Update from Pamela: Lutheran Kenya Deaconess Training (Part 1)

From Pamela Boehle-Silva (Part 1)

Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ, and All Whom I Love

Greetings from Kisumu, Kenya:

I am good. Sleeping well, but very emotionally spent this morning. Yesterday we went out on home visits with 3 of the deaconesses, a social work intern and Ruth, the wife of Joseph, seminary professor. What we saw was beyond words. To say that the visits in 2006 were "sugar coated" would not be accurate, but yesterday's visits were people and places with no joy.

What these deaconesses face is unbelievable. Most of the women - and they were all widows - we visited, were HIV+ and, of course, had many other maladies. I did get to play nurse with each visit and that was both frustrating and satisfying. Frustrating in that the problems are complex - or rather getting help is complex - but satisfying, in that, even the simplest remedies are welcomed and bring some relief.

We saw people with chronic wounds, Tuberculosis - hence the shortness of breath, coughing and lethargy - diarrhea, malnutrition, high blood pressure, anemia, cardiac irregularities... and then there were those whose lives are affected by the fatigue that goes with not feeling well and not having enough to eat.

The deaconesses are frustrated because they cannot provide for the needs of their people. We left each person money for food and medical care. We dressed wounds, gave ibuprofen and children's Tylenol. Instilled hope through song, the Word of God, prayer and touch.

(continued in part 2)

$10,000 Friends of Mercy Grant to Support the Meeker's Service: Kenyan Lutherans Say, "Thanks"

Pastor and Dcns. Meeker say "Thanks!"

In an e-mail exchange with Pastor Meeker, he and Dcns. Lorna expressed their gratitude to the many Lutherans in the States who have shared their blessings with Friends of Mercy to support their service in Kenya. A key component of your gifts is the education of orphans. The Meekers explained that it was time to pay "school fees" so that the many children they support could get back into school. Another aspect of their work is to help sick widows and their children move into acceptable and safe housing. Sadly, in too many circumstances, the wife, now widow, has several children and has AIDS. They need the help with the children, medicine, food, and housing. Recently, the Meekers needed to move a family into another neighborhood for the safety of the children.

$10,000 Grant to Help Widows & Orphans and Springs of Life Lutheran Church, Kibera

In January, Friends of Mercy, thanks to Lutherans who are making a difference, sent another check for $10,000 to Compassionate Social Care, the NGO (non governmental organization), that receives funds to support the work of the Meekers. $2,000 went to support orphans through our Adopt an Orphan program; 4,000 went to support widows with orphans; 4000 went to support the ministry of Pastor and Dcns. Meeker.

It is helpful to remember that the Meekers receive no salary for their work in Kenya. They rely on faithful Lutherans in the U.S. to live and serve in Kenya.

Oscar: An Adoption Story of a Kenyan AIDS Orphan

A couple of years ago Pastor and Deaconess Meeker met Oscar at a medical clinic in Kenya sponsored by LCMS World Relief. (Dr. Anita and Oscar, right) When Oscar's sister brought him to the medical clinic, he was diagnosed as stage four HIV, the last stage that progresses into full blown AIDS.

Oscar was critically thin and was suffering from malnutrition. He had to be carried in because he was too weak to walk.

Dr. Anita and Dcns. Lorna carried him to the examination table and immediately left the room and began to cry. After an emotional and cathartic cry, they returned to examine Oscar thoroughly. They discovered that Oscar was not only in stage four HIV, but he also suffered from TB, malaria, and had a blood cancer that manifested itself in a tumor on his tongue.


"Adoption" in Kenya
Pastor and Dcns. agreed to adopt Oscar. Adoption in Kenya isn't the same as we know it in the U.S. Culturally, the Kenyan people are very proud of their families and the tribal culture leads to a view of family wherein the family members possess a high degree of caring for each other when possible. However, with the HIV/AIDs epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa, many families "adopt" many children from relatives and the local village. When this takes place, an adoption means that you will provide for the adopted child financially and in any other way possible. That way extended family can afford food, clothing, medicine, and education. Oscar is one of eight children whom the Meekers have adopted over the last couple of years and visit regularly.

A Common and Horrifying Experience

Oscar is a typical example of how too many people are treated out fear of HIV/AIDS, especially because they don't understand it. Oscar's parents had died so his grandparents were raising him and his 14 year old sister. Once they realized how sick Oscar was, they moved Oscar and his sister out of the home and into another grass thatched roof, mud hut, which didn't even have a door on it. His sister dropped out of school to take care of Oscar. When she learned about the medical clinic coming to the village, she helped Oscar get to the clinic through a combination of carrying, pulling, and holding him up as he tried to walk.

Oscar's grandparents owned a still and were alcoholics. They moved Oscar out to the mud hut to die. They didn't believe anything could be done and didn't want to spend money and resources on something they couldn't take care of. This is a common reaction that remains in many villages in the countryside. They just don't know better. The grandfather, at one point, told Oscar and Dennis, "There is no life in that boy!"
As the Meekers followed up with Oscar's medical treatment, the doctor was adamant that they must treat the TB first because that would kill him if it were left untreated. The TB treatment took 9 months. However, the first 60 days of treatment was with a medicine that was not compatible with the HIV treatment. So the HIV treatment didn't begin until first 60 days of TB medicine was completed. Once the TB was cared for, they took on the blood cancer. The doctor had hoped that the HIV medicine (ARVs) would fight the cancer. This did not happen. Instead of taking care of the tumor, it caused the tumor to grow and multiply. The tumors traveled down his tongue and esophagus and finally into his stomach. His stomach began to bleed and he required a blood transfusion, an extremely risky option in Africa.

The doctor chose to add a powerful cancer treatment, which was six doses, but it took such a toll on Oscar that the doctor stopped treatment at the third dose. The doctor thought that the fourth dose would kill Oscar because of its strength and the combination of the other drugs. The doctor was not confident that Oscar would make it. But he did. The bleeding stopped and health began to improve.
Five Minutes!

It wasn't an easy road to walk. The KEY to HIV treatment is two-fold. First, the ARVs (antiretroviral medicines) must be taken twice a day, 12 hours a part. Oscar's med time was 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.. Now here is the hard part, especially for a 12 year old, they MUST be taken at the exact time. There is only a FIVE MINUTE window to take the ARVs. This means that Beyond this five minute window, he would risk the chance of the ARV's backfiring because his body would begin to build an immunity to the effectiveness of the medicine and then the doctors would search for another possible combination of meds. There are only so many combinations that could work.

Why Kenyan Food Crisis is Worrisome
The second part if the treatment is a BALANCED HIGH PROTEIN DIET. Without a balanced diet, the ARVs become increasingly less effective. The effectiveness of the ARVs without the diet dramatically decreases the body's ability to fight off infection and disease. AIDS develops when any illness takes hold and the body can't fighd it. Therefore, any cold, flu, along with a whole host of diseases could easily kill Oscar. (Why Yellow Corn is a Sign of Desperation)

As long as Oscar continues his regiment of ARVs and a balanced diet, he will be fine.

Think about (Oscar, one year after treatment) hard this must be for parents and family members to keep a 12 year old on the regiment of HIV treatment. This takes patience, perseverance, and a will to follow through on behalf of the caretakers and patient.
God At Work in the Gifts of Family and Medicine

By God's grace, Oscar beat the odds, even without the final three doses of the cancer treatment. Oscar returned to health. He beat the cancer. The doctor said it was a miracle. He was 10 years old when this all started. He is now 12 and his family is dealing with the typical (Left, Oscar. very dark background whited by Pr. Sell) issues a family faces with any 12 year old.
The Word of God teaches us how God cares for His people through vocation. Oscar's story is an example of God's presence in a person's life. God uses the many blessings of His creation to care and heal people, which is rarely miraculous but sometimes is, often healing takes place through the normal way of life. He uses doctors and nurses, deaconesses and pastors, musicians and grandparents, medicine, cars, airplanes, and a poor orphaned sister. Just think of all that went into bringing the medical clinic a reality so that Oscar could be healed through the gifts so many of us take for granted. He uses people who can give financial means to purchase medicine and make these clinics possible. What a difference anyone of us can make.

Please keep Pastor and Deaconess Meeker in your prayers as they continue to work hard to help and care for Oscar and so many other people in need. What complicates their work is the fact that there are many "one parent orphans" whose mother is also very sick with AIDS or Malaria or TB - or a combination of all three, just like Oscar.

There is Life after AIDS

A year after Oscar was treated and was doing well, he visited his grandparents. They visited and had a meal. Afterwards, the grandfather told Dennis with a smile, after shaking Oscar's hand, "Now there's life in that boy."

Meekers & Sell: Great Time with Lutherans Making a Difference in Kenya

Thanks to Everyone Who Hosted Us

What a trip it was. The Meekers arrived on April 12th. Deaconess Lorna left May 1st and Pastor Meeker's final preaching date was May 25th. In every stay, the local people provided us with places to sleep, eat, and relax a bit. There are so many people to thank, that I fear if I start listing them, I will miss too many. We visited with pastors, parish nurses, DCE's, teachers, elders, deacons, many laypeople, and others for about a total of 23 events. Meekers put about 9000 miles on their car and we flew around California for a week. Thanks especially to Cliff & Lori Lewis (above) who helped us line up visits in Southern California. Lori is a great organizer and Cliff and I had a great time talking physics on occasion, chaos theory. He told me my silly round hat that I wore on our trip to dinner one night was a sample of chaos. Hmmmm... still tyring to figure that one out. Oh ya, cliff is a physicist.


Sorry I Couldn't Keep Up the Travel Diary on the Blog

Once we got moving on our trip, several things came up unexpectedly (IA in the US?). Pastors Meeker and Sell both had deaths in their families. The more we traveled the busier we got. We added several more speaking engagements to our itinerary and when we had a few hours of down time here and there, we "rested our eyes," as my father used to call it.

Kenyan Presidential Elections - "Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer."

I began to write last Thursday night about the day's exciting news out of Kenya. It was the night of the Kenyan presidential elections. I had written the title "Thank God for Peaceful Elections."

The first reports out of Kenya extolled the glories of Kenya's orderly multi-party election. It was a great day for the young democracy (since 1963). Election day was peaceful. Kenyans from all tribes patiently stood in line for hours to vote.

Kenya is the hope of the continent. It's Africa's strongest economy and most orderly country. Kenya was about to become the example for the rest of the continent. This was how it could be done in Africa as Kenya maintained its ethnic identity, tribal relationships, and yet came together as a country for the benefit of each other.

I didn't publish that post because I thought to myself, "Maybe I should wait till morning when the results will be clearer and the stability of the country would be sure.

Unfortunately, I woke up to bad news from Kenya. It was such a disappointment as I began to think about all of the Kenyans whom I met and have grown to love and respect. I was concerned for them and the church.

The election was razor thin close. The results were delayed.

I was hoping to hear something Saturday morning about the results. They didn't come.

Charges of election fraud, rigging the ballot box, and riotous threats abounded in the news. Homes began to burn, rumors of murderous mobs came forth. Then the news on the Internet multiplied with stories of unrest. The death toll steadily began to rise.

Immediately, I sent off an e-mail to my friends in Kenya, David Chuchu, John Halahke, Bishop Obare, Dennis Meeker, and others. I prayed for their safety. I hoped their families were not touched by the trouble.

Mobs roamed the poorest areas of Kenya. Kibera slums, a place where Friends of Mercy has its roots, suffered terribly with homes and churches burned out. People were dead.

Kisumu was hit hard. Pastor David Chuchu lives in Kisumu. Last I heard, he and his family are safe.

I spoke this afternoon with Pastor Dennis and Deaconess Lorna Meeker. I was very concerned about them because their ministries are among the people of the Kibera slums. You can see our pictures in Kibera and read some of their story in another post at this blog.

Some of the rioting took place in the immediate area of Pastor Meeker's church, Springs of Life Lutheran Church. Pastor and Lorna are living at the ELCK Guest House. This is a blessing, since the Guest House is about 30 minutes from Kibera.

They are safe. Pastor cancelled services, Sunday school, and other classes at the church over the weekend. He, Lorna, and his congregation are doing such great work. In short nine months since he was installed in Kenya, he has baptized over 40 people already. His confirmation classes are growing. His youth are strong and active.

I will write more about the situation in other posts. However, given the terrible news of the murders and riots, it becomes a hard lesson on why Luther's Two Kingdom Theology is so important to the work of proclaiming the gospel and loving our neighbors through acts of mercy.

Our work in Kenya is dependent upon an orderly and peaceful community so that we could help the widows, orphans, and poor through the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (ELCK).

Please keep our Christian brothers and sisters in Christ in your prayers that the Lord would keep them safe, that the Lord will teach them how to serve even in the midst of this cross, that the Lord will permit His grace and mercy to be proclaimed at such a time of turbulence and chaos.

Tomorrow (Thursday, Jan 3) is a very important day. The opposition to the president is calling for a massive demonstration in Nairobi. The fears are great of riots and more murders. We pray that the civil authorities and citizens, whose authority comes from God (Romans 13), will wisely keep the peace and provide a workable solution.

"Thy will be done."

Concorida University, Chicago Set for Kenya Trip to Assist AIDS Widows and Orphans

The planning began last summer when Pastor Sell communicate with Ben Parviz, a student at Concordia University, Chicago. Ben e-mailed me for some info on our Faith & Mercy Expedition, an example of "Lutherans Making A Difference!" Then in Oct (07), I met with Ben, several other students and some staff members of the University who were interested in the mercy trip.

The students and staff of Concordia University - Chicago have done a great job of pulling this mercy event together. They set out to raise funds to attend our Faith & Mercy Expedition last fall already. At this time there are 11 total students and staff who are committed to attending the May trip to Kenya.

Keep coming back to follow us on our journey to learn, to mature spiritually, and to serve those in need.

For more info, check out our web site:

Partnering with LCMS World Relief to bring mercy to the world!

Trip to Kenya to Visit Orphanages - St. John, Rochester MI

Faith & Mercy Expedition Set for Oct. 16-26

In a couple of weeks, Pastor Sell will lead a Faith & Mercy Expedition with members of St. John Lutheran Church, Rochester MI. Pastor Karl Galik, Elizabeth Nelson, and Kirk Radford will spend a week in Kenya for the purpose of building a relationship with the Kenyans and to offer the love of our Lord through acts of mercy. St. John wants to help with an orphanage to support the work of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (ELCK) with their ministry to AIDS Orphans.

Please keep us all in your prayers as we travel to Kenya. You will also be able to follow our travels online. Pastor Galik will check in regularly and we expect to be able to upload pictures while we are traveling the Kenyan countryside. You can check in here or at St. John's blogspot.


While in Kenya, we will visit the land for the Entito Rescue Center, the Massai Mara, Kibera Slums, several orphanages, and pastors and leaders of the ELCK.

Friends of Mercy at LWML Convention in South Dakota

We had a great time in Sioux Falls, SD last week (June 20-24) with the ladies of LWML. During my years in pastoral ministry the ladies of LWML were always there to serve. They are servants of the Lord who tirelessly serve where ever the church needs them. The ladies do everything from organize and host funeral dinners to rummage sales for missions. They volunteer to visit, help with shut-ins, work with altar guilds, attend voters meetings, etc.

The work they get done for the Lord doesn't end at their local congregation. It continues in to the community, the district, the synod, and the world. In their 32nd biennial convention, the ladies committed themselves to raise a $1.7 million for mission work throughout the world. Here are a few of their projects,

- private portable medical clinics in Sudan, East Africa ($70,000)

- send a female human care missionary to Africa ($100,000)

- expand mission work in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, and Ethiopia ($104,500)

Keep the the ladies of LWML in your prayers and support them whenever possible. Click here for more news on the LWML Convention.

We'll see you next at the LCMS convention in Houston, TX. Look for our booth and stop in, say "Hi." and learn how you can AIDS Orphans and young girls fleeing FGM.