The work at Shammah Health Center continues to thrive. I want to personally thank Eleanor Broom one of my Bristol colleagues for the donation of maternity bras. A strange donation I know and one that made us laugh together at the time, but what a blessing! We had a lady come into the clinic just yesterday with her baby of 2-3 months. She was cradling her breast partly due to pain, but largely to prevent pus from pouring out. She was so brave!!! Whilst breastfeeding she had developed mastitis which had became extremely infected and had turned most of her breast into a huge abcess, which had started to ooze. It took over an hour, but Nadine massaged all of the pus out and packed/dressed the site. The woman cried and needed breaks - the pain must have been immense and yet she persevered. This is a procedure if done in the UK would have been under General Anaesthetic, which gives context to the situation. After the procedure we were able to bless her with a maternity bra, which they do not use here, to support her and reduce any pain whilst she heals. So...many people have said to us, 'I can donate this or I can support you financially with this……but it’s not much!' Please know, as this story shows, that a donation or financial support is never small here - it goes a long way in helping the people directly and helping us to stay here continuing to make a difference for the glory of Jesus’ name! If you ever feel called to donate in anyway or just want to know how you can help, please email us at andy_faulkner@hotmail.com - we would love to hear from you!
Life here is a roller coaster and yet at the same time a beautiful journey. Although we miss the UK at times and of course friends and family all of the time, we feel like Africa is our second home! The more we root ourselves here the more we spiritually grow. We are starting to pray and question, if this year in Burundi/Kenya is just the beginning…..maybe God is giving us a taster that he knows we can not resist. Please pray into this for us, because if we are called to be in Africa for longer we need to make plans……Andy will need to leave the Police Force which is no small decision, we will need to continue fundraising to ensure we can financially stay in Africa and we will need to seriously consider the possibility of starting our family here. These are all exciting things, but they can be daunting both for us and family, so please pray for wisdom and peace in the decisions that need to be made……
On a different note - Andy starts the 400 mile bike ride around Burundi in 7 days, tomorrow. He has been out this morning getting some last minute practice in with the other lads who are doing it. The money Andy is raising through this sponsored bike ride is to go towards Shammah Health Center and the work we are doing there with healthcare and the malnutrition project. It is not too late to sponsor Andy if you have not already. You can do this in one of two ways…..contacting us via the email above for bank account details or through his just giving page - www.justgiving.com/faulknersinafrica - we can guarantee that any donation will be used in a big way! The main need at the moment as previously mentioned, is the employment of a midwife, so that complex births can be managed at Shammah Health Center. The first baby we delivered at Shammah paid us a visit yesterday with her mother - she is doing very well and now has a name - Sherlisa.
Please pray for Andy - this is the most physically challenging thing he has ever done, plus its in 30 degree celsius heat, which makes it harder. He has a longstanding back injury, which at times can flare up, please pray that God puts a steel rod through his back and carries the burden of any pain he may experience throughout the bike ride. His training this week has gone well and he has all the medications he needs to stay well and healthy during the bike ride, but I know nothing will carry him better than the wings of prayer. For those of you who have already sponsored Andy - thank you so much, you are spurring him on and for this we are both grateful. It makes this physical effort worthwhile! I am excited to tell you that he is going to try and blog everyday of the bike ride to keep you up to date with his progress and prayer requests. Please pray for all of the riders and their families this week, that they will be safe and have peace!
Finally, a lot of you will have heard about the terrorist attacks in Kenya this week at a market in the Eastleigh District, which is near where Hellen Naliaka Chonge and Lina Medical Health Services is. We have had news from Hellen that her and her family are well, but she was 5 mins away from the market when the explosion happened and witnessed people running away from the site in her direction. Thank God she was safe, but Kenya is becoming evermore unpredictable, so please pray for her safety and that Lina Medical Health Services may be able to be used to bless the local people!
Well - I think that is it for now, otherwise I’m at risk of writing another essay :)
I apologise for the length of some of our blogs…..there’s just so much to say! Remember we would love to here form anyone reading the blog - please do let us know if its an encouragement to read. You can email us anytime.
Have a Blessed Week!
love Hannah (and Andy) xxxx
P.s: On a personal note please could you pray for Hannah’s mum (Pippa) who has had surgery on her shoulder to repair a tissue injury and Andy’s dad (David) who is having surgery on his prostate - please pray there is no cancer, but that if there is that it can be treated successfully. We love them both so much and it’s hard not being in the UK to support them in person. Thank you!
SO good to have an update :-) praying safety and strength for the ride! xx
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