A desperate attempt to catch up on 6 months

Our season in South Africa during the ship’s dry dock was slightly longer than expected but everything went very well! We sailed from South Africa to Sierra Leone in the middle of February and arrived here about 2 weeks later. Sierra Leone is stunning. One side of the ship looks upon the mountains in Freetown and the other side is a beautiful ocean view. God has truly blessed us with a great port location!


Many of us went out for the first mass screening event within the first few weeks of being here. We piled into land-rovers very early in the morning to meet the thousands of people waiting to be screened for surgeries; many of them having waited all night in line. Each crew member was assigned a different task such as pre-screening, registrations, escorting patients, running the children’s ministry, scheduling patients for surgeries etc. I was assigned to be a part of the prayer team. The prayer team is stationed at the end of screening to provide prayer and encouragement for those we unfortunately cannot help. Being more of a ‘surgical unit’ than an ‘emergency hospital’, we cannot help every patient who comes. The local hospitals do provide many of the services they need. The sad reality is that many of these people cannot afford to pay for the medical attention they need from the local hospitals. It was devastating to hear their stories, knowing that for many of them, this was their last hope. Some would just sit with us and cry as we explained to them why we could not help them. My heart broke for each one of them.

As the morning progressed, hopelessness turned to chaos. The desperation of those waiting at the gate became evident as a large crowd stormed the entrance gate. Trampling each other to get through, a ‘self-survival’ mentality broke out. As a result of this sad occurrence, one man lost his life and few others were rushed to the hospital in critical condition. (Those who were at the gate wrote blogs that give a very real account of the story. My friend Deb’s blog http://debsheartinafrica.blogspot.com/2011/03/absolute-desperation.html is a nurse’s story of the events.

The leadership on board the ship gathered as much information about the event as they could and re-planned for a new screening day. In the interim, patients who had been screened by the Advance Team (preparation team before the ship arrives in country) were bussed down from northern Sierra Leone as our first patients, many of them being children with bowed legs.




About 2 weeks later we were able to have another mass screening event. This screening was a GREAT success! We were able to book many more surgeries for the next few months of the outreach. During this screening, my role was to escort patients from the waiting areas to registration/personal history tables.


I really enjoyed this role as I was able to interact with a lot of the patients coming through and hear their stories. God is going to do amazing things here during our outreach!

Since being here, I’ve been busy teaching my wonderful Grade 4 and 5 class, visiting patients in the ward, going to church out in the community on Sunday, walking through the markets, watching Mercy Ships vs. local team football matches and visiting the beautiful beaches of Sierra Leone. Enjoy the snapshots!


My fantastic Grade 4/5 class



The beautiful beaches of Sierra Leone



2 of the local churches I have attended during my time here

School Events

I realized recently that it I don't often share the fun things we do in Mercy Ships Academy! Each day is an adventure and a lesson in flexibility....but this allows for some very exciting and memorable events!

Pictures often tell the stories better so I'll highlight a few.


Spirit Day - Under the Sea! (Mercy Ships Academy Teachers)



Spirit Day - Twin Day ...the question everyone was asking "WHY and HOW do you have these outfits in your wardrobe to begin with?!"


The cutest twins by far....


We had an open house for all crew to come visit the Academy. My Grade 4 class performed a play they wrote called 'Herk'! They did a wonderful job!!


Our first field trip in South Africa! We watched a shark dissection!!

The kids here sacrifice alot of 'normal' things at home to be here...but it is so cool that they get to be blessed by all of these fun activities and experiences!

Water?

It has nearly been 2 months since we arrived in South Africa and moved off-ship to a land base almost 2 hours from Durban. We have just completed our first quarter of school and are (unofficially) on the countdown to Christmas!

We are currently living in a place called Appelsbosch which is Afrikaans for ‘Apple Bush’. That may give you a small hint as to our current living conditions! There have definitely been some adjustments we have had to make now that our home is no longer floating! Sometimes the only thing there is to do is…laugh!

One of the common conversations heard around the base is about water.
“Did you have water in your shower this morning?” “No, but floor 2 had just enough though it was nearly a drip when I was done” or “How many buckets of water did you need to use for your load of laundry?” Or, when there is water but only that which has been stored in the hot water heaters, strategies for showering start spreading!

Strategy 1 – Crouch on the bottom of the shower so that the water will cool from its boiling temperature before it hits your scalp.

Strategy 2 – Stand in the corner of the shower, hold out your hands to catch the water, and splash it onto yourself.

Strategy 3 – Use your hand as a sprinkler system to chop the water in many directions so that there is little direct contact between scalding water and your skin.

Strategy 4 - Don’t shower that day. Although if you choose this strategy, please use one of the above tomorrow.

The people in this area say that there has been a drought here for many years, which explains the shortage of water. If you watch the movie ‘Faith Like Potatoes’ (VERY highly recommended), you will see the area where we live right now! The story took place only 30 minutes from here!! It seems as though drought is a common difficulty the people in this area have dealt with for years.

Please pray for rain as we move into the heat of the summer months (Southern Hemisphere :0)!

Here are some pictures of where we are currently staying in South Africa.

To do...

Here is my 'To Do' list for September 2, 2010.
1. Pack up all personal belongings
2. Pack up classroom and all needed school supplies
3. Pack up anything else you or the nearest 150 people around you will need for the next few months.
4. Put all of the above into a moving truck at the bottom of the gangway.
5. Drive to your new home
6. Unpack all personal belongings, school, work, etc. from truck and carry it into your new home.
7. Settle in and call this new place 'home'.

Yes I definitely had major doubts that this could happen in one day when they first told us we were moving off-ship for a few months. I had absolutely no idea that when that group of 150 people joined forces, the impossible could be achieved...and with everyone still smiling by the end of the day! Yes our bones, muscles, joints and hands were fatigued....but we did it! For the next few months, we will be based on land in South Africa! The ship is needing some major repairs in order to increase the number of operating rooms that can be used for surgery. Our home (the ship) will be going into 'dry-dock' as it is taken out of the water for some serious surgery (how the roles of turned!)

Our new home in South Africa is beautiful. We have the most glorious sunrises and sunsets and an incredible landscape to wake up to each day. Our campus is located in a Zulu community so we are looking forward to building some great relationships with the people here! God has provided us a place where the ship-kids can finally run and play, climb trees, pet animals and really...just be kids! It is very exciting to see them adjusting to their new home.

Our task for the next week will be to get our school set up and in motion! Please pray for this process as there is alot of work to be done! This was an abandoned teacher's college from many years ago so as with any abandoned place, there are always glitches in trying to get it up and running again! We really are just thanking God for bringing us to this place as it is perfect accomodation for the crew while we are land based!

Thanks for your prayers!!!

Counting my blessings...

I had another one of 'those' moments yesterday. I was standing on an outside deck thinking...How did I get to be the one spending my birthday watching whales on the beautiful Indian Ocean, on a ship in Africa...right after my classroom has been completely TP'd (toilet papered) by my best international friend. Is this real life?

Just Keep Sailing

After having ‘been in’ Benin, being ‘gone’ to Ghana and getting ‘to go’ to Togo, we are now making the voyage to South Africa! The journey through the Atlantic has been exciting! The first few days of the sail were beautiful! I forgot how much I enjoyed sailing! We then spent a few days holding onto the constantly-moving environment and strapping ourselves into bed at night as the seas became quite rough! The seas have calmed again allowing for some beautiful days on the bow of the ship – watching for whales, dolphins, seals, sharks and yes….even penguins!
Contrary to what many would expect, being confined to a 500 foot ship surrounded only be water on all sides….is actually quite fun! Thanks to some very creative and fun crew members, there have been a lot of great activities!

1. A massive game of ‘gotcha’ proved to be nerve-wracking as we all watched our backs in the dining room and hallways, avoiding the crew member who had your name. I sacrificed my life (in the game of gotcha) to this dolphin…just when I turned to admire the dolphin….Squirt. GOTCHA!
2.The IMAX theatre really wouldn’t do Titanic justice as much as being ON a ship, hearing waves crash and feeling the cold breeze as Jack slips away into the cold abyss of an ocean while Rose passionately blows her whistle to alert the attention of the lifeboat that would come to her rescue. Never let go. Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” has never sounded so beautiful.

3. Hob Nob Olympics. Hob Nobs are cookies that are very effective for seasickness. Teams of 4 competed intensely at different events to win the Hob Nob box trophy. Here is our team…the Peptos. Another possible remedy for seasickness although I haven’t tested out this theory yet.
4.My list of teaching vocabulary has been extended…or maybe just ‘modified’.
a. “Hands to yourself” has become “two feet on deck!”
b. “Sit down in your chair” has become “try to hold your book down as you work
on the floor since your desks and chairs have toppled over”
c. “You feel sick? We’ll call your mom” has become “You feel sick? Watch the
horizon.”
d.“Recess!” has become “Whale watching time!”

5.‘Under/Over the Sea’ Day was our most recent spirit day. We had the entire cast of Spongebob join us as well as sailors, sea animals, ships, and seaweed.


6.Camping took on a whole new meaning when we had a girl’s sleepover on deck 8!

Just to name a few! Now we can see the beautiful coastline of South Africa! Land ho!

"She would have been trafficked...."

My family started sponsoring children when I was young. I was fascinated by the fact that we could write letters and be a part of someone's life who lived so far away! I really enjoyed writing to the children and sending family pictures! Each time I would write a letter I would imagine what it would be like to go and visit one of these children in their village. Well, this dream came true for me on Saturday!



We received a letter from one of the children (Catherine) while I was visiting home this summer. She wrote about her village and mentioned the name of it. Google maps brought me to realize that she was literally 2 hours away from where the ship is located right now in Togo! Catherine lives in a small village in the Volta Region of Ghana which is a bordering country to Togo. After a few emails back and forth with the organization, a meeting time was set and we were on our way!!

3 friends came along (Christina, Stephan, and Friedhelm) on the journey. We were picked up at the Togo/Ghana border early in the morning and made our way to the village. We were greeted by some people from the village and were taken to Catherine's house. We sat and talked (through translation) with Catherine, her 6 siblings, her mother, grandmother, uncle, the village Chief and 2 of the village elders.



They took us on a walk around her village, showing us the small lake where they wash their clothing, the well that provides the whole village with clean drinking water, and the school where Catherine goes (along with her 54 classmates and 500 other students from surrounding villages!). The government has agreed to put electricity in the village so there were some hydro poles (without wires still) around the village as well.





Catherine's village is one of the villages where an Ewe cultural practice called Trokosi is common. In this practice, young virgin girls are sent into fetish shrines to atone for the sins committed by their family members. These girls serve as sexual or domestic slaves for the fettish priests and never receive a payment. The Ghanaian government outlawed this practice in 1998 so IN Network has participated heavily in liberating these girls from the shrines. They have a rehabilitation center where the women learn new skills so they can start their own businesses in their villages. We were also able to tour this facility and meet some of the girls at the center.

It was so amazing to see the work that IN Network has been able to do in this community alone. God has used this organization powerfully to affect so many lives. The words are still ringing in my ears when I was told "If Catherine was not sponsored, she most likely would have been trafficked into Trokosi". It just breaks my heart to think of how many more young girls there are in the world where the reality of trafficking is the only future that exists for them right now. When will this reality end?