Week 7: E Ward

Serafine - being admitted today to have a goiter removed.

The last ward left to talk about is E ward (because C ward is for overflow). E ward is for general surgery, which typically focuses on fixing hernias, goiters and other problems that the surgeons believe they can fix. When I first arrived, E ward was empty because there was no general surgeon aboard and the focus was on plastics. This is a side note, but one of the world’s best plastics surgeons, Dr.Tertius Venter, comes twice a field service, for around 8 weeks each time, and performs plastic surgeries. He will be leaving shortly, giving his patients plenty of time to heal and go through physical therapy to regain full motion of limbs, before the ship sets sail. The focus now shifts to general surgeries and this past week has been a bigger focus on goiters, from what I’ve seen.

Aside from the busy schedule of the hospital, it has also been very busy in terms of media and vision teams. We had the pleasure of hosting two wonderful ladies from Northern Ireland who were doing a story for BBC (through Waddell media). They were here for three weeks and were hosted by my colleague Ryan. While he took care of them, I was leading the vision trip guests that we had. First we had a group from CLIA (cruise line international association), who has named Mercy Ships as their charity of choice, and will present our story at their yearly gathering in a few weeks’ time. They were accompanied by the CEO of Four Winds Interactive (which sells software to manage content on digital signage and interactive kiosks) and a reporter for Seatrade Publications (and some lovely people from the Mercy Ships IOC). I am always so encouraged by how touched our guests are by what we do. Seeing their wonder and excitement, and being able to share this amazing vision with them is a huge blessing. Hosting these teams would be impossible without the buy in of the crew, who go above and beyond to help us host them and make them feel welcome. The fact that secular, business people can feel that there is something different about this place, even if they can’t quite pinpoint it, is a huge testimony to God’s presence onboard the ship.

CLIA/FWI Vision Trip getting ready to see a surgery.

Last week, I had the opportunity to host a very large vision team, with several of the Mercy Ships France board members and their families, as well as some of the people who are involved in building the new ship. This trip was rather fun to host because there were 5 teenagers and we had a great time. Also part of this trip was the Executive Director of Mercy Ships Global and his family, and it was a huge blessing to meet them and hear their stories. The director, Bryce Wagner, truly emulates what I was saying last week about how every conversation is important, to be able to love and see people. He takes the time to get to know each and every crew member he can, and tries to see how he can serve them. It was also neat to see that the volunteering aspect of Mercy Ships extends beyond just the ship – Bryce has an assistant who has volunteered his time for the last 6 months (and counting) to help Mercy Ships grow, including paying all his own travel costs.

One new thing: I was debating putting this in here, but considering everyone involved is okay, and no damage was done to the car, I suppose we can have a good laugh about it. This week I drove one of the cars into a ditch (more like a sewage draining system – the two right wheels were hanging in the air). It got pretty intense as around 30 Malagasy men rocked us out of the ditch (including reaching in and shifting the gears for us), and then moved us off the road when we couldn’t get the car to go. But we eventually figured out what was wrong and managed to get back to the port safely. My favourite part of the story is that about halfway through (when I was pretty rattled), my friends insisted that we stop and pray. I can’t tell you how much that helped, and how wonderful it is to have friends who look to the Lord in all situations. However, they also thought it was necessary to film some of our adventure so we have some interesting videos. It was a huge blessing from God that no one got hurt and nothing bad happened. I also have a greater appreciation for our land rovers – we didn’t even dent the plates underneath!

One thing I observed: This Friday, our founder Don Stephens, arrived on board. He spoke on Sunday about Mercy Ships past, present and future. They used this opportunity to honour our three crew members who have served more than 25 years (Dr.Gary Parker, Susan Parker & Keith Brinkman). I have no words to describe how absolutely amazing this is – lives spent being obedient to God and serving in this way when many would ignore the call to help the poor. It was great to hear Don tell very personal stories about them, and they received a well-deserved standing ovation. As one vision trip attendee pointed out to me, Don definitely has a vision for Mercy Ships, but Dr.Gary also has a vision that very much shapes how we move forward.

One thing I felt God was telling me: Prayer is so important. Pray in all situations. Pray for all things, big and small. There were so many instances this week when I felt overwhelmed by the impact of prayer. At last week’s church service, to honour something called Freedom Sunday, we prayed for all the people who are victims of human trafficking (27,000,000 – more people than at any time in history). Again, on Tuesday we watched a documentary on human trafficking (Nefarious: Merchant of Souls) and while the problem seems overwhelming, the victims found light and love and escape by believing in Christ, and one of the crew members prayed and it was exactly how I was feeling, just being honest with God and asking why this happens, but trusting in Him and praying that he would protect and love these ladies. No problem is too big for Him. We will continue to pray into this problem, every Tuesday, especially for the ladies trapped in the sex trade here in Toamasina, because prostitution is a prevalent problem. This Sunday morning, we again went to service at a Malagasy church, and at one point several elders spread out around the church and the people had the opportunity to go to them for prayer, whether for something specific or general prayer. As the congregation sang songs of worship, people lined up to be prayed for. I was overwhelmed with this idea of 'prayer warriors' – these people who are praying love and peace and joy into the lives of their brothers and sisters in Christ. It was amazing. God has definitely been opening my eyes to the importance of prayer and how I need to pray over all things. What a blessing to be able to walk with Him!

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” - Isaiah 6:8

CLIA/FWI Vision Trip having some fun - racing up on Deck 7 after spending some time with the patients.