Ten Weeks to "Tenwek"

(Click Photo to Enlarge)

Just before arriving at Tenwek I asked the driver what the word "Tenwek" meant. He said that in the early days before airplanes were around to fly missionaries into the country they arrived at the Western coast of Africa by boats. Then before there were roads and cars, it would take them 10 weeks to make their way inland to Tenwek Hospital.

.

The Swahili name for "Week" was "Wek". So the Hospital soon became know as "Tenwek" because it took people ten weeks to travel there from the coast.

.

After more than 5 hours on the road, we knew we had arrived at Tenwek Hospital when we saw the hospital water towers pictured above with the Tenwek Mission Statement: "We Treat, Jesus Heals". There is an understanding that everyone who comes to Tenwek for medical care – outpatients and inpatients alike – will be presented with the gospel message while they were patients. Tenwek's Objective is to heal bodies and renew lives.