Pair O' Ducks

It has now been just over three weeks since we arrived at our new home here at Tenwek Hospital. Praise the Lord for his goodness in safe, and relatively uneventful, travel.

So what does life look like for us now? How is the rubber meeting the road, now that we're in the field?

During our training this summer, a veteran missionary encouraged us to help our kids view the transition to Tenwek as a "pair o' ducks." A clever play on the word paradox, "pair o' ducks" is a way to make sense of how fun things ("yum ducks") and not so fun things ("yuck ducks") can coexist in the same situation. The analogy has been helpful with the kids, and for us grown ups too.

For example: 

Grace in front of our new home

Candelight Sunday dinners - started because of a power outage
and have now become a weekly tradition!

The flight to Nairobi: 

-Yuck duck: 16 hours of sitting for a four year old and two year old. (!!!)

-Yum duck: Unlimited movies and snacks! ;)

Our new house:

-Yuck ducks: Can't drink the water out of the sink, intermittent power outages

-Yum ducks: Plenty of space for running and playing, central location with lots of opportunities to play and meet new friends, great porch which we can enjoy all year in this incredible equatorial climate!

Our new community:

Yuck duck: We sure miss our friends/family, and there's no denying that it's hard to look different and speak differently than many people around us.

Yum ducks: Lots of kids to play with, we get to learn new words, eat new foods (one word: mandazi - Kenyan donut deliciousness), and it is socially and spiritually healthy for us to be in the minority and to worship God through the lens of a new culture.

As for John, he is enjoying his work in the hospital immensely. The bulk of the orthopedic practice at Tenwek is trauma-related, which is John's favorite. He has a terrific partner, and a really neat group of residents that he's enjoying learning from and teaching.  Like the other facets of our move, however, there are challenges along with the joys. The burden of patient need far outweighs the resources available. There are limited tools and implants in the operating rooms, and delays in presentation to the hospital complicate many surgeries. Far surpassing all the challenges though, is the privilege of caring for a people that is impoverished and oppressed while sharing the love of Jesus and proclaiming that his Kingdom is here.

Please pray with us through our continued transition; pray that we would acknowledge, but not dwell on, the yuck ducks, and lean into the yum ducks. Pray that we would be united as a family in the mission to proclaim Christ through medicine. Pray for John's work in the hospital, for the residents he works with and the patients they treat. We thank you for these prayers as we know that they will be heard and answered by our faithful God. 

In conclusion, we'd like to leave you with our kids' answers when we asked them for their favorite part of our move: 

Gabe: "The swing in front of our house!" (Where he and countless other children terrify their parents by trying to swing higher than the rooftops.)

Grace: "Pancakes" 

From the mouths of babes.....