Madagascar II Recap

During my time at home in June and July, I shared this video put together by our Communications Team during some group presentations. I thought I would post it here so you can see all that happened during the Madagascar 2 Field Service 2015-2016!

1453 patients received free surgeries in Madagascar! It's so incredible to think of that number and how many lives were changed through Mercy Ships. But these individuals are more than a number.

It reminds me of a quote I once heard that says "Every number has a name, every name has a story and every story matters to God". We often use numbers to quantify the work that we do, but it goes deeper than that. These are people with stories and lives that will go onto completely different paths than they would have without the medical care that Mercy Ships provides. And it would not be possible without your help. Thank you!!!

Fifalina: Pint-Sized Courage

We are only allowed to post certain things about our patients in order to protect their privacy, which is why many of my posts are not hospital related. I could tell you hundreds of stories about the patients I've had the privilege to care for in the past 8 months, but to keep to those rules, I will let our amazing Communications Team do it for me! You may not realize that we have an entire team of people who work on the Africa Mercy taking photos and videos and writing patient stories to share with our donors and other media outlets. Not only do they interview the patients and caregivers to find out more details about their lives than I could, they also are WAY better writers :) We have a pretty large collection of these stories and photos that I plan to share so you can see the impact Mercy Ships has had on country and people of Madagascar. (If you missed the first post in this series, check out Laloa's story here.)
In the second of this collection of patient stories, you will read about Fifalina. One of the sweetest nine year olds I've ever met, Fifalina stayed with us in the hospital on and off for several months. She has a beautiful smile and the most positive outlook on a very hard life. Her favorite activity during weeks of bedrest was drawing perfect cartoon pictures. If you look at the before images below, you'll see why even I was doubtful of the success of this surgery...and maybe proof that miracles still happen!

The tiny nine-year-old struggled into the Mercy Ships admissions tent. Fifalina’s legs seemed to be slowly folding beneath her. They could no longer hold her erect. 

Her mother, Ludvine, says Fifalina’s legs were normal at birth. However, when Fifalina started to walk, she often fell, and Ludvine noticed that her legs began to curve. 

Fifalina’s father had to find work each day to provide for his family, but they managed to scrape together enough money to visit a doctor. He told them the little girl needed calcium and said there was nothing more he could do. Then the desperate parents sought help from a traditional healer who massaged Fifalina’s legs. Nothing helped, and her legs continued to weaken. 

This bright little girl was eager to attend school despite her physical challenges. Initially, Fifalina could walk the 30 minutes required. “Her curved legs were getting worse and worse,” Ludvine recalls. “One time she fell down at school. After that, her legs were really curved, and her knees could not support her.” So Ludvine carried her daughter on her back to and from school every day.

But school wasn’t always a pleasant experience. Fifalina whispers, “At school I'm always left behind. I can't play with the other kids. I'll play with the other kids when I'm healed.”

Ludvine first heard about Mercy Ships on television. “They said Mercy Ships is healing,” she explains. “At the beginning we did not know that they are fixing legs. I just knew about them removing tumors. They published a video. When I saw Vanya’s story*,  I wanted to see healing in my daughter.”

They learned of a patient screening nearby. “I believed they could fix my legs!” exclaims Fifalina. “I said to myself, ‘Let's just go there, and we will see.’” She was examined and given an appointment.

Mercy Ships consultant Dr Frank Haydon (USA) performed complex orthopedic surgeries,  correcting Fifalina’s twisted upper and lower legs by rotating her bones through more than 200 degrees. A series of pins now holds her knees and hips in alignment. After surgery, Fifalina was enveloped in full-leg plaster casts that weighed almost as much as she did.

At nine, Fifalina is the average height (according to the World Health Organization) of a four-year-old. The utter cuteness of this child, displayed in her infectious giggle and broad grin, disguises the valiant heart of a tiny warrior. Time and time again during her procedures, Fifalina smiled, bit her lip, and pushed through a pain-barrier that would make a grown woman whimper.

When her leg casts were first removed, Fifalina declared, “I’m going to learn to walk again!” Ludvine gasped and shed tears when she first saw her daughter’s straight little legs.

Months of splints and physical therapy followed Fifalina’s surgery as she bravely relearned to walk. Her muscles, weak from years of disuse, were retrained by a team of volunteer physiotherapists. Daily routines were performed with peals of laughter and entertaining activities.

Ludvine had plenty of time to reflect as they journeyed through the six-month long process of surgery and rehabilitation. “If they did not fix her legs, she would suffer a lot, and I would suffer too. If her legs were left like they were, I think she would end by walking on her knees. When I look at the photo before the surgery, I can see that her legs are so curved, like if her knees are going down. So if they did not fix them, forever it would be like it was. Our problem would get worse and worse. I would not be able to carry her on my back. Now she will be able to walk and just hold my hand!”

Finally the day arrived when Fifalina could achieve her milestone tasks unaided – balancing on one leg, walking with one foot in front of the other, and standing on tiptoes. These ordinary playtime activities were herculean and enchanting new experiences for this not-so-ordinary nine-year-old.

Ludvine thinks Fifalina would make a great teacher when she grows up, but the Mercy Ships crew members will tell you that Fifalina is already a pint-sized inspiration.

Story by Sharon Walls 

Edited by Nancy Predaina

Photos by Catrice Wulf, Justine Forrest, Katie Keegan, and Ruben Plomp

Fifalina was only two years old when her legs began to bend.  She received free complex surgeries to her upper and lower legs onboard the Africa Mercy.

Fifalina’s mother comforted and encouraged her daughter during her long recuperation.

Fifalina’s bones were corrected by more than 200 degrees of rotation.

Fifalina is now headed into a very different future.

The Goodbye Season - Part 2

(Written June 3, 2016 while flying over Madagascar. Posting now when I finally had time to sit down at the computer.)

Over the past few weeks, I have said many goodbyes to the people and places that have been by family and home for the past 9 months. As I said in the previous post, I call this “the Goodbye Season”.

The hardest by far of all the goodbyes have been the people. When you live in such close community like we do on the ship, people you meet, even just for a few weeks become more than friends. Life on the Africa Mercy has its own culture that is nearly indescribable and hard to understand unless you’ve experienced it. I have been extremely blessed to have an incredibly close group of friends that mostly came together to the ship in August with a few additions along the way – and what’s even better is that most of them will be back onboard for some time during the next field service in Benin, making the goodbyes much easier (more like ‘see you later’). It hurts my heart to even think how much harder “goodbye season” would be if I didn’t know I was coming back in a few months! Nevertheless there are a few friends who are moving on from life on the Africa Mercy and those goodbyes have nearly broken me. I joke that I have probably cried more times in the past 9 months than the previous 9 years! This place will do that to you! Thanks to technology and easy travel, there is a good likelihood I may see some of these people again, but the hole they will leave on the ship is hard to fill. I’ve found that with each person who comes and goes, I notice something memorable about them that changes once they’re gone. It may be an empty office, a missing breakfast companion or the spot we would share our coffee break – each person changes the atmosphere of a place and memories of them are all around.

The final goodbye is in process as I write this from thousands of feet in the air about Madagascar. Yesterday, we drove from our little port city of Tamatave to the capital city, Antananarivo, where we spent the night before boarding our flight today (‘we’ because I’m leaving with a group of 5 other girls and traveling to South Africa before heading home). Madagascar is an exotic country full of beauty and diversity. The people have been welcoming and generous – showing us all their country has to offer and laughing along with us in our feeble attempts to learn their language. “Azafady Tompoko, Malagasy Kely Kely!!” (Very sorry, little Malagasy!) I never imagined before coming how much excitement Madagascar would have to offer and how much exploring we would get to do while serving here. My fellow crew will laugh at this, but I naively imagined we would rarely leave the ship and I never considered the idea of vacation time, haha! Instead, I’ve had the opportunity to travel several times around this country and spend many weekends and days off out exploring the town! The past few days were spent revisiting all my favorite places: the little hidden café for coffee and homemade chocolate croissants, the Bazaar where they know who we are and what items are our favorite, the grocery store where I learned the French word for flour and how to buy yummy local Malagasy snacks, the man on Beach Road who chops open a fresh, cold coconut for me to drink for about $.30, the ice cream shop with the most incredible passion fruit sorbet, and the secluded Oceanside hotel with the goat cheese salad and best chocolate mousse (and where they don’t mind if you sit all day reading a book or chatting with friends!). And this is just to name a few. I’ve taken a piece of Madagascar with me in my heart and left a huge chunk of myself here on this magical island.

So how do I make sense of this inevitable part of the life I’ve chosen to live? This is only my first experience with ‘the Goodbye Season’ so I am not an expert by far. But I do know a few ‘experts’ who’ve experienced this 5 or 10 times before and even they say there’s no easy answer. It never gets easier to say goodbye unless you close yourself off and become hardened to people – something I will fight to never let happen! Why does God put us here to meet amazing people and visit incredible places and open our hearts to new friends – only to have them ripped away? There are many thoughts on this and each person has to cope with it in their own way. For me, I’ve come to the realization that God is not in the business of intentionally hurting us. Instead, he allows us to experience His awesome creation – people and places – even if only for a short time. I know in my heart that each person has been put in this place at this time for a reason. He doesn’t allow accidents or make mistakes. Rather than focusing on the sadness of leaving, I am forced to appreciate what each interaction has brought to my life. Each goodbye is a person who impacted my life; or maybe I was a part of something they needed during this time. Even in a short few months, I have learned so much from knowing these people, and I will carry those bits in my heart forever. Instead of pieces of my heart being ripped away, I prefer the image of my heart being molded and shaped with each person leaving their mark for me to cherish always.

I wish I could wrap this up with a bow all nice and neat, but the truth is I’ve shed a few tears just as I’ve written this out. Also know that I don’t write this expecting sympathy (except in the form of prayer for wisdom and comfort through these transitions). I write this from a place of authentic honesty and openness to show that while this life has so much beauty and wonderful things to offer, it can also be hard and take its toll on your mind, heart and emotions.

Want some more honesty?? I wouldn’t trade it for ANYTHING!!

The Goodbye Season - Part 1

(Written June 3, 2016 while flying over Madagascar. Posting today when I finally had time to sit down at the computer.)

A blog I read, called A Life Overseas, calls this time of year (around May and June) “The Leaving Season”. I guess it’s a common occurrence of missionaries living in other countries to travel, take vacations or return home from the mission field during these months. My personal opinion is that it should be called “The Goodbye Season” instead. Mercy Ships runs on a field service cycle: working in one country (this year, Madagascar) for about 10 months from August-May, then two months ‘shipyard’ period (in South Africa) from June-July to do basic maintenance and repairs on the ship, then sail to country next (Benin) in August to start all over again. Because of this cycle, about 50% of the crew onboard leave or take PTO in May or June. This is especially true where I work in the hospital, since we don’t need doctors or nurses to run an empty hospital.
I explain all this to say that the past month or so has been a season of emotions, mostly sad ones. People and places come and go all the time – it’s just the way of Mercy Ships – but it’s a billion times harder when all the goodbyes come at once and some of them are very hard ones. In this post and the next (it was too long so I had to split it in half), I will try to give a picture of what the past few weeks have been like in yet another part of ship life on the Africa Mercy.

Last week it started with saying goodbye to our final patients in the hospital. Although we finished surgeries the week before, we still had several patients waiting for follow-up appointments or final dressing changes and rehab. One small ray of sunshine in all of this was that our Hope Center closed a week early to start packing up so all the patients staying there moved back to the ship. It was fun to spend a few extra days with some of my previous patients who had surgery back in January or February :) On the last day, they were all ready to go home. It was such a touching thing to watch them all shake our hands or give one more hug, then the kids skipped down the hall shouting “Tsy Veloma” (no goodbye) over and over!

The next few days, any hospital crew still onboard were put to work cleaning and packing up the hospital to prepare for sailing. It was eerily quiet and a little heartbreaking to not hear children laughing, babies crying, women singing or even any Malagasy language spoken at all :( But with each surface cleaned or bed put away, I thought of each life impacted in that place in the past 10 months and how many more lives are waiting to be changed in Benin! It’s a lot of work but I know it will be worth it to see those first patients arrive on the ship in a few months.

The next goodbye was Friday when we had our Day Crew Appreciation party. I can’t remember how much I’ve written about our Day Crew, but they are Malagasy people the ship hires to help in translating, cooking, cleaning and keeping the ship in top condition. In Madagascar, we had over 300 Day Crew that worked in almost every area of the ship. At the end of each field service, we have a giant party to celebrate them and thank them for all their work. The captain and managing director speak, each department is recognized and the Day Crew put together special performances like singing and dancing. Then at the end, after lots of hugs and final pictures, it was time to say goodbye. This is an especially difficult goodbye for crew members who have been with the ship the past 2 years because they’ve gotten so close to the Day Crew being together almost 20 months. I am sorry now that I didn’t take the time to get to know our Day Crew as much as I should have and it’s a goal I plan to work on for next year. But I hope they know how much we appreciate their hard work, long hours, flexibility and forgiveness as we often make mistakes trying to navigate the Malagasy culture. Mercy Ships could absolutely not do the work we do without their translating, serving alongside us and answering our endless questions about Madagascar. I have heard from the Day Crew many times “Thank you for coming to help my country”, but what I want to tell them is “It’s an honor to serve Madagascar and thank YOU for loving your own people and serving them so well!”

It’s never easy to leave the country you’ve worked so hard in year after year and I’m sure people who have served with Mercy Ships for a long time would say that it never gets easier, but our organization chooses to visit many countries to provide our services to more people instead of focusing on one area. It’s a hard choice and neither way is right or wrong. One solace in these goodbyes is that I can see the potential we are leaving behind in Madagascar. In those 300+ Day Crew, there is the potential to change this country. They are intelligent, skilled, passionate and driven. They WILL do great things here and continue bringing hope to this country – and Mercy Ships was only the beginning for them!

God brought Mercy Ships to Madagascar two years ago through a series of circumstances no one could have seen coming…but He had a plan all along to bring the ship here and use this ministry to further His kingdom. We can leave this place knowing for sure that God is working in this country and that doesn’t stop once the Africa Mercy leaves. He goes with the ship, but He also stays behind in Madagascar and goes ahead of us to Benin as well.

“Great things He has done, greater things He will do.

Unto the Lord be the glory, great things He has done.”

Lalao, Free at Last

We are only allowed to post certain things about our patients in order to protect their privacy, which is why many of my posts are not hospital related. I could tell you hundreds of stories about the patients I've had the privilege to care for in the past 8 months, but to keep to those rules, I will let our amazing Communications Team do it for me! You may not realize that we have an entire team of people who work on the Africa Mercy taking photos and videos and writing patient stories to share with our donors and other media outlets. Not only do they interview the patients and caregivers to find out more details about their lives than I could, they also are WAY better writers :) Now that we've been in Madagascar for a while, we have a pretty large collection of these stories and photos that I plan to share so you can see the impact Mercy Ships has had on this country and people.

This first story, Lalao, is not a patient I had the pleasure to care for, but many of my friends did and I heard about how sweet and beautiful she was. I also chose this story first because it will be a change from the plastic surgery and orthopedic stories I've shared previously. Our last plastic surgeon left in March, so for the past 2 months I've been working with General surgery patients who have hernias, lipomas (fatty tumors) or goiters (enlarged thyroid). These patients don't always get as much attention in the media because their physical transformations aren't as dramatic and they usually only stay with us for a few days. But as you will read below, the impact can be just as great!

Lalao and her husband struggled to make ends meet. Five of their six children shared their one-room home in Madagascar’s capital, Antanarivo. Lalao’s husband worked on a rice farm, and Lalao helped support their family by working in a small local restaurant.

Their financial challenges increased 13 years ago when Lalao noticed a lump in her neck. As time passed, the growth increased in size. Despite the scarf she wore to cover her throat, the café owner dismissed her, saying her goiter would disturb his customers. “That left me in a difficult situation,” she shared.

The ever-cheerful Lalao set her hands to work at whatever came her way – washing clothes by hand, toiling in the fields. Her hard work provided less than one dollar a day, and the exertion made it difficult for her to breathe.

As the swelling at the front of Lalao’s neck grew, so did her anxiety. Sometimes she awoke during the night, choking and gasping for breath. “It affected my breathing. In the beginning, that was frightening!” she recalled. “If I lay flat, my breathing was blocked. I had to make sure my head was upright, and I woke two or three times every night.”

A friend heard an advertisement that Mercy Ships was screening patients for problems like hers, so Lalao went to the medical screening. She received both a diagnosis and a solution.

Mercy Ships could remove her goiter, but the treatment required pre-operative monitoring of hormone and blood levels. So Lalao and half a dozen other goiter patients had to make the trip to the Mercy Ship for check-ups once a month for six months. This made it impossible for Lalao to hold down regular work. Purchasing the tickets for the nine-hour round-trip journeys stretched the family’s finances to a critical level. “I had to travel so many times, and it cost a lot,” explained Lalao. “It was really difficult to lose my job and the money. It was hard for my family to pay for my travel. I did any work I could get just to help.” She even borrowed from her neighbors, who encouraged her to continue with her treatment.

When her surgical date finally came, Lalao sold the last four family chickens and bought a bus ticket to take her once again to the hospital ship.

Lalao’s transformation was immediate and complete. The free surgery removed the goiter which had plagued her for 13 years.

“I feel really free!” Lalao declared. “ I don’t need that scarf any more. I will give to my mother!”

Story by Sharon Walls

Edited by Nancy Predaina

Cabin Fever

I've been getting lots of requests for pictures of my cabin. I meant to add it to the ship tour I posted a few months ago but never got around to it, oops! So here's the long awaited Cabin Tour of 3431. Please excuse the mess (although it's relatively clean right now) and the poor photo quality (the lighting in the cabin is horrible). Ok? Thanks!

First up is the view from the doorway coming in. Our cabin is a 'six-berth' (meaning six beds), which is what most nurses live in. There's a huge variety of cabin types on the ship ranging from singles for management positions all the way to 10 berths, which are usually for galley, hospitality and housekeeping crew. The layout of each cabin can also be different depending on what part of the ship it is in.

 As soon as you walk into our cabin, you reach the bathroom on the left side. It's lovely to have our own bathroom in the cabin (not true for everyone), but it's teeny tiny and shared by six girls so you can imagine what a busy place it is ;) You can see here the toilet, sink, mirror shelf and shower. With the curtain closed on the shower there's just barely enough room to turn around without running into a wall! Let's see, other fun facts about the bathrooms on the Africa Mercy: 

• 2 minute showers (I think I've mentioned this one before- water on, rinse, water off, soap/shampoo, water on, rinse, done).

• We have surprisingly great water pressure and super hot water available pretty much all the time - which makes the 2 minute showers a little more acceptable.

• The ship's waste is run by a Vacuum system (imagine like on an airplane) where all water is sucked into our treatment system on Deck 2. It can make flushing the toilet at 2am very noisy!

• We share a 'Vac' system with the cabin next door so our whole room can hear every time they flush or take a shower, haha!

• Occasionally we get an overhead announcement something like this: "Deck 6 Vac System down until further notice". (AKA- you can't flush the toilet until we tell you...that's always fun to hear...)

• Twice a week, we are required to put Toilet Juice in the toilet to keep the Vac system clear. Kind of like Drano, I guess?

• We have a retractable clothesline that goes across the bathroom...but if it's open, you can't close the shower curtain. And the cabins are constantly damp so everything takes forever to dry anyway.

From this view, you can see into each of the 3 bunk spaces. There is a curtain that closes each section off to help keep out light and noise and for privacy. Each section has basically the same thing, 2 bunks, one wardrobe with a side for each person, a bookshelf and a fold down desk with a chair. I live in the back section straight down this hall.

Here's my section looking in from the opening to the hall. Our cabin is actually right next to a stairwell so it's slightly shorter than the others. Normally the beds are up against the left wall with open space and a desk, but instead our bunks face the other way and we don't have a desk. I've had two bunkmates - one was here for 2 months and worked in the dining room; and the other has been here for 5 months and is a nurse as well. 3 of the 6 girls in my cabin are here for 10 months like me and about 6 others have come and gone. It's pretty common in the six berths to get a new cabin mate every few weeks because crew come and go so often. The atmosphere of the cabin changes every time someone leaves so that has been an adjustment, but overall our cabin group has been very good with no major issues!

Here is my mess of a wardrobe. Besides our small bookshelf and a little bit of room under the bed, this is the only storage in the cabin. It must hold clothes, shoes, beach stuff/towel, office supplies, plus whatever other randomness I can shove in. I like to call it organized chaos because it looks like a mess but I know exactly where everything is! (Thanks to a tip from a Mercy Ships pro, I threw in that hanging shoe rack you see on the front of the door at the last minute and it has been a lifesaver for holding all kinds of small things!)

And finally, here's my cozy little corner of the world. I upgraded to the bottom bunk back in October which was a huge blessing! The mattress isn't very comfy and it was hard to adjust back to a Twin bed, but when I'm exhausted and my head hits that pillow, I consider how it could be so much worse. I love filling my walls with lots of pictures, inspirational quotes and Bible verses so I can look at them every time I get in bed. If you'd like to bless me with some new ones for variety, send away!

Well, that's all I can think of for now! When I come back in July, I will have a new cabin and will try to put up some pictures in less than 6 months ;) Hope you enjoyed seeing my little home away from home.

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Now a question for you: What else would you like to read about on this blog? I have a few ideas left to write about, but I'm curious what the readers want to know! I have just a few weeks left in Madagascar and then this blog will probably take a break during my time back in the States so this is your chance to find out all you ever wondered about. Do you have some burning question about the ship? Would you like more Madagascar info? Patient stories? Or just something random? Ask away in the comments or email me and maybe your question will get featured in a coming post!

Ready for Mercy Ships Take 2?

A few weeks ago, in another post, I mentioned a big announcement was coming soon. Well, here it is: I'm not done with Mercy Ships yet! I'm sure it doesn't surprise many people that I love this place and am fully committed to this ministry for as long as God continues to allow me to be here. That being said, I will be coming back again for another 10 months starting in August - this time we'll be sailing to Benin in West Africa! 
I've been dying to scream from the mountaintops (or at least Deck 8) about this big news, but I was waiting until everything was official before I let the world know! As much as I miss seeing my friends and family at home, I've been overwhelmingly grateful at the response of those who I've told the news already. It makes such a HUGE difference to know people are excited for me to come back and so supportive of the work we're doing here. So thank you, thank you, thank you for that! Below is the email I sent to those on my update list for anyone who I haven't been able to contact. Feel free to read more of my heart :)

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. -Philippians 1:3-6

 Dear Friends and Family,

As I sit here on the Africa Mercy typing this email, I think of all the ‘good work’ that has been done in Madagascar in the past 7 months. Since September, Mercy Ships has provided 1167 free surgeries, seen over 5,000 dental patients and trained over 1,000 medical professionals - and that’s all with 10 weeks left before the ship will sail away. God is using this ministry to bring hope and healing to the country of Madagascar in many ways. All these numbers and statistics will never be able to capture the other side of the story where people who receive surgery are given dignity again…where parents of a disabled or disfigured child are able to dream for their future again…where hundreds of local workers the ship hires have learned what a difference it makes when work is grounded in the love of Jesus…and where physicians, nurses, anesthesiologists and hospital administrators have been empowered to provide safe care for their patients and make a difference in a broken system. I wish you could meet the people behind each of these stories to truly understand the impact this ministry has had in this place and to know that your support makes it all possible. Above, I used that verse from Philippians because I am so very thankful for your partnership and when I think of all that you’ve done, I am truly filled with JOY!

Patients recovering from plastic/reconstructive surgery enjoy free time on Deck 7

But the good work is not yet completed. There is much, much more to come, which is part of the reason I am writing today. Sadly, our work in Madagascar must come to an end, but that is only because in just a few months, the Africa Mercy will head to Cotonou, Benin and I’m extremely excited to announce that I will be going with it!

Benin is the country in blue and Cotonou is right near the tip of the arrow.

Benin is a small country on the coast of West Africa about the size of Pennsylvania. It’s a relatively stable and safe country that was a major part of the African slave trade and believed to be the birthplace of Voodoo. While Benin is a developing country, a huge portion of the population lives in poverty and there is less than 1 doctor for every 10,000 people. The Africa Mercy is scheduled to dock in Cotonou, the largest port city in Benin, from August 2016 – June 2017. Not only will I be returning for those 10 months, in July I also have the opportunity to sail with the ship to Benin from South Africa, where it will be docked for annual maintenance and repairs.

The Africa Mercy sailing into Madagascar, August 2015

 I’ve spent the last few months in prayer over this decision, but I fully believe God has called me to this place for longer. There are many ifs and buts that have gone through my mind; however, I have been forced to a place of complete trust in His plan and timing. God has shown me over and over again that He has me here for a reason and He will provide for all my needs. You are one of the ways He has done that! Whether you have given financially, prayed daily or sent a note or inspiring word that came at the exact right moment – each of you is so very important to allow this work to continue! Which means your work is not done yet…

Once again, everyone at Mercy Ships is a volunteer and we are required to pay our own travel expenses plus room and board to live on the ship. In the past year, I have been blessed to receive more support than I ever imagined possible, which means some of that will be able to go towards my monthly expenses for Benin. But I will still need to raise about $6000 to cover the rest of the 10 months. If you are one of my generous monthly supporters already, it’s easy to continue giving in the same way you do now. I appreciate you all so much for your consistent support the past year, but I also understand that finances can change and if you are unable to continue giving past your original commitment that will not be a problem! If you are interested in joining my Crewmates team, I encourage you to visit my Donorpages site here: http://mercyships-us.donorpages.com/crewmates/JenniferMullis/ Click the DONATE link to give via credit or debit card. If you’d rather not give online, please reply to this email and let me know so I can send you more information about other donation options. All donations given through Mercy Ships are tax deductible. Again, none of this would be possible without your support and God is using your gifts to further His kingdom!

Sasimeny and I sharing giggles on Deck 7. Read more about Sasimeny's story here: www.shinebrightmercy.blogspot.com/2016/03/my-little-shadow.html 

I’ve also been blessed by your prayer support and words of encouragement that keep me going on a daily basis. One thing I have experienced the past few months is the power of prayer! This community is built on prayer and it’s beautiful to see the body of Christ come together in this way. There are people all over the world praying for this ship, our patients and this country. I try to post several times a month on my blog (shinebrightmercy.blogspot.com) about what’s happening here and areas that could use prayer. Also follow me on Facebook (Jenny Mullis) or Instagram (username: jennjam23) for pictures, Mercy Ships links and videos, as well as patient stories.

Thank you again for prayerfully considering how you can support Mercy Ships in the coming year! I look forward to sharing more with you as I continue this journey to Benin in a few months.

Love to you all,

Jenny

PS- Because of this change, I will only be in the US for about 5 weeks in June and July. My schedule will be pretty full but I would love to see you and catch up on life! I plan to be in West Palm Beach from June 28 – July 20 or so with a trip to St Petersburg fit in there somewhere. Please let me know if you want to get together while I’m home!

My Little Shadow

At 3 years of age, she fell into a fire severely burning her right hand and wrist. Without money to go to the local hospital, her family turned to a Catholic nun nearby for help. Over time, her skin did heal but not without contracting so tightly that her wrist was forced into a bent position and her fingers fused together making them essentially unusable.

Then, they heard about Mercy Ships providing free surgeries and there was hope. This 4 year old little girl and her older brother left their family and traveled for 4 days across Madagascar to the ship for her surgery. They trusted that these white people who didn’t speak their language could possibly heal her arm.

When I first took care of Sasimeny, it was a few hours after her surgery. She lay in her bed, in and out of sleep from anesthesia. Even though she never complained of pain, her grimaced face and the giant tears rolling down her cheek showed evidence of the major surgery she’d just gone through. But she obediently sat up and swallowed every bad tasting medication and tolerated our constant poking and prodding that interrupted her rest. All the while, her brother sat next to her bed patiently stroking her hand and speaking words of comfort that would mean more than anything my English ones ever would.

The first few days are always the worst. That’s what we tell our patients before their operations. Then things get better.

For a while, we all believed Sasimeny was shy and quiet. She kept to herself, coloring in bed or watching the movies that came on TV twice a day. Across the room, there was another 4 year old girl who had surgery around the same time, but she was not shy at all. Variela loved to play and be held by the nurses (and argue with her dad about taking medicine!). Sasimeny would watch from a distance as we played balloon toss or built Lego towers on the floor. Then one day, as I sat holding Variela, Sasimeny reached out to be picked up too. I guess the vazhas (white people) aren’t so bad, now are they? From that moment on, Sasimeny and I have been inseparable.

Sasimeny (right) and her buddy Variela

Now, I call her my ‘little shadow’ because about 95% of my working hours she spends in my arms or very close by. She is a completely different little girl – playful, vibrant and full of life with a bit of a stubborn streak we assume comes from being the baby in a family of 6 older brothers! Some have given her the nickname ‘Sassy’ and it fits well. We taught her to play Jenga, blow bubbles and cover her face in stickers. But her favorite thing is being carried up and down the hallway snuggled in someone’s arms. Occasionally, I force her to walk which usually turns into us racing down the hall holding hands. Secretly, I don’t really mind. She’s been in our hospital now over 50 days and rarely spends a moment in her bed unless she’s sleeping.

Sassy and her balloon with another nurse, Kayla.

One day soon, Sasimeny will leave our ship and move to the Hope Center to wait for several weeks of outpatient appointments and rehab before she can go home. While the surgery we did here will make it possible for her hand to move again, it’s the months of rehab and exercises after the skin heals that will allow her to use it to its full potential. And that really is the goal. Her right arm will never look completely like the left one again. But hopefully, with lots of practice she will be able to pick up a ball, hold a pencil and carry a bowl. Someday, she will be able to go to school and learn like the other kids. And years from now, she will be able to get a job or care for her children. All things that would have been more difficult or impossible without this surgery.

I can’t deny that I won’t be a tiny bit sad when my little shadow walks (or, let’s be honest, gets carried) up the stairs and down the gangway off the ship. She is only 4 years old and will probably not remember much about her time here. But I hope I will never forget her beautiful face or big, inquisitive brown eyes. As much as I hope she will have memories of nestling into my shoulder after running around Deck 7, it’s a tough reminder that this is not about me. My job is to love each patient and take care of them while they recover from surgery – their job is to use the life we’ve restored to its fullest potential! And I have no doubt that Sasimeny will do just that.

Mile 18 - the marathon of Mercy Ships

I recently heard life on the Africa Mercy compared to running a marathon. Now, I obviously have no experience with running marathons (or really much running of any sort) but I think it's a parallel many people can understand.
In a marathon, you start off strong and feel like you can accomplish the world. For the first few miles, anything is possible and you know you're going to beat this race! Then about Mile 12 or so, the adrenaline is wearing off and the exhaustion kicks in. It gets really tough but you push through to get over the hump. Then about Mile 18, your body just wants to quit. Your mind knows the end is coming, but your body is tired and ready to collapse. It takes all the willpower you can muster to keep pushing to the end at Mile 26! The hope is that when you arrive at the finish, it will all have been worth it and you'll forget the pain that got you there. (Now this is based off the marathon runner who made the comparison. I have no idea if this is actually how it goes; it sounds pretty true to me. You runner types can prove me wrong if you'd like!)

All that is to say, right now on the ship a lot of us are feeling like Mile 18. The 'field service' cycle for Mercy Ships looks something like this: Arrive in a new country sometime around August, stay for 10 or so months until June, then spend June and July in a bigger country where repairs and maintenance are done on the ship. We've been in Madagascar for 6 months so far and we'll leave in another 3 months. For those of us who are here the entire field service (or longer), this is the hardest part to push through. The excitement of arriving and new people and lots of life-changing surgeries has worn off and life becomes routine. Anticipation is building for the next country the ship is getting ready to serve in but there's still a few months left here before that can happen. It's an emotional roller coaster that I've heard countless Mercy Shippers lament about whether it's their first time on the ship or they've been here 10 or 20 years!
There are some great lessons to be learned in times like these when I choose to be intentional and look for them (which my friends here will laugh at me saying that, because I hate being introspective!):

Patience is top of the list. We have a lot of patients but I need a whole lot more patience...yes, pun intended! This period on the ship involves a lot of decision making - from leadership, from individuals, about patients and surgical plans and policies and the future. This has forced me to see how often I'm not very good at being patient. I want answers now and I especially want those answers to go the way I want! Worst of all, I find myself being impatient with God. Why can't you show me your plans NOW? Why am I not growing in my relationship with You NOW? Why don't you heal these patients so they can return home NOW? Can't you fix the problems of Madagascar that we know You're powerful enough to change NOW? I'm learning that my lack of patience is based on a lack of wisdom and trust in God. I've been studying the book of James (talk about one wise guy!) and in James 1:5 it says this,

"If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you."

Having wisdom doesn't mean I will have all the answers, but it does mean I will be wise enough to wait on the Lord...patiently. Have you ever noticed the 'without finding fault' part? God doesn't expect perfection - He will never be upset with me for lacking! It's never wrong to ask for more wisdom, and He will give it generously. Isn't that awesome?!

Another thing I'm learning is that each and every patient is just as important as the first. When I first arrived on the ship, talk was all about the first surgery, the first plastics patient, the first discharge, the first VVF dress ceremony and so on. As time goes on, we look at the numbers and statistics and talk about how many amazing things God is doing through this ministry, but we can often loose sight of the most important goal: sharing the love of Jesus to each person. Every single patient we have the opportunity to treat deserves the best care we can provide. Whether the first patient or the last, whether the surgery is simple or complex, whether the results are good or bad, whether they believe in God or not...it should not make a difference because God has brought them to the ship for a reason and He allows us the privilege of speaking into that person's life. Even if we never see the impact it may have on that person, we are planting seeds with each interaction.

I've also been learning to spread my focus to more than just the patients. Our ministry is not limited to only that. Each day I have the opportunity to reach out to the caregiver under my patient's bed, the day worker translating for me, the galley worker who made my dinner, my roommate who is having a rough day and the lady on the street who no one sees. What a privilege to be the hands and feet of Jesus to these children of God...if only I would take the focus off myself for a few moments.

One of the hardest adjustments to make in this place is people coming and going all the time. I was warned of this from the very beginning, but that awareness doesn't make it any easier. We have crew on the ship anywhere from 2 weeks to 20 years. There's an average of 20 or so new people who come every week - that also means 20 or so people leave every week! It's very difficult to find the balance between my need for relationship and having strong friendships, but also being open to meeting new crew and getting to know them even for just a short time. The key is realization that short term people are an important and valuable part of this work. Not only could we not do the things we do without all these crew members, they also bring a freshness and excitement to this place. Even just in a few months here, it's easy to become jaded and forget the beauty of the miracles that happen daily in this place. But new crew bring fresh eyes to see them again and reminders of the way it felt when you first experienced these things as well. Basically, it's worth it and I need to recognize that DAILY!

I could go on and on with the lessons I've learned through this time, but I'm sure you have important things to do and don't want to read this blog all day :) The last lesson I'll leave you with is this: Rest is OK! I know this one applies to everyone out there no matter where you live or what 'your job' is right now. We have this impression that we're going to miss out if we don't rush through life and fill our days with every opportunity that comes along. That's especially tempting here in Madagascar where there are always places to go, people to see and work to be done. I'll let you in on a little secret: the work will never end and the things to do will still be there tomorrow! But you will be better able to handle those things if you rest properly. Even God rested after He created the world and commanded us to Honor the Sabbath (a whole day every week!).

Going back to my earlier analogy - life is not a sprint, it's a marathon. There will be times that we're staring up at a hill not sure if our legs will carry us anymore; it's then that we must focus on the finish line and reason we are running at all.
Thanks for letting me share my heart and still loving me through my brokenness <3 p="">

That time I bored you to death rambling on about global surgery...azafady!

For my first post of 2016, I thought I’d dive head first into a topic that has weighed heavily on my heart since starting my work with Mercy Ships – surgery and its effect on Global Health. I’ll start by saying that this is a huge, deep subject which I will only touch the surface of so I understand if I lose some of you along the way. I will not be offended at all but I urge you to keep reading as it’s something I believe will help you understand Mercy Ships better and make you love this organization as much as I do :)

As most of you know, Mercy Ships primary focus is surgery and the Africa Mercy is a surgical focused hospital ship. Half of our hospital is operating rooms and the rest is made up of wards meant to care for patients pre and post-operatively. This means we can only treat about 10 or so types of diseases (which effect a huge portion of the population, but I’ll get to that later!). I’ve heard many who question our focus, myself included. Why limit ourselves to such a specific target when people are dying every day of all kinds of other diseases? This especially comes up in our screening process where hundreds of sick and injured people might show up to be turned away because they don’t fit our surgical scope. As hard as it is to see suffering and not be able to help, I’ve had to come to terms with two reasons why it must be this way.

Number 1: One of the core values of Mercy Ships is “to be people of excellence in all we say and do”. One way we live this out is that our leadership and assessment teams have chosen to focus on a few things and do them REALLY well. By choosing a small amount of diseases to treat, our surgeons can excel in those specific techniques and our hospital can ensure that each patient gets the best care possible. Basically, the easiest way I can explain it is that you have to choose between doing a little good for a lot of people or doing a lot of good for fewer people…but don’t get me wrong, it’s still a lot of people (we have yet to run out of patients that need what we can provide!).

Number 2: A focus on surgery can change a country in bigger ways than just the people who receive treatment. Over the past five months, I’ve heard at least 3-4 presentations about how surgery will be the key to the future of global health. Now, I understand we might be slightly biased because surgery is the focus of our organization ;) However, the rest of the world is starting to agree with us! It all started last year when the Lancet, the leading medical journal in the UK, published a group of articles called the Commission on Global Surgery. It was a huge study with huge results, basically summarized by this video:

See, surgery really is important! Dr. Mark Shrime, a surgeon from Harvard School of Medicine who comes to serve on Mercy Ships several times a year, wrote an article about this for the New York Times a few months ago. He also gave a presentation on it during his last visit here and that became one of the reasons I feel so strongly about this subject today. The whole article can be found here: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/26/opinion/how-surgery-can-fight-global-poverty.html?_r=0. I highly encourage you to read it. It’s not very long and he hits on a few really important ideas way better than I can. Here’s a couple of my favorite quotes:

“Despite the fact that nearly one-third of human disease is amenable to surgery, it remains overlooked in much of the world…To put this in perspective, H.I.V., tuberculosis and malaria — which have captured the global conversation — currently make up less than one-tenth of the global disease burden, combined.” 

“Moreover, reliable surgical infrastructure strengthens entire health systems. It is not enough to prevent maternal deaths during childbirth if a health care system cannot care for the children after birth. It is not enough to treat tuberculosis successfully if the patient then dies from a perforated appendix. Surgical scale-up is not and has never been envisioned to exclude other global health priorities — surgery is necessary to meet all global health priorities.” 

“For developing nations, it (surgery) is an economic issue. For the world, it is a moral issue, a question of equity. Surgery has been called the “neglected stepchild of global public health.” To achieve the recently approved global development goals, world leaders must explicitly develop systems to bring access to safe, affordable and timely surgery to those who need it.”

Do you want to know what the best part is? Mercy Ships has been doing this for almost 40 years and is pioneering the way to meet these global goals! Even better, we have an entire department committed to training and building up the capacity of the healthcare in the countries we visit so we can leave a lasting impact that reaches beyond the people who receive surgery in our hospital. As much as I love working in our hospital and caring for each patient who comes through our doors, I realize that this is only a small part of the mission of Mercy Ships. We are only in each country for a few months and can only treat a small portion of the population; but when we train surgeons, nurses and anesthesiologists or repair broken and abandoned operating rooms (just a few of the many projects our ‘off-ships’ team is working on) we are leaving things that will continue to make a difference for years to come.

All this can be summarized by one of my favorite quotes from our Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Gary Parker, “We cannot change the whole world, but we can change the whole world for one person”.

There is so much need in the world and it’s easy to get discouraged by all that we cannot help, but when I look at each patient we get the privilege to care for or the surgeons who are learning new ways to help their own people, I see that it’s worth it to change the world for that person!

Finally, you might be wondering why I’m bringing this up right now (besides the fact that I’ve been meaning to write about this for months). Well, so sorry (or azafady as they say here in Madagascar), but that reason will have to wait for next time – and it’s a really exciting reason so check back soon!!