Sailing fun

Well, it's been over two weeks now that we've been sailing and it's hard to believe that tonight is our last night out on the big blue sea! I love looking out the windows and seeing the ocean waves, watching whales on my lunch breaks, and getting lots of fresh ocean air!

So, what do you do on a 16-day sail to stay busy? Well, there was a range of fun activities, including "sailing movies" like Titanic, The Guardian, and  Pirates of the Carribean...I love watching those kinds of movies during the sail because it really feels like there are special effects..you can feel the ship rocking back and forth and an occasional shudder when we hit the waves...and even the wind blowing on your face (we watched Titanic outside with the projector)...those kind of movies are definitely more exciting during a sail across the ocean!

One weekend, we had the "Mercy Ships Hobnob Olmpics" and had different games at each station, complete with referees and yellow cards and all that fun stuff! Each team dressed up and had a name....our dining room team  (I'm helping out in the dining room for the sail) was named after our fearless leader, Pierette...

Pierette's Possee

Another day, we had a carnival for the kids and I got to help out! It was a lot of fun getting involved and getting to know some more of the kids better!

The temporary tatoos were a big hit!

We even had a pinata!

(this was right after they cracked it open)

Having fun with Max on the bow

And of course, we had lots of whale-watching (no good pics sorry) and even saw dolphins swimming along with the ship out on the bow!

And then, there are always beautiful sunsets to watch and good quiet times with the Lord!

Oh, and I had fun with baby Esther (don't worry, I didn't smuggle her from Togo...she's a crew member's daughter)

Leaving Togo

Well, it's hard to believe that the outreach in Togo has already come to an end! It doesn't seem so long ago that we were sailing into the port, welcomed by lots of excited Africans, singing and playing drums, grateful that we had come to their country to bring hope and healing. So much happened in the last six months...there were moments of excitement as patients looked in the mirror for the first time after surgery to see their new faces, mommas received their babies back with fixed lips and palates, and watched their children walk straight for the first time after their legs were fixed....then, there were times of tragedy, moments when I didn't understand what God was doing or why he had allowed  things to happen...there have been  lots of good times and wonderful memories, as well as heartache and the loss of good friends who have had to say goodbyes...But, through it all, God has been good...He has always proven Himself to be faithful.


The last couple days, I have been reflecting on our time in Togo and all the ways that this outreach has changed me..once again, I have fallen in love with Africa...in a deeper way than before...I just love the warm culture and the joy that radiates  from the African people...especially when they are singing and dancing to God...I love all of the TIA (this is Africa) moments when you experience something that would never happen in the Western world, but is perfectly normal  for Africa...but, most of all, I love being able to make a difference in people's lives and knowing that God has revealed Himself to a patient through me...


It's kinda crazy...we only left Togo four days ago, but I am missing it already...I find myself out  in the middle of the ocean, with Togo miles behind us...and a faint memory of the past....But, even though it has been sad to leave, I am encouraged that our time over the last 6 months has been well-spent...it has been so amazing to be a part of something that has changed so many lives...seeing the physical and spiritual changes in my patients..and in myself...God has grown me in so many ways...I've learned so much about trusting Him, serving others, dealing with conflict resolution (that's a big one when  you live in a tight community!), being a leader, and so many other things...God has definitely been refining me and showing me the areas of my life that I need Him to chip away the rough edges...which has been a humbling, but good process!

I know that South Africa will be significantly different than West Africa...but I'm excited for all that God has in store for us and I know he will continue the refining work that He has begun (Philippians 1:6)

Top 20 things that I loved about living/working on a ship in Togo

1. I can roll out of bed in the morning 5 minutes before I need to be at work...because it takes me about 30 seconds to get there...take a few steps, down a flight of stairs, a few more steps and I'm there!

2. At any given moment, patients may burst out in songs, someone starts playing the drums, and voila: a dance party breaks out in the middle of the ward!

3. I occasionally got to have church together with my patients...and also got to play volleyball with the ones who were staying at the hospitality center (after they were discharged from the hospital...those who lived far away and needed to come back for dressing changes stayed there)

4. One hour of my shift was spent out on Deck 7 with the patients...taking in the sunshine, enjoying a beautiful view of the beach, and occasionally singing worship songs together!

5. At the beginning of every shift, we start the day off right by praying together!

6. Seeing the before and after surgery pictures....and the smiles that followed as the patients experienced  physical (and often emotional and spiritual) transformations

7. It takes approximately 1 minute to get to: the post office, church, work, the coffee shop, the bank, the store (ship shop), the internet cafe, or to my friends' "houses"....because it's all on the ship :)

8. On those lovely nights that my friends and I decided to run on the dock, we would be joined by mice and cockroaches, which would inevitably get in the way of our jogging path every time...simple things like going for a run are so much more interesting when you live in Africa!

9. When walking down the street, you will almost always see a small child who happily greets you with "yovo, yovo  bon swa" (good afternoon, foreigner)...with which you are supposed to reply "sava bien, merci" (I'm fine, thank you)

10. Someone cooks for me and cleans up the dishes after every meal! There are very few other places where you'll find that!

11. The most effective way to leave someone a message is done with a sticky note on their door! (let's be honest, getting a text just isn't as fun as finding a sticky on  your door...and our phones don't work here anyway!)

12. I live/work with people from all over the world (US, Canada, Honduras, Dominican Republic, England, Holland, Germany, Italy, Ghana, Liberia, South Africa, Nepal, Australia, New Zealand...to name a few...I'm still missing a bunch)

13. I can wear flip-flops to work :)

14. There is always someone around to socialize with....even at the oddest hours of the night!

15. If I ever need to clear my head and get some fresh air, I can just go up to Deck 8 and have a nice view of the beach!

16. I can get a frappucino for less than a dollar (and it's real Starbucks coffee too!)..You can't do any better than that!

17. Lots of smiles, hugs and "I love you's" from the kiddos!

18. If a baby on the ward started to cry, I would just wrap them on my back and continue going about the day...worked  like a charm every time! (The African mommas trained me well :)

19. Mercy Ships became so well  known, especially in Lome...people would see us walking down the street and just say "Mercy Ships! Thank you!"...Also, crossing the Ghana and Benin borders was super easy...they would look at your Mercy Ships badge, say "Mercy Ships!" and stamp your passport!

20. The people I work with are also the people I eat with, live with, and travel around Africa with...it's easy to get close when you spend time together 24/7!

Traveling in Africa

Traveling in Africa  has been quite an interesting experience...there's never a dull moment! Here are a few things I have learned about traveling during my time in Togo:


1. It takes almost as long to barter the price of the ride as it does to get there (oh, the joys of being a yovo in West Africa!)


2. Helmets and side-mirrors are not actually a necessity, just an added bonus for some...


3. If a zemi (aka motor taxi) has a working spedometer, you have found a nice ride...if the zemi has a working spedometer, side mirrors, AND a working gas gauge, you have found a REALLY nice ride!


4. Sometimes it is just better to close your eyes than to watch what's going on in front of you


5. It is possible to ride a motorcycle in a dress (I never thought I would even  try!)


6. If you need to stop and get gas, there will probably be some glass bottles and funnels involved :)


7. There is never too much luggage...Somehow it will all be packed on top of a car or bus...the same is true for fitting people inside!


8. If you don't see a visible path, that doesn't mean you can't drive on it...even if you're driving through grass up a mountain, you WILL get to the top somehow! 


9. If something breaks on the car/bus, it can be fixed...even if the car still looks/sounds like it will fall apart at any minute...somehow it runs...after all,  this is Africa!


10. Sidewalks are perfectly acceptable places for motorcycles to drive...no one will say anything because everyone does it!

Never too much to fit!

This was when we fit 9 yovos (plus the driver) in a taxi!

CRAZY!!

Zemi ride in Benin (with my luggage :)

A special wedding

There's one really cool story that I recently became aware of...right when I was feeling like all the patient stories had finished up for this field service, God brought another my way...

I was out on the dock one day helping some people pack up the physiotherapy tent and had been walking back and forth carrying things from the dock to our containers inside the ship...As I was busy scurrying about, a patient called me over (the hospital had closed but there were still a few last days of post-op appointments to check up on the patients)...His name was Daouda and he proceeded to tell me his story...

He told me the story of how he had come to Mercy Ships for surgery...It all began with a love story...he had met his fiancee and fallen in love...(which was quite a story in and of itself...my favorite part was that when she didn't want to give him her number, he asked to borrow her phone one day and called his own number so that he could save it in his phone...sneaky and persistent...but it worked in the end!)...So, he and the girl had fallen in love...and got engaged about a year ago (which was also quite a process because in their culture, the guy has to meet all the family members and they ALL have  to approve before their sister can marry him!)...But, he hadn't been able to marry her yet...he was born with his fingers stuck together...so he wasn't going to be able to put a ring on his ring finger until he had surgery to separate them!

So, he started saving up money...and a year later, he was still saving...and waiting...Then, he heard about Mercy Ships and was able to come for a free surgery to separate his fingers! He was so grateful for Mercy Ships! After telling me his story, he gave me a wedding invitation and told me he'd like me to come! I was so excited because I had heard about this guy before...but hadn't met him before...and hadn't heard his whole story...and now, he was inviting me to his wedding!

So, this weekend, some friends and I got decked out in our African outfits and headed to the wedding...It was really special to be a part of such an important day...We felt really honored  to be there too because there were less than a hundred people in attendance and nine of us were from Mercy Ships!

Me and a couple friends at the wedding reception

The wedding ceremony was a bit different than what I'm used to...and different than the last African wedding since this one was a Muslim wedding...but, it was great to see Daouda and his wife so happy and to be a part of their big day! Even though Daouda isn't a Christian, it was so awesome to see how God worked out the timing of Mercy Ships coming to Togo so that he could have his surgery before his wedding...and I pray that the Lord continues to use the impact of Mercy Ships to bring him closer to Christ!

Roundtrip run to Ghana

One of the things that I wanted to do ever since I came to Togo was do a big run...my friend Ginger had told us how she ran a half-marathon last year when the ship was in Benin, so we looked into it to see if there would be any half-marathons in Togo this year...no such luck. During the outreach, I had a few friends who decided they would run to Ghana (the country west of us) since the border is only about 10 Kilometers away. I thought it would be fun to do, but didn't finally attempt it until  last week. My friend Tania and I ran the 10 Kilometers together and had a lot of fun! It was a great bonding experience!

Running in Africa is always such an adventure! As Tania and I were running along, we had lots of people on the road cheering us on.."Tres bien" (very good), "Di courage" (a saying that they like to say to runners on the street...it more or less means take courage or keep going from what I understand)...Lots of people were encouraging us and cheering for us as we ran by!

The path we took was right along the beach road, so even  though we weren't actually running on the beach, we could see the ocean for most of the run. There were all kinds of other sights, sounds, and smells (oh the smells of Africa!!)...there were lots of cars and zemis out on the road already. In fact, we actually saw an accident happen right in front of us as we were running! A motor-taxi hit a woman running across the street with a bucket of apples on her head! The apples went everywhere, the motorcylce went down, and the woman fell over right onto the sidewalk in front of us, along with the two guys who had been riding the motorbike..thankfully, everyone was alright...we asked them if they were ok and made sure they could move everything ok....As we were standing there, a crowd formed and it got a little crazy. I was shocked that some people started shouting at the woman and telling her she shouldn't be running across the street in front of the motor-taxis...I admit it's a good point, but seriously bad timing to discuss it...I mean, come on, the lady just got hit by a motorcycle!! Pointing fingers and yelling at her probably wasn't the best way to handle it!
Anyway, we stayed for a minute to make sure everyone was ok...then, when the crowd formed, we decided to move on, as there were no apparent major injuries and there were now people attending to the situation...

We continued running along and soon enough, we found ourselves at the Ghana border! After buying a little extra water, we walked over to the ocean and just stretched and relaxed for a bit...it was a nice feeling to just take in the beauty of the ocean and realize I'd just ran to another country! I mean, I know it wasn't that long of a run, but it still  felt like a nice accomplishment!

We started out with Aleah...

But only Tania and I finished together

(with our red faces and bags of water at the end)

A couple days later, my friend Becca asked if I wanted to do the roundtrip run with her...all the way to the Ghana border and all the way back! I was a bit nervous that it would be a little too long since I hadn't done a ton of recent training with long runs...but I thought I'd give it a shot...

So, today we got up early and headed out....all we brought with us was our I-pods (yes, I know it's not smart to run with them in Lome, but I just had to take that chance...I mean, it's about 12 miles and I wasn't  gonna run that far without music!), water, emergency taxi money, and Lok (well, actually he was already coming with us...but it was nice to have one of our gierkas aka security guards running alongside us!).

Once again, there were lots of exciting things to see along the way...but thankfully, no accidents! There were quite a few Africans out running as well, since it was a Saturday morning and lots of people here tend to run on the weekends...we even saw a dad running with his three little children (one looked like he was only about 5 years old!)...I think my favorite part of the run was when my roommates and Stefan (my "German dad" as I call him) passed by in a Landrover (they were heading into Ghana today)...They honked and waved as they passed us...funny that we almost made it to the border before they did :)

We didn't end up needing our "emergency taxi money," which I was happy about because I definitely would've been disappointed if we hadn't finished the run! But, I have to say, as we passed by all the taxi drivers lined up along the side of the road every couple of miles, there were a few times that my legs just felt tired and I stole a longing glance at the comfortable taxi, accompanied by the nice taxi drivers calling us over for a ride...it made me think about life and how there is always the temptation to "take the easy way out" instead of running the race that God intended for us. Tempation is always there for us along the road and it would be so easy to just get in and be selfish, but we would be missing out for God's perfect plan for our lives (I don't know, I like analogies and every now and then, I get those deep thoughts when I'm running). So, every time I saw those taxi drivers motioning me over, I would  just think to myself, "Nope, I'm definitely not taking the easy way out!"

But the run honestly didn't turn out to be as difficult as I had expected...sure, there were times when my legs felt tired, but it wasn't really until the last mile or two that I really wanted to stop running and just walk. But, we kept encouraging each other and finished strong! We ended up finishing the entire run in almost exactly two hours, which we were happy about...we got back around 8 am and I thought to myself, "Wow, I definitely don't usually accomplish this much by 8:00 in the morning!" It was a nice feeling of accomplishment!

So, even though we didn't get our half-marathon this year, we got our 12+ mile-run and a great experience together!

Becca, Lok, and I at the end of the run

Last but not least

Today, the last patient left the hospital. It was sad to see Josee leave, but amazing to say goodbye, knowing the transformation that had occurred in this 18-year old girl over the past several months. Josee came to the ship about 3 months ago for surgery on her foot. She had a deformity of her toes that required her to wear special shoes. She had surgery, went home, and then came back due to an infection in her foot.

Me & Josee

But, I think there was a bigger purpose for her coming back that didn't involve antibiotics, daily soaks, or dressing changes on her foot....instead, it was her for her heart. From the time Josee came to the ship until now, she has been eager to get close to God, read the Bible, and learn all that she could. It was great being able to talk to Josee about the Bible and about her own life...it was great that she spoke English and French because we were able to talk together about her struggles...

Some of my favorite shifts were the evening shifts when I got to spend with Josee and read the Bible together with her...we would take turns reading (in French mind you) and she would listen patiently as I stumbled through the French words....I felt like a 5-year old child learning to read, but she loved it. Then, she would take a turn reading for a bit and we would go back and forth and talk about the verses. My favorite was tucking Josee in to bed...I would ask, "Josee, can I pray for you?"...every time I asked this question, her eyes would light up, a big smile would come across her face, and she would hold my hands and wait for me to pray.

Josee gives the best hugs!

One night, I felt led to read this verse to Josee: "But he (God) said to me: 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me...for when I am weak, then I am strong" (from 2 Corinthians 12)...As I read those verses to Josee, her eyes started tearing up...I knew that she was tired of being in the hospital and wanting to go home...many times, the patients around her would get discharged after only a few days in the hospital and she would get discouraged that she still had a way to go before she could leave...the infection was just taking a long time to heal...But, that night, God spoke to her that he would be sufficient for her and help her to be strong in her weaknesses. We decided to copy down the verse in French and put it up on a big paper over her bed so that she would have a constant reminder that God's grace would be sufficient.

Josee really made the hospital a different place. She was so full of joy and energy...she really lit up the wards..everyone who met her just fell in love with her...she was hard not to love!

So, after three months of living on the Africa Mercy, getting to know the nurses, and getting comfortable with the environment and people, Josee decided that she was coming with us to South Africa...she didn't want to leave...she wanted to sail along with us! She had really changed! So, when Josee was the very last patient to leave today, it felt like I was saying goodbye to a fellow crew member...she wasn't just someone who I had taken care of for a few days...she wasn't just a patient...she was a friend and she had found a special place in my heart! I don't know if I'll ever see her again on this earth, but I know that we'll see each other in heaven...a much better place than the hospital!