Wordless Weeks?

Are "Wordless Weeks" possible? The past two weeks have been so busy! I apologize for my absence from my blog and other internet communication, but now I am here to share with you what has been going on. I'll post pictures to make up from my Wordless Wednesdays, but add captions as well.

Screening continues here three to four days a week here in Togo. Our prayers have been answered with peaceful crowds and surgeries are being scheduled. I went on the first day and had the privilege of greeting each person and making sure they stay in line to be seen by a screener. Please continue to pray for the team that goes out daily in hopes of finding the right patients we can help.

Before the hospital opens up to patients we first have to unpack from the sail and clean EVERYTHING. We stripped and waxed the floors and bleached every surface the week we arrived. The only way to have fun doing this; is to dress as up operating room pirates!

In hopes of building partnerships within Togo, Mercy Ships invites the medical community to visit the ship and learn more about our services. This year I am VVF/General Surgery Team Leader and along with Lindsey, VVF Ward Coordinator, we were able to meet Togonese doctors in search of help for fistula patients in the country. We will start screening in May and surgery in June.

One of the final events before we start "real work" in the OR is the Hospital Open House. Starts with surgery in the dining room! This is a time for all the crew to visit the hospital and see what they are a part of being here. There are games in the ward to play nurse and learn skills like CPR. In the OR, kids and adults dress up as a surgeon to play with instruments or try stitching for the first time. My friend Ginger and I taught people what a fistula was by a simple game. We laughed all night when most of the crew jumped right onto the table with stirrups to throw a glove through a "fistula" (i.e. hole).