Second Tuesday. Hope Circles
Several months ago, I was studying the book of Jonah and right at the part of the story when Jonah hightails it to Joppa to avoid God’s command to go to Nineveh, God used Kelly to call me to a task I was resistant to; a task I wanted to run from.
It involved investing/creating/ leading a future project from the bare bones up. I found an unruly resistance in me. I was happy to tackle any task as long as it was asked of me in the moment. I did not want to invest in the future yet God used Jonah to convince me otherwise. He promises rich blessings when we obey, even when resistant, so as an act of faith, I gave my reluctance to Him and accepted Kelly’s request.
Today, I saw the fruit of my willingness. I lived in the incredibly, rich blessings He called me to! It was an effervescent hoot!
Before we arrived, my team created a Community Healthcare Worker (CHW) First Aid Manual, complete with supplies. Today, we presented it to our 18 member Hope Circle of community volunteers. Dr. Maria and Dr. Ndoipo, from clinic, assisted. There were three other Hope Circles teaching other topics as well.
Our class was eager to learn and I was eager to teach! With vigor, they picked up the skills we introduced and asked thoughtful questions. They were thinking about the topics and extrapolating future concepts. I had to tell them I couldn’t give them all of my goodies at once because I needed to keep something for the next day!
Dr. N. interpreted for me and then, eagerly ran with it. He did have a tendency to go a bit deep. When I heard the words “Kreb Cycle” and “energy molecules”, I knew he was on a rabbit trail beyond the scope of this class. Dr. M agreed and had him come back to our depth. His laugh and smile enchanted us all and the whole day was full of delight.
I found out later that not everyone who attended had chosen to be there. Some had asked to go to one of the other circles but we’re assigned to ours instead; one in particular had been my interpreter in the past. At the close of day, he was heard to say, proudly, that he was going to be a CHW! He was going to go to remote villages and help people. He was going to make a difference! What an unanticipated surprise!
As I was considering this overflow of connecting purpose, I had a bit of a Captain Obvious moment that had not crystallized in my thoughts until now. I have spent the last several years living solely in the present. I haven’t wanted to plan/prepare/consider what my future might hold. I only allowed myself to respond to what was before me.
How marvelous that God did not leave me there. Having given me time to heal, He used Kelly’s gifting, and my own, to call me out of myself and propel me into a future I was reluctant to envision for myself.
He promised blessings galore and delivered them today. I am humbled, refreshed, grateful and ready to get to it tomorrow!
Second Wednesday Hope Circles #2
My eye baby from last week is here today and I spot her from a distance. She is tirelessly playing with a water bottle. Her Mama tosses it and she retrieves it. To and fro, she goes on the uneven ground, bending to reach it. It is unwieldy and needs two hands to navigate back with it. What a satisfying sight to see her playful and smiling. Mom and I lock eyes and share the joy of this shared blessing. My cup is overflowing and the day has just begun.
This morning begins slowly so I visit the Bible Hope Circle and sit next to Moines. He is our accountant and Bible Hope Circle interpreter. He is locked in, as my son would say, much like Dr. N., he has made this circle part of his delight.
He has a Maasai Language Bible in his hand so I pick one up and turn to Psalms 46 and read it in my ridiculously wrong accent. He does not understand my words so he reads it for himself and translates it to me. His thoughtful interpretation makes me smile and we share the wonder of God’s Word together.
When our people arrive, we gather again. We ended yesterday teaching about adult choking care and we laughed our way through it. We begin today expanding on that theme to include child and infant care. To demonstrate, I have made a baby out of my microfiber towel. I introduced her to the team last night and she was named Shequiva Shower Shuka or Sheshe for short. She is loved by all her aunties and uncs, including Ima our cook!
Today, I strapped her to my back, as many a good Mama does here, and revealed her when she started choking… it’s okay, she lived and was carried all over today by many loving hands.
Pat presents post snake bite care with an emphasis on the need to wipe the venom off and keep the wound below the level of the heart. Conversation breaks out and we are told they are discussing their traditional care. They typically cut the bite and suck the venom out. Dr. N is interpreting but I interrupt him with a stern finger wagging indicating this is a big no-no. This delights them all.
Our unit on uniquely female care came today. Menses, pregnancy, newborn care preceded FGM, Female Genital Mutilation, which brought up the rear. It is an ancient custom held dear by the older generation to ‘prepare’ young girls 10-14 years old for marriage. It is done without their consent and without anesthesia. It is presented as necessary and good to procure status in the community.
I asked my class to explain it to me because I wanted to understand. There was a lively discussion in Maasai with a lot of laughter, nervous laughter, I think. I was told the class was eager to ask me questions and wanted to know what I thought. I asked them what they saw as the advantages and disadvantages. There was more awkward laughter until one of my more elderly students tells me there are no disadvantages, only advantages: status was his only advantage. One of my ladies offers that it is helpful to women in that it helps to manage sexual desire before marriage. When I ask if the desire returns after marriage, she answers with a tentative ‘’no”, almost as if she hadn’t considered that before.
I try to be diplomatic and non-judgmental in my delivery but feel inadequate to the task until I am prompted to change my approach. Instead of my opinion, I address them as the Healthcare Workers they are. It is no longer a value judgement but a discussion on how to care for a child who has undergone the event.
There are immediate and far reaching physical and psychological disadvantages/complications that can result from FGM: site bleeding, infection and pain; damage to uterus and urinary tract; difficulties with conception, pregnancy, delivery; physical and psychological trauma… When I am prompted to draw from the strength of my experience, my teaching comes with the ease of the Holy Spirit’s power.
Last trip, I had encountered a mom who had extensive scar tissue from her FGM and was not able to deliver her baby without a C-section. If she had not sought aid, she could have lost both her life and the baby’s life. As it was, the baby had spent many unnecessary hours being pushed out without success and will likely have lifelong deficits. I am not neutral on this subject.
We end the session with the news that we will have another additional session tomorrow afternoon. They all seem willing and I am grateful because we have more to cover.
Tonight we are treated to the Jesus movie at the pavilion. Driving there in the dark is like visiting the land of the bizarre and haunted. The thorn trees at night are intricately twisted and ashen when Illuminated by headlights. Every crooked, tangled, jabbing angle is highlighted in a colorless world of frenzied grasping.
Maria and her friends, including four year old, Eliana, join us. As I get off the bus to greet them, Eliana’s Mom says “Ah, yes, you wrote the book. I’ve been reading it with Maria.” I’ve never been greeted in such a way. I kind of liked it.
It is dark and cool. The Milky Way in vivid shimmer acts as background for bright pinpoints of light. I see the Big Dipper to the NW, the crescent moon with Venus, Jupiter and Mercury in clear brilliance, followed by the Southern Cross, Scorpio and possibly Sagittaurius…south and east; so many others, too numerous to count. The splendour of the heavens displayed on the night canvas.
They set up to play the movie and begin with a square dance version of Count Your Blessings…like counting stars, there are too many to hold in one day. I smile at the connection.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.
(Psalm 19:1, ESV) so:
Count your blessings name them one by one
Count your blessings and see what God has done.
I use my translator app to translate the movie in real time and add it to the list of blessings. I
Second Thursday VBS and Hope Circles extended
This morning we discuss James 1: “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22, ESV) I had plans to be an benchwarmer for VBS this morning but I felt prompted to leave my nefarious ways and join in. I wasn’t convinced.
There are giraffes on parade as we drive into the sandy bush to find Pastor’s Daniel church for VBS. This church was started by Missionaries who came in 1993. These are the same missionaries who introduced Jesus to Pastor Peter when he was 11 years old. It is a sweet connection.
We arrive at a fine block building in the thorn forest and are greeted by children of all sizes. A large dirt area has metal goal poles on either side. Almost before any ball hits the ground, a football match erupts among the tall and older. Pastor Peter joins the local Moran young men. They are wearing the traditional black shukas. An impossibly tall Massai man in his traditional red shuka dominates the field with his swift legs and fancy footwork.
Further on, we have put up small, foldable goals and invite the shorter crowd to play. The goalies are alert and block well. They, too, execute a vigorous game mimicking the same fierce skill.
As the parachutes come out and engage the onlookers, I find an unattended little one dressed in a vivid red dress. She is watching from a distance. Suspecting she will not welcome a stranger, I keep my distance and roll a ball her way. It takes some time but I win her over and we end carrying an expanding ball together, back to the church. I smile to myself as I realize, I was convinced afterall and it was magnificent!
Our session three begins in the afternoon. I revisit FGM and answer questions. As I finish with the psychological trauma of it, I plan to segway nicely into Mental Health but pivot at the last minute. I sense a post lunch malaise so we talk about back pain instead. I talk about how we carry heavy burdens with our bodies. We demonstrate proper lifting techniques and exercises for diy relief. This gives my students an opportunity to move.
Next, I use the heavy burden theme to segway to the emotional burdens we bear. Though I try different approaches, I feel ineffective. I begin to realize that the stigma present in the US is even more insidious here. It is evident that many believe that if mental health problems are not recognized, they don’t exist. My elderly student tells me that his generation has no issues but the younger ones do. These younger ones are often seen as disobedient, recalcitrant and willfully behaving badly.
The effects of prolonged trauma or undiagnosed mental illness is unknown and unconsidered. The thought that trauma responses need healing seem inconceivable. I realize that this is a hard sell so, again, I pivot. I remember how powerful the testimonies of other team members have been in other circles so I offer my testimony.
I tell them of my big 5 of family losses. How grief has shaped me and how I am able to heal because of the help and surrounding of my family, church and community. I am surprised when Dr. N interrupts me to congratulate me on my journey and I notice my audience is engrossed and listening.
I continue. I tell them this is a picture of the power of the Community Health Worker has. We can break the cycle of the hidden and unspeakable. We have the privilege of coming alongside those who are hurting and by the simple acts of acknowledging, listening, and speaking, we share hope. Hope can open doors of healing by identifying trusted people and resources to assist the process. It can all begin with us.
As our time comes to a close, we have not covered all our material but Dr. N is undeterred. I tell him we have five minutes and he says that is more than enough. I tell him, with a smile, that he hasn’t been so good at being brief. He laughs and covers the remaining four topics in record time.
We give each student a backpack of supplies and our manual in Swahili and then all the circle groups gather in a circle. Every participant receives a certificate which is hand delivered with a hug by the teacher. I like this ending.
Tomorrow, we leave for Safari and home. The community of our safari people and the animals will be awesome but that’s not my sweet spot. My sweet spot is the majesty of God that we have lived these past weeks in the community of His people serving and being served.
There may challenges galore but the blessings are more when God calls His people together.
“And God is able to bless you abundantly,
so that in all things at all times,
having all that you need,
you will abound in every good work.”
2 Corinthians 9:8
Amen.
Thank you for joining me on this journey,
TanziAnne
June, 2026
Tripping with God: Stories of Faith and Inspiration 