Team Arrives in Maua

On Saturday evening Bill and Jerri Savuto and one other guest dined with us at the Maua Basin Hotel.

Bill and Jerri are GBGM mission partners that have been at Maua Hospital for many years. Their welcome greeting and orientation for the week is something we look forward to each year. We are in touch by email with the Savutos throughout the year and do enjoy so much reuniting with our dear friends over dinner. They will be retiring in December and will be sorely missed in Maua and by visiting mission teams. Their guest for dinner was another mission partner, Helen Moorehead, who is a nurse at Tharaka School for the Deaf. Helen started this school about seven years ago in a place where she saw great need. Though near Maua, Tharaka is a remote, arid, dusty, and impoverished community. Helen says that she could have worked with deaf children in a more comfortable place, but God called her there, to a place where hearing impairment is very common. The reason? Because the high prevalence of Malaria in the area leads to heavy use of quinine. About 90% of deafness in this area is due to toxicity from this drug. Deaf children are "useless" and are taught little because little is expected from them in return. Helen's goal is one of expectation for deaf children, that they can and will be people who are respected for they can give back to the community. It was such a pleasure to spend a brief time with Helen and learn more of the many ways missionaries serve God and others. Helen drove to Maua (a long drive over hardly existing roads) to receive some equipment from the GUMC team.

Several weeks ago Helen contacted Maua Hospital to try to obtain a used audiometer (hearing testing machine). As none was available, Jerri Savuto forwarded this request to the Germantown team and others. And so It was a simple thing for us to purchase an audiometer and bring it to Helen. Simple because of generous contributions from our congregation and friends. BUT I'M ASKING NOW FOR INTENSE PRAYER from all of YOU prayer partners. Among all of the medical supplies in our lost luggage is this audiometer. Helen has a group of hearing specialists coming from Scotland to Tharaka on Monday. The audiometer would be invaluable now in helping to assess the children's specific needs. Daniel Kibe is working tirelessly to make this happen, as he will be transporting the Scottish team from Nairobi to Tharaka on Monday. Please pray that Daniel is able to intercept our luggage and redirect the audiometer to Tharaka.

GUMC team members are in good spirits despite our surprise and personal discomforts on the loss of ALL of our luggage. We are at this time more concerned that the many thousands of dollars worth of medical equipment and supplies for Maua Hospital that is part of our luggage arrives safely.