Sailing

Loving it!!   We weren’t sure how we would like sailing but, here we are a couple of days into it and it is going well.  We are both taking the seasickness medication that was passed out.  Why risk being miserable.   We are in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean headed toward the Canary Islands.  We are about 90 miles off the coast of Africa. It was interesting watching people get use to walking on a moving ship, at times we zig-zag our way down the hall or across a room.  Someone said we should just dance instead of walking and no one would notice our awkward walking.  We have enjoyed watching dolphins a few times, flying fish often the first couple of days, and a few whales.  The whales haven’t been very close but watching the water stream from their blow holes is fun.  Sunday evening there was a time of worship on the bow.  Very cool!  When it ended a whale was spotted. Perfect way to end!   Watching stars at night is amazing. The sky and ocean are so immense. They seem to go on forever. Everything is at a more relaxed pace.  Everyone has a job to do but we all seem to be free of the usual stresses of work.  For those who had been working in the hospital they have been reassigned in many places: galley, dining room, crew services (cleaning), human resources, reception, etc.  There are many things to do during the sail;  movie night (Star Wars), scavenger hunt, Gotch Ya! (a sneaky elimination game), open mic night, and a few Bible Studies to choose from, and of course just sitting on the decks watching the ocean, listening to the waves and watching the sunset.  Easy to see God’s marvelous handiwork here.  Today is my kind of weather.  A light jacket or sweatshirt is preferred if planning on being outside in the wind for long.  Out of the wind and in the sun is perfect for sitting and reading.

Matt enjoyed his birthday at sea.  He slept off and on throughout the day because he has been working some partial overnight shifts.  Matt was happy  I was able to bake him his traditionally requested Boston Cream Pie even though we were at sea and we celebrated with our Gateway family.

One more thing, the ship is in a constant side to side motion that kind of feels like a slow rocking chair.  It is great for falling to sleep!

Enjoy some pictures!

Land rovers on deck 8

 

Sunset during worship

                                                             Dolphins-photo by Rueben

Wrapping up in Guinea

Hi Everyone!!!

We are wrapping up our time in Guinea . . . recently my world has been quite busy!!  As we finished the medical care, many of our crew departed.  On Sunday we had a total of 60 people going to the airport (including drivers) for departures.  With the difficulties going on in the country, we decided to run a single convoy of 12 Land Rovers . . . it was my responsibility to coordinate the trip.  Here is a picture of what that looked like:

Everyone did a great job and seemed to enjoy the adventure!!

Then, last night, a group called the Guinea Initiative hosted a Thank You event for Mercy Ships.  It was held in the People's Palace which is a common gathering area that has the largest auditorium in Conakry.  The only problem from my standpoint was that we had less than a week to plan!!  This left the security team (Melodee, Gabe, and me) with very little time to do all our planning for arrival, movement, exit, emergency transport, etc.  Well, thankfully, the event went off without a hitch and we had fun using the lapel microphones and earpieces for our radios . . . very Secret Service-like!!  The speeches of thanks were heartfelt and appreciated.  The entertainment was excellent with several different groups highlighting talents from native drumming to ballet and acrobatics.  I've attached a photo collage from one of my friends from the event (I was too busy walking and checking on stuff to take a camera).

Now it is time to secure our cabin for sailing.  The ship has a tendency to roll quite a bit so everything has to be taken down, padded, or secured in some way.

Blessings

Sunset . . .

I'm pondering today . . . we are reaching the sunset of our time in Guinea.  I know we have only been on the ship for 8 weeks, but it seems like we've been here much longer.  We have watched short term crew come and go, built friendships, said both welcome and goodbye . . . . I feel invested in the people but also in the community both on the ship and within the city of Conakry.  Yesterday was the last day of surgeries and the last day of operation of our off-site eye and dental clinics.  The hospital will still operate until Friday to allow recovery for the patients that need the time.  We've accomplished SO much here but only scratched the surface . . . it is a hollow feeling.  I know the people appreciate us and what we do, but when they ask "Why can't you stay?" it is heartbreaking.  For the people we weren't able to help, either because of their conditions or the sheer numbers of people needing help, they are likely condemned to never receiving treatment, many will die.  Yet we have to rest on the fact that literally thousands have been helped.  Why does that ring so hollow today??  I wonder if it will feel like this each time we get ready to leave a country?

We have watched conflict in this country.  Guinea is in an election period and this has caused strife among factions.  It has been hard as we meet local people on both sides of the issues.  We pray for them personally and for the whole country that they can peacefully resolve their differences, have an election that is fair and transparent, and that all factions can feel represented in government. 

When we first got here, the sunsets were clouded by haze, some said from Saharan winds carrying sand down.  Don't know if it is true, but is makes for a good story!!  However, winds have now changed and the sunsets are returning in a dramatic fashion.  Here are a couple pictures of last night's meeting of the ocean and the sun:

I hope that as the sun sets wherever you are tonight that you stop and appreciate the gifts in your life.  Not everyone is so richly blessed as us!! 

Noise

Life on a ship.  Noisy all the time.  There are fans blowing all day and all night.  Pagers going off quite often.  Toilets flushing. Drains gurgling. Dining room, the noise of many people visiting.  People talking in the room next door.  (Thankfully we’ve had neighbors on the thin wall side for only two weeks and they were quite quiet.) The other side is a fire wall so we do not hear those neighbors.  During the day the workers are sanding.  Luggage bangs overhead from suitcases coming and going. On the deck it is equipment sounds, generators, fans among other things.  Visual noise of pollution while on deck looking port side. And many people everywhere.  For those who know me (Denise) well this should really be stressing me out. Amazing it doesn’t really bother me at all.  It is just part of life. No worries.  I am able to sleep well. It is peaceful looking out at the islands.  I will take the noise in order to enjoy the comforts of home. Air conditioning, flush toilets, running water and electricity.  It is easy to take these things for granted but, all I need to do is go to deck 7 or 8 and go outside and look at the city. The majority do not have even one of these accessible to them.  Every time I have left the port I have seen at least one person sleeping in the dirt on the side of the road. It sure gets me thinking about quality of life.

 We enjoy seeing the difference in high and low tides.  Here are the pictures showing the difference.   It is nice having the shipwreck as a visual.  There are about a dozen wrecks throughout the port area.  We’ve been told sunk for insurance reasons over the years.  I’m not sure how long they’ve been here. Quite awhile though. 

 

 

Rainy season is beginning.  Last night we had our first thunderstorm.  It was quite exciting to see rain.  It was very windy. It was fun to watch the lightning over the ocean.  Today is sunny again.

Good Morning Africa!!!

It is 6:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning and I'm sitting on the top deck of the Africa Mercy watching life go by.  The port is starting to wake up but the ship is still sleepy.  During the week the pace onboard can be quite hectic, with 450 crew and a couple hundred day workers all together in a 500 foot space, not to mention the patients and their caregivers. 

However, Saturday morning seems to be the time when everyone can just take a deep breath, savor a cup of coffee and recharge.  That is certainly what I'm doing.

Living in an active shipping port is a new experience.  It's been a blast watching the ships come and go, checking the web to see where they came from and where they are off to next.  Here are a couple pictures to show you one of the larger ships that docked right next to us.  For perspective, the smallest boat in the picture shuttles lines to the dock and is about 20 feet long.

Some of the things that are normal in West Africa really require a change to our Western mindset.  Here are a couple pictures of a fishing boat in quite good African condition! 

                                    


Much of the fishing fleet and the vehicle fleet here would never be allowed on the waters or roads of the US.  Recently we've had a couple very large car-carriers dock near us.  They unload equipment and cars that have been sold from the West because they are no longer considered servicable in our countries.  They begin a new life in Africa and often keep going for years!!

Well, the tugs are headed out so I will freshen my coffee and watch another ship come in!  All our love . . .

Matt and Denise

How We're Doing . . .

We've been writing about the things that are happening personally in our lives.  For this update, we thought we would share some of the things that Mercy Ships does during a field service.  First, we will write a quick overview of services, then will give you some statistics about what has happened in Guinea to date. 

Obviously we have the Africa Mercy, our floating hospital platform.   This ship has six operating rooms, ward space for 78 patients, and the other associated hospital services.  In the hospital we have a focus on mentoring and training local health care professionals.

In addition to the ship, we have a space called "The Hope Center" which provides safe, secure housing for patients and a caregiver prior to surgery when other health issues or nutritional issues need to be addressed or after surgery when a patient will require followup but doesn't need a hospital bed.  This facility provides 60 beds (plus caregivers).

We run both eye and dental clinics.  These are facilities that provide basic care.  Patients are selected through screening processes.  We are done screening for eye care but still are doing some targeted populations, for example, on Monday we will be travelling about 30 minutes from the ship to a secure compound where handicapped individuals have a place to live.  We will be screening to provide reading glasses.  Dental continues on full-scale operations, seeing almost 100 patients per day.

Earlier in the time in Guinea, we had individuals up-country working with several people teaching agricultural techniques. 

Here is what has been done between August 22 and April 6th:

Eye surgeries    1,529
Maxillofacial surgeries  416
Cleft Palate/Lip repair - 137
Reconstructive Plastic Surgeries - 82
General Surgeries - 218
Orthopedic Surgeries - 116
Corrective Gynecological Surgeries - 63
Dental Patients Servied - 9,897
Dental Procedures (fillings, extractions, infections, etc) - 37,466

African Surgeons mentored - 11
African Nurses mentored - 10

It's been an amazing 7 1/2 months for the staff of the Africa Mercy!!!!

Blessings,

Matt and Denise

Adjusting to Life

Well, here we are again!!!  We've started settling into the routine that is life aboard the Africa Mercy.  Denise has gotten her work schedule in the dining room.  She works 5 days one week and then 2 the next; however, those days start at 5:30 am and end about 7:30 pm.  There are a couple breaks between meals but days still are long!!!  She has had fun interacting with our day workers.  Mercy Ships hires over 200 local citizens who work for the ship through the time we are here.  This is one of the ways that we work to infuse money into the local economy. 

Matt has been active in his job.  Twice a week he travels to the dental clinic to oversee security of the screening lines.  This morning there were approximately 700 people in line for less than 200 slots for dental care.  As this is the last clinic that is still actively screening, people with all sorts of issues come hoping for a  referral to a medical or eye provider; however, we have to turn them away as all the slots are full through the rest of our time here.  It's heart breaking to watch as children suffering from issues that are treatable in any first-world country are turned away simply because we lack the resources to help everyone who needs it.  We do a lot, don't get me wrong.  By the time we leave Guinea in June we will have helped thousands of people.  However, with the lack of medical accessibility, we've only scratched the surface.  Hopefully, this is where our capacity-building within the local medical community will provide more long-term impact.  We pray for these people but we also pray for our ability to remain compassionate to them.

We are very pleased with our cabin!!  It seems almost like an efficiency (VERY EFFICIENT!!) apartment . . . here is a picture . . . couples and families have it much better than singles in housing.  They are generally housed at least 4 to a cabin, and often start in 6, 8, or even a 10 berth cabin!!

Hope this finds you well, thanks for your thoughts and prayers as we move forward in this journey!