Such a Deal!

God’s economy is the real deal! What an amazing amount of stuff God can pack into a series of 24 hour periods!!!

This past weekend we had the privilege of having Julia Dangers stay with us. Our kids love being around her, so when her parents were planning a weekend away, we jumped on the chance to keep her with us for the weekend. They all enjoyed playing together Friday night and Saturday and Kakande, being our close neighbor dropped in frequently as usual. Julia loved this as Kakande is her fellow classmate in the special needs class. They had much to laugh and joke about! On Saturday morning they made faces and enjoyed their inside jokes from class for a good hour before breakfast, and then we invited Kakande to sit down with us for a pancake feast. What a rich blessing to have an open home!

Kakande is at the left and Julia is on the right, and EVERYBODY is enjoying pancakes!

On Sunday we were blessed to host our dear friend Kambo over lunch! We hadn’t seen him in quite awhile as he’s been out and about on different building projects. We’d sent him a “where are you these days?” message last week and he’d promised to come on Sunday. His usual m.o. is to show up at suppertime--but, we already had four young ladies invited to supper, so we weren’t sure how we were going to be able to visit with everyone at the same time and fit in a good, newsy, “connecting” visit with them all. When Kambo showed at lunch, it was God’s timely blessing! Seeing his smile and listening to his praise for God’s involvement in his life was encouraging. But, in a short couple of hours he was off again to investigate yet another business opportunity--life is never dull with Kambo around!

 With his exit, I jumped in the kitchen immediately and began to prepare for our evening pizza party! The four young ladies who lived in our house for us while we were gone last year will be saying good-bye to one of their members in a short while and we wanted to make sure we were able to have them all together for supper and to say “thank you” for their house-sitting. Despite all my efforts to get things together for four pizzas and have them ready when the girls arrived, I found myself still chopping and grating, shaping dough and cooking sauce when they knocked on the door. No problem, three of them started a rowdy game of cards with the kids and the other one worked with me in the kitchen. It was a great time and just what I needed before starting this busy, busy week.

Egyptian Rummy kept them happy while Kimberly and I prepared pizza!

In our previous blog we talked about the cancer diagnosis our neighbor received last week. This week we are juggling the numerous appointments for that along with preparing for the upcoming events in the Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (BMW) teachings. So, early Monday morning Geoff and I left for Kampala with Bogere and Aunt Adhe to take care of a variety of shopping tasks for the Children’s Spiritual Development Department. Adhe and I headed down into the garment district in Kampala to find the items necessary for the projects planned for the girls for this Friday’s BMW event and for the five-day-long P7 week in two weeks time. We met back together with the boys for lunch and arrived home relatively early (4 pm) considering all our errands in Kampala. 

Yesterday I was up at 4 a.m. and off to Kampala early again with a van full of people to accomplish various medical and personal tasks. I accompanied Uncle Okoth and Aunt Ketty to Mulago Hospital to meet with the oncologist for the first time. As we rounded the corner of a building looking for the entrance to the cancer institute, we were warmly greeted by a woman who, before we even introduced ourselves, asked, “Are you from New Hope?” My eyes widened and I asked amazed, “Are we that obvious?” She was the doctor with whom I had communicated these past few days. She took the necessary papers from Ketty, directed us to the records department and instructed us on where to wait. Considering that there were roughly 50 people waiting in the institute’s vicinity, and having heard stories of people who have waited all day long each day for four days at mulago before they are ever seen by a doctor, I don’t consider our 45 minute wait even a drop in the bucket! One amazing thing to note is that this Dr. Victoria to whom we were referred turns out to be someone who's been to New Hope before. She and her husband are linked to the Kiwoko Hospital down the road from us and they were present when one of our church members, Dr. James, Ketty's referring doctor, was married to one of our daughters. Ketty was blessed to realize this connection as she looks to being under Dr. Victoria' care.

Our initial visit yesterday was with another oncologist, however, but we found him friendly, capable, thorough, kind and a believer who encouraged Ketty in her faith. He allowed every question we had and graciously spent as much time with us as we needed. He gave us the following list of tests to complete and furthermore gave us the names of places to go for them. In one day we were to obtain five different blood tests, two CT scans, an EKG, an echocardiogram, an audiology exam and a chest x-ray. When he mentioned the chest x-ray he said it would have to be done outside of Mulago, for they were out of film yesterday. (The national hospital out of x-ray film? Not an uncommon dilemma here, but still catches me surprised at times!) Given the usual inefficiency at Mulago which led to the inability to reasonably expect to accomplish all of that in one day there, plus the impossibility of receiving an x-ray, we decided we would do everything except the (free!) blood work somewhere else. So, as soon as Ketty’s blood was safely in the vials, we headed out to move around Kampala to begin checking things off our to-do list. At about 1 p.m. we arrived at our first stop where we hoped to complete the EKG and echo, chest x-ray and both CTs. 

Just trying to stand in the queue to pay for the tests was a feat in itself. To line up in an orderly fashion is not the norm here; waiting your turn in the queue is unusual; walking up and pushing your papers in front of someone who’s been standing and waiting for many minutes is the way the majority functions. Alas, having stood our ground for what seemed like TOO long before being assisted, after paying we found out that they no longer do echocardiograms there as the doctor has ceased showing up to do them. Seriously? sigh. Thankfully, Kimberly, one of our nurses at New Hope who had come to Kampala with a young man for a different appointment across town, was now done with their dr. visit and had joined us. She went to again endure the cashier queue and receive the refund, while I waited with Ketty for the rest of the tests. 

Once in the radiology area for the CT scans, Ketty saw the following scripture painted on the wall and in it she found great peace and comfort, "Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise," Jeremiah 17:14 She returned from the CTs praising God with a huge smile!

Four hours after beginning our time at that particular hospital, we were on our way to the next medical establishment to get the echo. None of us had ever been to this next place, so despite all our eyes scouring the streets for the building, we missed it and had to circle back around! But, even in those small details, God was in control for in our double back we saw the next building requiring our presence--the audiology center, also a building none of us had ever seen before. 

Once the echocardiogram was done Ketty and I traveled to the audiology building to complete her hearing test. The technician there preached to Ketty and proclaimed God’s healing power and goodness over her while she set up the test. Afterward they prayed and worshiped God together. Ketty left so encouraged that instead of taking a boda (motorbike taxi) back to the other place to pick up the echo results, she suggested we walk back. We didn’t just walk, we skipped and bounced as we relived the events of the day and God’s favor that had preceded us to each appointment, each encounter, each exam and through all the traffic we’d traversed!

In seven hours we managed to complete all the tests ordered, and at a little before 8 p.m. we were on our way home. Not many of us had eaten all day, but we counted that a small thing compared to what we had accomplished! Back in the van, sitting in the massive jam heading out of town, we ate our cold pizza which Kimberly had purchased a couple of hours previously for us.

Finally, home at 10:30 p.m. I found myself unable to sleep! I was too excited over our day of victory! I’d be surprised if someone could even accomplish all of those tests in one day in the developed West! Geoff and I certainly didn’t through our cancer journey! We often waited a week or two to secure an appointment, and then came the wait for the results. Except for the CT scans yesterday, we walked from each appointment with results in hand. (Tomorrow a.m. I pick up the CT results.)

And the cost of it all? “Such a Deal!” Take a gander at the total cost of the tests yesterday--about $400, including all consultations with three different doctors. Who is paying for it all? People from across the world have heard the call to prayer for Ketty--some of them have committed donations for her health care costs and the upkeep of her salary. (Our New Hope Primary School will need to hire someone to teach Ketty’s Primary 2 class while she is undergoing treatment. Hiring another teacher is not in our budget, so donations are required to meet this need.) We have initiated a fund to cover the medical costs and her salary. You may go to our New Hope Uganda website and click on "donate" to find where you may send funds. Include a note specifying that it is for the "Ketty Okoth Cancer Fund."  Any remaining monies after her completed treatment will be kept in an emergency medical fund for others' medical needs as they arise.  Our organization's website is www.newhopeuganda.org

Thursday (tomorrow) we will journey back to Mulago, with test results in hand, to meet with Dr. Victoria concerning the medical plan of attack. Our faith plan has already been in full swing and our peace and hope are secure! We praise God for how he has gone before Ketty and paved the way expediently and with a graciousness from His loving heart. Most of the people we interacted with yesterday were believers who spoke encouraging words to us. We are grateful to God for His very evident love shown in so many ways to Ketty.

Thanks for your prayers and support! I wish you could meet her--you would be encouraged!!!