10 Things I Couldn't Live Without (on the Africa Mercy)

After passing through the initial stages of culture shock, we have settled into the "new norm."  Things that were essentials at home (driver's license, keys, credit cards) have sat in a drawer unused for nearly 18 months.

Instead, these are the items I find most essential:

1. An Electric Kettle.  We do not have full kitchens in our cabins.  We eat our meals in the dining room (prepared by our amazing galley team, and served by our dining room team).  This is an amazing luxury.  But it means we don't have a stove, oven, microwave, toaster, coffee maker, or any of these items in our cabin.  They are available to us in a common kitchen area called the Crew Galley, but to be honest, we don't do much cooking in there.  However, every day we fill our electric kettle, turn on the button, and in just seconds the water is boiling away.  It shuts off automatically when it reaches the magic temperature - and voila! Hot water for coffee, tea, cocoa, ramen noodles, or oatmeal is ready. 
2. Sticky Tack!  You thought only teachers bought the sticky blue (or white) stuff that holds posters on the walls?  Well, in an environment where you are forbidden from using tape, sticky tack is a valuable currency here.  We use sticky tack to hold up artwork, tack messages on other doors, and even secure sign up sheets and pens to the wall.
3. Magnets! When sticky tack won't do the trick, you just find a stronger substance: like magnets! All our walls are steel, so if you want to make a fort, you just stick up a few blankets with magnets!  Hang a fan on the wall?  Find a strong magnet.  Coat hooks?  Backpacks?  Organizers??  Magnets hold all these up as well!  Some even have projectors secured to the ceiling with magnets for movie viewing pleasure!  In the hospital, the magnets come in handy too- need a privacy curtain?  You can put one up anywhere, with.... you guessed it..... magnets!

4. Hand Sanitizer!  I'm against this stuff at home - I think germs are quite good for you and make you stronger, but... out in the heat, sweat and stink here, shaking countless hands, I find hand sanitizer a necessity.  We have hand sanitizing stations at the top of the gangway, in the dining room, in the bathrooms and at various other points throughout the ship to cleanse away!

5. Doxycycline - I thought it was an apple a day that keeps the doctor away, but here the thing I take every day is one doxy.  This is a malarial preventative pill.  Living in a country that has a high malaria rate means making some medical decisions: do you risk getting malaria, or risk the long term effects of medications?  For me, I find that one doxy a day is a good choice.

6.  My Name Badge!  We live in a PORT! A shipping port!  It is so random, really, when you think about it.  Where is the nearest port to you?  Have you ever even walked through the port?  It's probably in a rough neighborhood, industrial area, and you've never come near it!  We walk through the port, drive through the port and call it home.  Not only do the port authorities require I have a name badge, but also I need one to get on and off our ship.  I wear it from sun up to bedtime - it is debit card for our bank onboard, and my tracking device to verify if I'm onboard or not. 

7. Sweat Rag.  Not really charming, but the truth.  In this land of high humidity and warm temps, I find it impossible to exercise without requiring a cloth or towel of some sort to absorb half my body fluids that perspire out of every pore in my body. 

8. A Laminating Machine.  Everyone loves pictures! When we take pictures with patients, caregivers, people as the school we visit, or other friends we have met, they usually want a copy of these photos.  We don't have a proper photo printing machine on the ship, so we print them just as colored copies.  In order to make these pictures last, we laminate them.  Which means, a continuous cycle of taking pictures, printing, laminating, distributing, taking, printing, laminating... you get the point.

9&10. Dancing Shoes & Heart Full of Song - be ready to sing & dance at all times!  You might be on the ward and the day workers bust out a guitar and all of a sudden it's worship time.  It could be 90 degrees and you're on the dock sitting with a sweaty, snuggly toddler on your lap and the grateful eye patients who had cataracts removed burst into song and start praising God for the mighty things He has done.  You can't help but move.  I find myself humming or singing as I walk through the halls, wash the dishes, or even exercise.  Jehovah-eh, Jehovah-ah, Jehovah- you are the most high!  Akpedada ye dje ne...  Baba olua oshea, baba olua oshea.  Ehhhhheyeyehhhh, my God is good-o ...Everything He double double, He double double.  English, French, Ewe, Fon, Yoruba, Krio: the languages are many, the tunes are catchy, and it does my heart and soul proud.  I wouldn't have it any other way.

Dan Togo "chicken" dancing at our last YWAM/King's Kids Outreach

Kylie on Night Patrol - Kylie's post

Friday night as we were heading to the cabin around 9:45pm, we passed by our friend Francis who was just beginning the night shift as the night patrolman.  After hearing his stories of how he had received such little sleep in the past few days as he had been scouring the city for a potential patient to see a plastic surgeon a couple of hours north at a hospital we have been partnering with, I was feeling very sorry that he was having to stay up!  I suggested that Kylie could take his place since she hardly ever seems to fall asleep these days (way too many fun things to work on after lights-out hours)...  Francis loved the idea of having Kylie join him at work, and offered her the chance to do rounds with him on the ship.

This is what she journaled after the hour-long adventure that brought her home at 11:15pm:

Today I went on a round with someone for security and check down.  I got to use a beeper and see all the AC rooms, one of the fire lockers and some other things I donot remember the names of, and better yet, it was Night Patrol!!!!☺☺☺☺  Plus, I think I even went on deck 1 which is totally AWESOME!!!

I also learned a TON of things about how we get our stuff on the containers and where deck people keep their supplies.  Also you have to do five rounds of patrol between 10:00pm and 6:00am and you have to go to deck 6 then 5, then 4, then 3, then 2, and then I think 1, and then you have to go to deck 7 and then you start all over again. ☺☺☺☺☺ 

Other than that I got to see Missy (our friend who works in the OR and had surgery herself last week for suspected appendicitis) and have a lot a lot alot alot alot of fun in language arts and Music!  In Language ARts we recorded a reader's theater play and afterwards we put it in really high voices and all of us DIED laughing! :P  And in music we all created a STOMP rythm and we are going to perform it on Thursday in Quior! 

Well, I"d better go to bed because it is 11:20pm right now! Catch ya later! ☺ Bye!

P.S. I got to go on the elevator to get back to deck 7!!!!!!!☺☺☺☺

☺♥ Peace, love and happiness!

K-Love Pays a Visit

This week we were privileged to have two staff members from K-Love on board with us - to see what the mission of Mercy Ships is all about, and phone into the stations and blog about the work taking place in Togo.

Amy (left), Jessica (right) with momma of a cataract patient baby they met and witnessed her seeing for the first time this week. 

These gals, Amy (morning show DJ) and Jessica (publicity manager), were very jazzed up about being here and had some incredible experiences.  Here's a link to the KLOVE blog to hear some from their perspective.

 Lots of cataract surgeries took place this week as we had Dr. Glen Strauss back on board for a short time - who has worked with Mercy Ships for many years developing and perfecting the cataract removal surgical techniques that make this such an effective surgery.  You can read the story of one little girl on the K-Love blog.  But also we had a family arrive with not one, not two, not three or even four children with cataracts, but FIVE children with congenital cataracts born in the SAME family.

Kokou, the second boy from the left, wore dark sunglasses when we saw him at the Hope Center on Friday afternoon as I led a group of Junior High students (and 1 high schooler) in an elective class of "Blessing Others."  The children (and I) wondered if he was blind, sitting their in the dark, Stevie Wonder glasses.  But, then he asked for a coloring page and some colored pencils and created a lovely work of art about JOY.  As he played soccer with one of the boys, we quickly realized how much this nine-year old's life had changed in the course of two days since his surgery occurred on Wednesday.

Another perk of the K-Love visit was streaming music!  I never thought I'd be so excited to hear K-Love! I mean, I love K-Love, but at home I listened so much that I knew all the songs by heart.  Because streaming music and video takes up so much bandwidth and we have 400 people sharing one internet source, all streaming sites are blocked for usage (YouTube, radio stations, other videos, etc).  So, to have our IT department be willing to open up K-LOVE streaming in the cafe during the day was a little breath of fresh air!  New songs! New music!  Hoorah!

Many of you may have heard Amy talking about Mercy Ships on the airwaves.  We are also very grateful for this exposure.  K-LOVE has a listener base of around 7,000,000 people - what a great way to find potential recruits for the MANY positions we need to fill in the coming months, as well as raise funds to cover operational costs and crew fees for the 400 volunteers that live onboard. 

We pray that God will use this time to raise up the people and the resources that he provides to accomplish his work here.  It is great to partner with other organizations that share in His heart for seeing people to come to know His awesome power to save, restore, and heal.

The New Normal

It occured to me today that I have grown used to Africa.  Things that used to surprise me, I hardly notice.

For instance, when we were running last week, we were passed by many people - men, women, boys and girls running in flip flops.  They were all running several kilometers along the beach road to get to their soccer practice at the beach.  No big deal. 

We were also passed by an older woman who was wearing a skirt, flip flops, a cut off t-shirt, balancing a large basket on her head full of fruit, and carrying a homemade broom under her arm. 

A little embarrassing that she was passing us, but nothing really to write home about.

Then we passed a guy (finally!) who was carrying an old-fashioned sewing machine on his head, and smoking a cigarette. 

Hmmmm.

That's a first.

I guess that might be something you don't see every day.  Even in Togo.

We see so much that is normal here and not normal in the United States, that I don't even know what the absolute normal is.

• Is it normal to pee along the side of the road? 
• Is it normal to have a family of four on a motor scooter? 
• To dance like a chicken as a form of worship to the Lord? 
• To eat fresh papaya, pineapple, mango, and bananas every day?

• To buy your water in a sealed plastic bag on the side of the street, from a girl who carries it in a plastic bowl on her head?

• To be able to speak at least three languages?
• To carry a handkerchief with you because there is no doubt, you WILL be dripping sweat eventually?
• To see a live goat riding passenger on a motorbike, being punched in the head if he starts to squirm?
• To get someone's attention by "psssst"ing at them, or making a loud smacky kissy noise?
• To see agouti meat for sale along the side of the road, and wonder who will be the lucky family that gets to have that much meat for dinner?

• To take a bath in front of your house with a basin of water and a plastic cup?
• To carry anything and everything in your head?
• To do your laundry by hand and lay the clothes out on the sidewalk or sandy beach to dry?
• To have the rightaway entering a roundabout, but once you're in, you yield to everyone entering?
• For girls aged six and up to "po-po" their siblings or children (carry them wrapped onto their backs with a piece of fabric)?

To be able to buy anything from the car (qtips, sliced papaya, bras, tennis shoes, and cell phone chargers)?

The answer to all of these questions is YES if you are in Togo.  Most definitely yes.  So much so, that I don't think twice about any of these.

How many things that seemed overwhelming and bizarre when we first arrived in Africa don't even hit my radar any more?  Way more than I realize I am sure. 

I think we have found a new normal.  And I might like it better.

On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!

I know my blog posts aren't always the most heartfelt, but I'm just being real with you!  Our lives aren't 24-7 patient stories.  They are a good chunk of time- especially this year in Togo I have spent more times in the ward, on the dock, in outpatients and at the Hope Center then ever before.  And I can tell you stories about so many patients.  I could write a blog right now about one of them.  But, instead I'm going to give you a glimpse of ship-life. 

When you get nearly 400 people together from 30-40 nations around the world, you get a lot of energy.

And a lot of passion about many different things.  At times we have had trivia nights organized.  We had a musical production of Godspell directed by a crew member.  We have ballet classes, African drumming classes, karate, scrapbooking, soccer games and more. 

And in the midst of all these people we also have a few runners. 

Yes, I thought my running days would be on hiatus while in Africa.  You see, I was going to take a sabbatical from running, using the African sun as my excuse.  But, that didn't happen.

Starting back in Sierra Leone I learned of others who enjoyed to run (or at least the benefit of burning off those extra calories).  There because of the crazy congestion and traffic in the city, we were quite limited to back and forth on the dock, which grew rather tedious.

But, here in Togo we have a beautiful ocean boulevard complete with sidewalk that runs along the beach for 9.5 kilometers (5.9 miles) all the way to the Ghana border.

Early on I decided that my goal would be to run to the Ghana border and back, and I am proud to say that I accomplished that last month.

Two weeks later, there was another group with a more ambitious goal:  a border to border run!

Togo is just a wee, skinny country, spanning 56 kilometers (about 35 miles) between Benin and Ghana.

Some runners and some other adventurers decided that a run from one side to the other would be a great idea!

It turned out to be quite the production! Leaving the ship while it was still dark they drove to the Benin border.  There they split into their teams - some were running 5k, others 10, still others 28, and one attempted the whole thing solo!  Some were biking, some were doing both and all were eager to finish quick, get out of the heat, and have a great time.

The view was magnificient at the start.

Missy & Jane put their bikes to good work.

And managed to keep their smiles on their faces.

Herma too pedaled along, providing Jeroen with some companionship as he attempted the entire length as a one-man team!

Sometimes the road was pretty desolate, but Mercy Ships' Land Rovers accompanied the runners to make sure they had enough water and attention if needed.

Some teams ran 10k segments - here is a checkpoint where a new runner will be taking over.

You don't really need to WARM up your muscles, but make sure you are still limber!

The Gendarmerie (sort of like the National Guard) provided traffic assistance as well - see the blue lights on the motorcycle (zimijhan) ahead.

Polly even managed to give someone a lift along the way!

The smiles weren't just pasted on the faces- these were authentic (probably because at this point they were riding, not running!).

And the runners were serious about their work as well!

Despite the increasing temperatures and the intense sunlight, Jeroen kept plugging away at his goal.

And at the Ghana border, he was all smiles! What an accomplishment!  Jeroen and his wife Hennie, pictured, join us from Holland.  Hennie is the science teacher in the academy, and Jeroen is a chef.  In his "real life" back home, he is also a French teacher so he provided an eight week course last fall for all of us, and is doing another one now.

Marga was hot, sweaty, but so thrilled with her performance!

Team Spicey was all smiles as they approached the finish line - this international time from England, the US and Nepal ran in honor of one of our gurka guards who had to leave unexpectedly when his only son was killed by lightning while serving for the Army of India. 

As they got closer you can see here the Gendarmerie helping to clear the way.

 

The event was a success, fun was had by all, and it probably will not be repeated next year, since Guinea is is roughly the size of Oregon.  But, I am sure there will be more fun up someone's sleeve!

Et Savannah, ça va? (And how is Savannah??)

These days we spend a fair amount of time on the dock, visiting with the patients that we grew to know and love while they were on the ward.  As they have progressed in their healing, they have moved either to the Hope Center, or in some cases, back to their homes, with return trips to our dockside for their outpatients and physiotherapy appointments.

 

While their eyes light up when they see any of us, Savannah seems to be the biggest hit.

Savannah and Jemima.

Savannah and Abel and his momma.

Savannah holding Abel.

Savannah and Jo-Jo, Abel’s brother.

Savannah and Lumen’s grandma.

 

Savannah and Lumen…. are you seeing a trend here?

Even the day workers wanted a photo with Savannah.

 

Jo-Jo is learning to walk so these moments of delight were especially sweet for us to share.

And while they wait for their appointments or the shuttle vehicle we provide to bring them back and forth, we play.  We talk a little French.  We learn a little Ewe.  And we laugh.

Who is next in line of favorites?  Well, it would happen to be Dan’s parents!  They arrived last weekend and have been blown away by the sense of community exhibited by all those they have met. 

 

Beau-pere was a big hit with the young and old, and they all wanted photos with him (each one commenting on how he looks just like Dan!).

Lumen’s hair was in fine form for the day – straight out of a Dr. Seuss book, wouldn’t you say?

Ju-Ju, Lumen’s little brother was especially expressive and heureux this week (happy), so we captured him several times.

 

 

 

As these lovely patients share their families with us, we have had the delight and privilege to share our families with them.