“To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world.” Brandi Snyder

The friends we made in Africa were an amazing support system for our family. Their small acts of kindness and generous hospitality made our month in Litein life changing! Our friends were a bridge to the new culture but more than that, they taught us about God’s love; nonjudgmental, selfless, and unconditional.

Mercy Cherotich (aka big Mercy)

Our first week in Litein I wrote in my journal, “Mercy is my gift from God!” We met Mercy when we first arrived to Litein. She was assigned by the hospital to help our family get adjusted and assist me with shopping, cooking, chores, and her favorite, play with the kids. Our favorite memory of Mercy will forever be the way she greeted the kids every morning, “Awww baby boy Alex! Awww baby girl Elizabeth! Ohh Mama Elizabeth, how are you today? Children cry last night?” We love you Mercy Cherotich!

Dorkus

My journal reads, “Dorkus has been by far the most generous and kind person I’ve met. She has made me feel so comfortable and welcomed me in to her home many times.” Dorkus’ husband is a nurse supervisor at the hospital and they lived across from us.

Their 4 y/o daughter has the same name as our friend Mercy, Mercy Cheritoch so the kids coined the term, “little Mercy” for their favorite friend.

Dorkus bakes 200 small heart-shaped cakes once a week to sell in town. The fun fact is that not only are sweet cakes unheard of in Kenya, she bakes them in a charcoal oven!

Dorkus was an amazing example of a caring, selfless, hard-working Christian woman and I will forever adore her heart.

Bromwell

During Andrew’s 4-week rotation at the hospital, five Kenyan medical students were also doing a rural rotation in Litein. Bromwell quickly took Andrew under his wing and helped our family navigate Kenya.

We had a blast traveling with Bromwell to Kericho, teaching him to play cards, and mostly just sitting around discussing Kenyan culture. Bromwell has 2 more years of schooling and then we told him to find a conference in the US to attend so he can visit us!

And many many more!

God provides!

Soon after we arrived and when we needed it the most, Reg knocked on our door inviting us over for brownies. We didn’t even hesitate! Reg and Kathy are a couple from Canada who sold their possessions 5 years prior and moved to Litein. Kathy worked as a nurse for a few years and then started the first Palliative Care team in Litein. Reg previously owned a construction business and in Litein built relationships with local carpenters.

Reg and Kathy were the only other caucasians in Litein and even just speaking English with them was a blessing. Kathy often surprised us with various bakes treats and both Reg and Kathy helped us talk through our culture shock and experience in Litein.

Reg and Kathy were also kind enough to drive us to Kericho to tour a Lipton Tea Plantation, do much needed grocery shopping at a supermarket, and take us around the market. On top of that, they treated us to lunch at a hotel (restaurant) where you can watch monkeys.

The main export in this region of Kenya is tea. Workers were paid by the bag and we were told they make roughly 100KS per day which is a little more than $1.

The rows of tea are kept at a precise height and make for a beautiful panoramic view of the countryside!

Walks around Litein

Walks as a family were always an intense mixture of pleasure at being outside, together, experiencing Litein along with uncertainty, fear, and culture shock.

Below is Elizabeth’s favorite picture from our walks. :)

Here is the above view of the Litein market where Mercy and I shopped every other day.

The first picture on the left was one Andrew loved because it shows them growing their beans in with the corn. The second picture gives you an idea of how muddy the roads became when it started raining. The bottom two photos are of the carpenters who made us a few souvenirs. They were super proud to have their pictures taken!

Butchers, Hair Salon, and more…

I took advantage of my two supermarket trips in bigger cities by buying frozen ground beef and whole chickens. Andrew couldn’t resist the urge to check out the local butcher and taste beef liver and goat…. two Kenyan delicacies we only tried once!

Most days at the market we met and worked with this lady who sold us everything from pears to eggplant.

I was so excited when Mercy suggested showing me the barber shop (hair salon) where she had her hair braided. Below was out the back where she informed me one bucket is used to wash hair and the other to rinse…

Mercy was so excited to show me the device that plugs in to electricity and blows hot air to dry hair quickly (blow dryer :D).

Mercy’s Home

Mercy invited us out once to visit her house and another time for dinner. Above is her Grandma who her and her sister live with. Their mother died a few years ago from lung cancer. In the picture is Mercy’s cousin and her sons.

Mercy’s grandma built the larger home using her retirement money. The round mud building was their previous home and now serves as their kitchen (both pictures below).

Africa Inland Church Litein Hospital

During our month in Litein, Andrew spent 1 week on pediatrics, 1 week on internal medicine, and 2 weeks in surgery.

Below is a female ward. Each nurse is typically responsible for up to 20 patients. Patient daily care is mainly the responsibility of family members. You can imagine how many bodies end up being crammed in one ward. On top of that, during visiting hours, it is not uncommon for one patient to have 5-8 visitors. Slightly crowded and maybe not the most pleasant smelling place…

While Andrew was at the hospital, they also had 6 medical students from a Kenyan medical school doing a rural rotation. The students were in their 4th year (out of 6) and Andrew was very thankful to have them to work beside. Below is Bromwell who quickly became our family friend. He helped Andrew with translation, joined us for dinner many nights, and even took us on a day trip to a nearby city.

This boy is actually 15 years old and made a big impact on Andrew during their short visits. He suffered from severe malnutrition secondary to a bowel obstruction and multiple abdominal surgeries.

The OR was open air (ie sometimes steady breeze and flies…) and slightly different than what Andrew was used to in the US. They wore a rubber apron covered by a cloth gown and rubber boots.

Weekly, the hospital held prayer meetings for all employees. During this time employees sang praise songs, prayed, and shared a brief devotion. Except for the few devotions led by our Canadian friend, language was a large barrier for Andrew. In general, language restricted much of how Andrew could work with patients. Because of the different tribal languages, sometimes even the medical students couldn’t understand the patients. Because they were very busy, nurses were often unable to translate as well. Andrew relied strongly on his handshake and limited Swahili vocabulary.

Outside of the hospital, the medical students spent 2 days doing an outreach blood pressure clinic in Kericho which was approx 20 miles from Litein.