Trying Times in Uganda

It has been a very busy 12 days here in Uganda.  So much so that is the is first time I have had a chance to sit down and think about what all has been going on.

Tuesday, May 21:

Claudia and I arrived in Entebbe.  Claudia is from Bolivia.  She has been praying for 6 years to come to Uganda!  Her excitement is contagious.  Everything is “wonderful” and “great”!

Me and Claudia

Thursday, & Friday, May 23 & 24:  We had a medical clinic at the Village of Eden.  We saw several hundred people during the clinic time.  They came to be seen by our doctors and then we shared the Gospel with them.  Two patients especially stuck out to me.

Patients waiting to be seen

The first was 2 month old Baby Brenda Nafu.  She came into the clinic with her mother, Jessica.  When we first saw the baby, we actually thought she was dead.  She was not moving and extremely emaciated.  We immediately sent her to the hospital.  They tested her and determined that she had malaria.  They treated her with IV’s and Quinine.  

The following afternoon, Saturday, Brenda and I went to check on her.  She was not breathing well.  She would stop breathing completely for long periods of time and then gasp for air.  She seemed to be in pain and very uncomfortable.  We determined that if she was going to make it she needed oxygen.  We tried to find an African man to accompany us but there was no one available because it was already around 6:00 at night.  We went by and picked up Steve Moon and began  a journey I will never forget.

Brenda began doing CPR.  We first went to Duboni hospital because we were told they had a Surgery Theatre; therefore, they have oxygen.  When we arrived, there was no electricity and the generator was not strong enough for the machine.  We then went farther on to Masaf Hospital.  It was around 7:30 now.  Masaf had oxygen and a strong generator but the battery was bad for starting it.  We called a head doctor who said he would send the ambulance.  We could take out the battery from the ambulance to start the generator.  We waited.  

Brenda continued doing CPR in the dark.  

Dr. Brenda doing CPR in the dark

Finally the doctor called.  The ambulance does not have enough fuel to arrive at the hospital.  We decided to take our battery out of the car and start the generator.  But, the man with the keys to the generator was gone and not answering the phone!  Everyone kept telling us, “You have to go to Kenya.”  Finally, at around 11:00 at night, three mzungu’s (white people), the mother and baby Brenda began trying to cross the border into Kenya.  (If you are not aware, this is not a safe thing to do, especially three Americans so late at night)  After pushing our way through immigration lines on both sides of the border and paying for visas  we finally crossed an hour later.  We then went to the hospital that was only about 5 minutes across the border.

Districk Hospital in Kenya

We checked Baby Brenda in and they put her on oxygen.  The District Hospital determined that she also had Pneumonia.  They began treating her.  Baby Brenda was sleeping peacefully and we felt hopeful that she would recover.  We waited around for a while and then left the mother and baby there in the children’s ward.  We crossed back over into Uganda and arrived at the Mission House around 2:00 in the morning.

Sunday, May 26:

After a wonderful service with the Helping Hands children’s choir, Brenda and I went with Pastor Moses back over to Kenya to check on mother and baby.  When we walked into the ward, Mama Jessica began crying.  She said that Baby Brenda had died an hour ago!  She said that she was afraid to tell the nurses because she did not want them to take the baby to the mortuary.  She had been pretending that the baby was still living for the past hour!  My heart broke for the mother’s grief and sorrow.  I cannot imagine the pain and desperation she must have felt during that time of being alone and uncertainties.

We arranged to take the body back to Uganda.  Once we crossed back over, with the mother in the back seat holding the body, we went to the local carpenter to order a casket.  They measured the body and told us to return in 2 hours.

Finishing the casket

We returned to the Mission House, laid the body on a bed and the mother laid beside it for the long 2 hour wait for the casket.

Finally, with the casket in the middle of the back seat, beside mother and baby, we drove out to the Village of Eden to return them to their home.

Monday, May 27:

We went to the funeral that afternoon.  When we arrived, we were the guests of honor and Dr. Brenda Kowalske was in charge of the service (much to her surprise).  The service was sad but we did take the opportunity to preach and share the Gospel with everyone present.  We shared that this was just a body.  Baby Brenda’s spirit was up in Heaven with God.  It was a very trying day for all of us.

The Funeral service - the men sat on benches.

The women sat behind us on the ground.

This picture was a "mistake" but it symbolizes everything to me.!
I pray that the people that were in Baby Brenda's life will come to know the One
who give Eternal Life!

The people were all very thankful to us.  They thanked us for trying so hard, for taking her to Kenya and for coming to the funeral. 

Pray that these people will come to know the Lord through Baby Brenda’s short life.  Pray that they will see there is no hope outside of the Lord Jesus Christ.

(note:  these