We have a tentative diagnosis.

The doctors here in Kenya have been very good. They have performed many tests on Malachi so far and have begun to treat him for a disease called herpesviral encephalitis. It is a very serious viral infection that affects the central nervous system. They continue to look for other things and to find the extent of the damage from this disease. We have an MRI scheduled for tomorrow, which will hopefully bring some more answers.

Please pray for us as we have to remain in the hospital 10 days while Malachi receives treatment through an IV. Cody and I both know that God is good. He loves Malachi and his heart breaks for our little boy just as ours does. We seek comfort and strength from God as we move forward.

Malachi Update-Flying to Kenya Today

Many of you already know that we had plans for one of us to take Malachi to Nairobi, Kenya in the middle of February to meet the doctor we know from back home.

Malachi has been having a pattern of sickness that lasts for months. About every month or so he would get random fevers, sometimes associated by other symptoms. Last November after some alarming symptoms his blood work came back abnormal so we ran more tests but didn't find a result. Things started to resolve on their own and many were suggesting it could be just a virus and we should wait.

6 weeks later we repeated the lab work and in some ways it had resolved but there were still some things off, but they were not as alarming as before. During this time he had his normal bout of fever that lasted 2 days. About 2 weeks ago he didn't not have a fever but was throwing up and very lethargic. I once again took him to Kampala so that we could see a doctor and do some more tests. We ruled out some more illnesses but left with no answers.


This brings us to the present. Malachi came down with a fever Sunday night. Monday the fever got rather high reaching 104.2. We immediately cooled him down with a cold bath and have been alternating between tylenol and ibuprofen to keep his fever down. Yesterday he started vomiting and then had a bloody nose again. His fever broke and he said he wanted something to eat. He took a small bit of rice and within minutes vomited and there was blood in the vomit. We (myself, Malachi and Eliana) are flying to Nairboi, Kenya for further testing, instead of waiting until mid Feb.

I know many of you have been so faithful in praying for us, so I am very grateful for that. Here are some specific things you could be praying for:
-Healing for Malachi
-Strength and favor for my journey today (Pray that Eliana would be a great traveler today)
-For Cody and the kids in Kotido
-That we can get answers in Nairboi
-That God would provide all of our needs

Update on Malachi

Last Sunday night Joshua woke us up to tell us that Malachi had thrown up. Unforntunately Malachi has a difficult time telling when he has to throw up so it always ends up on him, his bed, or the furniture. I have been cleaning up a lot of throw up lately :). The next day he was feeling sick all day, and continued throwing up. Slept all day on the couch. This pattern went on for 2 days but after the 3rd he was showing some improvement and was able to get off the couch and play. He never had a fever so we never really treated him for anything. Of course we were concerned but there was not too much we could do in Kotido. Wednesday morning he threw up again, so I was feeling discouraged to say the least.

Meanwhile my symptoms had been coming back and had been following me for over a week at the point of Malachi's sickness. Wednesday morning I woke up and started having chest pain which quite frankly scared me. Cody and I decided that the most cost effective way to get to Kampala was just for Malachi, Eliana and I to go. We were miracously, and barely able to catch the MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship) Wednesday morning flight. While on the extremely rough plane ride I was feeling sick and optimistic that just maybe we would find more answers. We were able to see a doctor that late afternoon where they ran more tests on Malachi and did some on myself.

We got the results yesterday afternoon, and unforntunatly we found out a whole lot of nothing on Malachi. We did rule out some more things which is helpful but I am starting to feel really discouraged. We did find out based on an antibody test that Malachi has never had malaria. That concerns me a little bit on several different levels.

The good news is that they found out what is wrong with me. I have a systematic yeast infection which by the way can cause pain in your sternum, hence the chest pain. I recieved some meds, so hopefully I will feel better soon. Apparently my immune system is not doing so well probably because of stress and living in Kotido.

So we continue the waiting game with Malachi. Remember we are planning on taking him to Nairobi, Kenya in Feb. but with him getting sick it makes things difficult, not to mention he is loosing weight. His stool sample did reveal that he is not absorbing fat but once again we don't know why. The other good news is that his anemia is looking better. Still not great but there were some improvements.

All of this means that whatever Malachi has could be nothing, or it could be something :) Helpful huh? That is what I get to hear all the time.

I know you are all praying for us already, but specifically pray for answers, pray for healing. pray for strength for our family. This is draining in all facets.

Pictures!!

Joshua and Eliana when we were in Kampala in November.

Janaya and Samuel helping me cook our impromptu Thanksgiving meal in Kampala.

Eliana and Malachi are good buddies.

Eliana loves no bake cookies just like me :)

This is Carter back in September when he lost so many teeth.

I took this picture in Lira a couple months ago. It is one of my favorites of my precious daughters.

Christmas and an Update on Malachi

This Christmas was much more enjoyable than last year. Last year we all were gloomy with the homesick bug. This year we enjoyed a late lunch of goat, rice, chapattis (thick tortilla thingy), and sodas with the kids at Shalom Home. For dinner we ate impromptu breakfast burritos with the Williams. It is such a blessing to have people that we are close to to celebrate with, and do “life” with. We had a special visitor during dinner....a 4 inch creepy grasshopper, that created chaos which led to screaming leading to extreme laughter (at least for me).

The boys at Shalom are preparing the rice (all 30 pounds of it).

The goat....

The boys are very excited!!!

Can you find Samuel and Joshua?

Malachi Update:

If you remember a month ago we left Kampala, after a hectic medical ordeal with Malachi. Upon leaving we had 2 options. 1) We could go to Nairobi, Kenya for more testing or we could 2) wait for a month and retest his lab work to see if things cleared up. We choose the later. The "wait and see" approach seemed the best fit because we (doctors included) were all in agreement that it was most likely a virus causing havoc on his system and in his results.

The day following Christmas we drove to Lira, about 4 1/2 hours away, to get his blood retested. We were trying to avoid going all the way to Kampala as it is not an easy journey (12 hours) and is quite expensive. In Lira we had his blood tested for general things like white blood cell count (WBC), red blood cell (RBC) count, etc. We were hoping that all would come back normal. Unfortunately this did not happen. He is still anemic according to his blood, and there are some other concerns. However outwardly he is not showing severe symptoms that need immediate attention. He is having random fevers now and then, has a decreased appetite, and weight loss. He is also tired a lot of the time due to his anemia. The question now is to find out what is causing the anemia. It looks like something is causing his RBC’s to break down. It is possible that it will take several more weeks for everything to be normal from the previous virus, but the random fever, and poor appetite are a little alarming to us. These random fevers were even occurring before this whole ordeal. So we were left with more questions than answers. Now what?

We were finally able to consult with a couple doctors, and one is advising us to get a more detailed Full Blood Count that we had done before in Kampala with Liver Functioning, etc. Cody is going to take Malachi to Kampala to get some tests ran on Monday. Either way the tests turn out it looks like Cody and Malachi will travel to Nairobi, Kenya in February to meet one of the American doctors we have been consulting, unless we find something new that needs immediate attention. We would appreciate your prayers. Pray for wisdom, and direction.

Our Cuisine

Rather than doing a normal update, I thought it would be fun to share with you what our eating menu is like. After over a year of living here we have all gotten much more used to the food and the lack of variety, although I still have a way to go. Over time I have become more and more thankful for the food we have even during the times I am tired of eating it. God has taught me a lot about food while living here. My perspective has really changed, and I am grateful. Reading about the Israelites being in the wilderness brought a new level of conviction for me, based on my circumstances here. I've never really fussed about food until moving here. God had given the Israelites manna each day to live on. They started to grumble because they were tired of manna. I was/am very convicted by this. Here I am, complaining about the food I have and I am not eating the same food for every meal, not to mention the fact that I HAVE food, many people here don't. The Israelites were not looking to God and thanking Him for his provision, but were moaning about what they didn't have.

Here is what we eat during the weekdays:
Porridge for breakfast. This particular one in the picture is made of millet, but we also have some that is made from corn and soy. We add sugar to it and the kids really enjoy it. It is cheap, easy to make, and you can make it quickly.





Our lunch menu is mainly one of 3 things. Cooked cabbage with tomatoes and onions over rice or posho, eggplant with onions and tomatoes over rice or posho, and Skuma with tomatoes and onions over rice or posho. Skuma happens to be my favorite, it is similar to collard greens.


Beans and rice for dinner. We have really started to love beans and rice. There was a point where it was getting old (eating the batch of moldy beans didn't help), but we have learned to change them up and add different spices to make them taste different. They are cheap and super easy to make. After sorting them we just let them cook on the coal pot (like a camp fire) for 3-4 hours and they are soooooo nice.


Our weekend menu is much different. We make enough beans and rice on Friday night to last for lunch on Saturday to honor the Sabbath. For breakfast we buy fried bread from town, and then we eat out for dinner. This is a real treat because we sometimes have chicken and french fries. If not chicken, then beans and rice. Sunday we eat pancakes and I a make a homemade syrup made from sugar, cinnamon and flour. It is really appetizing. For lunch we will eat stir fry, spaghetti, soup (pumpkin soup is the favorite right now). We have also made some yummy bean burgers, and we can make tortillas, so we occasionally make veggie wraps or bean tacos, minus the cheese of course. But we use cabbage instead of lettuce and it is quite nice. Really there are a lot of options for us to make. We have learned to be creative and use the things we have. We can also bake some things on the stove top. We have made cakes, brownies, cinnamon rolls, and biscuits. Some things we can not buy in Kotido so when we are in Kampala we stock up on supplies such as spices, vanilla, cocoa and powdered sugar.

There you have it, if you thought we were suffering in the area of food, you are wrong. We really are not (even if you have heard me complain). We may not have as much variety as we did in the States, but we have food, and for the most part it is really tasty! The things I miss the most would be cheese and fresh veggies. However we are looking forward to the spinach and lettuce we planted. Hopefully we will be able to enjoy a fresh veggie salad!

Here is a picture of the bean burger with potatoes. They are really yummy but takes hours and hours to make, so we don't make them very often.

A Happy Story

As most of you know we have been helping foster 2 babies whose mother's had died giving birth. They have been staying on our compound as we were helping teach a family member how to care for the baby. They have been here since the end of July.

Here are pictures of them when they came:
Akiar and his father.

Reema, who was just hours old when she came to our house.


The grandmother of Akiar, has been here for almost a month now and has been doing such a great job taking care of him. She has really bonded to him and it is such an answer to prayer. With her presence here and her exceptional care we decided the only we were offering the babies was physical needs. These needs could still be met but in the village, in their home. We thought it is best for them to be back in their village so that the family could all be together again. We talked to both of the grandmothers and they agreed.

It is a bittersweet thing to see them go. It was quite emotional to take them back to the village. Especially Akiar. The last time I had been there was in July when he was very skinny and his family didn't have much hope for his survival. They all think differently now. It is amazing how differently everyone is. Akiar, his grandmother, and myself.

You see his grandmother would come to visit him when he first came. One visit I remember sitting with her as she held Akiar. Tears began to fall down her face (rare in for this people group). I comforted her and asked her what was wrong. She told me she misses his mother and that life was harder because she was gone. She shared with me that sometimes she wished that Akiar would have died instead of his mother because he is so much work. From her point of view her feelings seemed justified. Her daughter was a great help to the village and her work was impeccable for the cycle of survival. I explained to her that children are a gift and that God has a plan for Akiar. I think she understands that now. She has seen how God has kept him alive, and that he is such a joy. His face lights up when he laughs and often times you will hear him giggling. In the last month that she has been here, I rarely hear him cry because she takes such good care of him. Meeting his needs. A transformation.

When we get to the village we are greeted by extended family. Many of them have not seen him in months and they are all amazed, and grateful. It was a joyful moment for me and I'm glad God let me be a part of it. I also got to see what a sacrifice the grandmother had made by staying at our home in Kotido with Akiar. She is the woman who makes sure everything happens in her clan. As she looks around she explained to me that while she was gone a lot of things didn't get done and people were not doing her job. In other words things have really fallen apart. My heart is happy that Akiar meant enough to her.

Here is Akiar with his aunt, if you don't remember Akiar means life in Karamjong. (He is wearing the same hat from the picture above (: .)


Here is Reema (Mercy in Kiswahili) in her village. Her grandmother is holding her.




A family member will be bringing the babies once a week to pick up milk and other supplies. We will still be able to monitor their progress, and see them. Please pray that God would use their lives for His glory and that we would use these relationships for His kingdom.

With the babies and there families gone it is rather quite around here. Although it is a well needed respite!