A Season for Everthing

 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: 

 Ecclesiastes 3:1

Our season for serving with Mercy Ships in Guinea has now ended.
In Guinea, there are three seasons:  Wet (rainy),  Dry (not rainy) and Mango (the best part of the dry season when mangos are available).

We began our journey to the US on Sunday with an overnight flight to Brussels.    It was our turn to say goodbye to our crewmates.  These are people we came to share a season of life with.  We hope that it will be more "until we meet again/" than a final goodby, but we know we will not see others again.

 When we got to Brussels, we saw evidence of rain.  We hadn't seen any rain in a few months.   When we finally arrived in the US, we experienced real rain.  On our final flight home the plane  landed on a snow covered runway.  My first day home, I shoveled snow, chopped wood and built a fire.

Here are a couple views from our front door on our first morning back home.  We are glad we didn't miss the whole winter.

We also discovered that cleaning a house takes a lot longer than a Mercy Ship cabin, and there is no one to cook our meals for us.  We still need to process a lot of what we learned.

A song from Paul Simon starts out " Gee but its great to be back home!  Home is where I want to be.."

Then this morning I was reminded of Psalm 136. 

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
 ^{Give thanks to the God of gods.}His love endures forever.Give thanks to the Lord of lords:His love endures forever.

The psalm goes through some of Israel's history, always reminding the reader that in all our experiences, God's love endures forever.

We have been humbled to discover people have actually read our blog and followed us on this journey to live in a community committed to bringing hope and healing to the worlds forgotten poor.  We are deeply grateful.

Chuck





Guinea smiles

The dental program off-ship has seen over 6,000 patients as of the end of February.

That's a lot of teeth!

Every weekday the dental team travels a short distance to the Mercy Ships dental clinic.  It's not far, but my friend Roses has gotten very good at steering the Land Rover around all the people waiting in line.

Mercy Ships has a generator for the dental clinic, because the power often cuts out.  They use the generator for the sterilizers and other equipment, so it's pretty hot when the power goes out and they can't use the fans

While people wait, they are taught dental hygiene.  It seems like a lot of sugar is consumed here.  Children come to the clinic with all of their teeth rotted.

We've had a good number of dentists and hygienists during this outreach. We have a friend who was visiting the dental clinic today. He said that today they saw over 80 patients, filled about 80 cavities, and pulled over 200 teeth. People here can't afford dentures, so when their teeth are gone, they're gone!

 Before we left home, we made dental appointments.  I'm so thankful for my dental care.  I think I need to bring my dentist a plate of cookies!


Debbie

Quest for Adventure

We had a German cruise ship docked behind us for a day.  It was advertised as the Quest for Adventure Cruise.  They flew from Frankfurt to Ghana and take two weeks to sail up the coast of West Africa to the Canary Islands.

We saw German tourists in town and we watched buses coming to take them for a tour.

The picture I took of the Germans taking pictures of us!

I guess we were part of the tour as well- you don't often see a hospital ship in port.  And we don't often see a cruise ship in port.  There was a physician who asked to take a tour of the Africa Mercy, and their crew physician gave us some donated medication.  Then they were off to their next destination.

Conakry- tourist destination

Debbie

Tied Up With String

I had a day off from the lab and I got to go to the Hope center. When I went in the fall, there were a lot of kids recovering from orthopedic surgeries.  Now there are a lot of adults who have had facial tumors removed.  There are some kids as well.

Victoria with the patients

We had the usual program of a Bible story, translated into Susu and French, a song and a craft.  The adults like doing the crafts.  We had about 35 people making friendship bracelets with embroidery floss.

 

Sometimes it's still a surreal experience being here.  What would I have said a few years ago if someone told me that I would be teaching an African man how to make a friendship bracelet?  "Turn, un, deux, trois, move string, turn.  Tres  bon !"  If you understood that, your French is better than mine!  And the African speaks Susu anyway!

If one of the women needed help, they would call, "Fode, Fode!" (white person)

Here I am, trying really hard to get that string in the right place!

How strange it must be for our patients to go to a  hospital ship with a different culture and a different language.  I was in the recovery room this week as a nurse was cradling a baby in her arms, softly speaking to him in Dutch as he was waking up from the anesthetic.  I think he knew he was loved, even if he couldn't understand the language.

Debbie

No longer hiding

This is the story of Sory, a 17 year old from a rural part of Guinea.  A couple of years ago, Sory had a bump on his face that started to grow.  As the tumor grew, the people in his village thought he was cursed, and started to mock him.  They even threw stones at him. His mom, Saran, hid him to protect him.

 His tumor got so large that it took over most of his face, from his right eye downward.  He could only eat a small amount of broth, and he grew very thin.
The tumor started to affect his breathing.  His mother knew that he wouldn't live much longer.

Sory's uncle heard that the Africa Mercy was in the port in Conakry, so Sory and Saran came to the ship in November.  Sory was so ashamed of his tumor that he hid under a large scarf.

Sory with his scarf

Sory and his mom coming on the ship

Sory had successful surgery for his tumor in November.  He is one of many whose lives are changed by the surgery that they receive on the ship.

Saran, Sory and Patrick(one of the nurses)

The above picture was taken about a month after his surgery, while Sory was recovering at the Hope Center.  With large facial tumors, the skin stretches around the tumor.  With the tumor removed, it takes a while for the skin to shrink back.  Sory no longer has to hide behind a scarf, and he has been given new life.


Debbie

Signs of the Times

Signs are all around us.  They communicate information -some useful, some less than useful.
I thought I would share some of the signs around the Africa Mercy.

Temporary signs like this one are common everywhere.  Everyone enjoys birthdays and balloons!

 














The  sign below changes daily.  It communicates  security information and provides updates about what might be happening in Guinea.  We get our updates from Captain Tim whenever there is a situation happening in the country or city and what areas to avoid.  There are always good reminders to keep us safe.

One of my favorite signs is in the reception area.  It explains the model for Mercy Ships.

It's a reminder of why we are here.

  Living on a ship has its own unique signs. If there is every an evacuation when the ship is at sea, these signs lead to the assembly areas and to the lifeboats. They show how to get to the stairs leading to the top deck and the assembly areas.  I find these useful to know what direction to turn to find the next set of stairs up to the top deck.

Then there are the signs that tell you where you are, or how to get where you want to go.
The kids who live on ship go to school at the Academy.  They leave their cabin with their backpack full of books to walk down the hall to school.

The world map sign above shows the home countries of the students from the Academy.  Some of the children have parents from different countries and are officially  from two countries.  Some are from countries they have never lived in!









Historical signs are also found on this ship that was originally a train ferry in Scandinavia.

Open and Closed signs are found everywhere in the world. Somehow this sign was funny to me.  Something is just not right about the hospitality office being closed!  They even seem to be smiling and happy about the closed office!

In different places you will see scripture verses on the walls. I found this one in an outpatient treatment room.  It's a good reminder for every day.

Chuck

Saying Goodbye

With over 1000 volunteers coming and going each year, saying goodbye to people is part of life on Mercy Ships.  Hopefully it is "until we meet again."
When people leave, friends gather on the dock as the Land Rovers are packed up.  It's an important time.

Packing up the Land Rovers 

Sometimes there are some musical send offs such as the ukulele band.

But mostly it's time to express appreciation and gratitude for friendship and for sharing life together in this wonderful community committed to "bringing Hope and Healing to the Worlds Forgotten Poor."

Chuck

Patient updates

Do you remember the twin who had to gain some much needed weight before having cleft lip surgery?

He had his surgery last week.

Cleft lip surgery

Here he is after surgery

Leaving the ship

Our friend Don was working at the Hope Center.  He's from the Cortland, NY area.

Yaya walking without his walker

Yaya is also doing well.  He came with horribly twisted legs, but is now learning to walk.


Debbie

What is left behind

As a part of serving with Mercy Ships, we are learning about sustainability, or capacity building.

The Africa Mercy will leave Guinea in June.  What will we leave behind?

Capacity building is important, and Mercy Ships is involved in lots of different areas.
The Food for Life program trains people in agriculture at a site about four hours upcountry from the ship.  There is a lot of education and training here.

One program that I've learned about is how they treat club foot.  Club foot is a treatable birth defect where one or both feet are twisted inward and down, making it very painful or impossible to walk.  In developing countries, people are unable to work or have a normal life.

One patient in casts

Physical therapists from the ship work with children with club feet using the Ponseti treatment.  They use a series of casts, physical therapy and a special brace.

This is pretty exciting itself, seeing the lives that are changed.  But they are also training local people to be able to treat future patients with this same technique.

After they are finished straightening the feet with the series of casts, the kids have to wear a brace.
They first wear the brace all the time, and gradually need to wear it only when they are sleeping.

One of these braces costs about 200 US dollars.  That is an impossible amount for most people here.
One of the Africa Mercy Deck crew workers started making braces out of scrap metal for about $20.
He has taught local people how to make these braces. That's creative, practical sustainability!

The doll with a brace- one of the favorite toys!

Now the people of Guinea have their own trained therapists and a small business for making affordable  braces!


Debbie

60 Minutes on Feb 17

A crew from the news show 60 Minutes was on the Africa Mercy in May while the ship was in Togo.

So we're very excited to hear that this segment is scheduled to air this Sunday, February 17, 2013 on CBS at 7 pm Eastern time.

This is a show that I remember from my childhood.  It's the longest running news show in the US.

Have you ever noticed that 60 Minutes doesn't have a theme song?  Just the ticking of the clock.

We pray that people will hear the message of hope and healing that Mercy Ships brings to the world's forgotten poor.


Debbie

Soccer Keeps the Peace

Guinea gained its independence from France on October 2, 1958.  It took a long time between Independence from France to free elections.  There were decades of socialist dictators. The first democratic presidential election was held in November 2010.  Turnout was high and voting went smoothly.   President Alpha Condé who ran on an anticorruption platform, has been  trying to reform the government and renew mining contracts.  Of course there is always opposition, and there have been attempted coups taking place since in this very short experience of democracy.

The legislative body, The National Assembly of Guinea has not met since 2008 when it was dissolved after a military coup in December of that year..  Elections have been postponed many times.  More recently the elections that were to be held in July 2012 were postponed indefinitely.  In April 2012, President Condé cited the need for transparent and democratic elections.  There is no structure set up for that to happen yet.

President Conde' 

So some people are upset that these elections have not taken place.  Like everyone in the world, freedom is something longed for.

This Thursday, February 7 was a date set for demonstrations to protest the lack of elections as previously promised.  When "peaceful" demonstrations are planned, there is concern that they might not end peacefully.

On the Mercy Ships we were concerned that our day workers would not be able to make it safely to the ship, and we postponed a celebration dinner because of the potential of violence in town.  We also prayed for peace.

As it turned out, the protests were called off because the president of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) was in the country.  Football take priority over protests, and the president of FIFA is one of  the most respected men in Africa.  Because he was in Guinea, the protests were called off.  They may happen next week, but for this week, Football was responsible for peace in the city!

FIFA president Seep Blatter is on a four nation tour of Africa during the Africa Cup.  The finals are Sunday 10 February.  He came to visit and tour the Africa Mercy in the early evening.

The man who was the answer to our prayers came with a full security force.

The Deck was cleared of all Mercy Ship Vehicles
 to make room for our guest's visit.
  The tents on the left serve for patient admission,
 Outpatient care and Physical Therapy

There was a police motorcycle leading the convoy, followed by several limo’s and other security vans.  We were watching the events from the top deck, when they all arrived.

Some of the Crew watching from Deck 8

  At one point a van pulled in past our security entrance on the deck, and riot police complete with helmets, face shields and weapons stormed out of the vans and ran to the gangway to surround the FIFA president and his associates as they got out of their vehicles and prepared to go up the gangway.

The Delegations meeting Mercy Ships Leadership on Deck

In Reception on the Africa Mercy

The visit lasted about 20 minutes, but Mr Blatter was very moved by what he saw aboard the Africa Mercy.  He toured the hospital and even visited patients in one of our wards.

the Lab Visit

D ward patient 

D Ward Patient Greets Mr Blatter

We were all reminded in our community meeting that evening, that we are representatives, not of any particular country (we currently have people serving from 34 nations), but representatives of Jesus Christ.  Our presence brings blessing to this country well beyond the patients and families who come for medical help.

It’s good to be reminded why we are here.

So that beautiful game, called football around the world (and soccer in the US) brought peace to this city on Thursday..

There are still many needs for this country to progress in democracy and it is a hard battle.  Progress is made little by little and person by person.

Chuck

Everything you need

Feeding everyone here on the Africa Mercy is a really big job.  Especially at lunch.  The ship hires day workers- people from Conakry who fill jobs as pastors, translators, housekeeping, patient care, laundry, galley workers, deck hands-lots of local people.

The day workers are on board for lunch, so there are lots of people.  For most of the day workers, lunch is their main meal.  I have never seen so much food on one plate.  Then, they often add 4-5 slices of bread to top off the plate.

Some of the weekly food delivery

The food here is good.  I have told people that I've forgotten how to cook.  I love it that they cook for me!  I also love that the lab is closed for lunch.  We are on call, and I have been paged in the lunch line, but it's pretty rare.

We have a Starbucks on board.  We are told that it's the first Starbucks in West Africa.  On the weekends, Starbucks is only open if we have volunteer staff.  This kind of makes me laugh, since all the crew is volunteer.  But I guess this is a volunteer volunteer position.  So I work as a barista on selected Saturday nights.

Starbucks on the Africa Mercy

I don't know how well you can see this, but the sign has a different Starbucks logo.   The Starbucks logo is offensive to some in West Africa, so ours has been modified.
When I work in the Starbucks, there is a sign on the register.

WE HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED, YOU JUST NEED TO NEED LESS.

It makes me think.  Really?  Everything I need?  I think about what I want, and what I need. Really, I do have everything I need.  That and a lot more.

We are the only Starbucks I know that sells laundry detergent and "loo paper," so maybe it's true.

Debbie