MAUA JANUARY 2021
Maua Methodist Hospital Newsletter
From Barbara Dickinson upon her return to Maua Methodist Hospital Kenya.
Greetings to you
I (Barbara for both of us) am writing to a group rather than to you as individuals so that I can let you all know that Claire and I arrived safely (if late). The Manchester flight was delayed because of snow on the plane, then the Amsterdam to Nairobi plane was delayed two and a half hours for a reason not disclosed to us. It meant we were very late arriving at the Methodist Resort (previously the Guest House). Claire had one suitcase inspected, and I had one – the lady was interested in the metal hose pipe in my bag. Can’t remember what caught their eye in Claire’s. But no problems at all. The hospital vehicle picked us up at 8 am on Saturday and drove us north. I was left in Kithoka whilst Claire proceeded to Maua and picked up our car and drove back to Kithoka. From Thursday 7 pm to Saturday 5 pm we thank God for travelling mercies.
On Monday we reported back at Maua. The house here had 5 months build up of dust, so we both spent a lot of time cleaning. When Claire went to work on Tuesday I continued the cleaning process, and did more this morning. It is amazing how much it has built up. Cleaning is a different sort of exercise than we had in UK when we got out almost every day.
Both cats – Brohno in Kithoka, and Nyeusi in Maua are looking well, and adjusted to us being home really quickly. They got us back into their routines without much bother at all.
Claire has started to work part-time. She will be full time from Thursday. I met with the CEO, Mr Marete yesterday afternoon and have a few jobs lined up. We are applying for me to get a different kind of permit as the immigration refused me a missionary/volunteer permit. I would appreciate your prayers that this goes through.
Mr Marete asked for you to remember us in prayers. He said that although the pandemic is not as bad here as it is in the UK we are still very much in the middle of it and are experiencing challenges, especially financial difficulties. Thank you.
Mr Marete is still hoping that a family physician from USA will join us in March. She gave up her job in USA last year, but was then delayed coming to Kenya. It will really help Dr Sarah with supervision of OPD if she is able to come. (We don’t have funds to pay her – please pray for that to be sorted)
Every day since we arrived, we received a text message from the Kenyan Ministry of Health asking for our temperature and if we have any fever, cough, difficulty breathing or other symptoms. This is our track and trace, very efficient, and we are being honest with our answers. The last figures I looked at showed that Kenya is 7th highest for COVID-19 in Africa; with 99,308 confirmed positive cases, 1,734 deaths, and currently 15,096 active cases. There are worries about the spread of the new South African variant.
The rains were good last season and we are looking forward to a good harvest this month and next month. In our garden we have mangoes, avocados, guavas, citrus fruits and bananas with a few loganberries. We are hoping to plant tomatoes and strawberries soon. Generally at the moment the temperature is around 26o C during the day and down to 16o C at night. But we have had a tremendous thunderstorm one afternoon – it’s not all sunshine here.
We are both grateful to your support and help, communication and love during our 5 months in UK. Stay safe. My devotion book this morning said that we are on an adventure – where the guide doesn’t tell us everything we are going to meet each day. Each day will contain surprises. Each day will not be dull or predictable. Resist your tendency to search for the easiest route through the day. No matter how steep or treacherous the path before you, the safest place to be is by God’s side.
End of sermon!
With lots of thankful love
Barbara and Claire