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!

The Christmas Season

Santa Lucia performance.

Coming back from Paris, I soon realized that the ship was in full Christmas swing. Between the beautiful decorations everywhere, the Christmas movies and activities happening almost every night, it’s hard not to get into the Christmas spirit. This week we had a wonderful Christmas concert, which was a mix of our own ship performers and an incredibly talented trio who live in Benin. We also had a celebration called Santa Lucia, which is a Scandinavian tradition, where women wear white robes and carry candles and sing on the darkest night of the year, which Wikipedia says celebrates Saint Lucy, who was a Christian martyr. The crew who performed did an amazing job. We also got a special treat at our church service last night because we had some performances from the kids onboard. The girls danced a beautiful ballet piece for us, the youth band led worship, and the kids choir performed for us as well. Being part of such a talented, diverse community is an incredible blessing!

Two of the amazing gingerbread houses that our crew made.

Speaking of talented, Michelle and I helped to organize the gingerbread house contest that we had on Sunday and the houses that got built - wow! It was incredible. Who knew you could do all those things with food? We had people build a replica of Mercy Ships, stilt villages, beach houses, an entire manger scene with stained glass, a snowy cabin and so much more. Our judges had trouble deciding so they split it into traditional and non-traditional houses. It was so much fun to watch everyone building and getting creative and just sharing in the holiday cheer. I had my own gingerbread adventures this week. We went to the orphanage on Saturday so we wanted to bring stuff for them to make their own gingerbread houses, which required baking some of the gingerbread dough ahead of time. I should have learned by now that baking is really not my strength, but apparently I’m a slow learner. However, it all worked out in the end, thanks to help from Ben & Michelle, and the kids loved it! The icing was pretty runny in the heat, but we made it work. The houses lasted about one minute once they were built and then the kids ate everything. Going to the orphanage is always a highlight for me – not only to we get to spend time with the kids and love on them and on the Americans who work there, but I get to drive for hours with music playing and wonderful people for company. Each time we go, we bring different people, and it’s great to get to know them better. After our adventures with the houses, we challenged the kids to a volleyball rematch, and this time we were victorious! Everyone has such fun trash talking each other and the kids are so confident, it’s hilarious. 

As soon as I saw this, I knew
who it was from - my closest
'buddy', Jessica.

While Christmas time on the ship means getting an amazing Christmas package from home and watching movies you’ve never seen (It’s a Wonderful Life, Elf) it’s also a time where we say a lot of goodbyes. Some goodbyes are temporary, with people going home to spend Christmas with their families, but some are permanent. We’ve had quite a few long term members of our community leave over the last few weeks. It’s always so touching to see them get called up and honoured for all their hard work and sacrifice, and to see how loved they are by this community. Whether it is the most delightful words written by their manager, a standing ovation or tearful prayers, it is evident to see how much they have meant to this community. When the time comes for them to leave for the airport, the dock is filled with people giving hugs and saying goodbyes, and a long line of people waving goodbye to them as they drive off for the final time. Some we know are coming back, others we don’t know. Come the New Year, we are going to have quite the influx of people, both crew returning and new crew arriving.

Our orthopaedic surgeries are all done but
there is still lots of work to do before these
kids are up and walking again. Here they are
outside, getting some fresh air and playing.

Some other highlights of this week included helping to host two guests from the local hospital where our MCB team does a lot of mentoring, and seeing what a wonderful job our MCB project manager does building relationships; playing rugby on real grass (!!); and having a fire drill in the morning instead of the usual afternoon drill, which really caught everyone by surprise.

I also had some good conversations about what will come next for me, as friends helped me to brainstorm about what position I would want to do next field service. This summer, I will be heading to Cameroon in May (most likely) to join the advance team in helping to prepare for the ship’s arrival. I’m very excited for this new challenge and the learning opportunities that this presents. I’m getting more and more excited as our team comes together and I see what amazing people I will get to spend the summer with. Advance means leaving this huge ship community and working on land with a much smaller group of people, getting everything prepared before the ship arrives. But before any of that, is this Christmas season, which is meant to be a season of rest. Like our chaplain talked about last night, it’s a time to prepare your heart room for God and for everything He wants to do in you this coming year. I’m thankful that I have been able to slow down, to reconnect, to get back to the basics of my job. I look forward to the next few weeks of festivities and rest and for all that God has planned. I hope that you will all enjoy a restful holiday season spent with friends and family, eating lots, and praising Him who is so faithful and is always with us, so much so that He sent His son to be physically with us. What a gift. Emmanuel, God with us. Merry Christmas!

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” ~ Luke 2:10-12

A Week Away

One of the most famous
independently owned bookstores
in the world.

This past week I was blessed to be able to meet my mom and grandma in Paris and spend a week exploring with them. I love traveling because it means long uninterrupted periods of reading, although I’m pretty sure I took the least direct route from Cotonou to Paris. It was wonderful to be able to cook my own meals; to wake up and play Christmas music and make a coffee (Tim Hortons French Vanilla!), all without having to get dressed for the day yet; to have conversations about the things we’re experiencing and live in the moment, rather than talking about the ship; to not have to think about work or planning or the future. But while all those things were special blessings, my week away also made me realize that I missed ‘home’ – and when I say home, I mean the ship. I missed this amazing place and the community and I was looking forward to coming back. It was a much needed break but God also reminded me of why this place is so special and why I love it here.

So what did we do while we were in Paris? Well, we did a lot of walking, that’s for sure! From one side of Paris to the other – it’s definitely not the most wheelchair friendly place in the world, with all of it’s cobblestone streets, so grandma had some bumpy rides, but we made it work. We hit all the big sites: Place de Bastille, Cathedral de Notre Dame, Shakespeare and Company, Sainte Chapelle, Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower – and that was just the first day. I climbed up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe and it was such an amazing view. It’s the centre ‘star’ and 12 roads branch out from it. There was also a lovely Christmas market going on which reminded me a lot of home. It even had an outdoor skating rink set up. I definitely wasn’t prepared for the ‘cold’, a whole 5 degrees Celsius. I know that’s nothing compared to Ontario right now, but when you live somewhere that is 30 degrees every day, 5 degrees is cold! Can’t complain though, who knows when I will experience cold again.

3 generations of French women, cruising down the river.

The other days included exploring the Louvre, a beautiful dinner cruise on the Seine river, trying to find a bookstore that apparently no longer exists, visiting Montmartre and the beautiful Basilica Sacre-Coeur that’s on a hill overlooking Paris, seeing a comedy show, visiting Versailles, writing my test at the Canadian Embassy, and visiting the town of Caen. That day trip was the most moving part of our visit because we went out to Juno beach and visited the museum that’s there, commemorating all the Canadians who fought in WWII. Out of a population of 11 million, 1 million people volunteered to go fight, with 45,000 Canadians sacrificing their lives for the freedom of the French people. After visiting the beach we went to the cemetery where the 5000+ Canadians who died taking Juno Beach are buried. It was a very powerful and sobering moment to read those tombstones. They truly will not be forgotten.

I was thinking about what struck me the most about Paris and there were three things that came to mind. The first, which may seem obvious, was that everything is so OLD. In 2017, Canada is celebrating its 150^th year anniversary. Cathedral de Notre Dame is 850+ years old. That really puts things in perspective. Canada is a baby in the grand scheme of things. To think that for 850 years people have been coming to pray here and worshipping God, it’s pretty amazing. It’s the church where the Hunchback of Notre Dame takes place, and it’s also where Napoleon I was crowned. So much history in one place. The same thing with the Louvre, which was originally a defensive fort, then the main residence for Kings, then a museum. It’s only been the Louvre, as we know it, with the glass pyramids (built by an American ironically), since 1993. Anyway, we learned a lot of history, but the point is, that the ‘modern’ world, how we live now, is just a very small fragment of time. It’s changed greatly from the past and will continue to change greatly.

The second thing that impacted me was the level of excellence that was put into all of these buildings. I know that there is a big debate about spending millions on large church buildings, and it certainly seems unnecessary at times, but on the flip side, these men were gifted with creative abilities and they wanted to glorify God by building the absolute best they could. They built these churches with so much excellence, laying intricate glass windows, building domes and spires, doing extensive gold and wood work. Can we imagine starting a project that would take 200 years to complete? There is something to be said for building with excellence – and people coming to see it. 14 million visitors come every year to see Cathedral de Notre Dame. There are definitely people who are profoundly impacted by visiting this church. It made me think about whether I give God my very best.

Lastly, I got a small peek into what open borders in the European Union means in terms of people. Hardly anyone we met was originally French. We met Parisians from Algeria, Tunisia, Haiti, Canada etc. Rarely did we encounter someone who was born in Paris. Some areas, such as Montmartre, were noticeably different from the typical tourist areas, with large numbers of immigrants and it changed the feel of the place. It reminded me a bit of Benin, with lots of shops selling fabric, plenty of street vendors selling their wares, and people everywhere. The world really is becoming all mixed together and one can experience many cultures in one city. But even with all this mixing, people of similar cultures still tend to live together. Here in Benin, I think most of the ex-pats live in one area. It’s interesting to observe this mixing and dividing of cultures. Ottawa, where I grew up, is still fairly homogenous in terms of population, although I think that’s changing over time.

Coming back to the ship, God helped me see that the trip really wasn’t about the test. I’m still not even sure what is going to come of that. It was about those moments where my grandma said, ‘I never thought I would see the Eiffel Tower with my own eyes’; those times where we all laughed and laughed, so much so that the waiter gave us free wine; moments where we were amazed and in awe at the size and beauty of things; those adventures when we took a bus, a train, a tram and a taxi to get to our destination. It was about realizing how precious the community on the ship is, and how much I appreciate all the friends I have here. Friends to play in volleyball tournaments with (we lost), to go on shipwreck adventures with, to ride Zemis with (with helmets!), to spend the day relaxing and swimming and getting sunburned with. I missed sitting in my office with these beautiful ladies, hatching crazy plans and laughing hysterically, never knowing who will come visit us. I missed the wisdom and guidance that my boss provides, the excitement of planning for Cameroon, of celebrating with people when they extend, of being a small part of this amazing patchwork of people that makes us Mercy Ships. It’s good to be home.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

    your works are wonderful,

    I know that full well.

~Psalm 139:14

The beautiful view from Basilica Sacre Coeur.

Excellence and Laughter

Walking the kids back to school.

I think this past week or so has been characterized by growing relationships, with both crew and patients. And lots and lots of laughter. It’s always a big highlight for me when we go to the orphanage, Arbre de Vie, so I’ll start with that. After having prepared all the wood in advance for them, we loaded the car up and headed out. I love going on long drives and adventures and the car was filled with some of my favourite people, so really, what more could a girl ask for? Well, for those who have driven with me, you know I love to blast loud music the whole time and have everyone sing along. But, this time we had a car that didn’t have a plug in for music, so we were forced to actually talk to each other…kidding, we all know how much I love that too! We had some great conversations along the way. As the kids trickled in from their school lunch break, we played some Frisbee with them, held the little ones, ate lunch and talked with the adults. We helped them put up their new volleyball net, which was a gift from some crew members who had come the week before, and we got to chop down trees with machetes and a homemade ax. Near the end, some of the girls went to visit a local hospital and the rest of us walked with the kids to school. It probably looked a little strange to have 5 ‘yovos’ following 3 little kids through the bush. God must have given extra measures of grace and strength to the Americans who work there because they are doing an amazing job of loving on the kids, and we can see the change in them from visit to visit. As we were leaving, several people arrived looking for some medical care, because they know that John is a nurse and will help them if he can. They are such a bright light in the community. 

Their new volleyball net is up and ready to be used!

I could spend my whole blog talking about the orphanage, but I will move on, because I had a few other special moments in this past week. On Saturday, after spending the morning at the local pool with several of the families (jumping off towers!), I went down to the ward and my friend Michelle let me help her while she worked with the patients. We added a harder fiberglass cast to the casts the patients already had on, and then once it had dried, we got them up and walking again for the first time. We got them little booties to go over the casts and walkers, and she taught them how to walk with their casts on. These kids are quick learners! It was fun to see the patients react to walking again and a real blessing to see Michelle at work. Every crew member is so talented and pours out so much love. I was her assistant and got to hold a lot of legs. One of the little girls is named Miracle and she is 2 years old. Someone asked her mom, why she named her Miracle, and she said because she thought she was barren and would never have children so when she got pregnant it was a miracle! What an amazing story. It made me think about Abram and Sarai, and how God was faithful to His promises.

The ortho kids do their exercises with the physios. The girl on
the right is Georgette, one of the patients who I got to help with.

Now whenever I go down to the hospital, I see the patients walking up and down the hallway, strengthening their bones and muscles, like they’ve been told. They are eager to be able to walk normally! One boy David, speaks French and a little bit of English, and we have spoken a few times. When I was down there one day with the media team, he asked if I would come back and teach him English. So I went down later and spent some time teaching him some words and phrases. It was a really special moment, I hope to be able to go down more often to help him practice. I love that he is using his time here to learn new skills. 

This week I have been hosting a Belgian media team, which always brings with it interesting adventures. I have to mention the excellence of our hospital staff for a moment. At one point, we were down in B Ward and this was the situation: Nat Geo was on one half of the ward filming their patient; my Belgian media team was filming a patient on the other half of the ward, with a nurse, and a Comms photographer capturing footage of the Belgian ‘celebrity’ that they brought with them; our Comms team was on the same half, getting footage of their patient who was being discharged (photographer, videographer, writer); AND the nurses were still doing their jobs and dealing with all the screaming children who were unhappy with their casts and being forced to practice walking in them. I counted at least 13 guests and 5 cameras. I don’t know how they do it, but those nurses are incredible. Aside from being in the ward, we had moments where the media team randomly encountered a Belgian crew member that we had no idea was onboard (he had just arrived) and who did an amazing job of showing them the engine room and the bridge; we flew a drone off the monkey bridge; helped some crew who play bells and sing songs down in the ward (and then let the patients try – it’s pretty awesome); saw the crew stopped by police, thought the worst, and then drove over only to find out that the police were asking them to film them and saying they should come back later when something else would be happening, and basically being buddy buddy with them; finding a wonderful 11 year old boy from Nigeria, named Hawal, to follow and interview along with his dad; and many more things.

Driving down dirt roads and through fields to visit patients.

But the moment that touched me the most was when we went on a home visit with the palliative care team. For one, I’m in awe that not only would they allow a team to come along, but the patient is also okay with a media team coming to film them. We drove for about an hour, mostly on dirt roads and through some fields, until we arrived at a small house. The man and his wife greeted us with smiles, and were so welcoming and friendly. The man has a large facial tumour, and from the conversation I gathered that it was malignant (or at the very least, something Mercy Ships can’t treat). The palliative care team, which is two dutch ladies, asked him how he was feeling, about his appetite, how life was going in general, etc. This is the third time that they visit. At one point, this man started to talk about how all God’s ways are good, and that all glory be to God. Here he was, struggling to breathe, knowing that he was dying, and he was ministering to us, sharing about his faith and God, and loving others no matter what. It was remarkable. I pray that we would all have faith like this man, faith that can move mountains! 

Lots going on during a fire drill - hoses laid out, bottles of air
being changed out as another team gets ready to go in.

What happens when I don’t write every week is that I end up with far too much to say (surprising eh?). This week was also filled with baking adventures where I discovered I can’t read and put 1 cup of water into our cookie mix instead of 1 tablespoon (I was so sure it was 1 cup). We just about died laughing. But it’s okay because we turned it into a delicious cookie cake thing. I had late night debates with people about faith and the world, stayed up late sharing stories and sat in the office playing ridiculous games.  I had mentioned wanting a French Bible and someone gave me one, complete with a beautiful message she wrote on the inside. We had a goodbye party for Katie and Josh who have been part of the Africa Mercy Comms team since before any of us got here, and it was filled with encouraging words for Katie and from Katie to all of us. Such a special moment, to have the whole team together, and to hear everyone lifted up and praised. The other night, we had an auction to help raise money so that the teachers could go to a conference in Kenya, and I may or may not have spent a large amount of money on a single cabin for a week and a loaf of home made bread…but it was for a good cause! Yesterday brought a fire drill that was once again realistic and intense. The bow thruster room was filled with smoke so that the teams couldn’t see anything, and there were ‘unconscious’ victims to be carried out. I was so impressed with Fire Team 1 – the time between the alarm sounding and not only getting to the area with the fire, but being on air and entering the fire, was 3 minutes. That’s excellence right there!

Okay so that was my attempt at summarizing all the highlights of the last 10 or so days. It’s hard to explain the rollercoaster that is this ship. The days are long, especially when I’m hosting a team, but every moment is filled with very special people, whether that’s patients or crew, teammates and friends, mentors, chaplains, nurses, goofballs, children, those who are having life restored, those who are dying, the hopeful, the hopeless, the strong, the weak, those who are incredibly close to God and those who are pulling away. We’re a crazy mix of people on this ship and I wouldn’t have it any other way. God loves every single person, and I pray that I can see every single person the way He does. He is so tangibly present here and for that, I am infinitely grateful. I’m finally understanding how God uses others to show His love, and this place is truly filled with love. 

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ~Philippians 4:4-7

Sometimes our Comms team does crazy things like taking ridiclous photos in a life boat for a photo contest. Where do the creatives come up with these ideas?! Photo credit to Rodrigo!

The Strength of This Community

It takes a whole village...down in the wards, everyone becomes
family - our nurses, local translators and patients.

There are some weeks onboard the ship that feel like an eternity, and this was one of them. As I was listing all the noteworthy stories that I wanted to share, I couldn’t believe that all these things happened in 7 days! I think part of it has to do with engaging more with the community and investing in people and not being a hermit. But I think this week I also was reminded of the beauty and strength of this community and why I love each and every person so much. On Monday, we had a community of Faith party, where all the long termers come together to celebrate the newest group of onboarders who have arrived. That’s right, we’re no longer the new kids! Our senior chaplain talked about the triangle part of this community – the hierarchical, job side of our community – sometimes being at odds with the circle part of our community – the faith based, loving, equal side of our community. It was good to hear that acknowledged, because sometimes I am really torn between Renée, the person and community member, and Renée, the media liaison, and that was especially true this week. After the meeting, I decided to go for a swim and several of the other girls from onboarding arrived as well (unplanned) and we had a riot, laughing and telling stories.

Our nurses learn some new skills while
they take care of the patients!

That was one of my big takeaways from being in Grand Popo – that sunshine and water bring me great joy. So I made a big effort this week to go for a swim every day or so, even if it was a night swim, and to start the day with a run outside, to make sure I got a good dose of fresh air, instead of waking up and heading straight into my office. On Saturday, after walking to go get pizza, a group of us found ourselves in the pool once again and we had an impromptu pool ‘olympics’, just being generally loud and ridiculous. Although lots of spontaneous fun happens, there is quite a bit of planned madness as well! On both Saturday and Sunday, the kids (and some adults) had a nerf gun fight on the dock. This was serious business, with pallets stacked and put together as barriers, and plenty of obstacles. There was even someone timing the ‘dead’ people to let them know when they could get back in. It was great fun to watch from the top deck of the ship.

This week, I also finally received my first package on the container from my family! It was a bit delayed because of Hurricane Matthew, but it was well worth the wait. My sister sent me a minion that she made at a build-a-bear workshop, complete with his birth certificate. There was Tim Hortons French Vanilla mix (a delicious taste of home!) and all the ingredients to make magic cookie bars, which led to a fun baking session and then walking around sharing the goodness.

Minion Bob, lovingly made by
Jessica.

This week I got to participate in my first fire drill as part of the fire team and boy, was it intense! I feel very confident that if there was a real fire, our teams could handle it. During the drill, they turned the power off in the middle of the ship and used a smoke machine that spread smoke to several decks (so that the teams had to figure out where the fire was). They had one girl play ‘dead’ or at least unconscious, where they had to carry her out, and they had several ‘actors’ who refused to leave their cabins and gave the fire teams a hard time, to see how they would handle it. They did an amazing job. Thankfully my job is pretty simple – keep track of how much air they have left and let the team leader know when they are at the 10 minute warning. However I did mess up one thing! It’s my job to call in and say that Fire Team 1 is all accounted for and I didn’t do that, so now I know for next time. I guess that’s kind of important eh?

I also had an interesting rehab experience this week… not sure what else to call it! A young boy from the orphanage that we visit up north had broken his leg a few week ago (jumping off a swing) and it was time for his cast change. His caregiver wasn’t feeling great so they asked me to take him down to the tent for his appointment. He was fine until we entered the tent, but once we did, he started screaming and crying (I’m pretty sure he knew what was about to happen), and he didn’t stop for about an hour. I was walking around with him and everyone was looking at me like, what are you doing to that poor child?! When they were cutting his cast off and putting a new one on, I had to lean over him and hold him down. The therapist asked me how long he had the other cast on and I was like…..no idea…I’m just the messenger! The whole time I had to remind myself, you can’t just love them when their cute, you have to love them all the time. Kind of how God loves us all the time, even when we’re screaming or crying or pulling away or being ridiculous. It’s definitely a unique and special type of love to love someone when they are driving you crazy. Anyway, it was quite the experience. I have so much more respect for the physios who deal with lots of scared and screaming children, and also for moms, who do this all the time!

Crazy things go on down in the rehab tent...anything to distract
the kids.

Friday, a whole group of us went to an actual field (well it was mostly sand, but it had some grass!) and had an awesome game of rugby, 7 on 7. It was so much fun. The captain of the ship is basically our rugby coach – he’s so good and patient and really helps us work on making plays instead of just running around. On Sunday, a group of us spent a few hours taking apart pallets (carefully) and sanding them down, to bring to the orphanage, because they use them to make art and sell it to make money. We figured we could get a lot more done here and bring far more if it was taken apart. This means that when we go on Friday, we can spend more time focused on the kids :)

This has mostly been a disjointed set of stories, but I want to share one more that really touched my heart. One of the members of our onboarding team had to go home to deal with a family medical emergency and our senior chaplain called her up front on Thursday night so that we could pray for her. He asked if anyone who was close to her would come and up and lay hands on her and pray with him. I tell you, he hadn’t even finished his sentence and almost every member of our onboarding team was standing up and crowding around her. It was beautiful to see the level of love and support poured out. It made me realize how incredibly grateful I am for our onboarding family. Even though we have all spread out quite a bit, making our own paths and our own friends, we still share that deep connection and bond of having done something very special together. We will always pull back together to support a team member in need. I can’t help but marvel at how quickly they all became an integral part of the community. Everywhere I look, some of them are leading worship, teaching kids Sunday school, getting promoted into leadership positions, serving the crew and the patients. It’s remarkable. I’m so thankful that God brought me to the ship with each of these compassionate, loving people. 

Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. ~ Genesis 2:7

God's Abundant Graciousness

Israel had his cleft lip repaired and then our Comms team
visited him and his family at home.

This past week has really shown me what a life giving thing it is (at least for me) to spend time with others. It’s been an absolutely amazing week, filled with awe at the graciousness of God and being grateful for all the people He has put in my life. It’s almost like this week was meant to be the opposite or reverse of all my weeks as a hermit. The entirety of one night was spent playing cards and laughing. Another night was spent baking cookies, talking out frustration and birthday planning. One night was spent watching Lord of the Rings and including our own hilarious commentary. I forgot how much I love watching movies with other people, especially people who are okay with you laughing and talking the whole time. Other nights were filled with worship, small group and our Hebrews Bible study, which are all incredibly life giving. I am learning so much from the people here, from all the different experiences, stories and wisdom that they have. It brings me to tears when I hear the amazing ways that God has called His children, called us out of despair, out of hopeless situations, out of self-destructive cycles. He meets each of us where we are.

This weekend was filled with sunshine and laughter.

This weekend a few of us rented a house on the beach, around 2 hours from Cotonou and I think it was exactly what we needed. It was my first night spent off ship since we got here, my first swim in the ocean since we got here. We spent the weekend alternating between swimming in the ocean, swimming in the pool, eating and laughing. I got a little taste of the American Midwest when we went for a late night drive down a dirt road along the beach and blasted country music. We had a morning workout in the sand and did Navy Seal style situps in the surf with our arms linked (I mean why not right?). We played cards and napped and read and laughed. There was so much laughter and ridiculousness. It was perfect.

Amongst all of this fun, I promise that I did do some work. Thankfully we had a week with no guests so Tiff and I were able to focus on planning and fixing processes. Some stuff had been getting missed because we were so busy, and we were able to catch up on all that stuff and start thinking about ways to make things easier for the crew. We have 4 teams coming back to back (starting tomorrow night), so we were able to start nailing down various moving pieces. It was nice to have a slower week, where I could have coffee with people, wander around and see how everyone was doing and put some plans in place.

I have also been added to one of the fire teams on the ship – BA control for Fire Team 1. My first question was, what’s BA control? BA stands for breathing apparatus, so basically I’m in charge of keeping track of how much air the fire team has left in their tanks. Being on a fire team means that you have to attend training on the weeks that there isn’t a fire drill and we had our first training last week. I was definitely outnumbered considering I was the only girl there, but it was really interesting. Rodrigo filled a room with smoke and turned the lights off and we got to go in and look around using a thermal detector. It’s interesting all the things you have to think about when putting out a fire on a ship. You don’t want to continuously spray water because all that water has to go somewhere after. You definitely don’t want to sink the ship by filling it up with water.

A few weeks ago, when Don was here, we participated in a
very official signing ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs to set up a regional office here in Benin.

As I’m sure most of you know, this week was the U.S. presidential election. Some of the crew stayed up all night to watch the results. I woke up at around 4am, from a great dream where Hillary was elected and we were celebrating the election of the first female president, checked my phone and couldn’t believe it. Hard to sleep after seeing that Trump is leading and looks like he will win all of the swing states. I had such high hopes. It’s a little heart breaking considering she won the popular vote, and now it’s looking like she won it by almost 2 million votes. The Electoral College math just didn’t work out for her. As more and more people gathered around the TV in the morning and listened to Trump give his acceptance speech, one of the crew members came and asked if anyone wanted a commitment extension form. That was hilarious. We joked that this was the plan for recruiting more people for the new ship. It’s always so interesting to experience international events with such a diverse crew. People from many different countries were watching and discussing the results. Some people were content with the results, others were devastated, with everyone else falling somewhere in between that spectrum of emotions. I won’t say too much more on that, because we will just have to see what happens, but I wanted to share a little of what it was like to experience that in a community that includes many nations.

Two of the very best maxfax surgeons, hard at work - Dr.Gary
Parker and Dr.Mark Shrime.

This week also brought a really interesting and unexpected blessing that helped get rid of the election day blues. That morning I had no plans to go anywhere and by the end of the day I was headed to France, flights booked and everything. It’s a bit of a long story, but short version is that I started the process of applying to work for the Canadian Foreign Service, because it’s a really long process and mostly just to see how far I would get. Well, I’ve gotten further than I thought, and the next step is to write an in person test and the closest/most direct place that they are offering the test is in Paris, France. I mentioned it to my mom, and she was like, okay, we will pay for you to go and grandma and I will meet you there! I was astonished. What a blessing it is to have parents who believe in you that much, who help you chase your crazy dreams. So in less than three weeks I will be meeting my mom and my grandma in Paris, France. This has special significance for us because our family is French and I know they have long wanted to visit France. The whole thing is a special God blessing – the one test date falls on a week where I happen to be able to leave the ship because I’m not hosting a team, no one else on our team is gone and I’m generally not needed. By the end of the day we had flights and an airbnb booked. My mom told me that I keep life exciting. This made me think back on this year and I can’t help but marvel at what God has done in my life in one year. In terms of countries, this year I have been to Jamaica, Madagascar, Canada, USA (Texas), London (a few hours), South Africa, Benin and am now going to France. I know I say this often, but God has such big dreams for us – I would never have dreamed up something like this on my own.

I want to end with a thought that a friend shared with me a few weeks ago, when I was struggling with the question of why be excellent? He said the reason to be excellent is to be the shining light in a crowd of shadows. That has really stuck with me. What a beautiful image. That is my prayer for us: to be able to put aside ourselves and shine bright with God's light. To be so overflowing with God's love and joy and grace and peace that it pours out onto others. 

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. ~ Philippians 1:9-11

Last week our orthopedic screening got under way and this week surgeries start! These kids are warriors and they are ready
for surgery, months of rehab and then finally, straight legs.

Starting With a Spirit of Gratitude

At some point this week when I was in line for lunch, I noticed that someone had put a new sign on the community whiteboard. It said something along these lines: It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful. That really stopped me in my tracks. I think I’ve been mixing up the cause and effect, waiting for joyful events to be grateful about, when really I need to approach things with a grateful attitude and that in turn will bring me joy. Last week was a frustrating week – not necessarily because things were harder or worse than any previous weeks but because my attitude was worse, my heart position was worse and that made everything seem negative. My reaction to everything and everyone was immense frustration, and then I became frustrated that I was so frustrated because I didn’t want to feel this way. And yet, God was using this time to teach me many things.

A patient having his eyes checked during eye screening.

One big lesson that I have been continuously learning, is how much God uses other people to bless us, to encourage us, to show us His love. He surrounds us with people who pray for us, who listen to us vent, who empathize with us, who laugh and act silly with us. There are times when I feel immensely lonely on this ship, which seems crazy on a ship with 400 other people, but it’s true and I know others feel this way too sometimes. But I realize that in those times when I feel so alone, it's because my vision is clouded; my gaze has shifted away from God and I’m focused on myself or other things. When I have a moment of clarity, I realize that I am not alone at all – I am surrounded by a loving community, one that is striving to be more like Him, one that has the same struggles.

One thing I really need to work on is sharing my burdens with others. That’s the advice someone gave me after I said I only knew how to be happy Renée and that I wasn’t very good at being sad Renée. I had so many people speak into my life this week, without even knowing what I was struggling with. One person told me that they can tell when I’ve pulled back and become frustrated Renée because I walk around with a closed off look. They can tell I’ve shut others out – I don’t greet people, or share random things or light up and laugh. One wise lady gave me some amazing advice, she told me that instead of focusing on the things that sucked or were frustrating, to focus on the things that were done well, those things that I appreciated, and to tell people that, to tell them the things they did well. It seems simple, but when you’re caught in that fog of frustration or anger, it’s so easy to forget these things. This goes back to my quote at the beginning, about starting with a spirit of gratitude. 

Out dental team taking care of a patient.

In terms of what was happening this week, I was able to go and help with dental screening where our dental team supervisor does an amazing job of screening patients for the whole week, which is around 250 people. He runs up and down the lines examining people, and has separate numbers of wristbands for men, women and children. There are always far more women than men. They have also put a lot of thought into what they do – they don’t go down the line in order because often people will try and sell their spots to others if they understand the method. Instead, he randomly selects people, starting with those that he can see need immediate attention because their faces are swollen. The ship also hosted the entire national assembly of Benin (the Senate) and they had a lot of questions for us. Many people want to come and visit the ship. In terms of media, I went down to the hospital at one point and we had Nat Geo filming, a visiting Belgian media team that Tiff was hosting and our Comms team, all working down there. The hospital has been doing an amazing job of being patient and flexible with all the media that has been around, showing them so much love and compassion. 

David, with his family, at home after his surgery.

As for patients, the patients that I mentioned last week are all doing very well. God has worked many miracles. During worship last night, our worship leader said something really powerful. He said that whether the patient who was in critical condition had lived or died, we would still praise God. I am so grateful for leaders who always point back to God and His truth, who draw us closer to Him. Last night we had an amazing night of extended worship, which was such a blessing to the community. God always knows what we need and I think that He knew we needed an extra measure of His Spirit last night. It is so powerful and encouraging to stand with this community and approach the throne room of God. I am infinitely grateful for moments like last night and can’t help but be excited for an eternity spent worshiping our wonderful Creator. One of the songs had a chorus that said God with us, God for us. I needed that reminder, that not only is God with us but He is FOR us, He is fighting battles for us, He’s our rock, our refuge, our defender. 

Michele going above and beyond, taking on the role of photographer.

As for the creatives, they’ve been incredibly busy as well, and went on 2 home visits last week, with David and baby Israel. They’ve actually been so busy, that there has been a lot of load sharing happening. One great example is when they were unable to send a photographer to the opening of the agricultural site so our boss, Michele, took a camera with her when she went and captured some pictures. The HR director also took some pictures for us and he took this great shot of Michele getting right into it. For another project, not only did our videographer have to pass it off to a photographer, but they asked me to help - they must be getting really desperate (kidding!). The videos were for the Canadian office and it was fun because we got to run around the ship, gathering crew members and making them say stuff. If you follow Mercy Ships Canada on Facebook, you should see the videos eventually. And the beauty of helping to organize videos is that you don’t have to be in them (*insert evil laugh*).

And so a frustrating week came to an end and God gave me the strength to finally stop being a hermit. I had been slowly receding from the community (to my own detriment) and I was paying the price for it. I finally forced myself to go out and do things and I am so thankful for that because it filled me up so much. On Friday night, some of us went into town; on Saturday a group of us went up north again to the orphanage and worked hard taking apart pallets and sanding down the wood; and on Sunday, myself and a group of Brazilians went to what I call a ‘bush church’ for the second time. One of my friends, Rodrigo, was asked to preach last minute and he did an awesome job. It reminded me of when Peter says to always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have (1 Peter 3:15).  It really makes me think because I don’t think I could go up there and do that! The pastor of the church speaks 11 languages and translated from Portuguese to French, someone else translated that into Fon (the local language) and last time we were there I also translated the French into English for my friend. So many different cultures and languages, all worshipping the same amazing God. I leave you with the words of this song, a song that has so much truth in it, one that I haven’t been able to stop humming to myself today:

I will sing, sing, sing

To my God, my King

For all else fades away

And I will love, love, love

With this heart You’ve made

For You’ve been good always