Hallelujah

Only in the operating room onboard the Africa Mercy would you have a team consisting of:

An anesthetist from Croatia,

a surgeon from South Korea,

two nurses from Germany,

a first assistant from the Channel Islands,

a circulating nurse from Alaska,

and one scrub nurse from the promise land, Texas (that's me)...

all singing worship songs in different languages. 

Except one word the same and no need for translation: Hallelujah. Praise God. 

One reason we praise God... A quick coffee break in the OR pharmacy.

It's all in the name...

My time in admissions is coming to an end on Thursday and I'll be back in the OR next week (YAY!). I have had a good time learning again how to draw blood and doing health histories & physical assessments.  More than anything, I have enjoyed the time to sit down and talk with patients, of course through a translator. I love hearing their stories of struggles and their hopes for healing. 

The most entertaining part of working on the hospital ship in Africa- are pronouncing the patients' names.  I usually greet my older patients with "Papa" or "Mama". In return, I get a smile that needs no translation. My first week in admissions I had a little girl, Bernice, who was blind due to bilateral congenital cataracts. I gave her a teddy bear that she became so engrossed in feeling all the textures. I had her sit in my lap as I did vital signs and she found my stethoscope and followed it with her little fingers to my face. The day after her surgery, I had the privilege to witness Bernice open her eyes for the first time and reach for the toys we had laid out in front of her. 

Next, is Simon. He was also a young boy with cataracts. I had processed him through admissions the first week, but we were unable to do surgery until late July. So twice I was able to sit down with Simon and his father to hear their story and pray for Simon. Couple days later, I saw them again in the waiting area and Simon was holding the toy I gave him. He had held the dwarf (from Snow-white) so close to his face to see what I had put in his hands the first day in admissions. As I walked over to greet his them again, his father took my hands in his and said in his broken English "He can see now, Simon can see. Thank you." I thank God for allowing me to be a part of that healing process. 

There are so many I can write about... Jean-Baptis, older man with an inguinal hernia repair. Always a smile and a handshake for me when I see him waiting for his post-op visits. Lousisiano, little boy, with lip hemangioma, that shed just one tear when I drew blood, but gave me a crooked smile when I finished.  Filias, a brave little boy, came in for a hernia operation- he giggled as he watched me take his blood. Emmanuel from Nigeria (see past blog) greets me in the hall now as he is recovering from major surgery. I saw young Nasif leave this morning with his mama and his polar bear stuffed animal in tow. I pray he will be back to the ship later this year for surgery to correct his locked jaw.  Today, I finished with a young man, named Kokou, which means he was born on a Wednesday. Everyday of the week has a gender specific name in the Mina language. I would be Afi (for Friday).

We have helped hundreds of people this outreach in Benin. They become numbers in somebody's book, but to me each person has a story behind their name. 

Helping Emmanuel

Here is a featured story from Mercy Ships of how Emmanuel heard about the ship from one of our past patients.  Working in admissions the past couple weeks, God has given me little glimpses of hope. Hope that I am making a difference and I am in the right place for now. I was able to admit Emmanuel this past week and heard how thankful he is that God brought him to the ship for healing.

Only a few weeks after Odilon’s final surgery, Veronique was in the market selling goods at her little wooden stall. Through the noise of passing motorbikes and passing bodies, under the glare of a hot sun, Veronique noticed a tall, thin man. Pushing at the man’s cheek and absorbing his jaw and his teeth was a large tumor.

Veronique’s mind flew back to Odilon – how much he had suffered and how his parents’ attempts to find help for him were unsuccessful. But she hesitated. She watched as he moved through the crowds, further and further away, unsure of whether she should follow him.

Veronique told herself, “Remember how your nephew was suffering. And how they tried everything, but they could not get help?” By this time, the man was very far away, but Veronique knew she had to help. So she stood up and started running.

When Veronique reached him, she pulled on the sleeve of his shirt. The man stopped walking and turned toward her, and she began explaining about the Mercy Ship. She spoke in Fon, her native dialect. But the man was confused – he did not understand her language. 

The man’s name was Emmanuel.  He was from neighboring Nigeria and was only in Benin for one day to buy goods and take them back home to sell. He spoke English, so Veronique ran to find someone to translate. Another market woman spoke both Fon and English.  Through her, Veronique was able to tell Emmanuel about Odilon and the Mercy Ship.

“Is this true? Where is the ship?” Emmanuel asked. He was intrigued, but worried. “I don’t have money,” he said. But Veronique assured him everything was free. Emmanuel did not believe her and said he must see it for himself. So Veronique gathered all that she was selling, and they went directly to the ship. Sure enough, the Mercy Ship had room for Emmanuel and scheduled him for surgery in July, only two months away.

Emmanuel’s gratitude was loud and clear in his smile and his words. “May God bless this woman, may God bless her. I don’t know how to thank her.” And Veronique was happy to pass on the gift of hope and healing. Veronique said, “Because I got back my joy here, I wanted to share it.” 

Blog

My brain is tired and I'm not feeling that creative to think of title for my blog: so its blog. Every few seconds I'm yawning, so it will be a short one too.

This week has been a difficult week with a new role in the hospital. I transferred to Admissions since there was a shortage of nurses. I know I'm meant to be an OR nurse. I miss my role in the healing process as a nurse assisting the surgeon. On the ship, we have turnover almost everyday with nurses coming in every two weeks, but I do miss my OR family. How we work together as a team to take care of the patient and we support each other when one needs help. We have fun together telling bloody stories over meals and sing while we mop the floors in between cases. It just takes five days out of the operating room to be thankful for the long days on my feet in the OR that God has called me to serve on the Africa Mercy.

For the time being, I will be in Admissions and please don't get me wrong- I have had some great moments with the patients. It is amazing to be one of the first people they meet on the ship and having the opportunity to pray for their healing.  I have refreshed many nursing skills this week, but I forgot how patients move when a needle goes into the arm! Please pray that I will continue to persevere during this challenging time and trust God has me in the right place. 

Container

Another container arrived today on the ship. Its a big day for the deck department to empty the 40 ft long box holding supplies. I'm sitting here in midship while watching all the rain-soaked deckies carry boxes into the galley with food from The Netherlands. We will also have several boxes from Texas of supplies for the hospital. I look forward to many packages my family send me via container- it takes a couple months to get to the ship, but its free for me to receive. Just typing about the container, makes me think of one of my favorite passages in the Message. 

2 Timothy 2:20-21 "In a well-furnished kitchen there are not only crystal goblets and silver platters, but waste cans and compost buckets—some containers used to serve fine meals, others to take out the garbage. Become the kind of container God can use to present any and every kind of gift to his guests for their blessing."

This passage encouraged me this past week when I asked to do another job in the hospital for five weeks. I love being an operating room nurse. That is why I am here, but I am also here to be any container for God. In the OR we are overstaffed in nurses due to the number of surgeons we have working now. In the ward, numbers are low, so they needed a nurse to help in Admissions for awhile. I loved doing triage in Guatemala and doing histories at screening day, so it will be a neat opportunity to admit patients to the Africa Mercy. I will miss my job and my family in the OR, but it will neat to refresh some nursing skills and interact more with the people of Benin. This is only temporary and then I will be ready to get back in the OR!