Welcome to our neighborhood!!

It has been interesting living on a ship in an active African port . . . we see lots of different ships come and go on a regular basis . . . so this blog post is some snapshots of some of those ships!

 

This is a container ship that docks at one of the two container berths in the port.

This is a close up of the name of the container ship pictured above . . . we include it because it is also the name of one of our friends back in Minnesota (no photoshop involved!)

 

This ship is docked across from us.  It comes and goes back and forth to China with loads of logs from the forests . . . as you drive by the log yard, it is common to see logs that are 5 feet across!

 

 

This is the harbor's newest tugboat.  It doesn't look that big until you compare it to the car parked next to it!

 

This show the general cargo berths behind our ship.  The ship next to tug is a fish processor that is here to unload tons of processed, frozen fish.

 

This is some of the Pointe Noire fishing fleet.

 

 

This French navy Amphibious Assault ship came in today.  When I read up on it, they often do humanitarian missions and given the collapse of the government in the Central African Republic, it is not surprising they are here!  Additionally, the French navy has a strong presence in the ocean outside of this area combating piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.

 

 

And finally, I did say AFRICAN port!!  This boat load of cattle docked next to us yesterday morning and unloaded their herd.  The herd was led through the port and was last seen grazing in a field near the port gate!!!

 

 

Hope you had a great Christmas and a refreshing holiday break!



Patient Selection in the Congo Interior

I am back after a challenging 12-day trip to three towns in the interior of Congo for patient selection. On Saturday November 30, we loaded up and flew to Brazzaville. Our trucks had been loaded on a cargo train the previous week and (supposedly) would be waiting for us. Well, the trucks were present but still on the cargo car and the freight master indicated his crew was done for the day, we should come back on Monday. That posed a bit of a problem as our first selection day was Monday in a town 450 km north of Brazza . . . after many phone calls and involvement of higher ups the cars were unloaded and we were off!

Our first selection day was held in Oyo. We worked through about 6 hours of rain, some quite torrential (Thank goodness there were a couple big tents to protect us and the patients!) We selected 39 patients, many of whom will have truly lifechanging experiences on the Africa Mercy. There were a couple challenges for me setting boundaries for media and others, but once the boundaries were communicated they were respected. One of our first patients in Oyo was a man who has a neurofibroma growing over much of his face. When told that we would be able to help him, his whole body straightened and his face (what you could see) just lit up!

However, he is not the case that is my "one" . . . at the end of the day a mamma brought her 3-year-old son to see us. The son was obviously well cared for, well fed and groomed, dressed in nice clean clothes. At a glance we all knew that there was nothing we could do for this boy, you see he suffers from hydrocephalus, a condition where excess fluid causes the head to swell to enormous sizes. The boy was interactive, giggling as we tickled him and played with him. We had to tell mom that while she was doing everything she could, there was nothing we could do. For this boy, those words are very likely a death sentence . . . yet in the west, this boy would have had a shunt placed and would be monitored and lead a very normal life. It is hard to accept that children live and die simply by the continent on which they are born . . . I don't know if I will ever forget the tears coming down mom's face (and several of ours!), nor will I ever forget the bright eyes smiling at me from within that beautiful child's face.

The second selection day was held in Ouesso, another 450 km north, right on the Cameroon border. We had excellent weather and a wonderful day. We could not have been more proud of our Congolese partners. They had done an excellent job of identifying possible patients and transported many of them to the site. At Ouesso we were able to select another 71 patients for travel to the ship. In Congo, the Government has made arrangements to transport all patients selected from the interior to the ship, which alleviates a huge, often insurmountable, burden from these people.

On our drive back to Brazza, we had a couple team building experiences . . . the first day we sat on the equator and ate lunch, the second, in the Plateau region, we found a ridgeline a bit off the road. When we got to the top of the ridge we could see the savannah all the way to the horizon! It was an amazing view of God's creation!

On Monday December 9, we loaded onto a 10-seat Cessna 208 operated by Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) and flew to Impfondo, approximately 1,000 km northeast of Brazza. This is a town that is only reachable from the air or by barge. It is also about 200 km south of the Central African Republic, a country that is currently effectively without a Government, being run by warlords. The UN has several refugee camps in the area.

At Impfondo we met Dr. Joe Harvey who runs the only mission hospital in Congo. The facility, Pioneer Christian Hospital, served as our home during the 3 days we were in Impfondo. This experience was humbling, as we recognized we have the Cadillac of medicine in Africa while those who serve on the ground in remote locations are using duct tape and baling wire to keep basic services available. Dr. Harvey is amazing!!!! We found 62 patients in Impfondo, including a very cute little boy named Elvis who has a cleft lip. Elvis will soon be in the house (or on the ship).

While there, we were treated to a walk in the jungle led by 3 men and 2 boys from the Aka tribe. This tribe is small in stature and have been controlled by other tribes in Africa until recently, thus, they tend to isolate themselves and not interact with outsiders. We were truly thankful they honored us by showing us some of their traditional ways!

Then we were on our way back to the ship, flying a local airline. I witnessed something I've never considered . . . when the luggage was being unloaded, I watched them pull a wrapped rice sack out of the cargo compartment but something didn't look right . . . the sack had a head . . . and it was moving!!! Someone had checked a live goat as cargo! Only in Africa!!!!!!

Here are a few pictures of the adventure:

 

These were two of our guides on the jungle walk.

 

Lunch on the Equator

 

Lunch on the African Plains

 

 

An aerial view of the jungle and the Congo River from the MAF plane

 

The runway at Impfondo

A Tribute to Our Parents

Our blog has been devoted to what is going on in our lives.  This entry will take a different journey and help each of you to understand how we got here.

This year is big for both sets of our parents.  Jim and Geri Sandin (Denise's parents) celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on Saturday.  Paul and Betty Tveite celebrated their 20th anniversary earlier this fall.

Jim and Geri are a testament to love and commitment.  They have raised 4 children who have grown into wonderful adults.  They are supportive of each of their children and help them in any way possible.  They have great love for their friends and neighbors.  All you would ever have to do is ask and they would give you the shirt off their backs!  They have been so very much a part of our marriage (25 years this year) by showing how to live and love each other.  Through the years, Jim has been Matt's hunting and fishing partner and truly been a friend!  Geri has loved on her grandchildren but still held them accountable which was very helpful with our parenting!  They are a constant positive influence in our lives!

Paul and Betty were married after the deaths of each of their spouses.  They have glowed with love for each other during their 20 year marriage.  Many of us have seen the wonderful impact they have made in each other's lives.  Our children were blessed to call Betty "Grandma".  We remember fondly our children describing having 5 grandparents, one in heaven! 

Both sets of our parents have been huge influences in our life decisions.  They talked with us when decisions were being contemplated, offered advice when asked, kept their own counsel when needed, but most of all supported us all the time. 

As we see families break down and people become selfish and demanding, we are reminded of just how fully blessed we have been to have these guiding influences in our lives!

Thank you Jim, Geri, Paul, and Betty for your commitment to each other and your love and support for us!

The Faces of Brazzaville

Well, our screening in Brazzaville is done and was successful! We were quite concerned as this is the first time Mercy Ships has docked so far from a capital city. This week we flew 60 staff to the capital and conducted a controlled screening to identify the next 300 surgery patients. All went well, slots were filled, everyone stayed safe . . . here are the faces of Brazzaville. They will do all the talking!

Reminder of Why We're Here!

Some days here it is a challenge to remember why we're here . . . dealing with politics, feeling isolated, missing family and friends, etc. 

Most days are filled with routine duties, for me that is primarily ensuring the safety of our staff at screening sites, for Denise it is teaching her class.

To give you some background, we have off-ship screenings for eye (cataracts) and dental.  Dental is Monday and Thursday at the same site every week for virtually the entire field service.  Last field service, in 10 months, our dental team served over 12,000 patients and performed over 40,000 procedures.  The Eye Team uses several sites as the people they are seeking to serve have a much greater challenge with mobility.  We have screened for eyes every Tuesday and Wednesday since the first week of September.  The multiple sites present issues for me as the security plans change for each site; however, they are pretty much set now.

While what we do is important to the mission of the ship, it can get to be challenging because we usually don't see the "highs" of restoration of health.  Instead, for me, I have to say no to people several times at each screening as they have heard of the hospital ship and think maybe they can help . . . some of them are quite ill and unfortunately not with something we can help.  It can be depressing!!

Today, I was sitting at breakfast wondering what I would do on a Saturday . . . then one of my eye team friends reminded me that they had performed many cataract surgeries yesterday and the bandages were coming off this morning . ..  so I went down on the dock and got to see the miracle of sight restored!!!!  Several of the patients had been totally blind.  To see the looks of wonder and amazement when they realized they could see brought tears to my eyes.  Some just remained stoic, others stood up and grabbed the closest Mercy Shipper, hugged them, and repeated "Merci Beaucoup!!"

So, when the days are depressing, I will try to remember what a miracle happens every time someone has sight restored, has a tumor removed, is able to walk again!!

I've included some pictures from the eye team.

 

This was taken at an eye screening for senior citizens. 

I once was blind . . . .

 

 

But now I see . . . .

The  blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good tidings preached to them.  Matthew 11:5

That is why we are here!!!

Back on the Ship

Well, I'm back on the ship after a wonderful trip through the country of Congo.  We travelled over 1,400 kilometers up country to assess sites for our December screenings and to evaluate juvenile orthopedic patients.

Our team of 5 Mercy Shippers and 1 Government staff did great.  We achieved all of our goals, scheduled 27 kids for orthopedic surgery in the next few weeks, saw amazing things and returned safely.

On one of our first days we travelled a road that allowed us to average under 30 km per hour (18 mph)!  It was filled with holes, was narrow, had a lot of truck traffic and had super fine sand so everytime someone passed you it was like driving in a whiteout.  That led to many discussions and the final decision that we loaded our trucks on a cargo train in Brazzaville and flew back to Pointe Noire.

While we were up country, I had a cool experience.  We stayed with a mission family in a small town named Ollombo.  While I was helping them in their storage shed I spotted a box marked "Samaritan's Purse" (an organization that works to provide Christmas presents to kids in third world countries while sharing the Christmas story). They were presents being stored waiting for distribution this Christmas. This was very cool as friends of ours back in Owatonna oversee this for our church!  I took pictures and sent them back to our friends who were thrilled to see the outcome of the project!

We had a couple days of rain so that made some of the roads quite muddy.  We got to play with 4-wheel drive, both low and high range, and found that the winch mounted on the bumper really will pull you out!!

We continue to do our regular jobs, screening for me is becoming much calmer and more routine, school is now completing the first quarter for Denise. 

Here are some pictures of the upcountry trip . . .Enjoy!!

Cheers . . . and Tears

Well, it's been quite an adventure the past couple weeks. Final numbers are in from the main selection day. We closed the line at 2 pm, the gate for admission to the site was open for 12 hours and 20 minutes, the final estimate is 7,365 people in line, 4,236 of whom were actually examined by our medical staff inside the compound. The remaining people were either caregivers or were screened on the line and found to be suffering from something we could not help. All these numbers are new records for Mercy Ships!!! At the high point, there were 311 Mercy Ships staff at the site. My security crew totalled 44 people, each or whom performed admirably. All these people and we had no serious issues!!!

We have already had stories of great success!! One man, Ebenezer, arrived before we started screening. He is from Nigeria and had a very large facial tumor. He went to Guinea but was too late, so he and his family worked to get just enough money to get a flight for him to Pointe Noire. He had nothing when he got here and happened to bump into MS staff at the airport. We were able to assist him with a safe place to stay until screening and his tumor has been removed! Another 3-year old boy was in desparate need at screening. He had a tumor in his mouth that was cutting off his airway. He literally could not lie down or he would have suffocated. He was one of the first surgeries and has been a complete success. He was discharged from the hospital on Thursday, already playing, running and sleeping laying down!!!

However, we have already shed tears for those we could not help. We had a young girl who a mission hospital flew down from the very north end of Congo hoping we could save her life. She also had a tumor that was cutting off her airway; however, it soon became clear this was inoperable and was cancerous. She died this week in our hospital. I'm attaching a link to a blog written by the nurse who held her as she died. (Get your tissues out!) While we couldn't save her physical life, I'm confident that we modeled our Saviour through our actions of loving care as this family dealt with this loss.

http://debsheartinafrica.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/dear-baby-girl.html 

Our dental and eye screenings have begun. They have been mostly successful. On Tuesday we were at a site for eye screening where 500 people lined up. They were calm and listened as I directed them into a queue. We were able to see everyone in this line!!! On Wednesday we moved to a different site. When we arrived at 5:15 am, the gates to the compound were wide open (they were supposed to have been closed the evening before) and we had a large crowd inside the compound. We soon determined the crowd was too large and unmanageable so made the decision to leave the site to ensure everyone's safety. These examples demonstrate the roller coaster of life here on the MV Africa Mercy!!!

Sorry, no pictures this time as I'm writing on my work computer.  I'm heading about 1,400 km north starting next Saturday so hope to have some amazing photos of the Congo rain forest when I get back!! 

Screening Day

Well, screening day is here and gone!  It was an amazing experience, we dealt with a huge number of people, many are saying over 7,000 were in line.  The line was over 1,100 meters long for an hour or so and stayed at 800-900 meters for much of the morning.  The stream of people coming to line up seemed endless.  There was stress, both for Mercy Shippers and for the Congolese people, but with patience and God's grace the line moved along without major incident.  We worked hand in hand with the Pointe-Noire police.  My counterpart is a great guy who speaks decent English.  Every time I asked for something he replied "That is no problem" whether it was to have 12 additional police officers in 10 minutes or if it was that, because the line was growing so fast I needed to close a public road to extend our line!  Then he proved it really wasn't a problem!

The day is filled with stories, both of success and heartache.  Here is a link to the blog of one of my friends (yes, she is the nurse from the 60 Minutes story!)

http://alirae.net/blog/

Ali is a gifted writer who tells the stories that many of us experience.  She is a blessing here!  Her latest post is about yesterday and tells of some of the challenges we face.

It is easy to focus on the good we do, but often our hearts are weighed down by the one's we can't help.  I know I have pictures in my mind of people who were told "No" and their lonely, sometimes broken walk to the exit gate.  I think these pictures will always travel with me. Our successes are fantastic but our limits hurt!!

Having just experienced my first big screening event, today I am more thankful for the blessings in my life, our family both immediate and extended, friends, church family and faith. 

Here are three pictures from screening day. 

Please take time today to appreciate your blessings!!!

CONGO!!!

We are here!!!  It is great to have feet back on dry land again . . . but quite an adjustment!

The Republic of Congo (Brazzaville), not to be confused with Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa), is a country of contradictions.  The city we are in, Pointe-Noire, has aspects that are very Western and other aspects that are very African.  There are working traffic lights (absolutely none in Guinea), neon signage, a western style grocery store, etc. . . yet there is the Grande Marche (market) which is comprised of hundreds of small stalls built into a couple blocks with paths about 3 feet wide between them.  But even the Grande Marche is different.  In Guinea the markets were almost always open and the paths were paved with refuse.  Here, every vendor must empty his/her stall every Monday and Friday and the entire market is swept and all trash removed.  The country has banned disposable plastic in many forms.  You will be fined for using a plastic supermarket bag!!!! 

The country is about 80% urban, primarily between Pointe-Noire which is the major port and Brazzaville which is the capital.  As we understand the rural areas are very consistent with the rest of western Africa.  I will soon find out as we are taking a trip "up-country" for evaluation of sites for our screenings in December.  This could be interesting as we will be travelling 1400 kilometers each way on roads that would be very rural in the US. 

Denise is doing well in the Academy.  She is enjoying her class. 

Please pray for our upcoming general screening.  This is August 28 and can involve up to about 5,000 potential patients.  I am responsible for the safety and security of the event. . . needless to say, I'm quite busy right now!

Today's picture comes from the arrival ceremony of the ship to Pointe-Noire.  There was a big celebration on the dock and we had to make sure the gangway was secure.  On my right is Lincoln Folkers, the purser on the ship, and on my left is Gabe Chase, the Ship Security Officer.  It felt good to put on the uniform and represent Mercy Ships here in Congo!

Sailing to Congo

Sailing to Congo

Here we are enjoying another sail.  It has been quite busy for both of us.  I am now teaching third grade. We are two days into the school year and it is going well.  My class has two boys in it.  It is a bit interesting teaching on a rocking ship with many items secured.  My commute to work has gone from about 50 steps which included one flight of stairs to 200 steps and three flights of stairs.
Matt has been busy with planning meetings to get ready for the mass screening day on August 28th. 
The ship is rocking a bit more than the last sail but it hasn't been too bad.  We do hear more of the waves while in our cabin. 
Here are some pictures from the sail.  We had a beautiful sunset the first night.  Monday the view began to get hazy and yesterday it was extremely hazy. It was the sand from the Sahara Desert blowing.  I've included a picture of the hazy sunset and the after effects on the rail.  And to think this is about 150 miles off the coast. Amazing!  We've seen dolphins a few times. I included someone else's picture.  Others have been fortunate enough to see orcas and a stingray, we are hoping we get to also.

Beauty

Very dreary day and evening.

Usually quite white. Can you see where the dirt has been removed?

How many dolphins can you count?

It was amazing to watch!

Barcelona

Barcelona

Last week we had a long anticipated vacation in Barcelona. It was wonderful!! We met Jake there for 3 days. He was with his friend Will and Will’s sister Maggie.  It was so great to see them!  We had a great time and saw many things.   The best part was just spending time together.  We were blessed by a family on the ship by getting to use their apartment, which was terrific! It was much more relaxing than a hotel. It was a 10 minute walk to the beach along the Rambla which is a street for pedestrians and bikes lined with shops and restaurants.  It was very relaxing!  We all enjoyed the late nights, finishing dinner about midnight then sleeping in, followed by beach time in the late morning- early afternoon, then lunch about 2 followed by a siesta.  We did do a lot of walking and site seeing in the short time we were there.  It’s been difficult for me, Denise, to get back to ship life after seeing Jake, Will, and Maggie.  I guess I’m feeling homesick again.  Things on the ship are completing as planned. We sail to Tenerife on Saturday and are there for a week, then we will sail to the Congo.  I begin in the Academy 7/22.  There are many people are beginning to return from their vacations and it is great to hear their stories.  Here are some pictures from our time in Barcelona.

This is the view from the balcony of the apartment on to the Rambla.

This was in front of the apartment building.

 

This is Sagrada familia, a church designed by Guadi.

These are two Guadi houses on Paseo de Gracia.

We came across this arch while walking.

We also stumbled upon this fountain in a park.

There were also permanent ping pong tables in this park.

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Just enjoying Barcelona!