Safely Home

David & Mae Kellum, Willard & Doris Ferguson and Twila Flowers have all left Burundi, and most are now home. Twila was stopping to visit family on the way back, so she may not be in Wichita quite yet.

Thanks to everyone who has been praying for this project. We will continue to post news & information about the hospital as it becomes available. Also, our team members would be happy to present reports at churches & other interested groups. Contact Dave Kellum at the number or e-mail to the right.

Getting the Container Off the Truck

Here are some pictures of unloading the container. You can see the container on the truck and then a couple of pictures of the container partly unloaded; one where it is on the ground, one of the truck and driver and the last one is moving it into place.
We are all fine, David

Twila is in Burundi!

This just came from David Kellum:

"Just a note to let you know that Twila made it OK. Her flight was about 15 minutes late. David Bipfabusa; Pontien and I met her. We had a little shopping to do and then came up to Kibimba and got here about 5:00. The doctor just came in to visit a little while. We have another PTL, the doctor said that they had received word that the exoneration from customs went through.
God bless,
David"

Also, just in case you're wondering -- Fran Sigley and her son Owen are back home after their time in Burundi. Fran has promised a report for this blog when she gets a chance.

Unpacking the Bounty

These pictures show the last crate coming off. Another shows the guys sawing up the boards from the crates for shelving; another picture shows the piles in the storeroom, and there is another one that shows taking the crate out. I will try to send some others of unloading the container later.
David

Off the Truck and On the Ground

Good evening,

I have been trying to send you more pictures, but our computer is going slow tonight so will do that later. They finished unloading yesterday about 3:30. We tried to get a message out last night but we could not get a connection. They took the container off the truck this morning. We hired some guys from Gitega that said they had taken a container off a truck before, so they came out and did it. The truck drove out around noon. We are praising the Lord and tired and dirty. Lots of sorting to do.

More later,
David

Arriving, Opening, Unpacking...

The container has arrived at Kibimba. Below are pictures of the truck arriving, unlocking the container, and starting to unload things. Mae writes:

"Hi to Everyone, The big news this evening is that the container arrived at Kibimba this morning. David and Samson went to Gitega and found that it was ready to go so they accompanied it to Kibimba. So much dust had gotten into the locks it took a lot of WD40 in the lock to make it work.
We went to work -- Doris was in charge of the storeroom and had several helpers try to put things away. The sorting will come later. They have unloaded about half of the container. They did get the xray table out. It took a lot of manpower. I will write more detail later.
I am going to try to send some pictures: One is the container in Gitega showing that the locks are in place, one is arrivning at Kibimba and the others are unpacking."

At Last!

Here is the newest information from David Kellum. Feel free to shout Amen!


Hi to everyone;

The truck with the container arrived in Gitega this morning. It traveled 750 miles from Dar Es Salaam. About 360 were paved and the rest of it was dirt road. We do not know the time it arrived but we were at church in Gitega at Magarama when David Bipfubasa got a phone call from the doctor saying that it was in Gitega. David was not feeling well at his stomach so he went out and went to the guest house and Bipfubasa found him there and told him that the container had arrived. So they went to down to the old market square and found the truck there. They got the papers from the driver to photo copy so Bipfubasa could take them to Bujumbura this afternoon. These papers are from customs with the number on it that needs to go to the Minister of finances for exornation of custom. The doctor and his wife will work on that tomorrow morning. She works in the ministery of finances.

Tomorrow we will go to Kwibuka and pick up some things we need to help with unloading. We think that we have permission to bring the container to Kibimba tomorrow. Before we can open it a customs and a health official have to be there to open it. The health official will come from Buja and the customs will come from Gitega. Pray that both of them will be able to come on Tuesday morning.

Pray that everything will go well with the unloading of it.

David

Keep On Truckin'!

Hooray! Mae Kellum gives this exciting update:

"This morning about 10:00 the doctor received a phone call from SODETRA with the news that the container is on the truck and is on the way to Burundi. We hope it will be here by Monday or Tuesday and maybe before that. Pray for the safe arrival."

Praise God!

Hospitals of Hope

Our friends at Hospitals of Hope have an online newsletter that this month features an article written by our own Twila Flowers about our container. You can see it at: http://hospitalsofhope.org/pdf/august_2008.pdf

Patients/Patience While We Wait

Mae Kellum sent this picture from the hospital today. She says it shows "big brother holding the IV bottle for his little brother." Mae thinks the little guy has malaria. This helps us remember what all this effort is about -- treating physical needs and touching lives with the love of Jesus.

No news today on the container. Keep praying!

All Signs Are Good

David & Mae Kellum send this note from Burundi:

"Good morning Burundi time. Yesterday the doctor came from Bujumbura with news that the container is out of port; I suppose that means it is all cleared, and is ready to be put on a truck. After they put it on the truck it will take at least six days of travel. Could you update everyone on this. We are doing fine. David"

This confirms what we had heard from the shipping company. Praise God! Now keep praying that truck across Tanzania and all the way to the hospital. What a great celebration that will be when it finally arrives! Keep watching this blog for updates as they come -- we will hope for pictures, too!

Pray for Twila!

Twila Flowers, from the Friends of Kibimba Hospital board, will be traveling to Burundi next Tuesday, August 26. She will be traveling alone, so please pray for safety and smooth travel, connections and luggage transfers.
According to the shipping company website, our container was "discharged" from the Dar Es Salaam port on Tuesday, August 12. We were expecting it to take about 2 weeks after it left the ship to be loaded on a truck and driven to Kibimba, so Twila and the container will hopefully both arrive at Kibimba before the end of August!

Finally! Some Good News

David & Mae Kellum have sent us this good news! They also want us to keep praying that the final pieces will fall into place so that the container gets to Kibimba, is approved by customs, and the equipment & supplies can be unloaded. Here is the report written by David:

August 14.

Hi to everyone,
We have some good news. David and Willard went to Bujumbura with the doctor and when they went to SODETRA they found that the container is on the ground and should be loaded on the truck in two or three days. Then they said 6 days to Burundi. We are thinking maybe the container should be here around the 26th, but we hope we are surprised. I think the doctor has permission to bring the container to Kibimba. One problem is that the customs office has to be there when the door of the container is opened. Because this is hospital stuff the medical department may want to be here. Dr. Elisee is working on trying to get all of this together. But nothing can really be done until the truck gets into Burundi. Then he will present the packing list to customs. But yesterday in town, both the customs and medical requested a list of the content so they told them they would have to photo copy it and they did. Dr. Elisee says he is not worried he knows a lot of people.
We ask you to pray for a safe trip for the container, and that the customs and medical inspection will not take a long time.
Yesterday was an interesting day here at Kibimba. The Ambassador from Belgium stayed here last night. He has finished his assignment in Burundi and wanted to walk across part of the country. Yesterday he walked from Mwaro to Kibimba, a distance of 30 kilometers but not very hilly, today he walked on to Mutoya, a Catholic mission about 40 kilometer and he had some big hills to climb. He had 3 security guards with him and they stayed here in this house. David and I moved over to Marc’s house for the night. The doctor took him to see the hospital last night and he was impressed with the work they were doing there. We had dinner with them after the hospital visit.
I heard Doris turn the email on and I want to send this before it goes off.
God Bless you all,
David Kellum

While We Are Waiting

I thought our friends would appreciate this article written for the Northridge newsletter by one of our wonderful volunteers who helped with packing the container, Norman Carr:

DRUG RUNNING CAN BE A GOOD THING
Can I get an Amen? Somebody? Anybody?

The National Drug Intelligence Center considers Interstate 35 between Kansas City and Wichita one of the most active overland routes for drug transportation in the United States, so I wasn’t surprised when a rack of flashing lights pierced the stormy Flint Hills sky. The highway patrol officer’s lights weren’t flashing for me this time.
A few minutes later, another patrolman’s lights burst through the grayness. He, too, chased after someone else. Relieved, I entertained myself by the thought of the patrolman humming, "This Little Light of Mine," every time he turned on those spinning beacons that sent terror into the minds of drivers.
"Good thing it wasn’t us," I said to my passenger as I watched the action play out in my rearview mirror. "Yeah," he said, "We’d have some explaining to do." He referred to our truckload of drugs we had picked up in a seedy, beaten down part of Kansas City.
Surprised that a normal looking, mild mannered guy seated in the pew next to you has such a past? My story is not so unique: Due to a lack of supervision, I fell in with a certain crowd and the next thing I know I’m jamming gears and running drugs.
As a young retiree, I lack supervision because my wife goes to work and leaves me home alone during the day. I got mixed up with the Friends of Kibimba Hospital, a "crowd" that partners with Burundi Yearly Meeting to provide medical and spiritual healing in one of the world’s most desperate national healthcare systems.
By providence and a string of small miracles, Hospitals of Hope (HOH), a Christian medical relief organization, channeled skids of donated medications — $300,000 worth — to Friends of Kibimba Hospital. (Now would be an appropriate time to give your Amen!) Don Losew, also unsupervised during the day, and I volunteered to drive HOH’s truck to Kansas City and collect the generous donation.
A dedicated crew of volunteers spent several hours loading the medications and tons of hospital equipment into a 40-ft. container. It shipped to Burundi on April 29. Fran Sigley, with other volunteers, now waits in Burundi for delivery, but ever-so-common obstacles in that part of the world have delayed the shipment. They need our prayers.
Northridge has a rich heritage of mission involvement, but we are not resting on past efforts. Today, we have a commendable team of young missionaries in various stages of their careers, countless youths and adults with short-term mission experiences, and former parishioners growing a new congregation. With determination, our light brightly shines. Even normal-looking, mild-mannered folks in the home pews have many and varied opportunities, such as stuffing Africa-bound crates, to help light the world.
Our commitment is evident by the inclusion of the flame symbol in our logo that represents sharing Jesus. Our flame has much in common with a Burundi proverb: Where there is love there is no darkness. As Christians, we know who dispels the darkness. In John 8:12, Jesus says, "I am the Light of the world." Knowing this, His followers have another opportunity to give an Amen!

Unloading Ideas

We have received some news from David Kellum. They are still working on how to go about unloading the container when it arrives. There is no update on the container and/or ship's location. Here is David's message:

"Greetings to all of you . We are doing fine and being cared for very well. Dick should be home by now. We hope he had a good trip .

We have not had any new news of the container, but the doctor went to town this week end so he will check on it at SODETRA on Monday.

On Wednesday we heard that the Catholic mission about five miles from here had received a 40 ft container so we went to see how they unloaded it. The Italian father was not there, but he would be back in the afternoon. They did show us where they unloaded the container. They had built a special rig with six legs out of I beams and cross pieces with a roof over it. It was mounted on cement pads. They had hand operated chain winches, one could be moved for unloading either a 20 or 40 ft container. They backed the truck under it and unloaded in ten minutes. Before they had the rig set up they had used four large screw jacks for unloading. We returned in the afternoon and met the Italian father who was in charge of it. He was very kind and showed us around. We asked him about the jacks and he had only one of them. Two of the jacks were at another Catholic mission and he did not know where the other one was. He offered to let us use his rig and unload there, but we did not know how we would get the container to Kibimba.

The Catholic father asked the doctor if he was the doctor at Kibimba and Elisee told him, yes he was, then he said I have two hospital beds that just arrived in this container. When we went back to get the beds they gave them four beds with the possiblity of 20 more. They also, gave them several boxes of medicine. We hauled the beds to the hospital on Friday.

We do not know how we are going to unload the container but we are working on it. The doctor will check with SODERTA to see if they know anyone that can unload a full container .

Tuesday we plan to meet with the governor and see if he will contact the French Road Company who is building the road between Gitega and Muhinga and see if we can borrow their crane.

They are continuing to work on the area at the hospital where the container will set. We hope we will be ready for it when it arrives.

We continue to Praise God for His help with this project. Keep praying for us :

David and the rest of the gang"

Another Picture

Mae Kellum has sent this picture that she says shows the new doors and windows at the hospital. She also reports that the trucking company there in Burundi expects the container to arrive before the end of this week in Dar Es Salaam. They are considering whether to change their travel plans to stay until the container arrives at Kibimba. Please pray with them for wisdom and clarity about this.

At Sea -- At Last!

We have finally received a notice from the shipping company that our container has been loaded on to the MSC Federica, and departed Salalah, Oman on Friday, August 1. It is scheduled to arrive in Dar Es Salaam this Friday, August 8! Please keep praying -- we need the port congestion to clear so that the container can be unloaded from the ship to the truck, and then be on its overland journey to Kibimba. If all goes smoothly, it may arrive at the hospital before the end of August.

Also, Fran & Owen Sigley arrived safely and with all their luggage last Sunday. Steve Sigley, Fran's husband is recovering well from his emergency gall bladder surgery. Thanks for praying!

Bus Bombing

If you hear about a bombing in Burundi dont be alarmed. Kibimba hospital is the truma center. We are fine. There are 19 patients here and 25 at other hospitals. Our ambulances were used to transport patients to other hospitals.

FKH mission contiengent

More Hospital Pictures

Here are some more pictures received from Dick Long this morning:

The New Kitchen

The New Storeroom

The New Incinerator

A Little News from Kibimba

Our team members in Burundi have finally gotten access to E-mail! Here is a brief update from Dick Long. (He is having to type on a French-format keyboard, so his messages are short & sweet until he gets the hang of it a little better!)

"We are eating too well and sleeping good. There is not as much maintaince stuff to do so we have not been busy with small work. We have done a lot of planning toward the container placement and where to put stuff. We are going to a meeting this morning for a certificate presentation. Tomorrow we will go to the airport to pick up Fran and Owen. First picture is new awnings. Second is new shop by the generator."

Please continue to pray for safe travel for Fran & Owen Sigley as they make their way to Burundi. Also, keep Fran's husband (Owen's dad) Steve Sigley in your prayers. He had an emergency surgery this morning to remove his gall bladder. Pray for his recovery and for peace for Fran & Owen that they will entrust Steve to the Lord's care.

Burundi Bound

Fran Sigley & her son Owen Sigley will be departing today for Burundi. They have decided that because their schedules would not permit them to go at a later date, they would go ahead and make the trip as planned. The container will not arrive until after they have been there, but they will work at the hospital with preparation for its arrival and doing anything else that Dr. Elisee and the staff there asks of them.

Twila Flowers has postponed her trip to the hospital until after the container's arrival, whenever that may be. We do not have any new information about it, so we are assuming that it is still sitting in Salalah waiting for the congestion at the Dar Es Salaam port to clear.

Several members of the FKH board made a presentation at the Friends Ministry Conference at Friends University on Thursday evening. They showed the DVD that has been used and added information about the contents of the container (including over 500 layettes from Mid-America Friends Women's groups). The report was well-received, and the work of FKH has been recognized in several of the printed reports of various boards of EFC-MAYM. We are so grateful for the support of our Friends churches throughout the region.

Keep watching for updates from the team already in Burundi, the container's whereabouts, and the Sigley's trip. As always, we covet your prayers.

Safe Arrival

The Kellum's, Ferguson's & Dick Long have arrived safely in Burundi, along with their luggage. Here are excerpts from a note received from them this morning:

"Greetings.
We are glad to let you know that we arrived safely and all bags finaly arrived.
We recommand the other team not to come; the container is still in Saudi Arabia.
We met with SODETRA and they have received our money and they have done all they can. We very well welcomed , eating too much , good quarters and you will not recognize the hospital , many good changes , now they have 100 beds .
Best wishes.
David, Mae Kellum and Dick Long"

As you can read above, they were able to confirm what we had thought -- the container is not going to arrive as we had hoped. That means that the travel plans for Fran, Owen and Twila are now "up in the air." We are waiting for further instruction from the Kellum's about that. Please keep praying for clarity from God about this matter.

God Is In Control

Seems that all of our planning has again been overrided by the Master Planner. After several days of wondering, E-mailing across the world, and deciphering messages from New York City, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania and Salalah, Oman, we have determined that our container is still in Salalah. Furthermore, it is scheduled to be loaded on a different ship than we thought -- the MSC Federica -- which is scheduled to depart now on July 26. The ETA in Dar is now August 2. If it takes a week to get it off the ship and onto a truck, then another week to travel overland to Burundi, it will be at least August 15-16 before it gets to Kibimba. Realistically, we're probably looking at the 3rd week of August. We will just trust that God has a perfect plan for all of this, even though we don't see or understand it now.

The first group (David & Mae, Willard & Doris, Dick) from our team is still traveling to Burundi on schedule. They are leaving from Wichita today and will be working on preparing a site for the container to be placed. They will also be working to devise a method to get the crates out of the container. We don't think the Burundians have any idea what unpacking this container is going to involve!

Willard will also be teaching the training course for chaplains at the hospital. Please remember to pray for him and those who will be in the class. This is one of the most important aspects of our Board's mission & purpose, and one that can easily be overlooked in the excitement of sending equipment & supplies. We must remind ourselves that the ultimate purpose of all of this is to show the Burundian people who come to the hospital the love of Christ. The chaplains will play a crucial role in this.

We will keep you posted on their progress with the preparations. Also, will let you know what Fran, Owen & Twila will be doing about their planned trip. Thanks for your support & prayers!

God is in control!

Still No Word

There is still no word on our container & ship. We will just have to trust that the Lord is once again working in His perfect time, and that everything will come together in just the right way.

We had a great day on Wednesday, July 9, with several people helping to pack trunks with more medical supplies & equipment, layettes, tools and a few personal items for the folks preparing to travel to Burundi to prepare for the arrival of the container. Those who worked were David & Mae Kellum, Gary & Connie Young, Fran Sigley, Owen Sigley, Twila Flowers, Dick & Lorna Long, and Debby McElroy. We packed 10 trunks Wednesday, and there will be an additional 6 that team members are packing separately, for a total of 16 trunks going in the next month.

Please remember to pray for David & Mae Kellum, Dick Long, and Willard & Doris Ferguson, who will depart from Wichita next Thursday, July 17 to travel to Kibimba. They will be making preparations for the container's arrival at the hospital, including some type of concrete pad for it to sit on to serve as storage space. Willard will also be teaching a course on chaplaincy while he is there, in order to fulfill that crucial aspect of the ministry of the hospital.

Fran Sigley, Owen Sigley, and Twila Flowers will be leaving Wichita the following week. They will be helping with unpacking, sorting, setting-up equipment, and storing supplies.

Please pray that God will keep His hand of protection over the container, that the container will arrive at the hospital in a timely fashion, and for traveling safety for our team members. Pray for Dr. Elisee and the hospital staff - that they will be able to quickly learn the most efficient and effective use of the equipment, and that many lives will be touched both physically and spiritually. Pray for Willard as he prepares for and teaches the chaplaincy course.

Thank you for your prayers & financial support. Keep watching for updates!

Somewhere On the Arabian Sea

According to a container tracking website that I managed to locate, the ship with our container departed from Salalah, Oman on Sunday, June 29. It will travel from there to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Please continue to pray for the safety of the ship and the contents of our container.

Also, pray for the members of the Friends of Kibimba Hospital board who will be traveling to Burundi in the next few weeks to assist in unloading, set-up and storing the equipment and supplies.

The MSC Stefania

Mae Kellum has found a website to track "our" ship. The container for Kibimba Hospital is being transferred today to the MSC Stefania and according to the schedule shown, should arrive in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania on the 28th or the 30th. We were told that once it arrived in Dar, it would take something over 2 weeks for it to be unloaded and transferred to the truck. Then it will take another week or so for it to travel overland to Kibimba. Keep praying!

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow! (and flow!)

Thanks to God's abundant provision and perfect timing, a 40-foot container, completely stuffed with medical equipment, medicines, layettes, and VBS supplies is on a ship headed for Burundi. This phase of the project would never have been completed without the generosity and obedience of the people of EFC-MAYM.

The second phase of the container project will happen in mid-July. The container will arrive in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania and then be transported by truck to Kibimba. Three of our board members, David & Mae Kellum and Dick Long will be traveling to Burundi to supervise and assist with preparations for the container’s arrival. This will include construction of a concrete pad for the container to sit on for future storage use, as well as re-wiring some of the hospital facility to accommodate the equipment when it is installed. They will depart from Wichita, KS on July 17.

On July 26, several more people from our board who have medical knowledge will be going to Burundi to help with unpacking, setup and organization of the equipment and supplies. These include Fran Sigley and her son Owen, Twila Flowers, and Willard & Doris Ferguson. They will spend several days ensuring that everything is properly stored, helping to install and train the hospital staff on the equipment, and making sure that everything we send will be used effectively to increase the impact of the hospital in the area.

You can watch this blog for news from Kibimba Hospital as the container arrives and is opened and unpacked. It will be so wonderful to see the excitement & celebration as the people there see what God has provided through the generosity of His people in the States.

Packing the Container

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Hospitals of Hope and our friends Mike Wawrzewski and Daniel White. They, along with volunteers from Friends of Kibimba Hospital and others spent countless hours sorting, counting, and packing equipment and supplies for the container. An article about the project appeared in the April 4, 2008 Wichita Eagle.

How Can You Get Involved?

First and most importantly, you can pray.

Second, you can help make others aware of the needs of Kibimba Hospital. Members of FKH would appreciate the opportunity to speak at churches to explain the vision for the hospital, as well as the need for funds to support Dr. Nahimana and help with refurbishing the facility and repairing equipment. If you would like to have them at your church, please contact David & Mae Kellum.

Next, you can make financial donations to help with the costs of restoring Kibimba Hospital. Funds may be sent to Friends Ministry Center, 2018 W. Maple, Wichita, KS 67213. Please designate your gifts “Kibimba Hospital Project.”

If you would be interested in being a member of a medical or construction team to visit the Kibimba Hospital in the future, please make your interest known to FKH. Teams will be formed as needs become evident.

Kibimba Hospital today

Dr. Nahimana and his staff are treating patients at Kibimba. In 2005, there were 13,360 outpatients, 3,003 inpatients, 723 baby deliveries, and 172 AIDS tests administered. Water and electricity supplies are better, but still not ideal. Dr. Nahimana is training the staff in matters of hygiene, as well as performing surgeries as needed.

FKH members are working to prioritize needs, raise awareness, and seek funding and support for the many needs at Kibimba Hospital. With the guidance of experienced missionaries and U.S. medical professionals, we believe that Kibimba Hospital can become a valuable resource for physical healing and spiritual witness in the Kibimba area.

Dr. NAHIMANA Elisee

Dr. Nahimana is the third child of Pastor Bahenda, and was born at Kibimba Hospital. He is a surgeon, who studied in Madagascar with financial support from Friends Women in MAYM. He returned to work at Kibimba Hospital from 1990-1993 as a physician and director, but was forced to flee the country during the war. During the years he was away from Burundi, he continued his study of surgery in the Ivory Coast.

Dr. Nahimana has recently returned to Kibimba Hospital with two dreams, to “see it rehabilitated and treat many sick persons who come there as it was during the period Dr. Rawson was there” and “to bring patients to Jesus because our physical life is for a small time but our spiritual life will live for eternity.”

What is Friends of Kibimba Hospital about?

In 1934, Arthur and Edna Chilson established the first Friends mission station in Burundi at Kibimba. The mission grew as homes, churches and schools were built. Through the years, Friends missionaries ministered to the Burundi people by telling them about Christ, teaching their young people in primary and secondary schools, and giving medical attention in improvised clinics. These clinics were located under eucalyptus trees, then in small dispensaries, and in 1955 the Kibimba Hospital was built and originally supervised by Dr. Perry Rawson. EFC-MAYM nurses who worked there include Doris Ferguson, Twila Jones Cody, Bob Shaffer and Geraldine Custer. The hospital thrived and thousands of people were shown the love of Christ through its staff.

The hospital continued to function through the civil unrest of recent decades, though in a limited capacity due to water and electricity supply disruptions, lack of adequate staff, and many other difficulties. Several teams from Mid-America Yearly Meeting have visited in recent years, and worked to improve electrical and water systems, as well as treating patients alongside the Burundi medical staff .

It was during these visits that the vision for restoring the Kibimba Hospital to its best condition was inspired. The Friends of Kibimba Hospital (FKH) came together in the fall of 2006 to try to determine how people in the U.S. could partner with those in Burundi to accomplish this goal.

Welcome to Friends of Kibimba Hospital

This blog has been created to allow our supporters and friends to keep up with the Friends of Kibimba Hospital project. More to come!