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Articles & Stories

Dialysis in Kenya

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Sometime in early 2005, I was sitting in my office when the phone rang.  I carelessly picked it up, expecting it to be a salespitch or robo-call, but it was Wellington Mutiso calling from Kenya!  Instantly, I was fully attentive, but his words brought me up short.  He said, “My father is dying of kidney disease.  Can you send us a dialysis machine?”

My heart sank.  Where on earth would I find a dialysis machine, and how on earth would I get it to Kenya?!   I told him that it would be really difficult, but that I would pray about it, and we’d see what God would do.

As I hung up, my shoulders sagged as I tried to think what I could possibly do to find and ship a dialysis machine to Africa!  I only prayed about 15 seconds, however, when I sensed the Lord telling me to call JB, a man from our church.  I called him, and said, “I know this is going to sound crazy, but do you have any idea where I could get a dialysis machine?”

Without any hesitation, he said, “Call Dr. GB.  I’ll bet she can help you!”  So I called that doctor, and she said, “Oh, yes, I know a man who re-furbs dialysis machines, and I’m sure he can help you out.”  She gave me his name, and it turned out that not only did he have one dialysis machine, he had two, and he had some special shipping concession with a worldwide shipper, so he would pack them and ship them to Kenya for the grand total of $95!

I was stunned, but I told him that the Global Outreach team would be glad to pay the money.  Later on I had to send a letter to the customs officials in Kenya, affirming that it was a charitable gift, but that was all.  The sum total of my involvement in the process was 45 minutes—at most!  Amazingly, all 3 people I’d called had answered personally on the first call.  It was incredibly easy!

Fast forward over a year…Grace had decided to enter into a partnership with a village in Kenya, so I travelled there with a lady from our church, and a team of 5 from a church in Mesa.  They would assess our projects in Kenya, and we would do the same with theirs in Malawi, to see if we could partner on some things.  We also visited Wellington’s church, opened a Voluntary Testing Center for HIV treatment that Grace had funded, and toured 3 ministries in the Kiberu slums, among other things.

One morning Wellington told us all that we should dress up for dinner, as we were going to a nice restaurant.  No word as to why, but I’ve learned never to question our hosts overseas, so we all got dressed up.  When we arrived, I started to get nervous, as it was VERY fancy, maybe the fanciest place I’ve ever eaten, and I had NO IDEA how we would be able to afford to eat there.

Karl, the pastor from the other church, asked me in a whisper, “Who’s paying for this?”  I said, “I have no idea, but we’ll just have to go with the flow and figure it out later.”

We were escorted upstairs to a large and airy room where a short man stood at the head of a long table.  5 or 6 other Kenyans were joining us for supper.  He asked, “Who is Mrs. Clifton?”  I identified myself, and he said, “I want you to sit here beside me at the head of the table.”  So I did, although he never gave me his name.

What followed was the fanciest, most delicious, and most amazing meal I think I have ever eaten!  What seemed like a dozen servers waited on us hand and foot, and they brought course after course of delicious food!  Several things were unrecognizable to my Western eyes, but they all tasted delicious.  In my mind, however, dollar signs were just twirling around!!  And every now and then, Karl would look at me and raise his eyebrows.  His brain was humming, “Kaching!  Kaching!” with each new course, too!

I had a lovely conversation with the host.  I learned that he was an architect who had firms in 8 African countries,  that 3 of his children were studying in the U.S., that he and his wife travelled to visit them frequently, etc.  He regaled me with the story of his daughter’s dowry.  She has a Master’s degree in computer science, but she insisted on her dowry being a large number of cattle, to show how much she was worth to her beloved.  All in all, it was a fascinating evening, culminating with an amazing array of desserts.

Once the coffee and tea were served, the man beside me stood up, clinked his glass with his fork, called for silence, and said, “It has been our pleasure to host you all  for dinner tonight.  My wife and I own this restaurant, and we have had this dinner tonight to honor Mrs. Clifton.”  When he said that, I sputtered and nearly spit tea across the table.  I had NO IDEA what he was talking about, and Karl’s eyebrows really arched skyward at this point!

He continued, “My father was dying of kidney disease, and Mrs. Clifton sent 2 dialysis machines to try to save him.  They arrived too late for him, but they are working daily at a provincial hospital, saving many other lives, and my brother Wellington and I are eternally in your debt!”

I was speechless!  I had just spent twice as long at dinner as I had invested in the dialysis machines’ procurement.  I stammered out something about it just being a miraculous provision from the Lord’s hand, but he seemed determined to thank me!

God’s economy just isn’t like man’s.  I hadn’t done it expecting anything in return.  I hadn’t even thought about it in months.  God had abundantly showered the entire group with a never-to-be-forgotten evening.  Most importantly, however, He had proven yet again that He is the owner of ALL things, and that for Him, two dialysis machines are just like the cattle on a thousand hills.  It’s all His, and He can use it as He pleases for His own ends!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

**About the Author: Debi Clifton is a fifth-generation cross-cultural worker. Raised on the Mexican border, Spanish is her first language.  She served nearly four years in Spain as a single gal before marrying one of her financial supporters, Jim Clifton. Jim and Debi have been married nearly 31 years and have two sons, Jim and Davey.  Debi’s hobbies include reading, travel, and embroidery. She taught Spanish at McClintock High School for three years and has been on the staff of Grace since 1999.**

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