Courtney Michael Linda 1983 Kenya

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-anuaxy 31» 1983

D e a r f r i e nds i n Chr i s t

Greetings once again from Kenya, I t is good to be back. Thefirst shortage we encou^teired the absence of aerograms, Ifinally was, able to br^ some tod^. . - ^

Our trip to Kenya was very smooth and«\êventful.- We had a wonderful-time with friends arid family on t he -E ^t Coast, and had a

great time a t Disney World with my parents »-* We Were tired when Wearrived in Nairobi, but were very happy that a l l of our lugga^ arrived with u s, an d t h a t wc ha d no problems with customs,

Our f ir st we^ in Kenya was,.spent moving^, .HaÎtons rhad foupdthree houses in Kitale torrent which are nextodoor to each other. edecided to move before we unpacked our^svdteases. Moving out,of ahouse in which we had packed everything away-before furlou^ (andcouldn t remember where we had put things into another house, whilesuffering from jet lag, was not an experience that we ar e eager to repeat soon. We are finally getting settled in this week. Our newhome i s an old two-story house t ha t has several el ect ri cal and plumbing problems, which I am trying to repair.

As soon as we had everything moved to- the new house, we l e f t forKiwawa, We were anxious to vis i t Kara Pokot and old friends. I t wasexciting when we drove into Kiwawa. The--school childiren were a ll linedup and singing to greet us. I t took quite a long time to shake everybody s hand. Our biggest surprise was the change that had taken placea t Kiwawa. The church building was finished. The new c l i ni c buildingwas in operation. The doctor s house was completed, A large cementblock storeroom is under construction and two wells were pumping waterr i gh t a t th e s ta t ion

-We had a great Sunday service at Kiwawa, The building is a greatmeeting place and we had 260 in attendance. I spent two days inspectingnew and proposed borehole sites with Dick, Tony, and Justin, I havebeen asked tcJ.Sê over the business end of the borehole work whenJustin goes• oi^^ uriou'gh next month.

We also drove -to Kasei, about 20 miles from Kiwawa, We inspectedthe land at Kasei TCuh-SAY that was given to the mission by the Pokotelders. I t i s a good location—close to a borehole, with g re at b ui lding sites and land fo r a gairden. As soon as we have our feet on theground sigain, we wilL^gin working up in the Kasei area, . I

Iiinda was able tS^^pend some time working in the new clinic withDr. Banta. Late they made t he f iv e- ho ur round tr ip up-to th eDistrict Hospital in Eapîûria to take a woman who needed to liave anemergency cesarean We found out later that the baby, was .born

dead, and the mother the following day. The father .has been a ttending church, and wants to become a Christian, Please for ^ ; yth is man auid h is family in th ei r g rie f

Thank you for the prayers on our behalf. e have certajj^^^^,the power of the Lord, ^

^55 7

i n Hi s service,

Mike Coxartney



March 9t 1983

G r e e t i n g s from Kenya,

Fehriaary has been a good month f o r the Lord. Over 40 people were

baptized a t Kiwawa. Several of the people were from one of the sa te l l i t e preaching points where pastor Eli jah Yego i s now working and l i v

ing. I t i s good to see the name of Jesus spread far ther and far ther from

Kiwawa, O u r m i s s i o n t e a m a n d some o f t h e c h u r c h l e a d e r s t o o k t u r n s w i t h

the baptizing. t was a very e x c i t i n g time f o r a l l o f u s . Afterwards we

had a s p e c i a l communion service with I5 0 Chris t ians present .The sam e w eekend we h a d t h e d e d ic a t i o n s e rv i c e for t h e new c h u r c h a n d

c l i n i c buildings a t Kiwawa. Both buildings have proved to be a blessing in

preaching the VJord and heal ing the s i c k .

The r a i n s should come sometime t h i s month. We are praying t h a t the

ra in w ill con ti nue l ong enough to produce good crops. Last year the rainswere sporadic and the success of the crops was l imi ted . Again t h i s yearwe have supplied some seed f o r plant ing. The mis sio n h as employed a na

t i o n a l man who has been t r a i n e d i n a g r i c u l t u r e . He. has been able to choose

th e ri t kind o f seed f o r each a r e a and w i l l be a b l e t o i n s t r u c t the

people i n p l a n t i n g . P lea se p ra y f o r good r a i n s £Lnd a good harves t .

Linda and I took a load o f seeds up to Kasei f o r the jpeople of t h a t

a r e a . D r . B a n t a w e n t w it h u s a n d h e a n d L i n d a h e l d a m o b i l e c l i n i c f o r

s e v e r a l h o u r s . W h i l e we were t h e r e we f o r m a l i z e d o u r d e c i s i o n o n o u r

house s i t e . The people have agreed t o begin work ing on a road t o the s i t e

and t o begin b r i n g i n g poles f o r the house. This l a s t week i n K i t a l e I

have been t r y in g to buy the needed bui lding m a t e r i a l s I have found many

things t o be i n shor t supply, I had hoped to have the house f inished be

fore the r a i n s but I d o n t th ink t h a t w i l l be possible now.

FEiOM LINDA,,. t has been a busy month, and it i s nice -to be back i n

Kenya where it i s warm. The temperature in Kitale has been in the high8 0 s and low 90 s each day, and a t Kiwawa it i s over 100.

We s e t ar e c o r d o f s o rt s

l a s t month—:eleven babiesd e l i v e r e d

between3 a.m. and 3 p.m. one day. Mother.;and babies are a l l doing.fine now. I twas the f i r s t l i t t e r of our watchdog, Biee. The Maternity Department

at the clinic has also ijeen busy. Two women were brou^t in the sameafternoon who had been hemorrhaging following childbir th . Dr. Banta wasaway on a mobile clinic, so the nat ional dresser and I had our hands ful lf o r awhile. One o f the women was i n severe shock. t i s wonderful to

have a doctor and clinic at Kiwawa now and be able to help people we could

not iave helped in the past, because of lack of proper facilities. Atlas t report, both mothers and babies were doing fine, but recuperatingslowly. Blood loss i s serious for anyone, but especially in those who areoften already malnourished and anemic, such as the Pokot, .,

appreciate your, continued prayers. Praise God for the. continued acceptance o f Jesus Christ by the Pokot prople. . .r

Mike and Linda Coiartney

>i.3- . . ,/• v:, f . t

V -S; - A:.. .



April 9 1983

Greetings from the Courtneys in Kenya,

The mo^h of March seemed to go by very fast. We took the wholeand Kant to Mt. Elgon, a small game reserve

Close to Kitale, We had a very enjoyable day watching animals andp cnicing on the mountain. God has created some very beautifiil areas inKenya, and Mt, Elgon i s one of them,

three t r ips to KaseiOne day was for mobile clinic which kept Linda and the dv ^»sv foxseveral hours (235 patients). I went up one Sunday for ch^en servicesM to have a meeting with the elders of the area. The people are anxious for us to start living there and for us to build a clinic. Thev

Shelter for a temporary clinic build-ing. There is stni a shortage of building materials in Kitale, especiallyroofing, so we still haven't started on our house. The people at Kaseihave already brought all the poles we will need for boilding.

We also made another trip to Kasei to repair one of the boreholepumps which was broken.

o weekend of the 26th and 27th was our special Easter celebration^ ^ Sali (ccmmeal mush), andTte ^ the occasion.+v = ° people who came to know Christ duringfetiiSv M Ftiday night the people saw a movie about America andrday night we watched a special movie on the Resurrection. Theweekend was topped off hy a great church service on Sunday morning.

The r^ns have started in the highlands around Kitale, but therehave only teen a couple days of rain in Pokot. Most of the area is stillvery dry The dryness has seemed to bring out the snakes and scorpions.The people say they are looking for water. We have killed severalscorpions in the houses and saw four snakes, poisonous of course, in

,° K snakes was trapped dn the help of the doctor suthouse, I didn t know that so many people cbtad-get inside of oneouthouse ^ throw rocks down the hole with such vehemence Needlessxo say the snake i s no longer a nuisance.

t visitor from the States this month,. Dr.oker Small is a professor and scientist from the University of FloridaMedxc^ School. He has been doing research on a new method of admin-ister^g measles vaccine—by mist which the child then breathes, rather

ffii injection. In developing countries such as Kenya, measles isGovernment medical statistitians estimate that about 20^ of

® r e s u l t o f me s les

? xf ? the..%ge.at

whichmethod of administering the vaccine is nd^^^ffeotive.rr®,®®*' nay ^ possible to administer the-draccineeffectively to children as young as two months, and therete: daye.m^y,

wf M ^ participating in a testing progrji{to begin.tMn the next few months. ^Another news item-ri-r^ 'We^currently,in Kara Pokot, are suffering the largest polio epidemid-to havewstruck ^Kenya in several years. Please pray for the children. •

Mike and Linda Courtney v.



7b Reach a Hidden People''

Courtney

C h r i s t i a n

M i s s i o nFORWARDING AGENTS: Rich Mary Ann Jenks / P.O. Box 2053 / Salem, OR 97308/ (503) 394-3958FIELD ADDRESS: Mike Linda Courtney / P.O. Box 900/ Kitale, Kenya

Vol. 5, No. 1

Things have changed so much in Kara Pokot since we l e f t in March of 1982 for our furlough in the States. Arriving at lwawa in January of this year, we found new buildings—a cement block girls dormitory, a combination food storage-polytechnic-shop building, aclinic, a doctor s house, and additional s taff housing.

The work is booming. e also had new people added to the missionary staff. Dr.

Harry and Lillian Schaefer joined the work to head up the Leadership Training ProgramDr. Larry and Ellen Banta came to oversee the medical work, Jim and Kathy Tierney fromRedmond, Oregon joined us just two weeks ago to work in the polytechnic and well-drillingministries. As the work grows at Kiwawa and begins to be taken over by national Christianleaders, we are branching out into other areas of Kara Pokot. Tony and Garolee Greenerfrom Hillsboro, Oregon have begun a new work in an area called Kamila. And we are goingto Kasei (kah-SAY).

Kasei i s about 22 miles by road s ou th ea st o f our main work a t Kiwawa. Because i s

at a higher elevation (about 5,800 feet), i t receivers more rainfall, and therefore hasbetter crops and better grazing land for cattle. Over the next few months we plan to cons t r u c t a sma l l h o u s e a n d c l i n i c .

Sincecoming

back toKenya, we

havemade

s e v e r a l t r ips to Kaseif o r

mobilec l i n i c sand to visit with the people. One day earlier this month Linda treated I30 people at

Kasei. There is much need in this area—not only among th e people of Kasei, but also th epeople liv in g in the surrounding mountains, which ar e inaccessible except by helicopter.These mountain people walk several miles to either Kiwawa or Kasei to bring their sick fort r e a tm e n t .

Mike bap t i z ing a be l i eve r a t Kiwawa.

May I9B3

FURLOUGH REPORT: We were in th e Sta tes ten m ont hs,

traveled over 25,000 miles which d o e s n t include

Mike s plane t r ip to Texas to interview Dr . Banta),

v i s i t ed s e v e n S ta t e s had o v e r I3 0 s p e a k i n g e nga ge

ments between th e two•of u s , and gained 20 poundse a c h

P h o t o s b y J an e H am ilto n

L i n d a wo rk in g in the new c l i n i c .

1



As I sit a t the typewri ter th i s morning, I can see two lit

tle stripped green lizards playing tag on the front steps.I t is a^beautiful spring-like day here in Kenya—clear bluesky, 76 —green everywhere.

The rains star ted about three weeks ago, so we are basking

in cooler temperatures and the return of green to a land

scape tha t was a l l browns and greys.

Since coming back to Kenya, I have been able to spend much more time in

V , the medical work than during our previous term—Trevor and Laura are older

and more independent now. The clinic has been busy with well over 1000patients per month. One day ear li er thi s month we treated over 400 people in a single day.We are seeing all the usual things—malaria, colds, pneumonia. We have also had an epidemic of dysentary which claimed many l ives, part icularly among the inaccessible mountain

people. Kara Pokot is currently suffering from the largest polio epidemic to have h itKenya in many years. So many things that we Americans take for granted—shelter, food,good health, and medicines. Coming back to Kenya tends to strip us of those things whichare so much a part of l i fe in America. I t i s eas ie r in Kenya fo r us to remember the reason we were put on earth in the f i r s t place—to glor ify th e Lord, to use our God-given

a b i l i t i e s to m in is te r t o o th er s .

JESUS TRAVELED ROUND THROUGH ALL THE CITIES ND VILLAGES OF THAT AREA TEACHING IN THE

JEl^ ISH SYNAGOGUES AND ANNOUNCING THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT THE KINGDOM. ND WHEREVER HE WENT HEHEALED PEOPLE OF EVERY SORT OF ILLNESS. ND WH T PITY HE FELT FOR THE ROWDS THAT CAMEBECAUSE THEIR PROBLEMS WERE SO GREAT AND THEY DIDN T KNOW WHAT TO DO OR WHERE TO GO FOR

HELP. THEY WERE LIKE SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD. THE HARVEST IS SO GREAT AND THE WORKERS

ARE SO FEW, HE TOLD HIS DISCIPLES. SO PRAY TO THE ONE IN CHARGE OF THE HARVESTING ND

ASK HIM TO RECRUIT MORE WORKERS FOR HIS HARVEST FIELDS. Mat t. 9 :35-38 Living Bib le

COURTNEY CHR ISTIAN MISS ION

P.O. BOX 2053

SALEM, OREGON 97308

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

m

/AVE Hi^ H a t

t INVITAT'oN ^AlD

WE lA/Epe TOA COvEpep pi^'H.

TM^we^ s n

NON PROFIT ORG.

U .S . POSTAGE PAID

PERMIT 505

SALEM, OREGON



May 16 1983

Dear rothers and S i s t e r s 1 ,

Mike has lef t for Kara Pokot and put me in charge of wri ting the le tter this month. He may regret this First of all I'm praisingthe Lord because the rains have started in Kara Pokot and all the snakesand scoprions have crawled back into their holes and under their rocks

This has been an exciting—and busy—month for us Two new helicopter pilots came out to operate the helicopter belonging to Helimission,which means that wo can again reach the mountain people in Kara Pokot,Our family enjoyed a 30-minute helicopter tour of the Kasei area wherewe arc now working. I had never before rcalissed how big the moiintains ofKara Pokot are, and the density of the population. I sang the song fromIsaiah 52j7 to myself during the trip— How lovely on the mountains arethe feet of him who brings Good News, Good News, Announcing peace pro

claiming news of happiness. Our God reigns I conducted a mobile clinicat Kasei one day and treated over 13O people. Dr. Banta was on themountaintop of Karakol with a mobile clinic, ^ between the two of us andthe clinic staff at Kiwawa, we treated over ^ patients on that day.

Mike also met with the men at Kasei and they agreed to start build

ing a shade shelter to use as a temporary clinic and church. This morning he left to spend the week in Kara Pokot taking all the building supplies up the mountain to Kasei for our house. We are about two monthsbehind schedule on this project because of the shortage of building supplies, but Praise the Lord, evejrything is ready now to start building.The road to Keisei is veiry steep and cannot be traversed by a truck soMike will make about 12 loads with the Land Cruiser ^ trailer

e had another ^dition to our field team this month. Jim and KathyTierney arrived from'Redmond, Oregon. Kathy is a nurse, and Jim will beworking in establishing a polytechnic school at Kiwawa and working in thewell-drilling ministry. Jim and Kathy plan to attend Puget Sound Collegeof the Bible af t e r t he i r term in Kenya

More great news... Our shipment from the States has finally aarrivedin the port of Mom basa. Trevor and Laura ran out of school materials afew weeks ago and in ny opinion have been enjoying this forced vacationjust a little too much We also have many other supplies and equipmentin the crates which we need. Mom and Dad got to tiake a-. ^secpi^ honeymoonwithout the kids to Mombasa to clear the shipment through customs, (warm

Indian Ocean, white sandy beaches—this missionary business is^Tou^ ^sometimes). The shijanent was cleared in record time--thMdcs^^^tp thp^^that the Lord arranged for us to have an honest Christian clearlrig agent.We expect the crates to arrive in Kitale by train sometime. tWs we^.

In addition to everything else Mike and I were able 'to work on learning langua^ culture this month. We found; cut that Hihe-Pokot tribe hasa Peace Child concept. When they declare peace with a nei^borl^ tribe,a child with no physical imperfections is given to the other tribe sealthe truce 'When we talk about God giving His Son so that we ;mi^t havePeace with Him, the Pokot know what we are talking atout . One morning indevotions at the clinic the jevsuigelist asked several paacente Af they would be willing to give their sons as God had given His. Severed of rtiiembroke down and wept and

said they couldn't, they loved .their_/child^n toomuch and i t woiad be too hard. Something perfect, loved, and cherisl^to seal an agreement. Thank you God for loving the people of.Kara Pokot.

> A



Brothers ,axid Sis ters , 3 ua?32, l9 3

Death is something that Is hard to handle no matter where we aeera to be.When a friend or relative dies In the States, t Is difficult for us toadjust because we don't have the opportunity to go through the healingprocess of grieving with others who knew that person. can't attendthe funeral, there Is no one who can share an^l understand our tears anddisbelief. When the death •occurs here In Kon^i i t Is equally hard bo-causo we cannot share our grief with the loved ones ^f the deceased Itithe States, Wo don t havo the opportunity to .share with those at home

how our l ives -were hlessod by th t person.Last iSdday, at about 3i30 In the afternoon, Rick Oliver was killed ina tragic helicopter accldont hero In Kenya, o first met Rick on April9 when h© arrived in Kltale to f\arther train a new pilot for Hellmlsslon,Hellmisslon is a mission auxiliary organization created to aid missionaries such as ourselves in reaching unreached people living In IsolatedareasI ^We used the service of Helimlsslon to reach the people living intho inaccessible' arenas.of Kara Pokot with medical assistance ^ the Wordof God; Earlier this opiith, Ricic took jme to-«no of .those areas, Karakol,to conduct a mobile clinic. Many people around ICarakol were sufferingfrom a fatal strain of dysontary. Rick helped me treat over 160 peoplethat day. Not only did he assist me but he also shared the Love of God

with the Pokot people gathered on that remote mouhtalntop.During Rick's time in Kenya he slept in the building next to us and tookmost of his meals in our home. Rick became like a brother to us, a member of our immediate family. While we rejoice, knowing he is with theLord, yet we feel tjie personal, loss very deeply. Trevor and L^a lovedRick very much and have' found^ this' t6 bo a-difficult doss tp; adjust toin their, young lives. Rick always he'lpcd us in whatever way he could—even Washing dishes and cleaning the bathroom from time to time Ifind myself listening for his cheerful call as he comes throu^ thehouse on his way to tho kitchen to see i f the coffee pot is on.

Rick's parents livo in Milwaukio, Oregon. His two teenage daughterslive in Denver. Ho was planning to return to them this week.

•More thto. anything else. Rick ..loved to share the Lord with others. Oneof the men who flow with Rick on the day he was killed said thetime he saw Rick he was standing on a sandy riverbank, surrounded by

rPokot. His shirt was unbiittoned, flapping in the breeze. He wasing being with the people God loved on a warm June day. He had finishedhis job of transporting building supplies for some Lutheran missionariesa day early and was anxious to get back home to Kitole. Instead, he wentto h is Eternal Home.

I am sorry to have such gloomy news this month, but my heart is heavywith the loss (even though I know i t is not forever). The work atKasei is going very, very well, Mike is there today. He has taken withhim a young man who came from the States just two weeks ago to observe'the work of Helimission. We spent'our first ni^t in; our 3-2?oom houseat Kasei last week. The walls are now mudded and thO^tin roof « • o slept on tho dirt floor. This week the mud walls And floor will bocomented, making a much cleaner house.

Please pray for the people at Kasei. And ospocially for those liv^gat Karakol and other mountains like it. had intended to .spend ^dayon Karakol and surrounding mountaintops, treating medical needs andpreaching the Word of God—in some places for the very first time. Thati s not possib le now, . . »



'To Roach a tiiddon People'

Courtney Christian MissionP.O. Box 2053Salem, OR 97308 August 3i 1983 Kitale, Kenya

This has been a very fu l l month and to give you a l l the deta i l s wouldtake several pages, so I 've decided to make a l i s t instead.. .

B Thank you for your prayers and letters about the death of our heli-^ft^ter pilot friend, Rick Oliver. Please continue to pray for Rick's

parents, who fe el th is loss very deeply.

As a di rect r esu l t of Rick 's l i fe and ministry, Mike and I were privileged to baptize Rose

and Robin Salmon, a British couple who live in Kitale. Robin is the Headmaster of a prestigiousprivate school here in Kenya, and as such has an influence on the lives of the teenagers of manyimportant people in government and business.

¥e had seve ra l e ncount er s w i th f lo od ed r i ve r s t h i s month—the f i r s t dur ing Mike' s a t tempt to

salvage the helicopter. The river had flooded and the helicopter was sitt ing in water. His job

was to help get i t onto the back of a big truck, transport i t to Kitale, and then get i t off thetruck and onto the f loor of the hanger—what an experience The winch on the Land Cruiser paid

fo r itself s eve r a l t imes ove r t h i s month.

•Q) God provided much rain for Kara Pokot this month Praise the Lord I really can t complainabout transportation problems and flooded rivers when I know how much rain is needed for crops anthe very lives of the Pokot people. We had some excitement on our way to Kasei one tr ip when weencountered a flooded and swiftly-running Kenyangarang River. We were on the south bank, with

severa l of our mission co-workers and some Catholic missionar ies on the nor th bank. At the end

of the day, Mike had winched across five vehicles to the south shore, including our big missiontruck. I t was a very ecumenical operation—the Catholic Father took a dip in the river (not onpurpose) when he and Mike were walking a cable through the flood waters.

P.O. Box 9

Kitale, Kenya

To keep myself busy while we waited to see if the river would go down (which i t didn't—all

The Land Cruisers and Land Rovers got wet inside), I decided to read to Laura from her Childrenhe Land Cruisers and Land Rovers got wet inside), I decided to read to Laura from her Children'sLiving Bible (the one with all the nice pictures). We soon had a good-size crowd of Pokot children and teenagers around us. Many of them understand English and the ones who don't had an interpreter. So, Linda opened her mouth, and beginning with these pictures, told them the goodnews of Jesus. Mike, looking across from the far bank, asked later what I was doing—it lookedl ike preaching. I told him it was

While riding his bike to a friend's house, Trevor, age eight, came in close contact with

The road, laying his knee open to the bone. I t is healing well now, bu t he has a big, ugly sear.The local doctor we had to take him to was not quite up to t he s tandard of a U.S. plast ic surgeon.

I just figure the scar will be a good conversation piece when he is older. He can regale peoplwith ta les of h is h ea rt le ss , calloused parents who dragged him off to th e w ild s of Africa wherehe couldn't have qual i ty medical careI

;We had a wonderful three-day vacation at Lake Baringo—until a snake crawled between the twochairs Mike and I were sitting in and he had to kil l i t They even follow us on vacation I don'tund e r s t a n d t h e ttr ction

Speaking of snakes (and I wish I wasn't)... Mike says we must not have any snakes around ourri^se at Kasei, because there are so many big rats. laughed a few months ago when the localvil lage elders asked Mike to bring some rat poison because the big rats were kil ling the ir goats.Mike is not laughing now. He has seen them in our house, which leads me to number nine...

The house a t Kasei i s f inal ly finished, and we are looking forward to spending about three^^eks a month there when we are not in Kitale for mission meetings to buy supplies). praise

God for the joy and satisfaction we find in His work at this time in our lives. I ^

•3u.ly-'Rf f<sr+



To Reach a Hidden People

Courtney Christian MissionP.O. Box 2053

Salem, OR 97308

August 29, 1983

P.O. Box 900

Kitale, Kenya

Rain, rain , and more rain . I t ry not to complain becauseGod has answered our prayers for ra in . However, it sure i s wet

around here . t i s s t i l l a l i t t l e early to see how much harvestth e Pokot people wil l have, but the people who are up in th e hi l l s

and others who were able to plant a second time should have good

crops. The grass i s growing very well, much to the del ight ofthe cows (and thei r owners .

The Kenyangarang r ive r has been flowing constantly fo r

over two weeks and no one has been able to get across. Several

o th er v eh ic le s have been stuck and even damaged recently in the

r iver . feel very fortunate tha t we were able to get acrossand back to Kita le two weeks ago with f r iends from Nairobi .

The water was about three and a hal f fee t deep, flowing swift ly,

and the sandy bottom was very so f t .

This l a s t week we heard serious rumors concerning-a r e t a l

ia t ion raid by the Karajnojong and Turkana t r ibes against the

Pokot . Kiwawa was named a s one o f th e c en te rs to be a t t a cked .The Pokot have had s eve ra l s u cc e ss fu l ra ids recent ly because

of b eing heavily armed, and natural ly the i r neighbors are be

coming very upse t . Not be ing able to ge t a cro ss th e r i v e r to

confirm the rumors, we have a l l been very concerned. However,

today one of our cl in ic workers came to K ita le af t e r walking

out and said the r umor s had been t rue, but a peace t r ea ty has

been s igned .<

The Vaca t i on Bib l e Schoo l which was s chedu l ed f o r t is

week a t Kiwawa had to be cancelled because we can t g et th ere ,

but we wi l l j u s t reschedule it fo r sometime l a t e r .

recent ly moved a young evange l i s t to Kasei and are

anxious to ge t back and work with him. The r a in s have slowedeverything down t h i s month, bu t I have been able to do a l o t

of the jobs I v e been saving fo r a ra iny day.



'To Reach a Hiddei) i\

Courtney Clirist ian MissionP.O. Bo x 2053

Salem, OR 97308

Septeiii\,„j, 1983

P.O. Box 900

Kitale, Kenya

Before coining to Kenyu, j often heard veteran missionaries fromAfrica expound on the delighi,, Africa-the relaxed, laid

back lifestyle, the slow pace of living, etc. coming to Kenya nearly fouryears ago, I have been wondering where those missionaries worked—I would like toapply to go there. There is not a thing even remotely resembling laid back aboutour life here. Even during the extended rainy reason this year, when we were sometimes unable to get into (or out of} Kara Pok„|,. pôe of life has not slowedmuch. o many exoiting/unusual/horrible thinj..,, have happened this year, that I sometimes wonder if our supporters at home are going to think we are making i t all up

\k e was bi t ten on both hands by one of

th e r e s t o f th e f ami ly and o ur w atch -

̂ eemed adv i sab le t h a t we ll go th rough

- r a i s ing f r an t i c search fo r good

» They wi l l be repor ted in our quar te r ly

Throu^ it a l l we a re l ea rn in g more

f inding t ha t government and medical

September has been no exception. On the 7th M

our dogs, which l a t e r died of rab ies . Becausn

man had also been in contac t with the dog, i1

th e s i x - s ho t r ab i e s s e r i e s . Then began a h a i r

vaccine, I won t give you a l l th e de t a i l s nou

newsle t t e r which should be publ i shed in Octobo

and more to put our t ru st in the Lord, We ai n

uthorities don t have ll t h e answe r s .

We spent a wonderful, busy eight-day period i^^sei this month (after having thetrip postponed because of the rabies excitemem)^ j treated between 70 and 80patients, mostly children, each day, Mike spni^ j^ mornings on long hikes into

the suirounding area and mountains, looking fvu. villages and just generally scoutingout the lay of the land. You can imagine tl\p surprise of many of the Pokot peoplewhen they came upon a whi te person on a bush miles from the nearest civilizationi

The Kiwawa, Kamila, and Ghelopei churches had v>ver 30 baptisms in September, with over20 decisions for Christ also being iiiê. We anxiously looking forward to the daywhen we can r epor t the same fo r Kasei .

There is no doubt about i t something about living in Africa is so much more excitingthan an average U.S. existence. Take our f imt Sunday this month at Kasei, forinstance. When was the last time you were by a big male baboon as youwalked home from church? (Preachers and rude brothers-in-law don't count). Did youhave to politely ask a poisonous snake to rein\)V0 itself from your dining room asyou prepared lunch after church? Living in Kenya is exciting, never dull, andsometimes even frightening. But right now I wouldn't trade i t for any other l i fe .God is teaching us so much through our constani, dependence on Him. We often feelthat we are the ones who benefit from this wopk^ more than the Pokot to whom wemin i s t e r

Thank you for your love, your support, and eaptiQiî1y fo r your prayers a 'hank you for your love, your support, and eaptiQiî1y fo r your prayers ^

Sep Vembcr Report




Courtney

Christian

MissionFORWARDING AGENTS: Rich Mary Ann jenks / P.O. Box 2053 / Salem, OR 97308 / 503) 585-039^FIELD ADDRESS: Mike Linda Courtney / P.O. Box900 / Kitale, Kenya

Vol. 5f No. 2 OctolDer 1983

Our small ssifari house at Kasei (kah-SAY) i s finally finished and we are ahlie tospend extended periods there now. Linda spends her mornings teaching Trevor and Laura, and

her afternoons tre^trhg^b^tweeir~5CPajiar90 ^ t i e n t s o n eacTniay^fhat she holds-c l inxc iare looking forward to g ett in g a Kenyan medical helper soon to ease her load a little

riy days a t Kasei so f a r have been spen t in sc ou ting out the area , tak ing long hikes in

to the va l leys around Kasei , and onto Kaptilomo and Karakol mountains, look ing fo r vi l l ages

and populat ion cen te r s . I occasional ly come upon Pokots who are amazed to see a white face

so many miles out in to the bush

The church a t K asei h as had a good s t a r t . We have now outgrown the little shade she l

t e r we have been meeting in which doubles as a school d urin g th e week. We are looking fo r

ward to beginning work on a church building in the near future (only about 3000 for achurch b ui ld in g o f poles and mud, plas tered with cement—don' t you wish th ey co uld be bu i l t

that inexpensively in the States ). Linda is anxious for the building so that she can hold

c l in i c on the porch. So fa r she has been us ing a rock under a thorn t r ee as her o f f i ce .

These pas t f ew mon ths have been v ery bu sy . Besides a l l our usual work, we have had to

contend with flooded rivers, the bike accident in which Trevor spl i t open his knee (nownicely healed), and the death of Rick Oliver, ou r very good friend and Christ ian brother

who was t ra g i c al ly k i ll e d in a hel i copter accident .

were also recently confronted with a serious r ab ies inc iden t (detailed below byLinda). are praising the Lord that our antibody levels are now satisfactory and weshould be immune to the d isease . The only problem now i s f inanc ia l . We have a lre ad y s pe nt

over 400 on travel to Nairobi, and the U.S. Embassy wants 600 to cover the cost of th ev a c c i n e we o b t a i n e d f ro m th em .

The ra ins here axe never normal, but have been more unusual than usual . t i s

s t i l l raining, not only in the highlands around Kitale, but also sporadically in Kara Pokot.

Good crops should take care of the hunger problem this year. In fact , the crops on themounta ins around Ksisei have p roduced enough t ha t th e p eop le are sel l ing some of the i r maize..

They also come frequently bringing us gi f t s of maize, which we enjoy, even though it i s

usual ly tough and chewy and has to be cooked fo r several hours

Apr i l - Aug. 1983 We make severa l attempts to obta in rab ies

vaccine fo r our new batch of puppies . . . none avai l ab le , ex

cept vaccine tha t i s al ready expired.

Sept . 6 We are f inal ly able to get some vaccine. While vac

cinat ing one of our s ix -mont h- ol d puppi es , Mike i s severe ly

b i t t en on both hands. The- r e s t of the family has also had

con tac t with the dog.

The puppy i s s ick . Symptoms of rab ies . A rabid dog passed t h r ou^

our yard several weeks ago, harrassing our dogs. We lock up the puppy toobse rve it There is no r e l i a b l e l a b t h a t can test f o r r a b i e s i n ou r a r e a .



Sept. 8 Friends and co workers i ecome concerned Mike goes to the local hospitals to tryand obtain human rabies vaccine. After visiting three hospitals, one involving a late nighttrip to Kapenguria, only three vials of vaccine are found plus one which is out of date). e need 30 vials. Late that night I give Mike his f i r s t injection.

Sept. 9 Mike leaves a t 5 a.m. for the long drive to Nairobi to see i f he can obtain morevaccine. Trevor and Laura receive their f i r s t doses. Late that same night Mike arrivesfrom Nairobi , g iv ing me my f i r s t injection. The government refuses to give us sufficientvaccine, stating that they have decided that one-tenth the recommended dose is adequate.They l e t us have only enough vaccine to fit t he i r recommendations.

Sept. 10 Concerned about the unorthodox procedure, we write to Mike's parents in Florida,hoping t h a t they can obta in accurate information from the U.S. Center fo r Dis ea se Cont ro l

in Atlanta, Georgia. Sunday night the puppy dies. We have our second in ject ion.

Sept . 17 We leave fo r ei^t wonderful , busy days in Kasei. Lit t le do we know tha t Mike's

parents have been t rying f ran t ica l ly to contact us by phone in Kita le But we are sublim

e ly unaware of the outside world. During th i s week a young U.S. Peace Corp worker dies in

Nairobi—of r ab ies even t h ou^ sh© had been immunized.

Sept . 25 Back in Kitale we rece ive a midnight telephone ca l l Mike and h is mother in

F l o r i d a m u s t s h o u t t o each o t h e r to be h e a r d A l l we c a n de t e r m in e is that t h e r e is a let

t e r coming fo r us and th e dosage o f ra bie s vaccine we have been t ak ing i s no t r i gh t Our

f o u r t h d o s e w as on t h e 22nd at K a s e i

Sep t 27 We rece ive a l e t t e r s ta t ing t ha t the U.S. Center fo r Disease Control does no t

recommend the reduced dosagp t h a t we had been told was a l l ri^t Mike makes a ca l l to a

U.S. physician working in a research lab in Nairobi . We f ind out about the death of the

Peace Corp worker, and are instructed to get to Nairo bi as soon an possible .

Sept . 28 After arr iving in Nairobi, we contact both the U.S. Embassy and Dr. Timms, awonderful, jo l ly grandfather ly - type Br i t i sh pathologis t working a t Nairobi Hospi ta l

From Dr. Timms we l earn tha t there hsis been a problem with a t l e a s t one batch o f ra bie s

vacc in e impor ted from France—the same batch we have been using.

Sept . 29 The U.S. Embassy puts t h rou^ a ca l l fo r us to the Center fo r Dis ea se Cont ro l in

Atlanta . The world expert on rabies wil l arr ive in Nairobi on October 1. While in

Nairobi we are able to have blood samples taken which are f lown ou t on the Pan Am f l i gh t

from Nairobi to New York. They wi l l be t es t ed in A tl an ta to determine if we have p roduced

any ant ibodies from the vaccine. t wi l l take a t le as t a week to ge t the r e su l t s TheC.D.C. recommends that we have three ful l doses of good vaccine (provided by th e Embassywithin the nex t week, then r e turn to Nairobi a f t e r t h a t t ime fo r more t e s t i ng In a way it

sounds l ike a horror s tory and in another way it i s l ike a comedy. With near ly four years

in Afr ica now, we have learned to t r u s t in the Lord whatever happens .

Oct. 6 Today Mike cal led the doctor a t the U.S. Embassy th i s morning. Good news We have

•^enou^ antibodies. Praise the~Lord We a re fo re ve r g ra te fu l to Tom and Fran Courtney; tothe members of our support ing church in Gainesv il le , F lor ida ; to the people a t the Univer

s i ty of Flor ida Medical School; and the U.S. Center fo r Disease Control. God has used them

—aga in—to s av e l i v e s

COURTNEY CHRISTIAN MISSION NON PROFIT ORG.

P.O. BOX 2053 U.S. POSTAGE PAIDSALEM OREGON 97308 PERMIT #505

SALEM, OREGON





Courtney Christian MissionP .O . B ox 2053

Sal em , OR 97308

Novem ber 9i 19^3

P.O. Box 900

Kitale, Kenya

October has been another t y p i c a l a ty p i c a l African type month. The work

at Kasei continues to progress. I have hired two fundis ( bu ilder s) t o cons t ruc t some s t a f f housing fo r the men who he lp us. The evangel is t medical

helper , teachers and the school chi ldren have a l l had to share the same small

bui ld ing. For the f i r s t time we were able to g e t a la rg e t ru ck up the s teep

road with most of the b u il di ng s u p pl ie s . This has saved me seve ra l t r i p s up and

d o w n w i t hthe trailer

We have also hired a medical he lpe r . We have been averaging about 90

patients per day so I m glad tha t Linda now has some help. Daniel i s also

able to continue administering some medicines even when we axe not there

I recently took Daniel and hiked the s teep path up Karakol Mountain to

t r ea t any sick people tha t we might f ind . No one has been there since thehelicopter crashed in June, The people did not know we were coming and manyof them were off working in their shambas (farms) or tr ad ing their maize. s t i l l had 86 people for cl in ic . They also traded 200 lbs. of maize fo rmedicine. I f ina l ly got three men to agree to carry it down to Kasei fo r us.

t was a long, hard day and I wasn t anxious to do it a l l over r igh t away,

but i t was worth i t just to see the happiness (and surprise) on the people sfaces

Some of our older school boys have expressed a desire to become Christ ians,

so I ve been studying with them. This i s the f i rs t response we've had a t Kasei,One of our school teachers i s a Chr is t ian so he has been a good inf luence on

th e children. The people of Kasei and the surrounding mountains are very t radit ional , I t i s going to be very in terest ing and a t t imes, I know,diff icu l t , to watch and gauge the response of the people to the Gospel as wecontinue to preach and work in the a rea .

The l as t of October, our co-workers. Dr . Harry Lil l ie Schaefer, along

with two single missionary ladies visiting from Uganda were involved in aserious automobile accident in the Samburu area in north cent ra l Kenya. Even

though the vehicle was totalled, they escaped serious injury, although theyare very bruised and sore. Dick, Tony, Jim and I took two vehicles to rescueour injured friends and tow back to Kitale the wrecked vehicle. I t was a longtwo day drive and a ll of us were glad to see our own beds again.

Once again we had the opportunity to r ejo ice in God's care for us .Ear l ie r in the month we made our l a s t rabies run to N airo bi and we praise

od that everything has worked out fine. I know that many of you uphold usin your prayers all the time, and we appreciate i t so much Thank you. a

Oc4obcr



/ S S

FFR

'To Reach a Hidden People

Courtney

C h r i s t i a n

M i s s i o nFORWARDING AGENTS: Rich Mary Ann Jenks/ P.O. Box 2053 / Salem, OR 97308 / (503)

FIELD ADDRESS: Mike Linda Courtney / P.O. Box 90 0 / Kitale, Kenya

V o l . 5 No . 3

s

would fit i n G r an d p a C o u r t n e y s c a r .

Th e r a i n y s e a s o n came i n M ar ch making t r a n s

p o r t a t i o n t h r o u g h f l o o d e d r i v e r s d i f f i c u l t .

December 1983

iji ^

F e b r u a r y

In January we arrived for ou r second term in Mike was privileged to as s i s t with baptismsKenya. Laura d i d n t believe a l l t h a t luggage a t our c e n t r a l mission s t a t i o n Kiwawa, in

i

C o n s t r u c t i o n o n o u r h o u s e a t K a s e i b e g a n i n

A p r i l . Some o f th e b u ild in g s u p p l i e s were

d e l i v e r e d b y a i r .

When i t came time to mud ou r house in May In June Linda went by helicopter to the had plenty of help. top of Karakol mountain to conduct a mobile

clinic



r

liE3 f:

Throughout the year Mike p a r t i c i p a t e d i n

Leadersh ip T r a i n i n g Conferences designed t o

e q u i p t h e l e a d e r s i n each o f t h e l o c a l chur

c h e s for t h e L o r d s w o r k .

During an a v e r a g e day o f c l i n i c i n September

Linda saw over 50 p a t i e n t s .

/mm

Linda spent part of November doing the usual

— w r i t i n g . She answers most o f t h e o v e r s e a s

corre spondence, does the bookkeeping, prepares monthly a c t i v i t y r e p o r t s annual f i n

ancial reports , and types t he news le tt er .

COURTNEY CHRISTIAN MISSION

P. 0 . BOX 2053

SALEM OREGON 97308

0

Because o f t h e d e l a y i n r e c e i v i n g o u r s h i p

ment from t h e S t a t e s T r e v o r and L a u r a h a d

summer v a c a t i o n i n th e s p rin g and had t o

c a t c h up i n J u l y and August,

XI n October , Mike began h i k i n g i n t o o t h e r

wise i n a c c e s s i b l e v a l l e y s a nd mounta in s t o

reach~ fh~e people l i v i n g in heavTly ~popuT-

a t e d a r e a s s u rr o un d in g K a s e i.

December - Mike, Linda, Trevor (8 years),Laura (6 years). are grateful for theprayer and f inancia l support we have r e

ceived t h i s y e a r and thank t h e Lord f o r

H i s c a r e a n d l o v e f o r u s .

Research/Horizons ^0. Box 2^27

Knoxville, Tenn 3790/:

NON PROFIT ORG.

U . S . POSTAGE PAID

PERMIT 505

SALEM, OREGON


Courtney Michael Linda 1983 Kenya

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