From Wailing to Dancing

They walked into Lebaus office apprehensively.  Inside Eric Otieno was waiting.  Eric has been struggling for many years with an infected leg from a bad burn.  Two recent operations had made some dramatic improvements.  Now, most recently the foot had developed a bad ulcer where the skin grafting had healed but become separated.  Dr. Joe Serra, a visiting orthopedic surgeon and part of the visiting Rotary group had examined Eric. The diagnosis was conclusive; Eric would need to have his leg amputated.  There were no other options remaining.  Septic infection was a real danger that could threaten his life.  But sharing this information with Eric made Patty and Dr. Joe tentative.  How would he respond?  Would he accept this decision or even be capable of understanding the importance of amputation? Their fears were quickly alleviated when Eric responded to the news of amputation with a simple statement of faith: “God really loves me.”

God had been preparing Eric’s heart for this decision and he expressed his willingness to remove the leg and be fitted for an artificial leg. But these were not the only preparations that had taken place.  The Lord had allowed Dr. Joe to come at just the right time to make this diagnosis.  Dr. Joe had also crossed paths with a Prof. Mulimba in Nairobi.  Dr. Joe had not traveled to the Mara with the others on the team.  Instead he renewed some friendships with people he had met on previous trips to Africa.  One man he had intended to spend some time with was unable to meet with him and put him in touch with Prof. Mulimba who just happened to be the chief orthopedic surgeon at Kenyatta Hospital.  Dr. Mulimba took Joe on rounds and as they walked Joe shared the story of Eric and his circumstances.  Dr. Mulimba encouraged Dr. Joe to send Eric to Kenyatta Hosp. and he would arrange for surgery and even donate his own fee.  Later it was a simple matter to connect with Prof. Mulimba and schedule an examination.

The week after Dr. Joe left, Patty and I flew with Eric to Nairobi to see Dr. Mulimba.  He was admitted to Kenyatta Hosp. the same day (after a six hour procedure of red-tape).  We were told that the surgery would be performed that Friday.  However Eric’s hemoglobin was below 10 and the Prof. preferred to give Eric some units of blood to raise the level above 10 before surgery.  As it stands now, Eric is set to have his leg removed on Friday, 21^st January.  Be praying for him on that day.

A few other details were part of God’s arrangement as well.  Earlier in the week, we had met with a Kisumu Rotarian about Project Hope and we were casually discussing Eric’s situation.  He informed us of a Rotary Project in Nairobi called Jaipur Foot Project.  This project, funded by the Nairobi South club in conjunction with a Rotary club in Jaipur, India provides artificial limbs free of charge to needy patients.  Before we admitted Eric, we dropped into Jaipur Foot and allowed Eric an opportunity to see how his new leg would be made and fitted.  The head engineer gave us a brief tour and assured us that they would gladly fit Eric in a few months after the leg was well healed.  He assured Eric that he would be able to walk normally, even play football if he wanted to. 

Patty and I marveled as we gave God praise that night before going to sleep that God must have a grand plan in mind for Eric.  A few years ago this boy was sitting on a pile of trash in a back ally of Kisumu, his life wasting away.  His life was literally sinking into an early grave.  Everything that David sings about in Psalm 30 was part of Eric’s life.  But God reached down and saved Eric’s life from the pit.  He turned his wailing into dancing.  He opened Eric’s heart so that he sings God’s praises.  And Eric is eternally thankful.

This is the work God is doing through Agape Children’s Ministry in Kisumu.  It is a work of saving lives, changing lives, rehabilitating lives.  In a few months Eric will resume his training of Vocational Training at “The Farm”.  He’ll return to his grandfather’s home in Kisumu a new man with a powerful testimony of how the Lord changed his “Wailing into Dancing”.

God bless,

Dan

Prayer Requests

1. Praise God for another contact we made during the time we were in Nairobi.  We met Eric Kimani, past president of Nairobi north who has started a foundation to pay secondary school fees for needy children who are admitted into one of the 17 National Schools of Kenya.  We discussed how we could spread the word about his foundation and how our boys might benefit from the foundation also.  Everything looks optimistic.  We have two boys, Dennis and William who might just qualify for this grant.  Pray for Dennis and William that they might daily focus on their education.  For more information about Palm House Foundation go to www.palmhsefoundation.org or write to hope@palmhsefoundation.org

2. Pray for Eric who remains in Kenyatta Hosp awaiting surgery.

3. Praise God for the Rotarians who visited from District 5220.  Work continues at Agape on the projects they began.  A nicely decorated clinic and a newly painted school have really lifted the spirits of the students and teachers.  New student desks, teacher desks, dining tables and benches are to be delivered within three weeks. New fuel efficient wood burning cookers for the kitchen will be installed within two weeks.  A new fence around the entire compound begins next Monday with cement posts put in place, chain link fence and even a bougainvillea border.  The fencing project will be completed within three months.

4. Pray for the secondary students of Form 1 and 2 who have all been placed in boarding schools. 

5. Pray for Michael and Arthur who have recently been reintegrated into their rural homes.  The homes have been visited and we will remain in contact with the families as these boys go through their primary and secondary education.  (More on the importance of home in the Kenyan culture and our efforts at reintegration in next month’s newsletter)

6. Praise God for the contact made with Nation TV who recently broadcast the music video “The Least of These” on their Christian Music Video Program called “The Stomp”