Friday, March 11, 2011
Rhett 3-10-11
Massively busy day in the OR. I fixed two hips that had waited 2
months to get fixed. Also performed a total knee on a lady that
required alot of equipment we didn't have but we made do and it turned
out remarkably stable and aligned. My day also included femur fracture
fixation and some washout surgeries....That was just my schedule.There
is so much need here and the doctors here truly give all they have.
The pediatric surgeons, pediatric neurosurgeons, and pediatric
orthopedic surgeons perform amazing procedures here and next door at
the Bethany Childrens hospital.
This has been a fast two weeks in Kijabe and it comes to a close I
look back and see how much God teaches me when I go. He shows me that
despite "all" my knowledge and "experience" there is so much I don't
know. So much I need to rely on Him for strength and courage to
stretch myself to help a patient when doing nothing is not a good
option. He shows me that others have different experiences and ideas
that are often times much better than mine. Smiling and encouragement
go alot further than complaining or sulking when timing or conditions
aren't going exactly like you would want.
Finally though they do appreciate input and to hear of other ideas,(
like most native southerners often will tell interlopers from
elsewhere) Kenyans don't always care how you do it in the states
because it's usually not an option anyway. These findings apply to all
missions though. Whether your building a buildiing, starting a school/
orphanage or supporting an outreach program. We are the hands and feet
of God but without his strength and blessing all we do is just
something "we" do. I hope God will bless the people I've come in
contact with here.
There are other things I don't know like what is ugali really made of.
It has the consistency of instant mash potatoes but not the taste.
Pray for me as I make my way home and especially from Kijabe to the
airport. I'll definitely have my eyes closed for the ride as the
traffic and the crazy driving is quite unsettling at best.
In his name,
Rhett
months to get fixed. Also performed a total knee on a lady that
required alot of equipment we didn't have but we made do and it turned
out remarkably stable and aligned. My day also included femur fracture
fixation and some washout surgeries....That was just my schedule.There
is so much need here and the doctors here truly give all they have.
The pediatric surgeons, pediatric neurosurgeons, and pediatric
orthopedic surgeons perform amazing procedures here and next door at
the Bethany Childrens hospital.
This has been a fast two weeks in Kijabe and it comes to a close I
look back and see how much God teaches me when I go. He shows me that
despite "all" my knowledge and "experience" there is so much I don't
know. So much I need to rely on Him for strength and courage to
stretch myself to help a patient when doing nothing is not a good
option. He shows me that others have different experiences and ideas
that are often times much better than mine. Smiling and encouragement
go alot further than complaining or sulking when timing or conditions
aren't going exactly like you would want.
Finally though they do appreciate input and to hear of other ideas,(
like most native southerners often will tell interlopers from
elsewhere) Kenyans don't always care how you do it in the states
because it's usually not an option anyway. These findings apply to all
missions though. Whether your building a buildiing, starting a school/
orphanage or supporting an outreach program. We are the hands and feet
of God but without his strength and blessing all we do is just
something "we" do. I hope God will bless the people I've come in
contact with here.
There are other things I don't know like what is ugali really made of.
It has the consistency of instant mash potatoes but not the taste.
Pray for me as I make my way home and especially from Kijabe to the
airport. I'll definitely have my eyes closed for the ride as the
traffic and the crazy driving is quite unsettling at best.
In his name,
Rhett
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Rhett Rudolph
Today was a little slower than most. My last patient/case considered
eating lunch more important than having surgery despite the fact we
were going to be able to get him out of traction and fix his femur
fracture today. Tomorrow is clinic which means two more days in
traction for the price of a piece of bread. Not quite Jacob and Esau
but a bad trade none the less. It was the typical beginning of the
second week of a short stay mission.
The second week you miss home a little more. You have a few misplaced
thoughts of entitlement as if after only one week you should be able
to assign who does what case or why you should be the surgeon to do
the "big" cases. Your mind drifts a bit and you are tempted to start
"short timing it." Then God reigns you in and the "attitude" adjust
back to a servants mindset.
I was the teaching surgeon in our cases today and it was a good day.
Chronic infections and non-unions (sometimes the same patient) , a
scope and a surprise tumor were the menu for the day after rounds and
journal club. I still had time for a good walk at the Rift Valley
Academy. It's up on a hill so even though I walked the altitude made a
good workout. The altitude definitely helped the attitude. The Rift
Valley is the largest valley in Kenya, I here it can be recognized from
space. From Kijabe you can see the expanse of the creation and adding
in the sunset eliminates all doubt in my mind and heart that there is
a great creator.
To top it all off at the end of my walk I was greeted by five
different monkeys. Four were playing in the trees and one was sitting
on a trash can about four feet away from me as I came down a hill. I
guess he was so busy trying to get into the trash can he didn't notice
me till we met eyes. He kinda glanced down at the can with a "busted"
look on his face.
We both looked at each other for a while, very still. The monkeys are
white and black and have a face that looks a little like Elias and
Jilly but a lot like "G". He won the stare down contest. I chuckled
a little and walked away as the sun went down and he continue to sit on
the waste can all the while trying to figure out how to get the top
off the can while he sat on it.
Tomorrow is clinic. We'll see lots of people. Pray for each that they
may find the healing they seek.
In His Name,
Rhett
eating lunch more important than having surgery despite the fact we
were going to be able to get him out of traction and fix his femur
fracture today. Tomorrow is clinic which means two more days in
traction for the price of a piece of bread. Not quite Jacob and Esau
but a bad trade none the less. It was the typical beginning of the
second week of a short stay mission.
The second week you miss home a little more. You have a few misplaced
thoughts of entitlement as if after only one week you should be able
to assign who does what case or why you should be the surgeon to do
the "big" cases. Your mind drifts a bit and you are tempted to start
"short timing it." Then God reigns you in and the "attitude" adjust
back to a servants mindset.
I was the teaching surgeon in our cases today and it was a good day.
Chronic infections and non-unions (sometimes the same patient) , a
scope and a surprise tumor were the menu for the day after rounds and
journal club. I still had time for a good walk at the Rift Valley
Academy. It's up on a hill so even though I walked the altitude made a
good workout. The altitude definitely helped the attitude. The Rift
Valley is the largest valley in Kenya, I here it can be recognized from
space. From Kijabe you can see the expanse of the creation and adding
in the sunset eliminates all doubt in my mind and heart that there is
a great creator.
To top it all off at the end of my walk I was greeted by five
different monkeys. Four were playing in the trees and one was sitting
on a trash can about four feet away from me as I came down a hill. I
guess he was so busy trying to get into the trash can he didn't notice
me till we met eyes. He kinda glanced down at the can with a "busted"
look on his face.
We both looked at each other for a while, very still. The monkeys are
white and black and have a face that looks a little like Elias and
Jilly but a lot like "G". He won the stare down contest. I chuckled
a little and walked away as the sun went down and he continue to sit on
the waste can all the while trying to figure out how to get the top
off the can while he sat on it.
Tomorrow is clinic. We'll see lots of people. Pray for each that they
may find the healing they seek.
In His Name,
Rhett
Monday, March 7, 2011
Rhett in Kijabe, Kenya [warning- graphic]
There's something definitely wrong about removing a limb. My whole
orthopedic life I have purposely avoided major arteries and nerves to
prevent loss of function. Removing a member of the body so precious as
an arm seems aggregious but there are times I suppose as tonight there
was no choice.
A nineteen year old man was involved in a pedestrian versus car
injury yesterday. Apparently clipped from behind by a fast moving car.
The high velocity injury dislocated his elbow and hit his arm with
such force that the blow tore the skin from the front of the shoulder
under the axilla, underarm and to the back of the arm. The promimal
humerus was broken almost at the shoulder and the muscles and nerves
of the arm were stretched away from their normal attachments.
Apparently he was seen relatively quickly and the large avulsed area
was washed and sewn together by a medical professional and the patient
was referred for open repair of his humerus and concommitent elbow
dislocation. Unfortunately what was not realized was that the arm was
pulseless. The forceful blow had also stretched the brachial artery,
the only source of blood flow to the entire arm.
36 hours later the young gentleman arrived at Kijabe hospital with
a cold, dark, pulseless arm. After 6 hours of no blood supply the limb
will die. There was no function to the muscles and the skin, blistered
from the trauma and swelling was already beginning to peel off of the
arm. As Tobias, the chief orthopedic surgeon, discussed the
grim prognosis it seemed the patient had already resigned himself to
the fact that he would lose the arm.
Shortly thereafter I was in the operating room with the patient.
After preparing the arm and draping for surgery, the stitches placed
the day before were removed and the skin pulled back from the wound.
Immediately the definition between living and dead flesh could easily
be discerned. Escaping from the newly opened wound was a sweet,
pungent odor I thought God had only created for dead bowel cases in
general surgery. My mind briefly was taken back to my time as an
intern and medical school student by the smell and its associations
like the smell of peppermint and fir trees remind me of Christmas.
It was Sunday night and an outdoor church service could easily be
heard through the hospital widow as they sang "Were you there when
they crucified my Lord" on an outdoor loud speaker over a loud
electric guitar.
Muscles, bone, nerves, damaged skin, and the artery were trimmed.
Tissues were nonanatomically sewn together over bone to protect the
stump. The shoulder was preserved to allow the patient to carry things
like a backpack on that side in the future.
I felt guilty for removing the arm. As if I had broken some sacred
trust between doctor and patient to always protect the loss of the
structures. I wondered if maybe if we could have helped him yesterday
if the outcome would have been different or was the damage too great.
The church service in the background was over but I couldn't help
from thinking how I have seen members of the body of Christ damaged by
life or influences. In my busy world I either didn't notice the
problem or like the priest in the parable of the good Samaritan just
walked to the other side of the road. I never "checked their pulse" to
see if there was anything I could do to have the life flow of
fellowship in the spirit return to them.
Soon they were amputated from the body. It may not be as dramatically
as my recent experience but just as important spiritually they are
gone.
I pray that I would be more careful to watch for signs of spiritual
or physical problems in my brothers and sisters in Christ and help
early so that " the Body" could be kept whole and functional as God
would want.
Rhett
orthopedic life I have purposely avoided major arteries and nerves to
prevent loss of function. Removing a member of the body so precious as
an arm seems aggregious but there are times I suppose as tonight there
was no choice.
A nineteen year old man was involved in a pedestrian versus car
injury yesterday. Apparently clipped from behind by a fast moving car.
The high velocity injury dislocated his elbow and hit his arm with
such force that the blow tore the skin from the front of the shoulder
under the axilla, underarm and to the back of the arm. The promimal
humerus was broken almost at the shoulder and the muscles and nerves
of the arm were stretched away from their normal attachments.
Apparently he was seen relatively quickly and the large avulsed area
was washed and sewn together by a medical professional and the patient
was referred for open repair of his humerus and concommitent elbow
dislocation. Unfortunately what was not realized was that the arm was
pulseless. The forceful blow had also stretched the brachial artery,
the only source of blood flow to the entire arm.
36 hours later the young gentleman arrived at Kijabe hospital with
a cold, dark, pulseless arm. After 6 hours of no blood supply the limb
will die. There was no function to the muscles and the skin, blistered
from the trauma and swelling was already beginning to peel off of the
arm. As Tobias, the chief orthopedic surgeon, discussed the
grim prognosis it seemed the patient had already resigned himself to
the fact that he would lose the arm.
Shortly thereafter I was in the operating room with the patient.
After preparing the arm and draping for surgery, the stitches placed
the day before were removed and the skin pulled back from the wound.
Immediately the definition between living and dead flesh could easily
be discerned. Escaping from the newly opened wound was a sweet,
pungent odor I thought God had only created for dead bowel cases in
general surgery. My mind briefly was taken back to my time as an
intern and medical school student by the smell and its associations
like the smell of peppermint and fir trees remind me of Christmas.
It was Sunday night and an outdoor church service could easily be
heard through the hospital widow as they sang "Were you there when
they crucified my Lord" on an outdoor loud speaker over a loud
electric guitar.
Muscles, bone, nerves, damaged skin, and the artery were trimmed.
Tissues were nonanatomically sewn together over bone to protect the
stump. The shoulder was preserved to allow the patient to carry things
like a backpack on that side in the future.
I felt guilty for removing the arm. As if I had broken some sacred
trust between doctor and patient to always protect the loss of the
structures. I wondered if maybe if we could have helped him yesterday
if the outcome would have been different or was the damage too great.
The church service in the background was over but I couldn't help
from thinking how I have seen members of the body of Christ damaged by
life or influences. In my busy world I either didn't notice the
problem or like the priest in the parable of the good Samaritan just
walked to the other side of the road. I never "checked their pulse" to
see if there was anything I could do to have the life flow of
fellowship in the spirit return to them.
Soon they were amputated from the body. It may not be as dramatically
as my recent experience but just as important spiritually they are
gone.
I pray that I would be more careful to watch for signs of spiritual
or physical problems in my brothers and sisters in Christ and help
early so that " the Body" could be kept whole and functional as God
would want.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Rhett Rudolph
Rhett is in Kenya for the next two weeks serving as an orthopedic surgeon in one of the hospitals there. Please cover him with prayer during these tense times. Pray for opportunities for him to share his faith with both patients and staff. Pray for boldness and just the right tactic and words to penetrate the hearts of those around him with the message of the grace and freedom of Christ's Gospel.
Monday, January 17, 2011
some pictures from the trip!
Mosquito nets! We slept under those every night
These are some drummers at Nkoyoyo's Chain Foundation, orphanage for both sighted and blind children. They prepared some songs to sing for us!!
These are some of the children at the Chain Foundation. The boy playing guitar is blind, as is the boy in the green shirt. Too cute!
Peter Tetrev and Father Greg in one of the Chain Foundation classrooms. They're so studious.
It was a cramped 5 hour ride to Gulu!
People get very very dressed up for Sunday church, even little kids like this girl :)
Leila Baldwin playing with the Bishop's youngest daughter, Peace
We saw too many of these bullet holes throughout the town, scars of the war that left their region devastated.
Retired Bishop Gideon in his living room where he and his family were attacked by the rebels during the war. You can still see the bullet holes on the wall.
Bishop Johnson Gakumba, Father Greg, and Bishop Gideon!
Women greet men by bowing. She's already learning to greet!
The team! Plus our friend Tom.
We got to eat rice and beans with our fingers! Quite the experience.
This little girl found a friend in Thom Pennington.
Some of the clergy's children. they were great!
At our farewell dinner, the youth performed the traditional Acholi dance for us! It was so neat!
Father Greg talking to our friend, Lillian, who has an incredible story!
National Park and safari!!!
Murchison Falls at the Nile!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Home! !
We arrived in Charleston after about 20 hours in the air, almost 50 hours total travel time from Gulu, but all safe and sound. After an unexpected stop in Washington, DC, we missed our Atlanta connection but were able to get another one and get into Charleston at 1:48 Thursday morning. Boy were we tired! Please give up some prayers of thanksgiving for safety for all of us and for true ministry that went on both ways while we were on this mission. God is a wonderful God. They are a people of great need but also of great openness and faith.
We had extraordinary experiences while there and can't wait to tell you all about it. Please come to the annual meeting for our first report, hopefully we can share some slides during the lunch too. Thank you again for being such great "senders" of resources and prayers.
We had extraordinary experiences while there and can't wait to tell you all about it. Please come to the annual meeting for our first report, hopefully we can share some slides during the lunch too. Thank you again for being such great "senders" of resources and prayers.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Ichoma Ber! (Good morning! depending on when you read this)
Hello from Uganda! We are using internet in a restaurant, so this will be very brief. We are having a great church, meeting great people! Its a blast, thank you so much for your prayers and thoughts, they are felt. We have done a lot of neat stuff: visited churches (one under a tarp in the bush), visited schools, talked with the clergy, and today we talked with their children about their struggles here in Northern Uganda. Especially today, our hearts are heavy for the people here, especially the children. There is so much poverty, desperation, and devastation from the recent war, but so many people trying to make a difference. Pray for strength, joy, and boldness, for both the team and the people here. Thanks so much everyone! Can't wait to tell yall more about the trip soon!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
January 4 from Clair
We had a hard but amazing experience visiting one of the past Bishops. We sat in his living room where the walls were full of bullet holes where he had been attacked. The Lord's Resistance Army came in and killed many of his family members and tortured him. After he recovered, he returned to his parish to serve them and was beaten and tortured again. He recovered from that and returned again only to be beaten and tortured a third time. He said he just couldn't leave his parishioners alone. What a man of God and courage! Another one of our best friends here is Willy who is also a war casualty. I can't wait to share his story with you as well. The people here are so brave and have been through so much, have so little but still have so much joy and hope. This has been an eye-opening mission. We give our testimonies a lot which seems to be a great encouragement to them here. The Youth Rally is coming up so I am sure a lot more testimonies are expected. Please pray for us all!
January 4 from Greg
I am so amazed by the outpouring of love for our St. John’s Team!
One of our highlights was going to the site where the first Acholi tribe members were baptized in 1904…they consider it the birthplace of Christianity in their area! We had an amazing experience there, and were so very moved to be on such sacred ground! Tomorrow is the Clergy Retreat, where the entire team is participating (always be prepared! It is Africa!!) They have asked us to serve as a panel, to field questions from the local clergy. The Youth Rally is Friday, and the entire team will be there in a similar role. Saturday brings some more touring of Gulu and perhaps IDP camps, and Sunday is our last day, where I will be preaching to one of the congregations, “Under the Tree”…literally! Pray for good weather! The Game Preserve on Monday, and then the long road of traveling back to Entebe for the flight home! Leila and Clair are now officially the “videographers” of the trip, having taken videos and pictures of all of their experiences, and their new brothers and sisters in Christ!
In other news, the long-awaited suitcase arrived at the hotel very late last night! It was shipped to a Postal station in Gulu, and arrived strapped on the back of a bicycle…(all this was filmed, by the way!) There is a praise dance that they have learned to thank God for their blessings, and the girls filmed me doing the dance, in thanks for my clergy clothes! We can’t wait to share that!!!
All are healthy and well…they all send their love to you all!
Bishop's letter Jan 2
Dear St Johns,
Thank you for the work you did to make all the arrangements for the team to visit. They arrived in Gulu yesterday and had dinner at our residence before they rested at the Hotel pearl AFRIQUE.This morning we had a a service at the Cathedral at which Gregg preached and then headed for Christ Church in town where we attended two services which were all packed to capacity.
They are very happy they came and they are over joyed to be here in Gulu We shall keep up dating you.
They will be having tea and Dinner with us again with us today
Please continue to pray for their time here that they will be a blessing and they to will be blessed by coming.
Yours in the Lord.
BISHOP JOHNSON GAKUMBA
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
January 2, 2011
Hello everyone! This is the first update directly from Uganda! I think I can safely speak for everyone, this has been an incredible journey and it’s not even half way over. We have had opposition but thankfully the Holy Spirit has been with us and carried us safely to one place after another. On our first day in Kampala, we got the magnificent privilege of visiting the Archbishop Nkoyoyo orphanage, called The Chain Foundation. As we pulled up in the driveway they began to clap and cheer. Immediately, we were all impacted greatly. There were nearly 200 orphans in the school and around 30 of them are blind. There’s a school within the orphanage and they showed us around and everything they were proud of at their home. As they sang for us, we all noticed this one blind boy, he was singing and dancing with gusto. His clapping wasn’t rhythmic and his singing wasn’t in tune but he was the one that impacted me greatly. As I watched him, the tears began to swell up. I thought, as I watched teary-eyed, they have so little and he is blind even, yet he celebrates all of the things that God has given him. The lyrics to the song were, “Lord, I want to thank you for the love and care You’ve given me.” I think that I question God’s love and care for me all too often, and I have so much. I know that the way the little blind boy was celebrating his father is how it will be in heaven. Praise God! We also saw the Nile! And lots of monkeys! We are having a great time with Bishop Gakumba in Gulu, with a lot of plans to see the town, meet the people, and take lots of pictures and videos. Can’t wait to share them! Thank you all for your prayers for our trip! Please continue as we’re not even home yet. I love you all dear brothers and sisters.
--Leila
Monday, January 3, 2011
January 2
Greg preached at the Cathedral in Gulu today and again at another local service. The first was with a translator since the predominant language there is Acholi, but the second sermon he preached in English with no translator. The Bishop's chorus was definitely a highlight with a terrific version of the Hallelujah Chorus!
The timber frames are up on the Bishop's guest house, so we may be doing some work this week on its final construction. The team met to debrief their Sunday experiences in the evening (which we will do every day). Even "normal" things done on a mission trip have so many wrinkles that need to be ironed out at the end of the day with good conversation, prayer and fellowship. Greg says that the van ride up to Gulu was very powerful as he saw the Holy Spirit continue to knit the team members together. Later this week, we will attend a youth rally in our honor which the Bishop thinks may draw 1000 youth! What a humbling experience that will be. Greg is leading a clergy retreat on Ephesians this week (please read along and pray along with him this week as he prepares and teaches). In the next couple of days we will visit an IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camp/refugee camp which will be very moving! Many of the children, up to 20 years old, in northern Uganda have never lived outside a refugee camp where they survived on the welfare of the United Nations. One part of St John's missionary effort will be to help children and families get off of welfare and reintegrate back into their villages - which many have never even seen. Everyone remains pretty healthy - Leila has a bit of the St Johns cough so pray for her. Greg's luggage is in Entebe but will probably just stay there due to transport problems until we head back to the US. He does look awesome in lionskins though!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
December 31
I can't stay online long, we're paying for internet, but just wanted to tell you everything is great! We did a lot today, it was a good day. Highlight was definitely visiting Archbishop Nkoyoyo's Chain Foundation orphanage. They sang us songs and we got a tour and made balloon animals for them! I love and miss yall and we will see you soon!
Clair
P.S. Keep praying for Greg's luggage to show up!
Clair
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