01 December 2013

Bethany, Rehema, Coralis, Judy, Susan, Anita, Curt
Maryknoll Lay Missioners Mombasa

Dear Family and Friends,

     This has been quite a year of ups and downs. The Kenyan presidential elections were held on March 4th and because of concerns for safety our travel to the different health units was restricted in February and March.  Fortunately the process was peaceful, despite long lines that caused people to wait up to 11 hours in the hot sun.  Kenyans are to be admired for their patient determination to perform their right to vote.  The men chosen to be President and Vice President are both charged with crimes against humanity for violence that occurred in the elections in 2007.  Currently the Vice President is on trial in the Hague and the President will be tried next February 2014.

     In July my 20 year old nephew, Alex Vitalis, drowned of cold shock syndrome in a tragic river accident.  I was able to arrive in Minnesota for the wake which gathered over 1000 people.  He was a wonderful young man and we are grateful for the time we had with him.  Still, we are trying to adjust to the reality that he is no longer with us here on earth.  The family asked that donations be made to my mission account in lieu of flowers.  People have been extremely generous.  With those gifts we have already completed renovations to the pharmacy at Giriama dispensary and have begun to renovate the lab.  I will give a full report early next year.

     While I was in Minnesota I also had an unfortunate accident and fractured my sacrum (tailbone).  In order to recuperate I had to extend my stay in the US but I have healed completely.  I returned to Mombasa in October.  This allowed me to spend more time with family, especially my parents.  I am very grateful for all the support I received from Maryknoll and the Archdiocese during these difficult months.

     Kenya has been beset by numerous problems.  In August the arrivals hall at the International Airport in Nairobi burned to the ground.  In September a large shopping mall in Nairobi, Westgate, was attacked by terrorists and closed down for four days.  At least 70 people were killed and over 200 were injured.  In October a Muslim Sheikh was killed in Mombasa along with three people in his car and four bystanders. Each incident increases fear and it becomes more difficult to know who to trust or how to make plans for every day activities.  As Sr. Pauline, our health coordinator said, "We are all traumatized".

     Lastly, our beloved Archbishop, Boniface Lele, retired on November 1st for health reasons.  He is a caring, pastoral man who has been at the forefront of ministry to people living with AIDS.  The door to his office was always open and we rarely needed an appointment to meet him.  He welcomed all with a gracious smile and genuine humility.  We were blessed to have him as our shepherd these past eight years.

     As we wait for the birth of Jesus I have my own mother and child story to share.  In April Asha brought her one year old son, Seif, to the clinic for vomiting and diarrhea.  He had stopped growing six months earlier and could hardly sit up, let alone stand.  I was afraid he had some type of muscular dystrophy but wanted to check his thyroid function too.  I sent him to the provincial hospital and told them what I suspected and what tests needed to be done.  Ashsa tried her best but the first time she went to the hospital the doctor wasn't there.  The second time the doctor didn't have time to see him.  Someone wrote for lab tests to be done at a private hospital which would have cost two weeks of the father's salary.  The third time she went they were angry that she hadn't had the tests done and refused to examine the child.  So, when she brought him back to me I just took the mother and child to a lab that I know well and paid for one test to check his thyroid.  It was abnormal and we started him on treatment for low thyroid.  In just two weeks he was starting to get stronger.  The Sister at the clinic continued to treat him with my advice by email while I was in the US and he continued to improve.  The Sister also encouraged the mother to keep breast feeding, only to find out the mother was pregnant.  She delivered another child in September!  As you can see from the names, the family is Muslim and the mother wore the traditional long black robes.  We had no idea she was pregnant.  Seif continues to improve and now he has a little sister. 

     So, let this season of hope for new life encourage each of us.  God came into our world to live among us.  No matter what our challenges, struggles or sorrows we are never alone and God is with us...Emmanuel.

PEACE OF THE NEW BORN CHRIST
CHILD TO YOU!!!

A tree that blooms in December
 Called a Christmas tree here!
MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR

SUSAN 

01 November 13

Giriama Pharmacy Completed

Happy Feast of All Saints  

Greetings from Mombasa!!!  

     I arrived on the 18th of October after a long but basically uneventful trip.  I met with Sr. Veronicah of Giriama dispensary and she has completed renovation of the pharmacy and all the medicines are off the floor!  I gave her more money from the memorial fund for Alex to begin renovation of the laboratory.  Again, she asked me to convey her gratitude on behalf of the staff and all the patients for this assistance.

     On my trip back security was tighter. During my absence from Kenya the arrivals hall at the airport in Nairobi burned down.  The Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi (very large and often frequented by expatriates) was attacked by terrorists and 67 people were killed.  A Sheikh in Mombasa was killed along with 3 people in his car and 4 bystanders. There have also  been reoccurring incidents of violence in Mombasa, sometimes thought to be hooliganism, taking advantage of terrorism and unrest in the country.  The Vice President is in the Hague attending his trial for crimes against humanity.  The President was to due go to the Hague for his trial on Nov 12th.  His trial is postponed until Febrruary at his request.  Prices for everything have gone up, especially since the value added tax was raised from 14 to 16%.  Our salaries stay the same and those who live on the edges are falling off more frequently.

New Orbis Book about Mombasa

                      But there's hope!  Pope Francis has been talking about wanting a poor church for the poor.  Here's a new book written by one of our lay missioner's, Coralis Salvador and a Franscican lay missioner, Susan Slavin.  I highly recommend it as it will give a good picture of our ministries in Mombasa.  Coralis currently administrates Kikambala Primary Health Care facility where I do a clinic once each month.      
                      I've also just finished reading a new book Pope Francis Untying the Knots by Paul Vallely.  Towards the end it quotes a speech by Cardinal Bergoglio given at the conclave before the elections began.  He said, "The Church is supposed to be the mysterium lunae - the mystery of the moon is that it has no light but simply reflects the light of the sun.  The church must not fool itself that it has light of its own; if it does that it falls in to what Henri De Lubac in The Splendour of the Church called the greatest of evils - spiritual worldliness.  That is what happens with a self-referential Church, which refuses to go behond itself.  Put simply, there are two images of Church; a Church which evangelises and comes out of herself or a worldly Church, living within herself, of herself, for herself.  The next Pope should be someone who helps the Church surge forth to the peripheries like a sweet and comforting mother who offers the joy of Jesus to the world.               
                                                                             After that speech Cardinal Bergoglio was the person chosen to be our next leader.  The moon is waning at the moment but it will be full on 18th Nov.  Keep an eye out and let's head for the people on the edges and be mysterium lunae.

                         Peace of the Harvest Moon to you and Happy Thanksgiving!