*warning: graphic descriptions below* If we're being honest, today has been tough. Before I tell you all the details, here's a little context: Presbyterianism started spreading rapidly in the early twentieth century throughout Kenya after Scottish and American missionaries started sharing the gospel. After several failed attempts, the gospel took root in the Kikuyu tribe. Many attribute this to the fact that the Kikuyus were already monotheistic and the message blended well with what they already believed. Fast forward to the modern era. Most folks who are members of the PCEA are still Kikuyu. After the missionaries passed the leadership torch to the church in the 1940s, they continued the evangelism effort in spreading God's word to other tribes. A recent program has paired big city churches (like Sukari) with churches in mission areas. These mission areas tend to be in more rural areas where pastors can have up to 14 small congregations. They have to be more churches because mobility tends to be a problem. These churches maintain partnerships and the big churches have been helping fund the smaller churches for about a decade now. Sukari is paired with the community of Mbooni. These churches often celebrate big occasions together as the body of Christ.... which brings us to Sunday. As you probably know from Sunday's blog post, there was an instillation of a new pastor in Nairobi North Presbytery. Two buses from Mbooni left early in the morning to come participate in the service. Neither bus ended up making it to Nairobi. One bus was fine, but the other bus overturned on the side of the road. Nearly every passenger on the bus that was involved in the accident was injured. Fortunately there were no fatalities. I found out after all the visiting that the bus driver was drunk and had been asked to slow down by passengers before the accident happened. After the crash, he fled the scene seemingly unharmed. The police now have a warrant out for his arrest.
Today, a group of us went to visit and pray with those who were injured. The Presbytery Clerk, Moderator, Finance Chair, Treasurer, Pastor George, Evangelist Steven, Elder Samuel, and myself traveled several hours to get to Mbooni. Because we were in a very rural area, people almost exclusively spoke in Swahili. Needless to say I was very lost in the conversation. Words weren't necessary though. The things I saw today spoke loud and clear without the need for English. I was completely unprepared for what I walked into. I was told we were visiting six people who were still in the hospital and that everyone else walked away with scrapes and bruises. That was definitely a toned down version of the story. The the sight first woman we went to visit in the first hospital alerted me that this accident was more severe than any of us had realized. She had a head injury and her entire face was wrapped in bloody gauze. All you could see was her swollen upper lip and her nose. She was embarrassed for us to see her face. She has a severe head injury and a blood clot in her brain. The doctors are monitoring her closely, but are very concerned. She was in the middle bed of a ward that had 12 beds and it felt very crowded with all of us in the room. We prayed with everyone in the ward who wanted prayer and then left to see the next person. We walked across the campus to the ward where the next person was located. Once again I was totally unprepared for what I was about to walk into. I had missed the sign on the door that read "Children's Ward." We walked into a room full of sick and injured toddlers with their parents. The little boy we were there to see was laying in bed unconscious with his mom while his dad sat in the chair beside them. All three of them were injured in the accident. The little boy had suffered a head injury while his mom had a broken arm and his dad had scrapes and bruises. He was in stable condition and expected to recover, but I was still overwhelmed. After finishing up at the first hospital, we traveled to meet people who had already been discharged at their churches. Here we saw a lot of bloody gauze and broken bones. Again we prayed and visited with these folks. Seeing the churches and their homes helped me see a different side of Kenya. I now understand why it's called the mission area. I've also seen a more realistic side of Kenya; one that more accurately reflects the standard of living of most people in this country. I've been privileged to be in the city working primarily with folks who are in the upper tier of society (professors, doctors, lawyers, businessmen). The affluent community I live and work in is very different from what most of this country looks like. We had planned to visit this area so I could interact with these believers during my internship, we just hadn't anticipated doing it under these circumstances.
We had to drive quite a while to reach the second hospital. It was unlike anything I've ever seen. It was way overcrowded and didn't have enough beds for all the patients. There were at least a dozen patients per room and visitors everywhere. Sanitation seemed almost nonexistent judging by how soiled the dressings were, the lack of soap or sanitizer, the excessive number of people everywhere, and the lack of washrooms. If I didn't know I was at a hospital, I would have never guessed that it was one. I’ve visited members in hospitals here in Nairobi, but those are much more similar to what we have in the US. The hospitals I saw today were nothing like it. We were visiting a mother and elementary-aged daughter who had been transferred to that one because their injuries were too severe for the local hospital where everyone else had been treated. Their arms got trapped underneath the bus when it crashed and both will need amputation surgeries. The mother will be loosing her entire left arm and the daughter will be loosing one of her hands. The husband/father explained this to us in the courtyard. He suffered minor injuries and was doing his best to make sure his wife and daughter were well taken care of. After we left, it was made clear to me that these amputations wouldn't be necessary if they were at a better hospital with better equipment, technology, and doctors who had more medical training. Both surgeries are happening this afternoon before any more of their tissue dies. Everyone we saw today was still traumatized by the events of Sunday and rightfully so. Even the pastor who was on the bus that didn't crash was struggling. He openly shared his concerns with us as he guided us through the curvy mountain roads. I'm even a little traumatized from seeing some of the aftermath. Today was another humbling day. The action taken today was just the first wave response. Nairobi North Presbytery has plans to continue supporting these folks financially and in prayer. They presbytery gave out several hundred thousand Kenyan Shillings were given to help offset medical costs, but it was clear that this action was the tip of the iceberg. Healing will be a long and painful process for this community and the folks from this area intend to do whatever they can to help take care of their mission area following this loss. I'm pretty sure this goes without saying, but please pray for the people involved in this accident. Pray for healing. Pray that there are no further complications. Pray that people experience God in the midst of this tragedy. Pray for anything that comes to mind. Their faith is steadfast in the face of all this tragedy and for that we say Bwana Asifiwe. ~ Nell in Nairobi PS: one of the breathtaking (in a good way) aspects of this day was the scenic (but dangerous) drive that got us to Mbooni. Here is one of the gorgeous views from the drive.
