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!