I've had a good week this week. There are still patients here recovering for surgery, but they did the last surgery on Friday, so now the patients will recover and go home. There is a prayer room set up in one of the empty wards thats not being used. Its going 24/7 and people have signed up to be there at all hours. We are praying that those patients who are having more extensive wounds would heal before we leave. As I have learned in America, even when you have unlimited resources, you need God to step in sometimes and do something supernaturally! Healthcare is not the answer. I want to praise God that those kids who came in for encephalocele repairs are doing pretty well. This is one of my favorites, he is also such a good and gentle boy and his father is staying with him here and they are both so lovely. Many times I've watched his father kneel over his bed praying to Jesus. He was pretty sick for a while and is improving. It looks like a doctor in Kenya will be following up with him. Praise God for that!

Saturday morning, I went to the Cheshire Home for Handicapped kids and adults. There are about 15 people that live there from approximately age 2-50. It was really so rewarding just to spend time with those kids. The conditions were pretty good for Liberia, but of course way different from home. They had plenty of wheelchairs, one fashioned out of a lawn chair. The kids just absolutely light up when you cuddle and play with them (Except the 2 year old -I think she was afraid of white people and she cried whenever she looked at me, haha).

Saturday night I dressed up like a smurf for the costume party onboard. (I'm not planning on posting a picture of that). I had so much fun playing Taboo with a group of people. And the sad part is that some more of my friends went home this weekend. :(

Today for church I went with my friend Dennis (I went to visit his house a month or so ago). It was really a blessing and I can't really verbalize it all. They just really encouraged us and prayed for us. It was so overwhelming to feel the love from these people we just met. They gave us each a card signed by people in the church, and a artificial flower that looked like it came off the centerpeice at the church pulpit. That little aritficial flower meant more than a big bouquet of live flowers. The pastor and his wife were really amazing and I think I have to say they had one of the best worship services I've been to here in Liberia. They are really holding onto Bible and stiving to live by it and to really know Jesus.

So many people have so many theories and opinions and teachings all over the world about different religions. Even in Christianity. But I know for sure the whole bible is true (I can't explain everything but I know its true) and when I meet people on the west coast of africa, and in Haiti, and in Dominican Republic all worshipping the God of the bible in different ways in different languages, but proclaiming the same truth of God's love for people, my faith grows. The words from a Liberian praise song we sang today come to mind. "Jehovah touched my life with his hand, my life changed."

I'm so glad its not about being good enough. Its about believing that Jesus Christ paid the debt that I owed to God for my sins. And I get the free grace of God. Just because I have been here in Africa for a few months doesn't give me any better standing with God. Its the same as when I first realized I needed God, and God made himself real in my life and accepted me. So he still accepts me now, by his Grace!

I will ask that when I come home, you give me a little time to adjust to not living on a ship with 400 people, to transition from 85+ degree weather to 0 degree wintery weather(you all know how much I love winter ;) ), from seeing poverty to seeing wealth. From being surrounded by christians all the time to the real world. From hearing engine noises and rumblings to quiet. I think I will need some time to adjust and may not want to talk about all my experiences right away. And I have no plan for the future at this time. But God does and for at least a few weeks, I'm not going to worry about it. So if you could give me some time before asking- that would be great, because I don't know. :) Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

I'm looking forward to making christmas cookies when I get home to my grandparents house! :)

At a refuge home and one pic of the Jesus Film

Thinking about leaving...

So, I admit I've been slacking a bit on my blog. But here goes a little update. The ship is winding down a bit. 2 of the 4 hospital wards are now closed and we are in the process of cleaning, bleaching and packing everything for the ship to sail to Tenerif. There are still 2 wards filled with patients. One abdorable boy who is 6 yrs old who had a tumor in one of his eyes which turned out to be cancerous. So he will now be getting chemotherapy at a local hospital. He had malaria, but was still running around teasing all the nurses and cheering us up with his contageous giggle. He went home yesterday. He has a very good chance of survival with the chemotherapy. Some of the patients still need a lot of healing to go before the ship (and modern medical care) sails away. Please if you can, take a chance to ask God to really step in and heal their bodies.

I've been starting to think about leaving and going back home. Home is going to be my grandparents house, not my apartment, so it will be a little adjustment. Its hard for me to describe what its like here, its something you really have to experience for yourself.

I'm going to miss the laid back attitudes you have to adapt to while here. The culture is not focused around time. So for example, I had some friends come visit us here on the ship yesterday. They said they would meet us at 4pm. They came around 4:45. So we stood and talked and waited for them at the gate. Totally normal thing here. Not to mention the fact I don't have to leave for work until 1 minute before work because I only have to walk down the hall. It really does save time! :)

Today was my last trip to the market (at least I think so) and I was just taking in the environment around me and wondering what it will be like to go back to having so much and seeing so much wealth again. Many young men wanted to talk to me or "be my friend", children came and shook my hand. Large gross mud puddles, uncovered sewer holes in the middle of the sidewalks. Cracked concrete sidewalks (I mean really cracked, not bumpy) or plain dirt. An old man came up to me and told me he needed food, and couldn't work. He asked for tablets for his fever. Another one came and told me I looked like an angel from God who would help him buy 7 liters of gasoline. Taxi's packed with 8 or more people. The smell of garbage not properly disposed of/unavailable sewage management. Lime/Orange peels on the ground, coconut shells. Bring colored lapas(fabric). Women with incredible strength and grace carrying big containers on their head. Baby's sleeping comfortably swaddled to their mamma's back. Little kids selling random things. Water in little plastic bags. Taxi's falling apart, with signs on the bumper that says "God lifts me up". I really will miss it.

An adventure

Has it really been over a week since I wrote on my blog? Well, a brief overview... I went out with a pastor on Friday night to show the Jesus film to a group of people in a language commonly spoken here. We had about 250 people show up. We drove into a big soccer field of sand and set up a screen on the land rover, announced on a loudspeaker that we were having a movie about Jesus and everyone was invited, and they came. It was really cool. That would not happen in the U.S. A bunch of my roommates and other nurses came too, it was nice to talk to the kids after the movie and sing Carry my Load.

Then on Saturday, I was more adventurous than I think I've ever been. After some convincing from a friend, I signed up for the Hydroplant/Coffee Mountain Excursion. A day trip to an old hydroelectric plant by a river. We drove about 1 1/2 hours through mud that was 2 feet (or more) deep in some places. It was amazing, painful, and exhilarating. We got there, we hiked over some big rocks, following the guys with the machete's. There were some areas swarming with Fire ants that bite. So we had to run through those spots (except the rocky/steep places where we just got eaten). Then we jumped off a short rock into the river and swam across. Yes, with all my clothes on, carrying my water bottle, I swam, not walked across the river. The current was a bit strong in some places but I made it!! Then, after hiking more, we made it back to the cars, except on the wrong side of the river- so many people swam a longer distance across the river. I got a ride in a man's canoe! It was so cool!


During the nurses devotion time, where someone shares a thought from the bible, we took time out to think about the verse in James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like the shifting shadows.

unfortunately, Pictures will have to wait, as after 1/2 hour and 1 chapter of my book, the pictures still will not upload... Sorry-O!

Weekend update...

I also want to post an update about this weekend. It was my birthday on Saturday, and I have to say that there is no other place I would have wanted to spend my 25th birthday besides this hospital ship. I went to an orphanage in the morning and cuddled some cute kids. In the afternoon I went shopping for lappas (yards of fabric) at the market, and went to the beach. Then we had a pajama party in the lounge on the ship and we played New Zealand/Australia Birthday party games and ate cookies and cake. It was soooooooooo much fun.

I felt soo overwhelmed by Gods goodness to me.

Thank you for the birthday wishes and prayers. I'm so grateful! :)

Night Shift

Today was one of those days I woke up and was not excited about going to work. Just feeling tired I guess and didn't want to work night shift. I wanted to sleep at night. I was hoping maybe they wouldn't need me, but they did. Now its after midnight, and I see why.

I had a really great talk with a patient tonight. I only have 5 patients tonight. Only one had surgery tonight, so its been rather uneventful so far. I spoke with a patient who's been here maybe a month and a half and has had really extensive surgery. He is still getting regular dressing changes and has been back to the OR a few times. He is a young adult. Tonight he started telling me about his experiences during the war in Liberia. He saw his father killed by the rebels when he was 9 years old, and then his mother hid him and his sister in the bush, where they grew some rice. The rebels burned their pineapple farm, and they had to replant after the war. This patient cannot read or write, because of his physical deformity, he could not attend school. Now he has hopes that he can attend a driving school to learn to drive a truck so he can find a steady job. Please pray that his wound will heal well, as its complicated, and God really needs to intervene and help the healing process along, since the ship will be leaving in 3 weeks. We had the opportunity to talk a little about forgiveness, and God's love because last night we had a man on the ship who shared the testimony about how he used to be a rebel (bad guy) in the war and how he had done terrible things. But during the worst of it, God spoke to him in a vision and he turned around and began to serve God and left his old ways behind. The patients all heard his testimony. So that brought up some good conversation. How can a man with human blood on his hands, who committed hateful acts go to heaven? But according to the bible, the word of God, it says the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was enough to wash away the sins of all who believe in Him. "If you confess your sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9
Its hard sometimes, because we question God's judgements. We wonder why God would have compassion on murders. But if we are honest and look at our own lives, we are not perfect and we have sin in us, too. By God's standards, "The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus" Romans 6:23. Not just other peoples sins, but my own sins, too, deserve death. The reason I am justified before God is that Jesus took the punishment for my sins on Himself. He took that Rebel's sin on himself. It is enough to make any sinner clean. Even a high preist of a tribe in Africa who leads child soldiers into battle, and who makes human sacrifices to the spirits. I wonder if anyone will read this blog who has something in their own life they wonder if God could really forgive? He will.

I would not have chosen a night of sleep over that converstion. :)

Upside down

Two months have passed since I have been here on Mercy Ships. I've seen a lot of people in Liberia living with limited resources and being so thankful. So I wasn't about to complain about my lumpy mattress, after all at least I have a mattress. Sure, I could feel the springs and woke up stiff quite a bit. So I say all this because this week, when a few of the nurses came over to my bunk to watch a movie, they said my bed was really hard! What?! I figured they were all like that. Then Wendy informed me that my mattress was probably upside down, that there was only one padded side. What?! Yes, so I flipped my mattress yesterday morning. Indeed it was 10X softer with the padded side up... too bad it took 2 months to figure it out, but I am thankful for my soft bed, which I can now sleep in for the last month :)

Today is Thanksgiving in Liberia, its a national holiday. We had a big meal tonight, not the traditional, but it was very good. I am reminded how blessed I really am, THANK YOU God!! You give me soooo much. I'm so grateful for the letters I recieved and the birthday package from my parents and for emails and encouragement. I'm thankful for starbucks!! I'm thankful for the warm weather and sunshine. I'm thankful for the internet and phone that we have here. Blessed to have an education, to be able to read and write. And sooo thankful for the great opportunity I have to be here on the ship and for God's keeping power!

A good read!

Yesterday afternoon I was off from work. So I went to the library and got a book out. I got "Hinds Feet on High Places" by Hannah Hurnard. WOW- What a great book! I curled up in the midships area on a comfortable chair and read the whole book.

I would recommend it to christians out there who struggle with anything, but especially fear. As the main characters name is Much-Afraid. The Shepherd leads her away from the Valley and up to the high places. It really gives good insight on how God views us, even when we are struggling. God really encouraged me with this book, He really loves people so much and wants the best for us.

A long update

I am excited that the pictures on my blog are working again! :) I don't know where to start with an update. I'm so blessed to be here. When I look around and see Liberia and a hospital ship, and the tropical fish jumping out of the ocean, and I think- wow, I'm really on Mercy Ships. God is so faithful to bring me here. "God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His son, Jesus Christ our Lord." 1 Corinthians 1:9 Ah- fellowship with Jesus! For those who are not in that place yet, you are missing the most beautiful thing available to man.

I've been thinking a lot about the future, what does God have in store? This has been my vision for a long time, and now, here I am, God has brought me here and I love it. But where will he take me next?

I was able to attend an assembly of God church here in Liberia yesterday, called Zion Assembly of God. For those of you who don't know, my home church is an assembly of God church. It was soo great! I really loved being there, singing songs with them, taking communion with them. They are working on building a church building. But for now, we sat in school chairs (you know the wooden chairs with a little desk attached to one side), and the floor was sand. But they did have a keyboard, drums, and microphones so they are doing well. Anyways, the sermon was given by one of the guys here on mercy ships and it was about having Faith. And believing God, letting him lead us through our lives and trusting he will do it, and allowing the challenges and disappointments we face to bring us closer to God. We will always have the choice of allowing our challenges and trials bring us lower or they can bring us closer to God if we just draw closer to him, and the promises in the bible. It was neat to hear the testimonies of healing and prayer that were given. The people here have a great opportunity to prove God because their trials can be so great. Like for example, the speaker said when he was younger he needed to have surgery on something in the next 2 weeks or the doctor said he would die. He needed 150$ US dollars for the surgery and he didn't have the money. His pain kept getting worse and worse. And one day he remembered that his pastor had told him, "If you pray believing God will heal you, you will be healed", because of the cross and the right relationship we have with God. So he laid his hand on his stomach and started praying really hard and believing God to heal him. He prayed for 30 minutes, he prayed hard and was sweating and then he felt he should go and get some water and since he drank the water his sickness was gone, and he could eat again and his pain left him. He said how this trial had proved God to him and built up his faith. This is one of the people who now works with Mercy Ships. God still heals people today!

On Saturday, I went to the Bong Mines. Its an old iron factory in Bong County which is about halfway into Liberia, about 2-3hours by train. So we all piled into the Mercy Ships land rover and drove onto the train and parked the vehicle. The the train drives for 2-3 hours and we can climb on top of the land rover and take pictures and it was amazing!! To see the country side of Liberia- its beautiful! And just see how people are living. By the time I got back, I was covered in black soot from head to toe. And I had to throw away my clothes because they were also covered in soot. There were no bathroom facilities other than the tall grass. :)

The driver of our vehicle who works with mercy ships worked at the iron factory for 15 years. He was there when the rebels came during the war and started killing people who were from certain tribes. Wow! He showed us where he was and where the project still sits from the day they stopped during the war. He was describing a lot of the trials of the liberian people, even up until now, when most people cannot find work.

I also had some political discussions with the driver. First of all, I'm going to start saying I am from North America, not the US, because the politics of the US are so controversial! My gift is not to debate politics. Also- the United States did not intervene in Liberias war at all until the end when Liberia was pretty much already distroyed. So some liberians have some animosity toward America because of that. I don't understand it all, wars and suffering, and thankfully God has not asked me to solve the worlds problems. And he has given me grace to realize that instead of really getting sad.

I was reminded of the story of the good samaritan, in Luke 10:26-37. It talks about a Jew who was robbed and beaten and left for dead. A priest passed by and didn't help. The a levite (another Jewish person) also passed by on the other side of the road. But then a samaritan passed by. Ususally jews and samaritans don't associate with one another. And I don't understand all the reasons politically, why they didn't. But the samaritan helped the man- he bandaged his wounds, and put him on his own horse, took him to a hotel and paid for his stay in a hotel. What a great way to help us understand about breaking down cultural barriers and loving people.

So back to the bong mines, It was great, and I'm going to try and upload some pictures of Liberia. Please continue to pray for the sick kids on the ward. That we would be able to just love them and help them. This kids that have the esphogeal problems from swallowing caustic substances... they just break my heart! They are so skinny and can't swallow and have terrible coughs and feeding tubes. They need the love of God in their lives. And the poor mothers! Its hard for them to see their kids sick. Can you imagine having a colostomy in a third world country!? There are no bags to attach, you just tape some gauze the site and go on with your day!

Pray for America and the elections- a lot of the world is praying for the election in the United States!

12 hours of sleep

I worked night shift last week, Thursday-Sunday. Monday I went to the beach with some other nurses who were also working nights. What a good break from working, to go and swim in the ocean waves with some friends. It was beautiful weather, and to top it off we had a ride in a mercy ships vehicle, and didn't have to get a taxi. Monday night I didn't sleep to well, and Tuesday night I recovered with a good solid 12 hours of sleep! I really needed it.



I started back to work yesterday with a somewhat busy shift, but it was still nice. I had a little boy who had cataract surgery on both of his eyes, so he had 2 eye patches on, but he was making me laugh. First he started complaining about pain, but when I brought medicine to him, he sat right up and yelled, "I'm not having pain!". It was funny.



I had a woman who had a tumor removed from her face. She has her baby with her, who is a few months old, and so sweet. I can't imagine having major surgery and having a baby to care for too. But of course, the other patients on the ward and the nurses are more than willing to cuddle her little one! I sure was.



So far I can say the encephalocele repairs and other surgeries are going ok. We did have a few unstable kids yesterday, but seems they are moving in the right direction. Praise God for all the talented pediatric and PICU and ICU nurses!

From My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
What Is A Missionary?
"As My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you."
John 20:21
A missionary is one sent by Jesus Christ as He was sent by God. The great dominant note is not the needs of men, but the command of Jesus. The source of our inspiration in work for God is behind, not before. The tendency to-day is to put the inspiration ahead, to sweep everything in front of us and bring it all out to our conception of success. In the New Testament the inspiration is put behind us, the Lord Jesus. The ideal is to be true to Him, to carry out His enterprises.
Personal attachment to the Lord Jesus and His point of view is the one thing that must not be overlooked. In missionary enterprise the great danger is that God's call is effaced by the needs of the people until human sympathy absolutely overwhelms the meaning of being sent by Jesus. The needs are so enormous, the conditions so perplexing, that every power of mind falters and fails. We forget that the one great reason underneath all missionary enterprise is not first the elevation of the people, nor the education of the people, nor their needs; but first and foremost the command of Jesus Christ - "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations."
When looking back on the lives of men and women of God the tendency is to say - What wonderfully astute wisdom they had! How perfectly they understood all God wanted! The astute mind behind is the Mind of God, not human wisdom at all. We give credit to human wisdom when we should give credit to the Divine guidance of God through childlike people who were foolish enough to trust God's wisdom and the supernatural equipment of God.

Good morning-O

Its about 1 am on my 3rd of 4 night shifts this week. I am happy to give thanks to God for your prayers and for his answers. The week has settled down from its hectic start. The pediatric surgeries this week went well and without any major complications this week! The power even went out one day for a few minutes, and everyone was fine in the OR's, ect. Praise God. Most of the patients have been discharged to local hospitals to continue the care they will need more long term. As I may have mentioned before, the pediatric doctor that is here now, picks his most difficult cases to have surgery on the ship, because of the anesthesia equipment. Without it, they probably wouldn't be able to have the surgery they need. We have been getting a lot of cases where kids have swallowed caustic substances... there is no poison control center you call, either... so a lot of kids have scar tissue in their esophagus so they cannot swallow anymore and need feeding tubes. But yea, I just do really thank God that everything went well this week, despite a few stressed nurses. It is difficult to see how much medical care people don't have, especially coming from the US, where we are used to plenty plenty resources (a lot).

Next week we'll have a few encephalocele repairs...A little medical lesson: An encephalocele is a birth defect where a piece of the skull doesn't close completely, therefore brian matter seeps out and forms a bulge usually in front of the face, between the eyes. Google search it for some examples. :) So needless to say, the surgical repairs can be complicated, and the kids need spinal taps twice a day post-op. We have one of the cutest babies here on the ward. He's getting some medicine for malaria and he is due for surgery on monday. He's 1 yr old and his name is Moses. He's got an encephalocele about the size of a big mango on his face. He is adorable and has such a sweet spirit. So if you want another little one to keep in your prayers, I am sure he would greatly appreciate it, and so would his mamma.

I am also more than excited to report that I have not gotten the stomach bug! Praise God! I slept really good during the day today- a whole 8 hours. :) I haven't heard of anyone else getting sick either. Thank you for your prayers!

Quick update

I wanted to post an update on the child I had mentioned yesterday. I had him yesterday and he did go to surgery and he was doing pretty well postop. They drained about 2L of fluid/infection off his kidney before removing it. No wonder his belly was so distended. He is so cute though! I want to thank God that this little guy did well in surgery, and also for giving me grace to look after him post op- and for the peds nurses that jump in and help whenever needed. But please do pray- there are a lot of sick kids.

Today I said goodbye to my bunkmate, Erica, and another friend, Sam . Sam was the one who so graciously provided The Office Season 3. I will miss both of them, its sad to say goodbye. :(

I did get some mail today, and it was very exciting!

I'm sorry some of the pictures on my blog are not working... not sure why. Hope that will be resolved soon as I want to keep you updated on what I am doing here.

Sick kids, sick nurses

Hi All! I'd like to post a few prayer requests if you would please pray.

1. This week they are starting to do a lot of complicated pediatric cases here on Mercy Ships... for the next 3 weeks, which means we are seeing a lot of really sick kids coming in for surgeries they wouldn't have a chance of having without the technology on the ship.
-I and some of the other nurses are not used to having pediatric patients, let alone sick or unstable ones.
- That we as the health care team on mercy ships would give them the overall very best care we possibly can
-That the surgeries would go well and God's hand would be over all, to give these kids a better life and that they would heal well with no complications at all.
-That God would strengthen and give wisdom to the nurses, and pediatric nurses
-We had a 2 year old boy come in for removal of one kidney due to severe hydronephrosis, and damage to the kidney. He looked very thin, with a big rounded belly. He had a fever >102 when he arrived for his scheduled surgery. His mom was very scared probably due to the rumors circulating Liberia that Mercy Ships is killing people and stealing their kidneys. So when the doctor was explaining the risks of surgery, the mom was freaking out a bit, understandably. Please pray for this little boy. My heart just goes out to him! He's so small and already so sickly and malnourished. I don't know if they will go ahead with his sugery. A part of me wonders if there is some other etiology to his illness. Maybe a virus that attacks the immune system, like HIV? But I had to forcefeed him tylenol last night for his fever, which he threw up, and then I give him suppositories while he screamed, "No, Oh no, momma, momma, oh no!"

2. The nurses. A stomach bug has been circulating the nursing team (and other crew members on the ship) . A few of the nurses even needed IV fluids or IV anti nausea meds. A lot of the recovery room nurses are sick. So please pray this would stop, that we would be healthy and strong and able to serve the people of Liberia and see God work in their lives. I have not gotten sick yet (Hallelujah!!) but a few of my roomies are sick, and its just miserable to be sick on the ship!


I am thankful though, so far, things have been going ok. Last night we had a busy night with all adult nurses on the ward watching over kids, and although busy and challenging, everything was going pretty well by the end of the night. We had no major complications. Thank you so much for your prayers!! May God bless you!!!

The cutest patient ever and pics of the fishing villiage

The weekend

Yesterday was the 30th Anniversary of Mercy Ships, which we celebrated with a day of competition in 1o different events. We formed teams of 6, our team wasn't formed until yesterday morning, and while most teams came in matching uniforms, (all very creative), with team names like Dentimental for the dental team, our team members just so happened to show up wearing blue shirts and we then came up with the name "Code Blue" -we were all nurses, so it was fitting. Some of the games included water balloon toss, bean bag toss, darts, table tennis, the onion run (similar to carrying an egg on a spoon)... anyways, it was a lot of fun and the patients did enjoy watching us look foolish :) Our team got the award for "Consistent 6" which means we didn't stink too badly. Then we had a barbeque on the dock, with hamburgers and it was really nice.

Today, I went to a local church, it was very western. It was nice to sing familiar worship songs, sit in pews, shake hands on the way into church, and all read the words on powerpoint. Then it rained this afternoon.

I want to leave some words to a song that I really like, and which are really challenging me. They played it at the end of the church service tonight on the ship:

I'll stand with arms high and heart abandoned,
In awe of the One who gave it all
I'll stand my soul Lord to you surrender
all I am is yours

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-YUU-MRjw4

Saying goodbye to a patient

I am working on A ward as I write this update. It's a quiet night. We have 7 patients between the two of us, me and my coworker. I miss the last VVF patient that left yesterday. She had been here for over a month, getting dressing changes a few times a day. Since she came, her english has improved quite a bit. I had the chance to be her nurse on and off while she's been here and had a few opportunities to pray with her. She had a VVF repair, and was still leaking after the surgery and has an open wound that will take a while to heal. She is older, in her early 60's I would guess. She had started to get tearful and wanting to go home. After all, a modern hospital ship is not her normal environment nad too far for her loved ones to come and see her. Fortunately, one of the nurses realized after praying with her, that she lives in the same town that has a clinic where a few midwives were trained on VVF care. They came to the mercy ship and learned from the nurses here. So she finally got to go home and have the medical care that she needs. Praise God! We can only do so much and then we have to step back and remember that it is God who said He will look after the orphans and the widows.

As I was giving her a hug goodbye and telling her how I will miss her, she wrapped her arms right around me and we prayed. And I realized in a new and deeper way how important relationships are. Even if they are short. That God is pleased when we share our lives with one another and give of ourselves even when it would be easier to stand back at a distance and not be vulnerable. That is still a little stretching for me. To love with Gods love and that holds nothing back. Please pray for her, that her wound will heal without complication, that she will have all the supplies she needs, and that God will send people to watch over her.

A trip to the hotel...

Hi! Things have been going pretty well. This past weekend, I worked 12 hour day shifts on the ward. We spent a lot of time talking and getting to know the patients, it was good. I was tired by Monday, though, and rested most of the day. Yesterday, I went to the market, bought some fabric to have a sun dress made at the tailors. I forget how exausting it is to go out into Liberia. Fun, but tiring. Its a city of a think 1 million people, after all, it is the capital city of Liberia, and there are more jobs in the city. So there are plenty-plenty people everywhere, its loud, lots of horns honking, music blaring, young men hollaring at us their affections. My favorite from yesterday was, "Hello, how are you? Fine? I looove you." another one, "Hi, I want to marry you". After some shopping, we walked up the hill and there is a big hotel that was really nice and beautiful before the war, and during the war it was ruined, but the structure of the building is still there, so we went up and had a tour of it. Here are a few pictures from the hotel. I guess it is now owned by the Libyan government, there was 2 security gaurds there, supposedly to keep people from living in the building and to show the visitors the grounds. We talked to a few people who live in the surrounding houses, who lived there during the war. Below is a picture of the hotel on the hill- its a view from the mercy ship.

A few views from the top floor of the hotel:

These other tall buildings were also damaged during the war.

Unfortunately, its not appropriate to take pictures up close within the city of houses, people, ect. So this is a small taste of Liberia from 8 stories up. :) Looking at some of the destruction of the war, I'm reminded of a quote by a teenage boy in a video we watched on the ship called "Sliding Liberia", he said, (and I'm paraphrasing) "when I was a boy, I thought the rebels were animals or monsters of the forest, I didn't realize they were human beings because of the terrible things they were doing. I didn't think people would do those things to each other!"

I am thankful the war is over in Liberia, and that they are in a rebuilding season. I'm glad I never lived through that.

This week I had the opportunity to go visit the Mission of Charity, an international organization started by Mother Theresa, to care for those who are critically/terminally ill. They have a children's ward, a women's ward and a mens ward. They have varying illnesses such as HIV/AIDS, TB, or other debilitating stuff. They are given medicines to treat symptoms, ect. I went to the women's ward, and we had a time of singing Liberian worship music, some of the women ended with dancing, too. I cannot tell you what it is like to see women who are terminally ill and in a room with 14 other women all day singing and praising G0d. Singing things like, "I worship you, Papa, Thank you, O papa", "If you see me singing, if you see me clapping, if you see me dancing, it is the favor of God". They are not praising God because of their circumstance, but because of who God is. Then a short discussion on asking god to give us pure hearts, and trusting Jesus with the sins in our hearts, that he will take them away and give us a new heart like His.

Then we did a craft with them with that mesh plastic type thing that you put the yarn on- I don't know what you call it! But we did cross shaped design. At first I was a little intimidated -What do you do or say to these women? But soon I was helping a few of them with their crafts. One lady (a teenager) said she needed help, that she was unable to sew it because she had a bad wrist. She was coughing pretty bad, looked really thin, and had a respiratory rate of 45 (sorry, the nurse in me had to count). So after sitting with her and not talking to much for about 45 minutes, she showed me a picture of her son, one year old. She said his father died, and the baby was with her mother. She missed him. In that small sentence is a world of pain for her.

A part of me saw the infection control risk- yes, 15 women in the same room, some have TB, in the US we'd all be screaming and calling the health department. Where are the fitted masks and negative pressure room!? I think of all the fomites for those TB droplets. And then I see the people in the beds, the individuals who smile and sing and hope of heaven. I see them in a room with their friends. They are clean, they have shelter, they have food. Jesus many times reached out to the lepers, who everyone else was afraid to touch. He was not afraid.

Then in the afternoon on Wednesday, I went to observe a surgery in the OR. It was an eight year old with a tumor about the size of a clementine orange in her parotid glad. It was wrapped up in her facial nerve, so the surgery went pretty long. It was neat though to watch. I won't go into detail for the sake of the squeemish. At the end, the doctor thought it was probably malignant by the looks of it but they will send it for testing. A lot of times, if they do find burketts lymphoma (frequent childhood cancer) here, they can send the kid to a local hospital and mercy ships pays for the chemotherapy which is 80-90% effective. That was encouraging to hear.

Samaritans Purse came and visited yesterday, they ate dinner with us and we gave them a tour of the ship. Then they stayed for church, it was so fun. The hospital wards here have been pretty busy. So today, I plan on resting and watching some of the office-Season 3 :) It's waffle day at Starbucks.

Pictures from my weekend in Roberts Port, Liberia

A cozy ride...

Below you see one of the more broken bridges

We fit 6 people and a taxi driver in a taxi for 3 hours... it was bonding time for sure. We caught a ride back from Roberts Port with people serving with Samaritans Purse, and their vehicle broke down, it was fun times. Hopefully they will come and visit us on the ship this week. Notice the rainbow in the picture above :) Overall, it was really nice to get off the ship for a night, and be outdoors.

Beautiful Liberian Sunset from the ship

Psalm 19

The Message Bible -a poetic modern translation of the Bible

1God's glory is on tour in the skies, God--craft on exhibit across the horizon.
2Madame Day holds classes every morning,Professor Night lectures each evening.
3Their words aren't heard,their voices aren't recorded,
4But their silence fills the earth:unspoken truth is spoken everywhere.
God makes a huge domefor the sun--a superdome!
5The morning sun's a new husbandleaping from his honeymoon bed,The daybreaking sun an athleteracing to the tape.
6That's how God's Word vaults across the skiesfrom sunrise to sunset,Melting ice, scorching deserts,warming hearts to faith.
7The revelation of GOD is wholeand pulls our lives together.The signposts of GOD are clear and point out the right road.
8The life--maps of GOD are right,showing the way to joy.The directions of GOD are plain and easy on the eyes.
9GOD's reputation is twenty-four-carat gold,with a lifetime guarantee.The decisions of GOD are accurate down to the nth degree.
10God's Word is better than a diamond,better than a diamond set between emeralds.You'll like it better than strawberries in spring,better than red, ripe strawberries.
11There's more: God's Word warns us of danger and directs us to hidden treasure.
12Otherwise how will we find our way?Or know when we play the fool?
13Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh! Keep me from stupid sins,from thinking I can take over your work;Then I can start this day sun-washed,scrubbed clean of the grime of sin.
14These are the words in my mouth;these are what I chew on and pray.Accept them when I place them on the morning altar,O God, my Altar-Rock,God, Priest-of-My-Altar.

A great day

Today I went to visit a friend that I met. He lives at his house in Liberia, but works on the ship as a medical translator. His name is Dennis -below in the light blue shirt. He wants to be a doctor and is training to work on Mercy ships as a crew member. He took us to his house to visit his family. They live about 20 minutes from the ship. His father is blind, which I did not know, but they were so nice to us. It was such an amazing opportunity to go with him through the community. People didn't look at us as much as strangers, but because he took us there, we were so welcomed! He brought out chairs for us and we sat outside and we were welcomed "African Style", with cola nut and spices and salt. Wow was it spicy! But I felt so warmly welcomed!

All the neighborhood kids gathered around and they were laughing at me :) I said hi to one little girl, and she screamed and ran away. A few of the other girls kept giggling when we looked at them. It was funny. I love being here! I love going to visit my friends in Liberia.

They sent us home with so much wonderful fruit. Avacados, things like baby mango's, coconut, cucumber, oranges and lemons. This one says, Welcome to Liberia, our home... on the other side it says "The joy of the Lord shall be your strength". How this family blessed us, they do not know.