at the window, took a great picture for me.

Once I arrived at Nairobi I knew what was coming – the Visa line. So I got into line as quick as I could and I waited. I have a unique talent of always picking the slowest line, so an hour later I got the stamp on my passport and I was off to find my luggage. This had its own challenges as the power had just gone out so I pulled out my little pen light and found all my bags – they thankfully all made it. The advantage of the power being out was the customs people did not feel like looking through all my luggage (~200lbs). From here I met my driver and we took off to the Mayfield guest house, my home for my week in Nairobi.

Sunday was a great day. I spent the afternoon with my friend Patti. I have not seen her in over a year and it was great to spend some time with her. She also had fun taking me around Nairobi and watching me attempt to interact with the culture around me. Let’s just say she has some fun stories.

On Monday I met with the Physiotherapy Department at Kenya Medical Training College. We confirmed my exam date.  It has gone from what I first thought was a two day oral exam to a one morning written exam. I am okay with this. I was also able to tell him I specialize in things above the diaphragm so he promised to not test me on the rest. J
I will end my post here.  Please pray for me as I write this exam Wednesday morning.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

FAQ's

So as an interim post I though I would share some FAQ's with you

1. You have done your time why are you going back to Africa?

A.When I was a child I felt called to be a missionary this calling was lost to me when I got sucked into life (school, work, money) however this life was empty. Yes, I believe you can be a Christian living in North America, however I again felt the calling to do more. To share God's love to those who had not yet heard to serve those who are less fortunate and to heal the sick.

Time spent at the Baby Orphanage

2.Why Tenwek? Why not go somewhere else?

 A. There is more than one answer to this question, so in no particular order here they are: a few years ago when I started the search for a mission hospital to serve at I e-mailed many mission hospitals. Tenwek was the only one willing to take a Respiratory Therapist. Since they took the initial step I feel like I owe them.  I also have established a friendship with the community and understand how the hospital works. In leaving Tenwek I left a void best filled by an RT. God has given me the gift to fill this void and has called me to serve him to his purpose, to glorify God through the work being done at Tenwek.
My friend a Kenyan physician, who I orientated to the world of ventilators

3. Why two years?

A. My previous visit was 6 months which was much too short. Going for two years gives me an opportunity to go for language training, establish better patient care in the hospital, and get to know the people better. I have also said if you are going to go: go big or go home.
Two of the ICU nurses I worked with



4. Will you be paid this time?

A. My previous visit was funded out of pocket with the exception of a generous donation from my church. I was not paid. This time I will not be paid a salary however through funds raised through individual (yes like you) and churches all(dv) my expenses will be covered. Once(dv) I pass my exam I will receive the green light to start fundraising, and will share how to do that with you.

5. What have you been up to since coming back from Kenya?

A. Life, work and trying to figure out how to get back to Kenya. In August, I came to the conclusion that God was calling me back to Kenya. I then started the application process. This was unussually long for me as being a Canadian and an RT  made things overly complicated. Through a roundabout way I have ended up going through an arm of Samaritans Purse called World Medical Mission.
The Global Mission Health Conference in Kentucky, Nov 2011. 


6. What are you going to be doing until January of 2013?

A. Continue working to build up my savings. I will also be taking some misisonary training. I will be taking a week long course called Perspectives in May. In the fall I plan on attending 5 weeks of training in Colorado to  prepare me for living in a culture and learning a different language. I also will spend the next year raising support both prayer and financial.

I think that concludes the FAQ's portion of this post and coincidentally also updates you on everything.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

A surprise


So here I am, blogging again, when I stopped blogging a year ago I said that’s it unless I have any more adventures in Kenya. I’m back and the adventures are right around the corner. I have discussed what’s going on with some of you but I am sure many of you have no clue so I will start at the beginning.

While in Kenya last year, the thoughts of returning were frequently on my mind. In conversation with experienced missionaries I was given the counsel to go home settle back into North American life and then make my decision. So last year when I came home I bought a car, went back to work full-time and rented an apartment. I spent time getting used to the comforts of my Canadian life. However I was not content.  I knew there was something more.  I spent time in prayer, and discussion with friends and family. Through this I came to the conclusion that God was calling me back to Kenya to serve for two years.

With the decision made, it was time to get to work. I applied to mission organizations; it took 3 applications before I could find an appropriate sending agency. I am working with World Medical Mission an arm of Samaritan’s Purse. Once an agency was found it was time to move forward however there were concerns about a licence for me to practice Respiratory Therapy in Kenya. A licence is necessary to get a work visa (last time I was a tourist), as well as keep Tenwek hospital on the level. Finding a licencing body was not easy as Respiratory Therapists don’t exist in Kenya. Through prayers and foot work of my Tenwek contacts an application was made to the Kenya Society of Physiotherapists to be a Cardio-respiratory physiotherapist. We are hoping that this is a close enough match to a respiratory therapist. Documents were sent to them and they were in agreement so only one stage in the application is left – the exam which I write in three weeks in Kenya

Yup, a surprise, I received the phone call last week that the exam had been scheduled and off to Kenya I must go. So time off work was granted (Thanks so much to my helpful manager) and flights are booked April 12.  I take off for a fifteen day whirlwind trip to Kenya. This trip will include the exam (over two days), an interview, meetings and a visit to Tenwek hospital.

I am very excited about this trip and even more excited that I am making progress towards the goal of being on Kenyan soil for two years starting January 2013. I ask for your prayers that the travel and the exam will go well and that I will be able to build a relationship with the Kenya Society of Physiotherapists, opening doors for Respiratory Therapy to grow in Kenya.

I will try to keep you all updated through this blog.  The next few weeks will be a whirlwind of preparation and it is quite possible that my next post will take place outside of Canada.