Wednesday October 30th

I posted new video that shows part of my commute to the clinic. Today was first time going to town by myself. Tomorrow evening is mid-week service at Brother John's and then Sunday I am planning to go to Brother Kamwatti's. I was gonna go into downtown Nairobi this evening for Brother Kamwatti's mid-week service but Brother Tonnie advised against it because I am still not familiar with the area, traffic is bad during weekdays, and would be coming home in the dark... I will probably go there next Wednesday though. According to Brother Job, there is about 2000 believers in Brother Kamwatti's church and about 800 young people.

Observing/learning how to do ultra sound. Today one of the girl volunteers brought an orphan from the orphanage they are working at. It was very sad. His whole face needed reconstructing and his wrist was messed up. Yet, he was happy and smiled more than most "healthy" people. 

 Another boy came in today with his parents. He had got injured playing soccer at school and we thought it was a broken bone so we took X-rays. There was no fracture but yet he had lost control of his leg. We figured he injured his main leg nerve and thus has no sensation or motor control. We will be massaging and testing his leg the next couple days. Fortunately, he still has very good circulation, otherwise, he would have a "dead" leg.

This is Dr. George. Hilarious, care-free and very good at "lecturing" about medicine. I know I am gonna learn a lot of medical terms and drug names wrong because of his accent=) but that's fine.

Wema Hospital and Giraffe center

In front of Wema hospital. I look a little frazzled because I and Nadir, another volunteer, went for a 7-8 mile trail-run early in the morning and then rushed to clinic.

Some things you simply cannot live without:) 

This is where I am learning to prepare drug injections. Better known as the pharmacy.

I am usually at this desk. The walk-in patients come and sit in the white chair.

This is the back of the clinic. First door is doctors office/pharmacy and then the next couple doors are the wards. There are about 7 beds that can have in-bound patients. Today, one gentleman had cirrhosis of liver (along with typhoid and malaria) and had a bulging abdominal cavity from all the build up of fluid. Medicine here is much, much different than in US. In US most sickness is caused by lifestyle (ex. heart disease, obesity, diabetes) but here most disease is infection based (ex. malaria, typhoid). Malnutrition, however, doesn't help the situation and many patients lack protein and vitamins in their diet. Not many overweight people here because so much walking. Treated a Siamese twin today. One of the patients in the ward should be having child birth within the next couple weeks.

Here we are practising our needle injection skills=) Injections are very common here and so its imperative we learn how to hit the vein. So far I have only missed one vein and that was on another volunteer, Gabby. Quin, another volunteer was practising on me and missed 3 times... I won't lie, I was feeling a little dizzy after that=)

Pics from the giraffe centre. 

Pictures of Brother John's Church

Anything green is good:)

 Front part of Brother John's church. It is a makeshift building they made while they are building their church. The shed in the background is one if the Sunday school classroom. There is another she's for Sunday school as well.

 Almost 300 believers in this church. Originally they all went to church at Brother Kamwatti's; however, the building and property was not big enough to hold the few thousand believers so they made several "sister" churches on the suburbs of Nairobi.

Monday, October 28th

Hey everyone!
I just got my SIM card for phone/internet so that's why this is first post. All pics, video, and writing this blog is on my cell so please forgive any typos:)
I made a video that sums up most of what I about to talk about. Just click "Videos" tab.
So I got in late Saturday. Slept 30mins over the course of 32 hours:) I am almost over jet lag and haven't really been tired. There are about 10 volunteers at the compound I am boarding at. My room partner is Nadir, a recent MD graduate that is studying neurology. Other volunteers are from England, Germany, Swiss, Canada, and US.
Sunday morning Brother Tonnie, a dentist, picked me up from the volunteer compound I am staying at. We went to Brother John Wakhanu's church service. There is 250-300 believers in the church. I spoke a little for the older Sunday school class, sang songs with the children, and then sat in on another Sunday school class.
Brother John spoke a wonderful sermon and one of the young men was baptized.
After service I met so many people and you gotta love the way they give hugs and touch each side of face:)
Went out to eat with Brother Job and Brother Tonnie's family. They took me to the BEST meat restaurant and I are everything from beef to crocodile. Brother Job is 29 and just got engaged. He is a business man and we really got along well. Job and I spent rest of Sunday together and went to a giraffe center where we fed giraffes and saw wart hogs. Job fed the giraffe from his mouth! Sick!:)
Saturday I plan to go with Job to his relatives engagement party where they have special ceremonies for the dowry.
Lord willing, I will be speaking at Brother John's on Sunday November 3 and 10. I will be going to Brother Wamwatti's church soon.
Today, Monday, was a long day. Learned how to use the bus system... Really they are vans that get 15-20 people crammed inside:) with blaring music!
Visited the orphanage that several of the volunteers go to and then went to the medical clinic for rest of day. Today I usually took vitals for patients. There was also a man that had got in a motorcycle accident and we cleaned all his wounds on his arms and head. The clinic has a few doctors and nurses that are here permanently and the rest are volunteers. They insist on calling me Doctor Mike... Which I sorta like:)
I have lots of stories but will save them for later:)
Internet isn't the best at the place I am staying but I should be able to get the video and some pics up soon.

Good Bye America!

 Here is dad seeing me off  just before security in Seattle @ approx 4am.

One of my suitcases. Almost 25 pounds of food:) Some things in life you simply can't part with:)

Goodbye one and all! I will miss you!

Thank You!

I just wanted to convey a heartfelt thank you to all who contributed to my trip and made it possible. I appreciate it very much and may God richly bless you for it!

Departure Date: October 25th @ 6am from Seattle International Airport

This is the last part needed to complete my pre-med bachelors degree and in Africa I will be serving as a medical volunteer at 6 different hospitals. I will also be going on a safari and travelling to numerous churches in Kenya. I CANT WAIT!

Hello World!

This is a blog written by Mike Andes (me) that will be updated every couple days while I am in Africa. I leave to Kenya, Nairobi on October 25, 2013 and return December 7, 2013.