Everybody has a Story

Everybody has a story.  As a guest in a foreign culture it is fascinating to hear African stories.  It is also fascinating to hear the stories of young westerners who are currently in Africa.  Let me tell you about how I spent my morning, the people I met and their stories.

Mavis is an African American young woman from Cleveland Ohio who volunteers with the Peace Corps  in a small village near here. She comes to the Tenwek guesthouse often to get on the internet and connect with friends and family in the US.  She is a vibrant intelligent woman who is educating her village on  health issues and waste management.  This week's lesson is on hand washing!   

Marylin came to help me today.  Although our quarters are small it is wonderful to have help with the everyday chores of housekeeping.  She baked bread(calories!), helped with the wash, and  made  soup for dinner.  She is the mother of two children but has also taken in her brother's two children as his wife died.   Her day is very full!  I feel foolish having her help me but she is so pleased to have the work and be earning a salary.  She is also delightful and I enjoy her company.

Katy (North Carolina), Amy (Michigan) and Matt(Pennsylvania)are young American medical students who are volunteering their time at Tenwek to serve and to broaden their educations. We love it that they are willing to "hang out" with old people!  We learn so much from each other.

Rachel and Adam are Calvin College students whose parents live in Kenya and so they are spending interim here. We had lunch with them today and heard their stories. Both are MK's(missionary kids) who plan medical careers following in their parents footsteps.  Rachel's parents have lived in a remote Moslem village for thirty years; she and her three siblings were born and raised there.  Adam's dad is a surgeon at Tenwek and he has lived here since he was five.   

Hannah is a dynamic  Wheaton college grad who is here for a year to build up an organization called Friends of Tenwek.  As the hospital has grown so have it's needs.  The Friends will be an organization that provides prayer support as well as monetary help  to the hospital.   

Michelle and her three friends are from Canada and are going home today after spending seven months interning with Samaritan's  Purse Canada on water projects.   They have lived in very primitive conditions often with African families.  They have made a difference in a short time.

So when people ask me what do you do, Micki, when you are at Tenwek this is one of my roles!  I make friends with young people and hear their stories!  I am blessed! And I am enriched!

Micki