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!