We arrived at the missionary guesthouse in Nairobi at 11:00pm and found Owen unexpectedly waiting for us in the parking lot. He interrupted our exuberant welcome saying, "I am not here on the best of terms, and my friend, Jon, is in our room and needs to spend the night with us."
Owen then began to tell us the following horrific details of his Mombasa trip --
During their trip to Mombasa, Ben didn't feel well most of the time. He had a sore throat before leaving for the trip. Four years ago Ben had surgery to repair a valve in his heart. Since then, he has taken penicillin daily. His mother doubled the dosage due to the sore throat. Soon the sore throat went away, but additional symptoms of fever and tiredness seemed to indicate malaria. Owen gave Ben his malaria medicine and made sure he had plenty of food and liquids. During the week, Ben seemed to improve. Thursday night Ben was well enough to join the group on the beach as they sat together telling stories and reminiscing about their days in Africa and life at RVA.
They boarded the bus early Friday morning, headed for Nairobi. Owen could never have imagined the difficulty that was ahead of them. Only two hours into the bus trip, Ben began to feel very ill. There were no options but to continue the long trip, over potholed roads, a hot breeze filling the bus. Then his symptoms worsened. He became extremely weak, unable to support his head. Owen and Jon took turns caring for Ben, each one sharing a shoulder for Ben to lay his head. Soon Ben was slurring his words. One of his hands became clutched, with his arm drawn tightly toward his upper body, and one leg was unable to move. Owen and his friends, gripped with fear, prayed for God to hold Ben and bring healing.
The long journey continued with Ben's condition worsening with every kilometer. A friend on the bus called Ben's father, Dan, who is a missionary doctor in Mozambique. Ben's family had remained in Kijabe during the week after the graduation of Ben's brother from RVA. His parents said they would meet the bus in Nairobi and take Ben to the hospital. Unfortunately, the bus went to a different bus station in Nairobi and Owen realized that it would take too long for his parents to navigate the heavy rush-hour traffic, which would delay Ben getting the emergency medial treatment he obviously needed. Ben's parents agreed to meet them at the hospital.
The bus arrived at dusk in the industrial section of town -- the most dangerous part of Nairobi. Owen ran the darkened streets frantically looking for a taxi and praying for God's protection as he passed ally ways where thieves and thugs await unsuspecting victims. Another friend lifted Ben off the bus as he had lost the ability to move both of his legs. With the Lord's provision, Owen found a taxi and managed to get Ben, who was quickly fading, into the car and they sped through the snarled traffic to meet Ben's parents at Nairobi Hospital.
The seriousness of Ben's condition became quickly evident, as the doctors determined that Ben had contracted a severe bacterial infection in his weakened heart valve, and the infection had led to an embolic stroke.
Owen and Jon crashed in our room. Saturday, we visited Ben at the high dependency unit at the hospital. While Ben recognized them, his condition was obviously life-threatening. His words are very slurred and he was paralyzed on his right side.
On Sunday, Owen, Jon and several other classmates went to see Ben for the last time at the hospital. His parents were preparing him for an emergency air evacuation to South Africa for surgery to repair his heart valve.
It took all day Sunday to complete the mound of paperwork required by the U.S. insurance company for approval of the emergency air ambulance. The plane was to arrive about 2:00 am Monday morning, but for some unknown reason it was delayed 5 hours before landing. Dan took Ben aboard the plane and rushed to Johannesburg, where more doctors awaited their arrival six hours later. Tragically, one hour prior to their planned arrival in South Africa, Ben died from an apparent heart attack. After 20 minutes of resuscitation efforts, Dan pronounced his 20-year old son dead. He arrived in Johannesburg with Ben to face many legal and logistical complications for the removal of Ben's body to the USA. Dan flew back on Wednesday to be with his wife and their remaining four children in Kijabe.
Friday they had a beautiful memorial service at RVA. Ben's father read a letter he wrote to Ben about how much he will be missed and the amazing impact he had on his family and friends. A story was told giving the following account of a close friend's little 3-year old boy who had been told about Ben's condition: The little boy prayed, "God, please make Ben all better." After he was told about Ben being on his way to South Africa he prayed, "God, please make Ben all better, so he can go home." After Ben died, his mother went to tell her young son the sad news and he said, with a child's profound insight, "Jesus made him all better -- he is home now!"
Ben was a wonderful young man who demonstrated his love for the Lord by his vibrant love for people. Please join friends all over the world who are praying for God to comfort the Entwistle family as they walk the road of grief and process the shock of Ben no longer being with them. Also, please pray for Owen and his friends who were with him in Mombasa and tried their best to care for him on the long bus ride back to Nairobi. Owen is returning 3 weeks early to the USA to attend the funeral service next Saturday in North Carolina.
Our disappointment that we will not have our mission to Kitgum, nor the remaining time in Africa as a family, is overshadowed by the big heart of love and compassion we see in Owen. We are watching Owen be a faithful and loyal friend to Ben -- to the very end.
Please pray as everyone gathers for the funeral it will be a time of remembering Ben, honoring his parents and most importantly, glorifying the Lord through the love being poured out during this tragedy.
We have seen the evidence of God's love in one of the most difficult moments any of these young people have ever experienced. It is amazing how Jesus shines His light and love and penetrates our darkest hour. Please pray for Owen on Saturday as he says his final goodbye to one of his very best friends.
Phil and Jennifer Leber
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