Ethan & Lily riding their bikes!
1 October 09
Dearest Friends and Family,
“He who waits on God never waits too long.” Chuck Wagner
Greetings from Houston, Texas. We continue to have extremely positive experiences in our supporting churches. Everyone has been so hospitable, encouraging, generous and caring. We are exceedingly thankful to God for all the United Methodist Churches who support us, financially and with their prayers. They are a great blessing in our lives.
We have been busy with many things. We have spoken in 22 churches and traveled about 3500 miles. Bill had his MOH surgery last Tuesday, 22 Sep 09. (MOH surgery “is an exacting procedure in which the dermatologist performs both surgical excision of the skin cancer and microscopic examination of the surgical margins to ensure that all skin cancer cells have been removed.”) All that to say they got all the cancer! On 26 Aug 09 the dermatologist had cut off the growth to send for a biopsy. The picture below was taken on 21 Sep 09 as the growth was back and though not as large as before we were glad it was removed totally. Bill has a 4 inch incision on his wrist that is healing nicely. Thank you so much for your prayers.
Sep 21 – 24 my mom flew to Dallas to spend time with us and to celebrate her 91st birthday. She is a remarkable woman who continues to amaze me and others with her never give up, never sit down, and never quit working attitude. We had a wonderful time and are looking forward to traveling with her to visit most our New Mexico churches.
Our son-in-law, Brent, was asked to sing the “Star Spangled Banner” for the Texas Ranger base ball game on 9/11. That was a big honor and we were all very excited. To our great sorrow the game was rained out. It did give us 3+ hours of fun and imagination time with Lily and Ethan. We did make it to the Texas Ranger game this past Friday night and the weather was beautiful, the Rangers won and there were fireworks!
Ethan & Lily riding their bikes!
We are so grateful for “our room” at Corrie, Brent, Lily and Ethan’s new home in McKinney. We so enjoy time with Lily and Ethan whether it is waking them in the morning for school or playing with them when they come home from school or in the evening before bed. Time shared with loved ones, friends or family, is the greatest gift God is giving us.
We have heard that the Mboone River, the river that provides water for Maua, is dry. The hospital has its two wells and is sharing water with the community but the drought continues with the lack of water and food and the horrors of starvation. Please continue to pray. Maua Methodist Hospital is suffering. Over 50% of our patients cannot pay their bill (and you remember that the average 7-day bill is $180.) The hospital is unable to pay the staff until late in the month which is a great burden for them. Drug orders are made but not shipped until the cash is in the distributor’s hands. The hospital saves thousands of lives each year. It is so important to keep the hospital going. **If you are willing to send money to pay the hospital bill of a child whose parents have no money, please go to the bottom of this email for the information.
As the Quality Improvement Officer for Maua Methodist Hospital, I try to go through our Out-patient/ER department every 4 – 6 weeks. Though I receive better treatment than most despite my pleas to treat me as they treat the others, it gives me a good idea of what is happening for the average patient/client. The last time I went through the system in late July, I wrote a poem (of sorts) about what I saw. I thought I would share that with you.
And They Wait!
They come every day in large numbers.
The poor, poorer and poorest.
Barefoot, with painful feet or well worn flip flops, very old, often repaired.
They come dressed in used clothing, frayed and torn slacks and jackets,
Not bought that way, but from years of wear and tear!
They come with coins or dirty Shilling notes wrapped in their kanga or pinned inside their shirt or pocket.
They come late after selling their goods or food in the market.
They come limping, cut, coughing, with high fevers and body wracking chills.
They come bleeding, with burns, and missing limbs.
They come awake and in a coma.
They come with malaria and tetanus, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, high blood pressure, and asthma.
They come from road traffic accidents, diarrhea, vomiting and night sweats.
They come carried by friends and family, walking on their own, in a matatu or the bed of a truck.
Some come alone, with family, and some with so much family.
And most come to wait!
They wait to register and be weighed in the covered porch area.
They wait to pay their fee to see the doctor or clinician.
Sometimes the line is short and sometimes it is very long but they will wait.
Then they wait to see the doctor or clinician, depending on what they paid!
They finally see a clinician/doctor and s/he orders laboratory work and so they wait to pay for the lab.
Sometimes the line is short and sometimes it is very long but they will wait.
They wait to have their lab specimen taken and they wait for the results.
So many malaria tests to be taken they will wait and wait and wait for the results.
Then they wait to see their clinician again.
The clinician may need an x-ray and so they will wait to pay their fee for the x-ray.
Sometimes the line is short and sometimes it is very long but they will wait.
There is only one X-ray technician and many clients so they will wait again.
After the x-ray is taken they will wait to take the results to their clinician for the third time.
The clinician will now order medication.
They will wait to pay for the medication.
Sometimes the line is short and sometimes it is very long but they will wait.
After paying they will wait in a long queue to receive their medication.
All that waiting!
All that time!
The poor they wait.
We fuss because they do not keep time,
And if they did would they wait?
The loud, pushy men
or the quiet old woman?
They have walked and walked and walked to come
They will walk and walk and walk to return home.
But for now they wait.
Most wait patiently, quietly, but some wait loudly and with anger in their voice.
But all wait!
They come - the old, the babies and children,
the unconscious, the slashed and cut,
the dying and the dead.
They come for drugs, suturing and tests.
They come from pain I couldn’t bear a moment.
They just keep coming.
The mothers desperate with their babies dying in their arms,
their overwhelming fear overflowing to the others.
No money in hand but the baby is dying and so is admitted.
The husband wasn’t home when the mother left to reach the hospital in time.
Her husband will be angry, the baby is a girl.
Too much money to waste.
He won’t come to the hospital and he won’t pay any money.
He will beat his wife when finally she and their daughter are released from the hospital.
The children burned with hot liquid or falling into the fire are brought
Sobbing and screaming or too tired and weak to cry.
The days, weeks, months of treatment, surgery and pain.
The weeping goes on & on or ends when the father
decides enough has been paid and the child is taken home to die.
But today they come with malnutrition and starvation.
They have measles and TB due to no immunity.
They are so tiny I cannot see them in their layers of wrapping.
Or their body swelling from Protein Malnutrition is so great
I think they are healthy until the legs and arms are unwrapped
and I see the oozing sores and the misery on their face.
They come, they all come!
They come for hope, help, health and life.
Winners all; losers none.
Life or death; health or sickness.
We help them, we pray.
Hope is offered but not always accepted.
They come
Go
Live
Die
But all wait and wait
And wait!
The poor always wait!
_________________________
We look forward to seeing all those we have not seen and are so grateful to all those we have seen. We are catching up on our hug quota and so grateful.
Please keep Maua in your prayers.
** The Maua Methodist Hospital Service Fund
The Service Fund pays for the medical bill for our poorest patients and orphans in our service to our Lord. We serve a very poor area and we are the only hospital available to care for them. More than 50% of our patients cannot afford to pay their medical bills as they are children and families of subsistence farmers and the drought is having a devastating affect.
All donations for The Service Fund should include “Advance #09613A - Maua Hospital Service Fund, Kenya” on the memo line.
Your monthly gift of just $15 to The Service Fund saves the life of a poor child or orphan each year!
Way to give:
• Place your check to your local UMC in the offering plate. Be sure to include the specific Advance ministry name and number on the memo line of your check.
• Monthly Support: If you would like to contribute monthly ($15, $25, or more) to one of The Advance ministries, you can do so easily and painlessly by a monthly bank draft. By using the monthly bill payment option available through most banks, you can make regular monthly donation to The Advance. The bank should make the monthly check payable to “Advance GCFA” in the amount you designate and sent it to: Advance GCFA, PO Box 9068, GPO, New York, NY 10087-9068. Be sure to include on the memo line of the check the specific Advance number and ministry name. You will receive a monthly receipt from the Global Ministries for tax purposes.
• Gifts by Credit Card: To make a gift by credit card, call 1.888.252.6174 (9:00am - 4:00pm EST).
• On-line Giving: To make a gift on-line, visit www.givetomission.org.
In His grip,
Jerri & Bill Savuto
savuto@maf.or.ke
Maua Methodist Hospital
Box 63, Maua 60600
Igembe, Kenya
“Never tell a young person that anything cannot be done. God may have been waiting centuries for someone ignorant enough of the impossible to do that very thing.” G. M. Trevelyan quote