Hitting the Ground Running in Benin

A before/after of one of the wards.

Ever since we’ve arrived in Benin, it’s been full speed ahead for every department. The IT department set up our new high speed internet and have been trying to get all the local cell phones working (for those whose jobs require it), and this is on top of all the regular work they have. The supply department has been unloading numerous containers, which have all the supplies we need to get underway for the field service. This week they also unloaded the container that had the stuff we shipped from Texas – we all were pretty excited to get the goodies that we had shipped ourselves. The hospital team has been busy unpacking and cleaning the wards, getting them ready for patients, while the OR team has been unpacking the operating rooms and sterilizing them. They have both had the added dimension of having Nat Geo filming them as they do this (who knew cleaning was so exciting?). Starting tomorrow, the day crew will be coming on board for some extensive training because the hospital officially opens in one week, and surgeries start on Sept.12^th. 

The tents are set up and ready to go.

The transportation team had several busy days when we first got here as they tried to get the cars all ready to go before screening started. They were stuck because of the typical bureaucratic issues, but apparently the First Lady heard about this and called the appropriate department and got them to come in on a Saturday to make sure we got all our plates. What a gift – I love how involved and invested the government is in our mission. Other departments have been helping to set up the tents outside (admissions, rehab, screening, outpatient). A lot of this was done by a Mercy team – these are basically groups that come as part of a short term mission trip. From my understanding, a team always comes to help us set up when we first arrive in a country. They were only here for two weeks, but they accomplished so much! Our HOPE Center (off ship hotel for patients) team has also been hard at work setting up and getting everything ready for patients to arrive. This year the HOPE Center is half the size of the one in Madagascar (120 beds) because many patients live close enough to go home in between appointments (once they have been discharged). We also had a Captain handover the other week – Captain Jon Fadely, who sailed us from Durban to Cape Town to Cotonou, handed over to Captain John Borrow, who will be our Captain for the entire field service. It was a great moment as we got to celebrate both of these remarkable men. 

A shot of the screening line - it stretches far into the distance.

And of course, the screening team has been extremely busy over the past few weeks. This week, they decided to take a new approach to screening. On Monday, they let in everyone who was waiting outside, around 1000 people and pre-screened all of them. They had a better idea of what they were looking for now, so rather than spend 2 minutes with each person, they spent 15 seconds with each of them. Around 350 people got yes’s at this point and headed inside for the screening portion. It was a long day for the team but they were able to completely clear the line so that no one was left sleeping outside. The rest of the week they still had several hundred people and maintained the same strategy, of letting everyone inside. They have been working incredibly hard to make all of this happen, and next week the team will be split in half as surgeon screenings begin on the dock, while regular screening continues out in town. Pray that they would have the strength and endurance to finish the task at hand! 

Some of the patients who have made it past pre-screening,
waiting to see a nurse.

As for the Comms team, we’ve been busy as well trying to document everything that has been happening. On Wednesday, Tiffany, Michele and I were able to visit the U.S. Embassy in Cotonou (Tiffany was pretty happy to spend an hour on U.S. soil!). We met with their Public Affairs team and they were very helpful, giving us an idea of what the media landscape is like here, allowing us to leverage their contacts to get the word out about screening, and even giving us a tour. On Friday, we helped to host a last minute visit by the Minister of Health and representatives from the WHO, UNICEF and various other NGO’s. The group (along with about 10 members of the media), visited the screening center and then came to the ship for a tour. Mix in screening, helping with Nat Geo and processing pictures, and that makes for a busy week. 

Our transportation team worked hard all weekend
to ensure the cars were ready in time for screening.

One neat thing has been seeing the ‘finished product’. Every week, the writers and photographers work on something called the weekly scoop, which compiles the best pictures and stories from the week and sends them out to the national offices. This is where they get all their material for Instagram and Facebook. It has been really cool to see all these pictures published by the various offices and shared many times over, especially because for many of the pictures, I was there, I know their names and their stories. There is something special about knowing the story behind every picture – I love being part of this amazingly talented team! We’ve also been able to watch many of the local news stories that have aired about Mercy Ships and that we got to host at the screening center. On top of that, the Danish team from TV2 BIGGEST program that I hosted a few months ago, just aired their program. I haven’t had a chance to watch it yet (it’s all in Danish…), but the producer told us it’s the best thing he has ever produced and that it still moves him to tears. I love seeing the way God uses this place to touch people’s hearts.

While it has been very busy, there has still been time for conversations where you laugh so hard it hurts; being victorious at board games; playing rugby/volleyball/frisbee on the dock; community worship of our amazing God; off ship dinner at a Thai place; swimming in the pool (and getting sunburnt); ice cream and profound conversations. I am so thankful for each and every person on this ship – what an amazing community we get to be a part of. I am also grateful that God has continued His work in me, breaking down the false images I have of myself, and showing me once again that I am His beautiful, wonderfully made daughter. His ways are good – He continues to reveal things to me, one piece at a time, knowing how much I can handle at once. This current season is for being – being with God, being with others, being truly seen, just showing up and being. The Holy Spirit is teaching me the difference between using vulnerability and being vulnerable. I’m a work in progress – we all are – but I love that our God cares so much about each of us that He continues to shape and mold us into the people that He intended for us to be.

 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. ~ Hebrews 3:13-14

Timmy and I wandered down into the village that is just a few minutes away from the screening center, where it seems that
they make most of their livelihood off of the water. This is just one of the amazing moments that he captured. This is what
he had to say: It's a wonderful and humbling moment when you find yourself remembering that we really are no different at all. All it took was a smile from a stranger in a country where I don't speak the language; I suddenly felt welcome. I was reminded that underneath the worries of the world and the illusion of separation, we all - on a fundamental level - want to laugh and feel joy, to love and be loved, and to be acknowledged as part of this human experience we've all been thrown into headfirst - something we all too often forget. Can't put it any better than that! PC: Timmy Baskerville.