Vanovers' Travels: December 2022

Dear Friends,

We have again reached that point in our trip when it is time to say goodbye. This is always such a bittersweet time for us…we are tired and ready to come home, but simultaneously realize that some our recent acquaintances will not be seen again. One thing has become apparent to us over the years however: our circle of “Tenwek friends” is ever enlarging, and one never knows when these connections may someday “intersect.” For example, we first met Jonathon and Chelsea Swanson when Jonathon was an emergency medicine physician doing a fellowship in ultrasound in 2019. Three years later, we unexpectedly meet up again at Tenwek where they are now serving a 2-year commitment through the Samaritan’s Purse postgraduate program…such a sweet reunion it was! Many of the Kenyan doctors that we are now working with, we first met when they were medical students rotating through Tenwek Hospital. Dr Mike Chupp who is now the head of CMDA in the US, we first met while he was serving as a surgeon/orthopedist at Tenwek. We recently had the pleasure of reconnecting with an old acquaintance from many years ago – Dilley (see photo below), who is a lifelong missionary to Kenya (along with his wife Ruth). Dilley has now become a patient at Tenwek and is travelling 8-9 hours from his home to receive regular care in the eye clinic. In the past, we have spent many hours listening with pleasure to Dilley recount stories of his time in Kenya, but never expected to see him or Ruth again. On our last night at the guesthouse this year, Dilley turned up to have dinner with us, and the reunion time was an unexpected joyous occasion! Of course, no trip to Kenya would be complete without a visit to our dear sister-in-Christ, Matilda Ongondi (see photos). I met Matilda on my first trip to Tenwek when she was serving as the head of the medical team that I was assigned to. She was my “lifeline” to the foreign world of Kenyan medicine, and was so sweet, faith-filled, and kind, that she has since become a forever friend. As many of you know, we also had the pleasure of hosting her at our home in San Antonio some years later when she just happened to being going there to study hematology/oncology at the UT Health Science Center SA. She is now a part of our extended Tenwek Family. Lastly, we are now headed out to reconnect with our dear friends – Peter and Petra Axt. We first connected with the Axts when they were serving together on a medical/surgical team in Guatemala. At that time, they were living in the Netherlands, and we never anticipated seeing them again. As Marilyn and I began making annual trips to Kenya, our journey often took us via connecting flights through Amsterdam. On one of these occasions, we decided to attempt to meet up with Peter and Petra on our way home. We met in Amsterdam and had a lovely reunion with them. Subsequently, we have tried to meet up with them annually on our way home from Tenwek. We have had some memorable times together in Prague, Bruges, Athens, and Lisbon…this year we are planning to visit them in their new retirement residence in Faro, Portugal. As we make plans to depart for Portugal this evening, we reflect back on all the wonderful blessings that we have encountered on our various times of service in Central America, and more recently in Kenya. Some of the biggest blessings have been the friendships that we have made along the way!

Kwaheri Kenya and Tenwek…till we meet again!