Day 203

Merry Christmas!!

My first Christmas on the Africa Mercy has been very nice.  There is a very close-knit community feeling with mainly familiar, long-term faces onboard.  I joined in the tradition of putting a shoe outside my door to be filled by the other crew members on Christmas Eve.  This morning, the hallways were lined with Christmas gifts and goodies that overflowed the shoes.

The past few weeks have been busy with events and activities helping everyone to get into the Christmas spirit.  Christmas caroling, craft night, Winter Wonderland, classic Christmas movies-tonight it was "A Charlie Brown Christmas"- and a Christmas Eve service last evening just to mention a few.  Sunday evening church has been Advent, leading up to last night when the final candle was lit.

It's such a blessing to have a community like the Africa Mercy, where everyone pulls together to make it a Christmas to remember, regardless of how far away home is.  Thank you crewmates!!  Merry Christmas to all.

Day 181

Many changes have been happening recently.  Last Thursday we loaded things from Admissions into a container which will then be lifted onto the ship for transport to Togo. 

Friday we had a celebration for the Day Workers at which we bid them farewell.  The uncertainty of whether or not I will ever see some of them again was rather sad.  Our team in Admissions was a pretty tight-knit group, as we spent many hours each day in a small tent.  We learned so much from each other.  I learned small small Krio, that it is unacceptable to only smile rather than say "Good Morning" and ask "How did you sleep?", and I got in trouble if I tried to do anything on my own without asking Florence for help.  She says she learned from me how to grunt.  I didn't realize how often I just made noise rather than actually talking.   There's a grunt for "Oh, I understand," "No," "Yes," "Maybe," "I don't know," "I don't care," "Absolutely not," etc. 

Saturday many Mercy Shippers enjoyed the wedding of two crew members: Gregory and Becca.  It was the most fun I've ever had at a wedding.  It was West African style in that there was lots of hooting and hollering during the service, mainly during the exchange of vows, and the kiss.  While the couple and certain others were signing the register, some brave folks formed a circle in the front of the church and danced, waving their handkerchiefs in the air. 

Monday began with most of the remaining nurses scrubbing floors, walls, and ceilings of the hospital.  Everything is being packed down very strategically so as to keep things from breaking during the sail. 

Tuesday and Wednesday were also filled with cleaning and packing. 

 While some were inside working, others were working outside. The Orthopedic and Admissions Tents were washed, dismantled, and stowed away for next year.  The dock seems a bit empty now with them gone. 

On Thursday I moved to my temporary job of Crew Services-Housekeeping.  I'm finding out how grateful I am for the work Housekeeping does in keeping the ship clean.  It's no picnic. 

We also said our goodbyes to 26 crew members on Thursday.  Goodbyes aren't very easy, even when it is "see you later;"  I saw many tears on Thursday, not excluding myself.  We sent them off in true Mercy Ships fashion by lining up and waving until the vehicle(s) could no longer be seen.

Goodbye!!  The ship has been very quiet and empty the past few days...you are missed!

Day 165

Comfort, on her day of Admission.

Yesterday was the last day of Admissions.  Today was the last day of surgeries.  Tomorrow is a Ship Holiday, making for a long weekend to relax a bit.  The next several weeks will be busy with packing and getting things ready for the sail.  Today we spent scrubbing the tent, getting it ready for pack-down.  The hospital will soon close, and I have been advised that I am moving to Crew Services on my birthday, where I will remain until time to start up Admissions again. 

Thank you so much to everyone who has helped to give me this opportunity to meet people from around the world, to work with people that I otherwise would never have met, etc.  I pray God continues to change me and make me into the woman he plans me to be.  I was reminded today of my need to be a bit more culturally sensitive at times.  May I have a willingness to keep learning as we move onto our next service in Togo. 

~ Day 148 ~

Saturday, October 29, was Blessing's wedding.  He works with us as a translator in Admissions.  Such a fun experience to see how they do weddings here in Sierra Leone.

The happy groom, patiently waiting for his bride to arrive.

I think this was the ring ceremony.  If you see the aerosol can in the bridesmaid's hand...we tried to figure out what it was.  It was somewhat like artificial snow or feathers, but evaporated pretty quickly.  She sprayed it after each one said their vows, etc.  Guess it's possibly the equivalent to silly string :)

Re-entering after signing the "register," otherwise known as the marriage license. 

Florence and I :)



Day 136, 137, and 138

Day 136.
Just got back from a very refreshing worship time out on Deck 7.  I have really missed singing a lot of old familiar hymns, but some were brought back tonight.  So nice!  "Some glad morning when this life is o'er, I'll fly away..."  It's been stuck in my head, now it's in yours as well!  At least it's a good song to have stuck in your head.  You're welcome.

And now it's Day 137. 
We are heading into week #33 of surgery here in Sierra Leone, with 4 weeks remaining before the pack-down. I literally just turned in my paper for where I want to work while the hospital is closed during the sail.   Crew Services, Galley, Dining Room, or Your Suggestion  are the options.  I'm not sure when I'll find out where I'll be, but soon I'm sure.  Time is really going very fast.

Positions are currently being filled for Togo as well.  I and several of my fellow Gateway attendees will be assuming leadership roles in Togo.  The past several weeks I have gradually been learning the ropes for Admissions Team Leader.  When I left home, I never would have expected to be in leadership, but God had other plans.  So as I learn, I'm sure I will fall flat on my face a few times.  Or a thousand times.  Please pray for me as I learn to lead, that I will have the wisdom and strength to carry out the tasks to be done. 

And I thought my dedicated blog followers might be interested in seeing what seems to be the subject of many conversations on the ship recently.  We even had our own paparazzi during dinner the other evening.  They were very sneaky. 

Day 138.

Typical working day.  With the exception that it's Friday!! : )   As a general overview of the day:  We start at 8:00 by buttering bread for the patients.  8:30 is team devotions.  9:00 we start seeing patients who then see Dr Ann (the Hospital Physician).  11:30 pass out the buttered bread for lunch.  12:00 is our lunch break.  1:00 back to work-Phebe the Phlebotomist comes and draws the vial(s) of blood from each patient.  Around this time is also when the photographer comes and takes all the necessary pre-op photos. When things are wrapping up, one of the Day Workers does the "Big Talk" about what to expect on the ship, what to do and not to do, etc.  Since today is Friday, that means the patients today won't actually have surgery til Monday.  Therefore, rather than take them into the wards, we make sure they know to come back on Sunday at 2:00, then away they go and the day is complete!

Now I'm just waiting on my telephone date with Lisa and Amelia from home! : )  So excited to talk to them!!

** Day 108 **

Oops. I knew it had been a long time since my last blog, but didn't realize it had been this long. 

River #2 on Sept 4.

It was a beautiful day to start with, then it rained.  And then poured!

Swimming in the rain is pretty fabulous, tho.  The rain makes this cool tinkling noise as it hits the ocean.

Grandpa's brother's wife's nephew...on the ship for 2 weeks.  It's a small world :)

(For those of you who would know, it's Denver and Jean Paulus' nephew Bruce.)

Visiting the Hope Center- this is Osman :)

Don't remember this lady's name, but she's quite hysterical.

This is Samuel, a translator in the Admissions Tent.  On Sept 11, we visited the church he pastors.  As you can see, he was very excited to see us arrive. :)

Papa Richie, a nurse in Admissions, gave the message.

After church was finished, they served lunch!

Looks delicious, huh? :)  The sauce is made with cassava leaves and it is SPICY!!

We ate what we could, not wanting to be rude, then shared with a young guy who was more than happy to dig in.  They grow up eating this sauce, so they love it.  Watching them eat, you wouldn't know it was spicy at all.  As for me, I can't hide it too well. :)

Samuel's son on the right.

These little sweeties had just eaten their meal and have orange grease all over their faces and hands!  They're so precious.  The children are my favorite part of every day.  But everyone who knows me already knows that! :)

Isn't he adorable? :) 

And THEN!!!!!  Drum roll, please!

My very first nephew was born on Sept 15, 2011.  I got to hear him cry over the phone when he was approximately an hour old. :)  Too bad it wasn't in person, but I'm thrilled about him anyway. :)

Layne and her new baby brother! :)  She's gonna be the perfect older sister.

Tomorrow he will already be a week old.  Time flies.  Before I know it, I'll be able to go home and see him for real.

I was able to observe surgery on Sept 16.  I was very excited that I recognized all three patients from Admissions.  It really made it exciting to see them in the OR after being part of the process getting them to that point.

That evening we had a Gateway Get-Together and decorated the delicious sugar cookies Amy made.  Lovely Annika and Amy, waiting for others to arrive :)

Lunch with Amy (the ship radiologist and my current bunkmate) and Abdel on Saturday.  She was our lovely guide through town, shopping assistant, etc.  Wouldn't have been such a great experience without her.

Then Mama Beach on Sunday!  I really do love this beach.

With Jenny and Hoe Jung

Sweet little Ibraham.  I met him the other time I was at Mama Beach.  He had told me he liked to sing.  He is Muslim but goes to a Christian school, and therefore knows Christian songs.  So we sang. :)  We sang some more this time while swimming in the ocean. :)  He and several other little boys were swimming away, but they didn't know they could float in the ocean, especially with the salt content as high as it is.  So they were trying it out.  Then we played Marco Polo, and pretended to be sharks.  lol  I was having loads of fun, but had to get to the shade before I burned any more.

Thank you to everyone who has been keeping in touch and sending news and such my way!  I practically run to the office when I get an email that says "You have post!!"  :)  And thanks to you, it's pretty consistent.

Until next time...





Day 86

This was taken last Saturday when we went to Mama Beach.  It was so much prettier in person...The boats are so bright and colorful, the sky was gorgeous, and the atmosphere was full of excitement.  I think the whole village was on the beach fishing that day.  They work together so well.  I counted 30 people on one net pulling it in.   The small fish that get caught in the netting are what the "helpers" get as their pay for helping.  Young children to old women, they were all there.   

Our ship holiday was August 26, giving us a three day weekend.  They do that approximately every 6 weeks.  On Friday we took advantage of the day off and went into town to the Big Market, aka Craft Market.  Enjoyed a chicken fajita at the Crown Bakery, then walked down fabric street.  The fabric is simply gorgeous and there are so many choices.  I found some blue "lace" as they call it and had a skirt made over the weekend.  I love it!  It's dressy and African made, but still tame enough to wear when I get home without sticking out like a sore thumb.  : )

The tailor's nephew

The tailor

The finished product!!!!

Yesterday I was able to move into the back room in our cabin which is much roomier.  My new bunkmate and I are so excited about our new living quarters. hehehe  We decorated it and everything.  And we both slept very well last night.  It is completely, and I mean completely dark back here and we didn't hear anyone snoring or anything.  lol 

I smiled for the picture, but otherwise I was terrified that we were going to capsize.

This was our transportation to Bunce Island...see the below sign.

There were several cannon barrels from long ago.

The island was complete with a cemetery. 

 Almost back to dry ground :)

Day 70!! (10 weeks down, approximately 46 weeks to go)

An exciting and eventful two weeks it has been since arriving to the ship.Like I said in my last post, I started work on Monday, August 1.  We start our devotions at 0830, start seeing patients by 0900, take the patients to the ward sometime after 1500, then finish up for the day sometime before 1700.

.  The Admissions Team: Samuel, Rachael, Richard, Helga, Dr Ken, Me, Margot, Florence, Blessing, Joel

On Saturday, August 6, I joined a group going to the Don Bosco House.  We took puzzles, games, some crafts, and some new soccer balls.  The team who goes every other Saturday puts out a sign up sheet for others to join in.  They had an open spot so I joined them at the last minute.  It was a good experience.  Saturdays are open for other children to visit as wel, so it wasn't just the boys who live there who got to join in the fun.  A few girls were there as well.  (See the above picture.)  Fatmata was on the left, Mary on the right.

On the way home, we bought some plantain chips.  Yummy. 

Africa has the ultimate shopping service.  Buy as you drive-the vendors run along beside you. :)

Sunday, I spent a lot of time in my room  just working on my last blog-adding pictures, etc.

This past Saturday, August 13, I signed up to go to the Women's Prison.  The story of Joseph was told while the imprisoned ladies joined in with us to act out the story.  We did a craft with them, then went on our way.  We had spent a lot of time stuck in traffic, so we didn't have as much time to spend with them as was originally planned.  We also had a bit of vehicle trouble.  Those stick shifts don't go so well with crossroads at the top of hills.  :(  But thankfully God kept us safe and we were able to roll backwards down the hill without hitting anyone, to get a running start back up the hill. :)  This time Clementine was able to make the left turn without stalling out. Hooray!

Today a group from Gateway '11 went back to Yams Farm for church.  It was so nice to go back and see the familiar faces and also to see the work they have done since we left.  The latrine building has been painted, the concrete floor inside the church is finished, they have painted inside the church as well, and the office for Pastor Mark looks close to completion.  I noticed that children were helping to lead the singing time.  I don't remember seeing children up front during the church service while we were there, so I think it may be something new for them.  I also noticed an older lady giving a young girl a hug.  She didn't pick the child up, it was simply a hug and a smile.  I was very encouraged by that.  During our last meeting with Pastor Mark, he had mentioned that they noticed how we treated the children with respect and listened to what they had to say. 

Our entertainment on the way to church.  See the goat in the back of the Poda Poda?  It was playing Peek-a-boo.  :)