Not all fun and games...

I am only 2 months away from ending my 1 year adventure in West Africa, and I have been seriously thinking about how I have displayed my life and journey through these blogs.  And I am deeply wrestling with the fact that I have not shared a very real and horrifying part of my life here, and I think it is time you all know.  It's not always rainbows and sunshine with fun times bummin around Africa, and heart warming stories of patients lives being changed.  I have been painting a very sugar-coated picture of my life here on the ship, and I need to let you know the truth about the life-threatening terror I go through here almost daily. 

Living in a port is not easy.  When you visualize a port, you may picture stacks of neatly organized shipping containers, a steady flow of ships docked at the shoreline loading and unloading cargo, and semi trucks following their steady route of carrying products to and fro.  You may even be saying, "yes, I have been in many ports and this is exactly what it's like".  Well let me ask you my friend, have you ever been in a port after dark? 

After preciesely 9:07pm every night, every port around the world is supernaturaly morphed into a deadly jungle of prehistoric creatures lurking around every corner.  The driving force behind the movement of containers in a port is primarily done by a gigantic horrifying creatures called a T-Rex.  You may have mistakenly thought that the T-Rex was extinct, but I can assure you my friends, it most certainly is not!  (many port-savy people may refer to these machines as a "Terex", but that is just a decieving disguise for what they truely are!) 

They are quite silent for such large creatures.  You can hear the sound of their rolling footsteps and eerie machine-like screams just seconds too late.  Their claw marks (which very closely resemble oil-soaked tire tracks) are seen covering the grounds of their latest handy work-  An area you must be sure to avoid, just in case the nasty creeper comes back for more containers. 

Let me fill you in on another little secret- these so-called containers that apparently hold cargo for export... not even close!  They are actually the T-Rex's main weapon for destruction.  The T-Rex digs his fangs into the insanely heavy metal containers and lifts them up high over his head while he slowly creeps though the urban jungle looking for an innocent victim to drop his weapon of mass destruction on- whether it be rat, cockroach or human. 

It takes a highly skilled and trained person (much like myself) to stealthfully maneuver around the port after dark without being spotted by the beety, lazer, night vision eyes of the T-Rex.  It's eyes sit way up on top of its arms so it can better spot it's pray as it lurks around the containers at night.  If you walk carelessly through the port without first stopping, listening, and safely peering down your chosen route, you may just waltz around a corner and find one staring you down, charging straight for you as your body is frozen in terror with no place to hide except to jump down one of the open sewer holes scattered around the port. 

And just to make it more terrifying, once you bravely pass through the main portion of the port and miraculously avoid any encounters with the T-Rex, you have one last obstacle, and that is to make a run for it through a large clearing where a T-Rex could pop out at any minute, his death-filled eyes staring straight at you, his weapon of mass destruction held high over his head, and your only hope is to out run him and reach the safety of the ship's security gate before he dominates you!

Every night I return back to the port, the moto taxi drops me at the front gate, and I stand outside for a brief moment to gather my courage, strap on my running shoes and stealth jacket before bravely entering Jurassic Park part 4.  Some port gaurds may describe me as strange and delirious as I routinely tip toe into the port and assume my best spy-postion; with my back up against a row of containers, carefully side stepping my way to the corner and listening for signs of T-Rex's before Par-Core-ing my way to the next container row.  But they are the delusional ones- living frighteningly close to the edge of disaster and carelessly underestimating the capabilities of the T-Rex's. 

 So next time you are all sitting at home thinking, "Man, Danielle is living the dream over there in Africa- snuggling cute babies and frolicing around in the sunshine".. Well, yes you are correct-- but don't forget about real-life horror film I am daily living through!  It is NOT all fun and games here in Africa!

A small glimpse of Eternity

In my last post I told you about a young woman named Chantal who has been with us since February.  Every outreach we seem to have that one special patient who becomes like family and steals our hearts away.  This outreach, Chantal is that woman.  She is a 25 year old woman from Ghana who had burn contractures on her neck and arm fixed with skin grafting last time the ship was in the area in 2009.  Initially she was a wonderful success story with a completely healed skin graft.  Shortly after her recovery and after the ship had left, due to a chronically suppressed immune system, her graft reopened and she was left with a large, painful, infected wound covering her right chest, shoulder and arm.  For 3 years she suffered with this wound, unable to move her arm and doubled over in pain with no signs of hope or relief.  That is, until the ship returned this past January to Togo.

I can just imagine her reaction at the news.  Could it be? Is it true? After 3 years of intense pain, rejection and haughty eyes constantly on her, the smell of infection haunting her every move, the inability to hold, care, cuddle, and love on her 4 year old daughter.  And now that big white metal floating box that once gave her hope and healing is back!  Normally the ship does not take on medical patients because we aren't equipped to handle care to that extent.  With few exceptions, our patients are relatively healthy people who are in need of surgical help- to remove tumors, fix birth defects, hernias, bone and joint deformities, burn contractures, etc.  Because Chantal was a past patient of ours, we took her case on in an attempt to help her heal again and regain function.  I could go on and on about the ins and outs of her months and months of medical treatment, but it can be summed up into a long road of infections, antibiotics, agonizing daily wound care, physiotherapy, surgery after surgery, skin graft after skin graft, moments of hope for the medical team, followed by moments of disappointment and confusion after each failed antibiotic treatment and surgery. 

About 1 month ago, as I shared in a past blog, Chantal accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior and redeemer.  For a while she was in higher spirits and had more pep and motivation in her step. (And she didn't mind my embarrassing dancing anymore!)  But shortly after that her tired body had had enough, our last ditch attempt at antibiotics failed, sepsis took over, and we were at the end of the road for medical healing.  Our medical regime turned towards comfort and pain management instead of aggressive treatment.  

 I was fortunate enough to be able to spend the last few evenings as Chantal's nurse.  She phased in and out of lethargy and alertness, and I was able to be there for her awake moments, to make her smile a few last times, and to talk with her and give her comfort.  After spending months down in the dark, window-less ward with few opportunities to see sunlight, my friend June and I packed Chantal up in a comfy wheel chair full of pillows and took her up to the top deck of the ship to sit for an hour and enjoy the sunset and warm breeze.  It was a moment I will never forget as it was in her last 48 hours of life in that tired, broken body.

Last night, in and out of moments of clarity, Chantal was able to enjoy some more fresh air from the comfort of her bed as she was rolled in front of a big door right at sea level that was opened especially for her.  In a very peaceful moment, with people who cared so much for her sitting by her side, Chantal said "Jesus is here, Jesus is here", and she was finally taken home with our Lord and left her broken, hurting body behind. 

It was a sad and difficult evening for us nurses and caregivers who had poured out so much love and energy onto Chantal over the past few months, but our sadness was only selfish because it is truly a joyous moment that she has finally gone home!  It is easy for us, as logically minded medical professionals, to feel like we failed Chantal, that our efforts and the pain we put her through were all for nothing.  Why would God let her go through this only for medical treatment to fail?  But as one of my colleagues said, God was never surprised by what happened.  Everything that happened with Chantal was exactly how God had it planned all along.  She was in constant pain for over 5 years- struggling from burns, wounds, and infections.  She didn't receive medical success while she was here, but she did have a better outcome than most of the patients we see-- she received spiritual healing, which is the primary purpose we are here.  For the first time in a long time, Chantal is without pain, without wounds and infections, and has a new, restored body.  Not only that, but before she left this earth, Jesus came to the ship, sat in the ward with her, and took her home. 

It was a sad, happy, frustrating, relieving, and incredible experience, all mixed together.  God had a purpose in Chantal and it was faithfully fulfilled.. she came to the ship to meet Jesus so that she could go home to Eternity with Him.  For the first time Chantal is walking down the golden streets of heaven with no wound, no infection, and no pain, hand in hand with our Creator.  The biggest success stories from this outreach are the hearts that are redeemed by Jesus, and Chantal has helped to refocus us and remind us of our true purpose here-- to share the love of Christ.

"Encourage one another and build each other up.."

 Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:11 that as brothers and sisters in Christ we need to encourage one another and build each other up.  I have seen the most beautiful display of this in the hospital this past week.  The plastic surgeries are finished, and we are now just continuing to heal the wounds and do physical therapy on joints and limbs that haven't moved in years, and slowly trying to get all of the patients well enough to go home so we can start a new round of surgeries and patients.  The healing process for burn repairs and skin grafts can be a very slow, painful, and discouraging time for patients (and nurses!).  Wounds we thought were healing well suddenly become infected, and skin grafts that we prayed would take root are lost.  As some patients become well enough to go home, others are left behind frustrated and disheartened because their wounds haven't yet healed.  But so far, God has been amazing and our infection rate is much lower than previous times and nobody seems to be getting "burned out" but energy and excitement are high and the ward is always filled with music, joy and dancing!

Just a regular evening on the ward!

One young woman I asked you to pray for last time, Chantal who has been with us since the beginning of the outreach, has been going through a lot of surgeries, painful dressing changes, difficult medical complications, and it seems to be a never ending road of frustration and discouragement for both Chantal and us nurses.  Last week, we saw something suddenly change in Chantal.  One afternoon I walked into the ward, and she was sitting up in a wheelchair in the middle of the room visiting with the rest of the patients.  We were all pleasantly shocked to see someone who never got out of bed except to hobble to the bathroom with lots of pain and assistance, sitting up by her own choice!  Someone who rarely joins in the ward dance parties (except to laugh at me and say, "my sister, please please, stop dancing")  We were all encouraged and excited to find out that she accepted Jesus as her Savior early that day!

Chantal with some incredible ladies

Unfortunately things didn't stay in such high spirits for long, as more medical complications, pain, and wound care are continually happening.  But this past week I saw something that lifted my spirits and made 1 Thessalonians 5:11 come alive for me.  I was working in the ward and I had my back turned to the patients, when all of a sudden I heard an outbreak of cheering and clapping!  I turned around and Chantal was up- all by herself- ,walking to the bathroom, and all the other patients and patient-mama's were standing up applauding Chantal and encouraging her on her first solo-excursion out of bed!  It was so beautiful to see how the patients have all partnered together in their difficulties and challenges and come alongside each other to show love and encouragement.  It was a true picture of what a healthy Christian community looks like, and half of these people were Muslim or animistic!

Chantal still needs lots of medical care, prayer and frankly, a massive miracle in order to heal her.  But I have faith in the words of James 5:15 that says, "the prayers offered in faith will make the sick person well, the Lord will raise him up!"  I know that with prayer, fervent prayer, she can and WILL be healed!

Kokou!

I saw another display of 1 Thessalonians 5:11 in another patient who has been here since the beginning of the outreach as well.  Kokou's knee was contracted at a 90 degree angle from a burn many years ago.  We straightened his knee, but since even before her came to us, he has been struggling with infections at that site.  He has been in and out of isolation (which means he is in his own room, isolated from all the other patients so the bacteria doesn't spread) as his wound continues to be infected.  Within the past few weeks, he has been very down and discouraged for a number of reasons.  His wound was healing very well and he had gone home for a while, but then had to return  back to the isolation room when he became re-infected.  He was so disheartened at having to come back, especially since he is a very very active, social-able person.  He is a farmer by trade and spends majority of the day outside, so being trapped in a windowless hospital is very difficult.  That paired with the fact that West African culture hates being secluded-- they are a very community oriented culture-- makes living in isolation pure torture for Kokou! 

Dance party begins!

One evening I was in the main ward, and the patients were all singing, dancing, playing the guitar and drum.  It was a regular night on the ward when someone had the great idea of going down the hall to the isolation rooms and singing and playing for Kokou!  So a whole pied piper line walked down the hall, patients, nurses, day workers- the whole lot of us! and stood outside Kokou's room and sang and danced.  He was so happy, he was up dancing around his room singing!  It was so amazing to see how the other patients cared so much for Koko and were so encouraging for him.  It's not just medication and medical treatment that heals- a little smiling and positive thought goes a long way in healing wounds!

Kokou laying in his bed enjoying the musical show

Richara- unable to walk after foot surgery- enjoying the music and dance whilemy back!

It is less than 2 months until the ship leaves Togo, so there is still a lot to go- a lot of wounds to be healed, and a lot of surgeries to be done!  We really need to heal these infected wounds so that we have room for more patients!

Prayer requests:
- Since I initially started writing this blog, Chantal's health has progressively gotten worse.  Please pray for her comfort, that she will be free from pain, and also for her family who we are trying to bring in to the ship to visit.  Chantal has accepted Christ as her Savior, so truly she has the best outcome out of many of the patients we see.  But it is hard for us medical staff to see that at times when it seems that our efforts and work has been in vain.  All we can ask of any patient who enters this ship is that they will get to know Jesus!  So also pray for the nurses caring for Chantal- that they will be able to see the amazing success story that she is!  And even though it is painful on this side of Eternity, we will see her again- smiling and praising the Lord!

- Please pray for Enyonam who is rescheduled for surgery on May 29th-- please pray that we will be able to find her and get her here!!

- Please pray for the VVF (vesico-vaginal fistula) women who have just come in last week and have started surgery.  Pray for successful surgeries and lives to be restored!!

I don't know who this baby belongs to, but it was handed to me and I wasn't about to say no!  Any takers??

Crossing borders solo

As I sat on a hot, black, old, cracked leather seat of a rickety VW van, my hot sweaty skin stuck to the Ghanaian squished in next to me, I looked out the window and couldn't stop the huge grin that came across my face.  Sometimes I take it for granted where I am and I forget to appreciate the beauty of the West African countryside.  I remember seeing pictures and movie clips from West Africa with the tropical green trees, red sandy roads, beautifully crafted mud-brick houses with thatched roofs, and people walking about in brightly colored African fabrics that just add to the beauty of the countryside.  A few years ago, I never would have dreamt I would be here enjoying this myself!  And here I was, traveling solo on a mixture of motorcycle-taxis and VW vans from Togo to Ghana-- being the creepy "yovo" in the back of the van looking out the window with an all-too-giddy smile!  God is good!


With a 4 hour journey, I had plenty of time to enjoy the countryside and remember how amazing it is that I am doing what I'm doing right now!  Along the way, I had time to think about the patients we were seeing in the hospital, and especially the new plastic patients (burn contractures, deformed extremities, etc) that would be coming in the next week for surgery.  As I was thinking, I felt the Lord prompting me to pray for the people I would be seeing in Ghana and especially for people with deformities that would be good candidates for surgery that I may come across.  I prayed and napped as I traveled to Accra and waited very IMpatiently for the adventure that lay ahead!

Tim and I at the Accra airport- together at last!! and in Ghana of all places!!

I generally don't like traveling by myself, but it was very empowering to know that I could work through language barriers and make my way from Lome to Accra when I had no idea how to get there in the first place!  I was beyond excited to meet up with my good friend Tim and a group from my sister-churches back home who were coming on a 2 week mission trip to Ghana. I initially only knew 2 out of the 17 people in the group, and they all took me in like family and welcomed me as a member of their team.  By the end of my 5 days with them, it was hard to leave as we had grown so close together!

Our amazing group!

Before I joined the team, I had no idea what we were going to be doing in Ghana! Being the organized planner that I am.. NOT! I was just along for the ride to hang out with Tim!  When I got there, I found out that we were staying at a vocation woman's school  that gave women from poor and oppressed backgrounds training in useful skills such as cooking, sewing, fabric dying, hair dressing, as well as others.  We did some work at the school, and then also did medical clinics in nearby villages and schools.

The group taking a walking tour of the woman's school

cooking class

Sewing class- with manual sewing machines!

Fabric dying-- I had some dresses made by the women-- the fabric-dying and sewing is all hand done by the ladies!

setting up the pharmacy for the medical clinic

Working in the pharmacy! I'm practically a pharmacist now

Screening the patients

The first night I was there, I was talking with some of the ladies on the team discussing our experiences and travels in West Africa, and one of the ladies started talking about the year before when she was on this same trip in Adidome, Ghana.  She had met a little boy who was born with his hands and feet webbed together which greatly affects his lifestyle, with his acceptance in his village, education, and ability to find a job in the future.  She was very burdened for him and prayed fervently for him for the past year, and recruited her grandsons to do the same, in hopes of finding a way to help him.  As she was telling me this I was immediately covered in goosebumps at the connection between our 2 stories.  I said to her, "I think I might be able to help!"  How great is our God that he brought us together as 2 pieces of the puzzle in this boys life!

Timme! kid-magnet.

Throughout the week, we tried and tried to get ahold of the boy so I could see him to see if he was a surgery candidate, but we were unable to find him during my time there.  It was disheartening, but I know that our God is Good and nothing can stop him from bringing grace and peace into this boys life.  
I don't know if we will be able to help him; if his complication is something we can operate on, or if there is room in the surgery schedule, but I know that there was a reason that Susan and I were brought together to pray for this boy.  Now this boys family and the surrounding villages know about Mercy Ships, so I pray and trust that he will get the help he needs someday!

After being disheartened from not finding the boy, God lifted my spirits when I met a 7 year old girl named Enyonam in one of the villages who has a cleft lip.  She was very sweet and smiley and shy and kept her hand over her mouth to cover her cleft.  I sat down and held her hand and talked to her mom in my fluent Ewe (Ok just kidding, I had a translator!) and found out that the girl doesn't go to school because she is ridiculed for her lip.  I explained to her mother that I work for a volunteer Christian hospital just across the border in Togo, and we would be able to fix her lip.  She asked me how much it cost, and I said, "nothing, it's free."  Then she asked, how much is food and lodging? and I said, "nothing, it's free."  Then she asked, how will we get to the ship?  and I said, "I'll pick you up at the border."  Then mama knelt down in front of me, grabbed my hand and started crying, saying, "akpe akpe caca"  which means "thank you thank you sooo much!"

After screening day, it was such a sweet, humbling experience to meet this family.  Yes, we do have to say no to a lot of desperate people, but here was an example of complete, genuine, mercy that we can provide.  God clearly placed this girl in my path and provided me with the means to help her and change her life forever.  If Enyonam is the only reason that I am even in West Africa, then Praise God!  I would do it all over if just for the sake of Enyonam.  Enyonam's surgery is Marcy 29th, so pray for her and watch for updates and photos!

I returned from Ghana with a renewed heart and attitude and ready to finish out my next 3 months!















Dance Party!  Why can't white people move like black people?!

And guess who we got to see?! Gifty and Comfort!  I met these ladies at my small group at Westbrook church over a year ago!

 

Tim met the children that we sponsor together!  Unfortunately I had to return to the ship before I could meet them.

Prayer requests:
- For Enyonam and her mother to travel safely, and for a pain-free uncomplicated surgery!
- For a young lady who has been in the hospital since the first week we opened in February.  She has a terrible wound, infection, and poor immune system, and has endured many surgeries over the past month.  Pray for her miraculous healing and for any emotional or spiritual burdens to be removed from her heart.
- For this coming June-- What in the world is Danielle going to do next?!  I need direction :)

Screening Day.

Disclaimer: This was a painful blog to write and may be a painful blog to read, so read at your own discretion.

The last 2 weeks the ship was busy preparing for the big patient-screening day which was held this past week.  A lot of planning and organization went into this day, and nearly everyone from the ship was needed to help.  Only a few bare bones crew were left on the ship to keep it running.  We spent a lot of time praying for this day, because thousands of people were expected to come from all over the country who are desperate and see Mercy Ships as their last hope.  Security has to be very tight, and things have to stay very controlled and organized otherwise they could get out of hand quickly. We were fortunate enough to have use of the national stadium in Lomé.  The event started with security at 2pm the day before the screening.  People started lining up that evening, and a crew of people worked to pre-pre-screen patients throughout the night.  By 4:30am, the ship was emptied, and a convoy of landrovers took everyone to the stadium to begin the long, exciting, yet heartbreaking day! 

For me, the heart break started as we pulled up to the stadium, and in the dusky morning light, I could see the thousands of people lined up outside the stadium.  It was at that point that I realized that screening day was not going to be a busy, fun day of seeing thousands of people and giving hope to the hopeless, but it was going to be one of the hardest days of my time here in West Africa.  I started crying right then in the front seat of the Landrover and it took everything inside me to control the sobs.  I knew that only a small percentage of these people were actually going to make it on the ship for surgery.  Before screening day, I lived in a naive little bubble where every patient I saw was someone that we could help, and now I see the reality of the thousands that we can’t.  As one of my friends put it, “I feel like this is a sick version of American Idol, and we are choosing who does and doesn’t make it through”.

I was fortunate enough to be a part of the children’s ministry team.  We split up and went to find children to entertain and occupy their time while they waited for hours to be screened.  My friend Jenny and I decided to leave the stadium and head out to the long line up of people who were standing in the hot sun since at least 2 or 3 in the morning.  We had so much fun walking up and down the line, greeting people and giving them something to do; blowing bubbles, painting nails, coloring, stealing and holding babies—anything to help them pass the time, and give the parents a little rest by entertaining their children for a while! 

I don’t know if I would consider us extremely blessed or horribly punished to be one of the few crew who got to be outside the gate and have the devastating reality of interacting with the thousands of people who never even made it past the initial screening.  Approximately 3500 people came to the screening, and less than half of those even saw the surgeons.  There are very select surgeries that we do, so it is very difficult to tell people who have been standing in line for hours that we can’t fix their stomach ulcer that they’ve had for years, or their arm that broke a few years ago and healed completely wrong.

Before the screening day, I asked God to help me see his people the way he saw them, and he definitely answered, and held nothing back!  Throughout the day, Matthew 25:40 kept infiltrating my head and breaking me to pieces: “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”  And here I was, telling thousands of helpless, hopeless people that we couldn’t help them.  I felt like every time someone walked out of the stadium, we were saying, “Sorry Jesus, I can’t help you”.  I am still having difficulty fully processing the day because it really challenged the way I see the world and my position in it.    

 I think the hardest job of the day was the prayer team, who was in charge of talking and praying with the thousands of people who we were not able to help.  My prayer is just that everyone who came to the screening came for a reason, whether it was for a chance at a life changing surgery, or for a chance to see Christ’s people in action and receive prayer.  By 7pm, everyone had finally returned to the ship, dirty, sweaty, tired, and hungry.  What a long, exhausting day, but I am so glad that I was able to see this part of Mercy Ships and be a part of it. 

This is a broken world that we live in, tainted with pain and corruption, and that won’t change until Christ returns to bring us home.  All we can do is to continue to plod along seeking one hurting human after another and showing them love.  God is Holy and Sovereign and can do greater things than we could ever fathom.  It was in His plan and will that every single one of those hurting people came to the screening.  I have no doubt that His glory was seen and His purpose was achieved at the stadium that day.   

 

These are a few more pictures from screening day and everything that went into it. To the right is my friend June working on collecting patient history.  Lots of work went into collecting histories and doing physicals, which was especially difficult due to the language barrier.

 

Prayer requests:

Please continue to lift up in prayer the thousands of Togolese people that we were unable to help.  God is a big God and a miraculous God and has the power to heal these people- and he doesn’t need a scalpel and a surgeon. 

This little cutie is a picture of hope.  She has already had surgery, and I was playing with he and rocking her to sleep just a few hours before I finished writing this blog!  She is down in the ward and will probably go home tomorrow!  God is good and despite the heartbreak I had during the screening, God never fails to shine His glory through and reveal His purpose!

"Yovo, Yovo, bonsoir..."

“yovo, yovo bonsoir,

Ca va, bien, merci”

This is the song that is sung by a chorus of children around every corner that I walk in Togo!  It says, “white person, white person, good evening, how are you, fine, thank you”.  It is a joke ridiculing the fact that white people, or “yovos”, generally only know these 4 common phrases in French! 

So far during my time in West Africa, I have been called an Opoto (Temne), Pumwe (Mende), Obruni (Twi), Toubab (Wolof), and now Yovo (Ewe)!    I’m making quite a collection of names for myself!

So I arrived in Togo about 2 ½ weeks ago. I had a lovely relaxing time with the family in Ireland, Germany, and Belgium.  You can read all about the adventures at spotofblueadventures.blogspot.com.  It was a perfect and much needed break and a good half-way point for my time in Africa.  I was getting a bit tired and run down on the ship, especially because we were in transition between countries, the hospital was closed, and there was about a quarter of the normal amount of crew members on board.  I came back excited and ready to start a new field service! (and excited to be back in the warm weather!)

My first Togo adventure was to the beautiful Mt. Agu.  We had no real plan of how we were going to get to the top of the mountain, but we packed our camping gear and hit the road.  As we were aimlessly wandering up the mountain, we stumbled upon a YWAM (Youth With A Mission) base, and stopped in to ask for help/directions to the top.  After making fast friends with the ladies who live there, we ended up staying at the base, and then hiking up the mountain the next day!  The people at the base were so sweet, and I will definitely be returning there anytime I need a little getaway for some R&R up in the mountains!

Me, Stephen, and Jenny on our way up to the YWAM base

June cookin Breafy!

 This is Aimee- one of the amazing women at the YWAM base!  She didn't speak English, but that didn't stop us from becoming fast friends!  They were so welcoming and cooked us some delicious fried plantains after our tiring hike!

And it was tasty!

We walked through many villages on the way up the mountain.  It was the best part of the hike, winding up small trails and around houses that cling to the side of the mountain.  There were tons of goats and the cutest little baby goats!  My obssession with them has given me the title "goat girl" once again... I thought that title was history, guess not.

This is a picture with our amazing friend and guide, Gilberto.  He works at the YWAM base as a teacher and was kind enough to lead us up the mountain after a very long week of work!  Fortunately he spoke English!

 He bought a stick of sugar cane and let us try some. It was a deliciously sweet snack at just the perfect time!  We were almost down the mountain, hot, sweaty, tired, and shaky legs!

The 3 amigos :)  Jenny loves Wisconsin, she's a keeper.

Our jungle trail

 We made it to the top!  This is standing on the highest point in Togo.  It's nearly Everest. We are awesome.

The last 2 weeks, the hospital has been busy at work getting the hospital set up and ready for patients.  One of the fun things this included was hospital open house.  This is a time when the whole crew is invited down to the hospital before we get patients, and every ward and department set up fun activities.  For example, we did things such as learn to put in stitches, intubate a dummy, do brain surgery, put in an IV, remove a cataract,  and one of the best things (in my opinion) was my ward’s activity which was be a nurse for a shift.  Some of us nurses played patients, and the crew had specific nursing tasks to do in a relay race against each other.  It was hysterical and fun as the crew ran around trying to give medicine to someone who kept spitting it out, putting a bed pan under a patient and being surprised to find coffee grounds poo, and changing a dressing on a ketchup and mayonnaise wound!  

This is me- dead on the dinning room table during lunch!  (I survived, don't worry)

Advertising in the dinning room for the hospital open house- rocking out to
 "staying alive" while they are doing CPR on me

Fake surgery at the hospital open house

June and I laughing at "nurse for a shift"

This is how our crew try to give medications to an unruley patient during "nurse for a shift"



All of the ward nurses in a group photo! See if you can find me.. it's like Where's Waldo!

So some of my friends tell me I’m getting too comfortable Africa, but I choose to think of it as “cultured”.  I’ll share some of their evidence with you and let you judge for yourself:

1.        

      1. If I have the choice between a squatty-potty and a porcelain throne, I will choose to squat.  I mean, how many times do I have to explain that it’s a more natural and healthy position for the human body!  And I’m pretty proficient at the “African bidet”(if you don’t know what this is, then I will spare you the details)! 

2.     2. I ate cat.  And I liked it.  I don’t condone the way the poor little Garfield died, but if it was served to me again, I wouldn’t hesitate to chow down.  The only weird thing is that it gave me a strange sensation about an hour later like I had a hair ball stuck.  And the after burps… not so appetizing. 

3.      3. And last but not least is the possibility that I have a little friend named Willy.  Willy is a worm that lives deep down inside me somewhere.  OK, I don’t really think I have worms, but my friends are convinced that I do simply because I enjoy the occasional street food and street juice.  When it’s hot out and I’m parched from the sun, I just can’t deny those enticing baggies of homemade juice!  Or better yet the old used water bottle half filled with the delicious concoctions.  Besides, it’s nothing a little Albendazole can’t cure!  

Prayer requests:

-Screening was yesterday (blog to come), please praise God for the patients who were accepted for surgery and will be coming to the ship in the next few months.  Pray that they will be able to see Christ’s love on this ship and have their hope restored!

-For the people that we were not able to provide medical care for, that they were able to walk away from screening feeling loved, cared for, and having a renewed hope in the Lord. 

- For the cultural interactions on the ship- that people won’t cling to the cultures that they are comfortable with, but that the crew can be better integrated and learn to understand each other better.

- For my continued French and Ewe learning!!

Thank you all for your love and prayers!  I’m looking forward to a great outreach over the next 5 months, but I can’t believe my time here is already half way over!  I love hearing from all of you so continue to update me on your lives!