2016 Comes to an End

I remember having a conversation in Madagascar with someone who had been on the ship for 4 years, and heard me say that I write a blog post every week. He laughed and said that’s always how it starts, and to give it a year or so and see how I felt. He was writing one every 2 months or so now. I have to admit, he was right. I do feel differently now. Whether that’s just because I’m transitioning into a new season, or because everything is less new, or because I’m not spending enough reflection time, I don’t know. I guess this just feels like normal life now, and I’d rather just write about the exceptional things. All that to say that I apologize in advance if my posts start to come less frequently. This will be my 44^th (and last) post this year, which I started when I arrived to the ship back in January.

One of the first pages of my Bible says
it all, and this year has been living proof
that God's grace exceceds all logic.

It’s hard to believe that was one year ago, I was getting ready to come to the ship and had absolutely no idea what to expect. I still remember that bus ride from Tana to Tamatave where everyone asked me what my role entailed and I told them I had no clue. I wonder what I was thinking…going on faith alone, to fly across the world and into the unknown. I have experienced so many things this year, things I would have never dreamed, I honestly can’t believe it’s only been a year. I have changed so much as God has stretched me, broken me, molded me, loved on me, forgiven me, poured out his light on me. I’ve met the most amazing Godly people, people who are walking with God and have for a long time, people like me who are just starting their walks, people who are so incredibly close to God, people full of wisdom and joy and light. I’ve had the opportunity to serve and to be served. I’ve met people who have persevered in the most difficult circumstances, and against the worst odds, and yet are still full of hope and love. I’ve learned more about myself than I ever knew, and I can’t say I liked all of what I learned. In seeing those things, I can change, and become stronger, more gracious, more compassionate, more like the woman that God intends for me to be.

Carols by candlelight

So what was the last week or so of 2016 like? A mix of sunny activities that only Christmas in Africa could bring, and traditional Christmas activities, Mercy Ships style. This means competitive soccer games on the dock complete with shouting, pushing and yellow cards; a Christmas day zemi ride to the shipwreck, climbing and exploring and swimming in the ocean; a visit to the HOPE Center to deliver Christmas presents and play with the kids in the heat; teaching rugby to a friend and having great conversations; timing two friends early in the morning as they complete an intense Christmas Eve workout. It also meant caroling on the dock with patients; having friends help you cook a delicious pancake brunch for a family on the ship and eating, watching cartoons and building Star Wars lego sets together; an early morning airport run to do my small part so that a family could spend Christmas together; playing lots of board games; watching Christmas movies together, especially Die Hard; having a beautiful, and very moving Christmas Eve service with amazing worship; having the most delicious Christmas brunch with the best company I could ask for – so many laughs; waking up to shoes filled with presents outside your door on Christmas morning; an amazing ‘stocking’ that arrived from home and was delivered at the last possible moment.

It also meant missing home and tradition and family. And snow! You don’t realize how conditioned you are to associate Christmas with snow and cold. It was also about remembering that Christmas is about more than all that, that it’s about our saviour, Jesus Christ. I’m not the greatest at having down time and resting, so I’ve struggled with this time off, but I have had quite a bit of time to think and process and maybe that’s what God wanted for me.

Playing games at the orphanage

This week I was blessed to be able to go up to the orphanage and spend the night. They are running a camp for all the kids in their program (not just the ones who live there) because they are on a break from school, and it was so fun to join in. They are like a well oiled machine. They love to play ridiculous games, so we made sure to join in. We played a game called Huckleberry where you and your partner run at each other and do what was said, ie. foot to head, except he kept saying really silly things like, ear to ear, or nose to nose, or butt to butt. It was so funny. They also played a game called shoe scramble where 100 kids put their shoes in the middle and they mix them up and then they have to run and come find their shoes (they are in teams). We did an egg toss, made homemade play dough, painted team flags, played soccer and football, and spent a lot of time holding the little ones. They feed the kids really well during camp because for some of them this is the only time they get three solid meals a day. They have a Bible lesson twice a day, and were telling the story of Moses and the ten commandments. Each team was one of the commandments. I got to go on a motorcycle ride to get some more food for the yovos and that was a lot of fun! We got sleep at the house of three of the Americans who run the orphanage and it was cool to learn more about them and see all their family pictures. They really are doing amazing work. 

Taken from Justine's Insta - basically
looks like this all the time.

We’ve got something happening right now called Harmattan, which is when the wind blows down sand from the Sahara desert and everything is super dusty. Some people said it only lasts two weeks but others said it last until March! I’m really hoping for two weeks because it makes it hard to breathe and everyone is getting colds and respiratory issues (myself included). Now I have a very small idea of what it’s like for people who live in areas that are incredibly polluted (ie. Beijing). Some people have even been wearing those face masks that you see. It cools everything down, brings down the humidity and hides the sun. Not the most fun, but we’ll adapt.

One more thing that I wanted to share was about an amazing study that my friend showed me. Mercy Ships has started to publish more papers, especially now that we are doing more medical capacity building, hoping that others can learn from what we’ve done. In Madagascar they did a study to see what the levels of mobility were in patients months after their surgery. The patients had great results after, but what excited me the most was that they also asked the patients about shame and acceptance. Median patient shame fell from 58% before to 6% afterwards, and median acceptance went from 66% to 96%. This really blew me away. All the questions were asked postoperatively so there is the possibility of a bias in remembering how they felt before, but it amazes me that after their stay with Mercy Ships so few of them felt shame, and almost all of them now felt accepted. I think this is the intangible result of what we do - the impact that you can’t physically see on them is the emotional and spiritual transformation. That we can love on people and teach them to love themselves and know that they are loved. I hope that we continue to do research like this and really set the bar high for holistic care.

That’s all I’ve got for you – it’s been a crazy year, and I’m sure 2017 will continue to be more of the same. Following God to wherever He leads me – I wouldn’t have it any other way. So glad I get to share it with all of you. Happy New Year!

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. ~ John 1:1-5

Ortho surgeries are all done, but these kids have a lot of rehab left before they can go home. Pray for a good recovery!