Naomi Gillette

Cute Mama

2009-04-19T02:16:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of and old "mama" as we affectionately call them here, who has had her right cataract removed on the Africa Mercy. She has been confused throughout the entire process. She came alone to the screening clinic, missed her first surgical appointment, came back with the card, and we gave her a new appointment, but told her she needed to bring a family member back with her to get her new card, in order to make sure that someone would take her on the right day. After the operation, she never went back to the ship to get all her post-op care done, never got her medications, then turned up back at the clinic the next week, because her eye hurt (if you can imagine it, since she wasn't using any medication, sunglasses, etc.) She now still turns up regularly with complaints to see us in the clinic. I always get a huge grin on my face each time she arrives, grab her hand, and pull her inside. I'm beginning to suspect that she just likes seeing us and being warmly welcomed in. Usually there are too many patients to actually be able to remember their faces, but she is just too adorable and forgetful to forget. The other person in the picture is Robert, one of our day volunteers who I work very closely with. He translates into French, Fon, Goun, Mina or Yoruba (possibly more dialects that I'm forgetting...) which just amazes me! We couldn't accomplish anything without our translators.

The masses

2009-03-22T01:47:00.000-07:00

The eye clinics are now well underway, and we have already scheduled 700 patients for surgery.We keep hearing the the numbers will decrease after a little while, but that doesn't seem to have happened yet. We still seem to have between 400 and 600 people turn up every day, and we are able to see only about 175, so we have had many that have had to go home unahppy. I have learned much through the process of beginning to deal with such crowds with such great needs. I have learned that many people just want to be seen, and heard, to be completely content. They don't need a surgery to go away happy. I have learned that the more violence and anger you put into a crowd, the more you get back out of it. I have learned of the destruction that Satan has in mind, in that we have been so frustrated with the unruly, violent crowds, that we have often wanted to just go home and say "forget it, that will teach them", but when I really stop and look at it, we came to serve and want to see the people, and they want to be seen, but somehow in all the desperation, things have become heated, and everyone has been more frustrated. So, now, after several weeks, we are slowly learning, and praying, and beginning to deal with the crowds in a way that honors them, and finds those that are most in need of help. I am so grateful. I wonder how Jesus managed the desperate thousands why followed him relentlessly, and was always so compassionate.
At the end of each day, we return to the ship, to see a handful of patients still on the ship, with their eye patches covering their surgical eyes. Some of them remember us and welcome us with a big grin and a hearty thank-you, while others are also too blind in their other eye to know anything that's going on around them. It is always a good reminder, seeing them, as to why we have gone out and done all this work again, and why we will do it again tomorrow.

Not exactly Harleys

2009-02-28T22:18:00.000-08:00

The name: Zimmijahn
They way they're driven: recklessly
Who travels: everyone! even infants.
What travels: goats, doors, chickens, water jugs...anything.
They seem to be the first mode of travel, thankfully, I'm a ship driver.

Just say no

2009-02-24T12:23:00.000-08:00

So, we've arrived here in Cotonou, Benin, and the work has begun. It is good to be here, and I am excited for the work I am doing. I am working as the eye field team coordinator, which means that I drive to different areas of town and help to organize mobile eye clinics that are held each week. Surgeries started today. We had 600 patients waiting for us yesterday, and 400 today. My crowd control skills are weak, at best, and my French is about 10 levels below that, not to mention my Fon speaking (the most common local dialect). Today we had to go to a window one floor above where the hundreds of patients were waiting, just in order to speak to them and try to gain some order (Shakespeare comes to mind...).
Despite all the stress and pressure of seeing so many people, I have a joy in the work we are doing. I have often worried that I was suffering compassion fatigue, and could easily "just say no" to people, when I would watch the hearts of other staff around me be wrenched and tortured. Today my heart was moved deeply, for one young man who had an infection that the ship simply could not treat, and I felt forced to turn him away, toward what I saw as inevitable, impending death. My heart ached, and I broke down and shed tears for him, as Pastor Florent and I prayed for him, and we sent him away. They simply couldn't pay for x-rays and treatment. It's hard for me even to conceive of. Lack of money causing someone's death. Obviously, it happens every day, and yet it's shocking. It does not often happen in the world I know. The realities we know in life can differ so greatly. I could only pray that God would intervene on this man's behalf, and show him mercy. Then I had to go see the next patient.

Uncle Tom

2009-02-04T03:46:00.000-08:00

So, I just read the book "Uncle Tom's Cabin", and if you haven't done so, I recommend it. For those who aren't familiar, this is an anti-slavery fictional novel written in the early 1850's, depicting the life experiences of several slaves living and working in varying conditions in the American South. What does this have to do with your work in Africa? Seems kind of random or unrelated, but it actually is unbelievably tied to the work here. The people in the book are the people we're serving in West Africa. They are from the same place, and many of them (particularly in Liberia) also returned there.
As good as the book was, my purpose is not to sell you on picking it up for yourself, but to reflect. "Uncle Tom" has become a derogitory term used to describe a black man who "is perceived by others as behaving in a subservient manner to white American authority figures". Despite this common current day reference, the real Uncle Tom encountered in the novel is the epitome of a follower of Jesus Christ. What an unjust distortion. Ms. Stowe reviews the viewpoints of many individuals involved in the slave trade in different capacities, blacks and whites, Christians and pagans, kind and cruel, men and women. She is not afraid to make generalizations about her own, African race, and whether or not I can say I agree with them or understand them, they're interesting to read and consider in light of my experiences with the people of West Africa.
Most surprising to me, though, was the reference to the new slave state being formed, called "Liberia". She says, "I grant that this Liberia may have subserved all sorts of purposes, by being played off, in the hands of our oppressors, against us." and she goes on to say that forming Liberia may have actually been a means of "retarding our emancipation", yet she is assured that God's plans are greater, and He may have "overruled their designs, and founded for us a nation by them?" She is hopeful for the future of Liberia. What would be her reflections to see it now and how it has progressed? What wrongs are still being felt through the consequences of America's choice? I wish I could hear her commentary and reflections.
At the end of it all, though, the question is how could a "Christian" nation allow and endorse such injustice and cruelty? The appeal to her brothers and sisters in Christ is strong and convicting. What injustice do we endorse, allow by our silence or ignorance, or condemn from a distance while failing to be moved into action? Those giants in history who have dared to stand against injustice in their own time should inspire us to look around a little more, pray a little longer and more sincerely, and to stand and fight in the ways that we can. God forgive and help us.

journey

2009-01-31T09:47:00.000-08:00

Journey: an act or instance of travelling from one place to another.
0705 Run out the door into the English fog to try to find the bus stop
0712 Catch the bus for 2 pounds 20 while being referred to as "luv"
0725 Inquire of supposed Englishman which stop for the tram
0735 Board tram towards Meadowhall Interchange for 2 pounds 10
0755 Arrive at Bus stop to realize there are 55 minutes to spare, walk around aimlessly.
0850 Board bus, mentally prepare for 3 hour trip to Birmingham
0850-1150 Watch quaint english countryside pass by, enjoying the "scenic route"
1230 board bus to airport
1300 Check-in with Monarch airline
1500 Takeoff for Tenerife
1930 Arrive in Tenerife south
2010 Find and board bus to Santa Cruz
2100 Arrive Santa Cruz and begin 1 1/2 mile walk to Africa Mercy
2200 Home sweet home, what a day...

Next 3 days - listen to people tell me they didn't think I would make it back before the ship sailed. I did, and I'm so grateful!

Home sweet home

2009-01-18T19:02:00.000-08:00

I've come home to Maine for a quick visit before we sail back to Benin, and I was met with quite a warm (as in cold) welcome. We Maine folks experienced a record low at -25 F a few days ago, and we all threw on our long underwear and an extra pair of socks if we even thought we might have to walk past a window...no seriously, it's really that cold. We went out for a walk on one of the coldest days, and as I blinked my eyes, I realized that my breath had been projected upward by my scarf, and my eyelashes had frozen into little icicles. A new phenomenon, for sure. Despite the cold, I relish the beauty, stillness, and newness of this remote world covered in snow and deprived of heat, and I go out for walks/cross-country ski trips to soak it all in. Tonight we had fresh snowfall, and I headed out just after dark with my ski goggles, headlamp, and some music to travel across our lake. It's strange to be gone away (in a rather tropical environment) during the freezing process, and then to come home and just trust that sheet below me with my life, instead of watching the process slowly occur, until I know it's ready for me.
My Maine visit was made nearly complete on Saturday, by taking a handgun safety course. I'm not really sure exactly why I was taking it, because the "everyone's doing it" logic seems rather ridiculous for such a subject, but that really was my reasoning. My mom and sisters took the class, along with some other women, and one, token man, so that someone's eyes could light up when a 44 was mentioned (for those of you who don't know guns, that's a big one with mucho power). Most of us were more concerned about what we had baked to snack on than which gun we would get to shoot, but it was a good day, which got much better (and much more hick-ish) when we actually did our shooting practice from inside our teacher's bedroom, through the window, to our target in their yard. It topped my list of hick experiences and kept us out of the cold. I'm no great shot, so don't worry.
Tomorrow I will hit the slopes on the fresh powder that fell today, and continue to enjoy my family's company. I could almost say I wished it was always winter, but I suppose I'd risk being called the white witch.

Hola Tenerife!

2009-01-08T22:08:00.001-08:00

This island is strikingly beautiful. A few days after we arrived, a group of us went and hiked Mt. Teide, a volcanic mountain which is the highest point in all of Spain at over 3,700 meters. The hike meanders through lava fields, long stretches of pumice stone, and finally some larger boulders where you can actually see/feel the gases coming from the side of the mountain. The summit consists of a large crater reaking of sulfur, and gives an amazing view of the whole of Tenerife, and at least 3 of the other Canary Islands. Mom and Dad summitted last year when they came to visit, with a little help of a cable car, but the last 200 meters of elevation the earned all on their own!

Two Worlds (?)

2008-12-28T01:11:00.000-08:00

So, I find myself amazed, and perhaps a little disgusted, at how quickly I have forgotten the lovely land of Liberia that I have just left, as if West Africa was something less than my current calling in life. Certainly a week-long journey over sea is less abrupt than flying out of Monrovia and into JFK 24 hours later, and it allows for a certain amount of processing, but these overarching life inconsistencies should not fall so quickly out of mind. We've gone from serving the poorest of the poor, visiting the dying in the Sisters of Charity (Mother Teresa's establishment), worshipping in the bush with hand drums, gourds, and dance, and wild all-terrain adventures in Land Rovers....to a modern, european city. Here my biggest concerns are which store to buy new clothes at, where to order a coffee or what kind of beer to order, how I'm going to manage the tiny, paved streets in the Land Rover, etc. You get the picture.
Sometimes there are reminders. I hear that many Africans risk the dangerous trip from African nations of Western Sahara or Morocco in search of a better life. Many die, as they are trying to cross open seas in some small, perhaps unworthy vessel. Many also survive, or get here other ways, I guess, and you can encounter them in the market, wearing their lovely "lappas", selling various goods in the street. I see them and I realize I'm not living in 2 different worlds. I have seperated them in my mind. In Africa I'm ministering, in Spain my life is about me. But there aren't two worlds, that is a constructed idea that I have had and accepted. We live differently, but we are one people before God. It's so much to process, and to think through, rightly, with truth guiding. I love the time here in the Canaries, but don't want to forget what and who we've left, and don't want to seperate the places out as two different worlds, because they are one.

The Seas of Change

2008-12-14T07:28:00.000-08:00

5 days of leisurely (slow- 10 knots) travel could not produce a greater change in environment. We are out over the watery blue deep, sailing toward Spain. The air is getting cooler and dryer. The seas are getting bigger. Due to our current course, we're charging straight into the waves, not rolling, but being jolted with strongs bursts of energy coursing their way through the entire ship. I got a little whoozy today while trying to make some Christmas cookies, quite unexpectedly, and met an urgency to get in the supine position. The atmosphere is festive and celebratory as we prepare for Christmas. We're looking back in Thanksgiving for the things God has accomplished over the last 10 months, and in joy over a work started and completed, lives changed, hope and healing received by many.
Today my Nepali friends, the Ghurkhas (sp?....the guards we hire to watch over the ship), are cooking Napalese food for the entire ship for dinner.....curry, I'm sure. Yum, yum. It was my idea and request, so my assistance has been requested in return. I'm not so helpful, but I can peel the eggs, watch in amazement as they toss in all the various spices, and, I hear, I'm to be assigned the forming of the small breads that we will fry in a pan to serve with the curries. I watched them deep-fry 300 hard-boiled eggs, I see something new most every day. I stand amazed and overwhelmed at the opportunity to live in community with people from all over the world, what a rich gift.

Being on the sea is wonderful, even when it's playing mean tricks on one's sense of up and down. Feeling small and insignificant must be healthy for us, and the sea seems to be just the trick to this. I slept out under the stars last night, on the 8th deck of the ship. One full moon, one meteor shower, several friends, just the right ratios. The sail is a quiet time, people are in the mode of resting, reading, being together. Simply put, no one can leave, so we are together unlike any other time. We stop to look and listen and reflect. For me, it feels almost magical, all being together, looking for the small, simple joys, enjoying each other, finding fascination in the sunset, the dolphins and flying fish soaring about around us, the skies. Being on this sea is bringing us great change in our environment, bringing us into transition. But we're given this gift of time, a padding, between the stages of our work and play. And I hope and pray not to come away unchanged, with a new perspective of myself and the world around me. Well, I'm overdue back to my Nepali boss, Lok.

Heading Back

2008-12-09T10:46:00.000-08:00

Well, after several kind, gentle, yet persistent urgings from my mom to write an update, I'm finally doing it! So, that picture of the canaries map at the top of this page is still there from my trip a year ago, some might call it ridiculous, I prefer to blameshift and say "That's just how I am", too bad it's such a pathetic excuse! Anyway, I'm going to try to start writing again, as we're packing up to leave Liberia for good. This place has been my home for the last year and a half, although probably only 10% of my home, if a percentage can really be assigned, since most of my life, work, and social interaction occur her onboard the Africa Mercy. Regardless of the amount of time spent here, it's sad to go and say good-bye to such a loving, warm, beautiful, strong people. I will remember some people and stories for the rest of my life, and trust that I am not departing unchanged.
So, sorry if you wasted time checking this blog every so often for weeks or months. I'm sure you've given that up a long time ago, now, so I hope someone will even read this, if not, I'm sure it's still a good exercise for me. I was about to make promises about my next entry, but we both know how reliable those are, so I'll stop there.

April's fools

2008-03-30T13:50:00.001-07:00

Hello one and all, hope you're ready to welcome April in (whether that means warmth or snow, depending on your location), and if you're around my parents in the vicinity of Unity, ME, please wish them a happy 30th Anniversary on April Fool's day! Looks like it was never a joke after all, what a relief!
This is just a quick update of what's going on here on the Monrovian front. We've had some adventures since I last wrote, and survived to tell about them. Last weekend a group of us travelled to a local beach town called Robersport and camped overnight on the beach. As always, it was the transit that spiced life up with UN checkpoint stops, flat tires, and even one of the cars in our caravan in a ditch! Thank God no one was hurt and we were able to laugh loud and long over the fact that some of our crew got a ride in the back of a big Pakistani UN truck atop bamboo, alongside many middle eastern men with long beards who speak Hindi. You never know what life in Liberia will bring, but it's safe to trust that it will be an adventure.
Then, today for church, we had an opportunity to visit a Calvary Chapel in Liberia, which happens to be the church that my family attends in Maine, and I also attended while living in Oregon. This church was started in 1995 by some people from Florida who still come and go. It turns out that there's 13 Calvary Chapels in Liberia, 2 of which are in the city of Monrovia. It was interesting to note the similarities and the differences between the churches at home and here in Monrovia. I'm so thankful for the diversity that God has placed in the world, what a boring place it would be without it! He really has made this a rich, colorful, exciting, surprising world, how creative He is! Hope (no, really) to put some pictures up soon!

Hello again, Mama Liberia!

2008-03-02T07:02:00.000-08:00

Well, the Africa Mercy has arrived safely back in the Freeport of Monrovia, Liberia after a long and refreshing break in the Canary Islands. While we were on a sort of holiday in Tenerife, I found it hard to imagine returning here to work for an entire 10 month outreach, yet now that we have arrived, I find myself amazed by how God has prepared my heart to serve here again. I have found overwhelming joy in returning to our church, the busy, crowded marketplaces, and even to the hectic surgery schedule. These Liberian people blow my mind with their warmth, joy, thanksgiving in the midst of adversity, heartiness, and unique culture. I think I can truly say that I love mama Liberia (the name of a popular Liberian gospel song, claiming "All hail, mama Liberia", and that I long to see Liberia rise again. This is most certainly God's intention and plan for this beautiful, rich nation.
I wanted to share a significant experience that I had last weekend, which came as an unexpected blessing. A group of about 5 of us went walking into town to do some shopping in the market and see what was going on between here and there. Whenever I am out walking I try to speak to any blind people and look at their eyes to try to determine if they would be good candidates for surgery on the ship. Well, early in our walk, we saw a young woman being set out onto the sidewalk to make her way all alone down the busyy street, using an umbrella to pick out her steps. The sidewalk had lots of dips and rough spots, but also was totally missing some manhole covers...slightly treacherous, if you can imagine it. So, we struck up a conversation with her, found out her name was Mary and was 33 years old. She had been blind since birth, and I knew that surgery would not help her vision, but we discovered that she had the same destination that we had, so we asked if we could walk with her. I was amazed at how trusting she was as I held her hand, telling her to step up or down, go to the left or right, etc. I tried to imagine myself in the same situation and knew how tentative and untrusting I would most certainly be. As we walked, we asked her why she was out, and she explained that she was singing "God's songs". The only way Mary can make any money to support she and her son was to go out onto the streets singing songs of worship to God, playing her little Sasa (typical Liberian church percussion instrument, made of a gourd). We continued on, learning a little more about Mary's life, and before we parted ways, we asked her to sing for us. She pulled out her sasa, started a rhythm, and began to sing like an angel. Her songs were of God's goodness, her blindness, and yet full of spiritual sight and deep joy. A crowd quickly began to gather to listen. How can a person with so much difficulty and seeming unfairness handed to them sing with such thanksgiving, peace, and joy? It convicts us for our ingratitude, and reminds us that joy is not always found where we expect it. As we parted ways from Mary, we thanked her, gave her somse money, and knew that she had given us a much greater gift.

Canary Island Getaway

2007-12-30T11:23:00.000-08:00

Hello from Tenerife, Canary Islands. Wow, how do I sum up the last month or more? So much has gone on, we have been so infinitely blessed, not without challenges, but also with many joys. We finished up all the cleaning and packing in the end of November, said all our farewells, and set sail on November 30th. The sail itself was an adventure. Many people hid themselves away in their cabins, trying to lay flat and rest the spinning room away. Some made unfortunate and violent trips to the bathroom where they revisited their recent meals, but most found an incredibly joyful time of rest and relaxation, being encouraged (and rather forced) to enjoy the small things in life like the sunrise, sunset, dolphins off the bow, flying fish emerging from the water, that gentle rocking to sleep at night, and undistracted together time when you never had to wonder if your friend might be "off ship" (although this would cause quite a bit of worry if they indeed were).
We then arrived in the Canary Islands about 6 days later, and were let loose in the lovely city of Las Palmas, Grand Canary. The stark contrast came as a shock, but was also welcome. The Canary Islands are part of Spain, and therefore there is a distinct european feel to the culture and architecture. I might have expected to find myself rather disgusted with the indulgences and exorbitant living of first world, urban life, but instead I found it a refreshing and needed break from all the sorrow and pain that we had been faced with for so many months. Granted, I consider that all those precious people we have been working with do not have this option to arrange a break from life as they have always known it. It it hard to understand where justice is in this world sometimes. Yet God does not turn a deaf ear to the cries of the poor and oppressed. While I do not judge this material world we have entered, I do find myself rather disillusioned by it, coming to understand that joy is not wrapped up in comfort, belongings, etc. but in relationship with God and people. However, certainly joy is wrapped up in a mother being able to provide the most basic of health needs for her children. Anyway, we are here.
We were in dry dock in Grand Canary, where they worked on the ship, painted it, did other repairs, etc. It was quite an amazing and almost inconceivible process lifting something of this great mass up out of the water and stabilizing it, but it was done, as I suppose it is always done. We then sailed to Tenerife, where we celebrated Christmas, and will spend about another month, before returning back to Liberia to begin the 2008 outreach.
Hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Christmas, full of joy and peace, living in the light of a Savior come among us in flesh to serve as the hope of the world.

More pics (I didn't take these either)

2007-11-26T10:39:00.000-08:00

Hangin our on the dock with friends!

Here's Dr. Russ, my right hand man (maybe I'm on the
right hand side...) Anyway, he's gone home and I'm
mourning his departure. He's the ophthalmologist I've
worked with all this outreach.

Pictures

2007-11-26T10:32:00.000-08:00

This is from our trip to the breakwater. You get an idea of
the mammoth proportions of our home sweet home.

Here's the lovely ship around sunset time. No, I didn't
take these pictures, but a friend did. Enjoy!

New pics

2007-11-25T08:13:00.000-08:00

Sorry all! I'm trying to upload pictures, but am having difficulty. I will continue to attempt it in the near future!

A Sailing Hospital?

2007-11-25T01:34:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! I have so much to share, I almost don't know where to begin. If I did this every week, it would be so much easier to remember the things that are happening, etc. I could use a lesson in diligence.
First, I need to describe the opportunity I had to go out and hand out in "the bush", which I have realized just means the woods, or the rural areas of the country. Mercy Ships has an agriculture team who goes out and trains local people in organic farming, teaching about composting, soil enrichment, natural pesticides, realistic irrigation methods, etc. The general idea of the course is restoration to the way God intended the earth to produce food for its' inhabitants. We want to farm the way God made the earth to work, because that way it will flourish. My roommate and I had a chance to go out to a village and sit in on some lectures, and stay in the village for 2 nights. Even the process of getting there was quite an African event. We left about 2 1/2 hours late, stopped for many visits along the way, to pick up everybody and their mother, , loaded all the goods on the top of the vehicle, and then sat all squished into the Land Rover for 3 hours. We used our only spare tire about an hour down the dirt road. On ehad to wonder what we might do if another tire happened to find the stress unbearable. Anyway, we arrived in the village mid-afternoon, where we received a hearty, warm welcome by the class (who was supposed to have class that day). Life is so relaxed and unstructured here. Over the three days away we got to meet some of the local people, hang out by the river, see the garden beds (with organic matter 2 feet below) that the class had prepared, and do some classic rump-bumping down the local river. I think the escapade down the river was probably the most comical. 4 of us Mercy-shippers strapped on our hunter-orange ship life jackets and trapsed through town, quickly gathering a crowd of Liberian children. We hiked up the road for 20 minutes and then jumped in, while the kids ran along the shore watching this craziness, shouting about the alligators and river warnings. We all emerged with limbs intact, feeling a little relieved and thoroughly refreshed. Local women served us lovely African fare of fried plantains, rice and ocra, peppers, beans, etc. We ate like kings, and the days were precious, rich, and restoring.
Life on the ship has been incredibly busy as things have closed down and we have sought to finish out well, saying all our thank-you's and good-byes to the translators and the friends we have met. The ship is quickly emptying as the crew are returning home at the end of this outreach. We had 4 Celebration of Sight days to finish up all the patients we had done Cataract surgery on, then we tore down the dockside (army-style) tents that we use....which I now know how to do, since the job seemed to fall within my job description. I'm a little worried about the re-assembly in a few months, but that's a worry for another day. Too bad I'm mechanically challenged, our team may require a little mechanical assistance. Next we need to make sure that all our equipment in sail-worthy, meaning that it is well padded or bolted down, and will not be flying across the room/falling over upon turbulence (this may not be the proper nautical term). It's a funny concept, really, considering making a hospital sea-worthy, I mean, is there really a standard way this is done???
Anyway, hope things are well at home. Always love hearing from each one of you, and am so glad you enjoy reading the updates. I miss you all at home.

Breaking the Water

2007-11-04T01:42:00.000-07:00

Hello family and friends! I'm truly missing you with a deep love, and I long, at times , to be at home with you, sharing your lives, preparing for the coming winter. The days are also getting shorter here, although not so drastically. Instead of the sun setting around 7, it now sets at about 6:27. Will I ever make it to the southern hemisphere? We were commenting on how the sun was setting earlier, and one of the kids said, "yeah, the days are supposed to be getting longer....", but then I realized he was from South Africa, and had not considered the fact that he had crossed over the great divide. Interesting.
Things are going well on the Liberian front. Surgery will be wrapping up soon. We have about two more weeks left, and then we'll be packing up the ship, and heading toward the canary islands for our dry dock and vacation time. Those of us who work in healthcare may receive some other kinds of jobs, like washing dishes, or cleaning....then we'll really learn the meaning of selfless servanthood. Should be good. I actually look forward to the change of pace.
This past weekend we had a cool opportunity to all pile into one of the 50-seater (although 25 felt just about right) lifeboats and take a little trip out to the breakwater. No, we didn't get to climb into it and then be lowered down the side, but we did get to climb through a little pilot entrance in the side of the ship. The day was beautiful, the water refreshing and calm, and waves pounding the rock dramatic, and the company pleasant. The boatride wasn't exactly rafting the dead, but it was great. Being on the water again brought me back home and made me feel like I was at camp on a beautiful summer day. I'll attach some pictures of the day a little later. Well, I have to go put on my African attire for church this morning. Love and miss you all, and always love to hear your comments.

Routine

2007-10-28T02:40:00.000-07:00

I would say that life here is coming to be in a routine now. I have been here almost 5 months, which blows my mind, because it means I am almost 1/4 finished my commitment with Mercy Ships. Sometimes it feels like an overwhelmingly long time left to finish, but other times it feels like it will be finished in a flash. Anyway, I am thankful to be here, though there are many struggles. The past few days, I have been thinking about the small sacrifice I am making here compared to the missionaries who come and live in a community, among the poor. Sure, I go out into Africa for a few hours a day, see a little of the pain, begin to feel a big overwhelmed or angry or helpless or enraged or irritated, or just plain sad, but then I make my little journey back to the big, white ship, and climb back onboard, back to the west, back to comfort, back to a place where I can kind of block it all out, or maintain my own certain levels of comfort. I don't know if God will choose to call me to longterm service with a people group, but I certainly realize how difficult it would be, and how really comfortable our service here, onboard the ship, truly is. I know that I don't need to worry about that call right now, but instead just need to live out this calling to the best of my ability, but I just come to gain such a sense of respect for those who live here, in Liberia, day in and day out, among the people, alongside them in their difficulties. I take comfort in the fact that I know that if God calls you to a place like this, He will also provide the grace and strength to endure, but I'm just increasingly aware of the struggle of it all.

On Friday afternoon, I went to the local hospital with one of my co-workers to pick up one of her friends who was getting discharged. He had been quite sick for several weeks, and had been diagnosed with HIV while in the hospital, at which point his wife had been tested, and had also been found to be positive. The hospital was a heavy and oppressed place, full of pain and agony, with little hope, comfort, or joy. This young man cried tears of joy as he finally (after waiting over 24 hours for his discharge, haggling over financial issues) exited the hospital, as he had been convinced that he might not survive his stay there, and might not ever see his children and home again. The whole situation was not an easy one to be aware of, but it was so good to come to understand what it means to become sick here in Liberia, how hopeless it is, how horribly people are treated in the hospital, the conditions of staying there, the difficulty to acquire medications.....I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that the health situation here in Liberia is desperate, and sick people are powerless in the system, completely uninformed, and I fear, quite mis-treated. May God have mercy on the sick here, and may we be one vessel of His mercy in this place.
Thanks again for your support and comments. Loving and missing you all so much.

Nimba pics

2007-10-21T02:21:00.001-07:00

Mt Nimba

2007-10-21T02:09:00.000-07:00

Over last weekend we had a ship's holiday and had a 4-day weekend, over which a group of us decided to head out for a little African adventure....all of which was African style. About 16 of us loaded into an African "cho-cho" which we had chartered and rode for 7 hours to the city of Ganta. Luggage sat under out feet or on our laps. We alternated shoulder positions in order to fit across the tiny bench seats. Half of us breathed in, while the other half breathed out....just kidding, it wasn't quite that bad. While space was low, spirits were high, and we sang and laughed, and took frequent stretch breaks. Once we arrived, we stayed in town in a little guest house for the night, and then headed out for the mountain the next morning. The road had been "cut", so our cho-cho dropped us off on one side of the gap, and taxis picked us upon the other side. We walked across logs laid over the river cutting the road. After about 6 stops by various guards and immigration officers, we arrived at the famous Mt. Nimba (historically mined for iron, but shut down since the war), negotiated our way past the "Mittal Steel" security men, and gained access to the beautiful, secluded mountains. We hiked for a few hours, scrambling up some hillside not really prepared for pedestrian traffic, and summitted, settling in for the night. While on the top, we worshipped the Lord, enjoyed some gourmet Ramen, laughed heartily about everything, watched an impressive lightning show, and appreciated the quiet and fresh air of the West African Mountains. It was a refreshing and delightful trip, with a wonderful group of fun people. Since I always do camping with 12 year olds, I found myself repeatedly impressed and surprised by the group's great attitudes and lack of complaining. I could go on for pages, but instead I will attach some pictures that will say so much more. Enjoy!

Dreads

2007-10-21T02:08:00.001-07:00

dreads

2007-09-30T02:34:00.000-07:00

This is an old picture with my friend Samuel, a guy who has had dreads for 12 years!! I'll try to get an updated picture soon.

Life in Liberia

2007-09-30T01:56:00.000-07:00

Life in Liberia is a life of NGO's (Non-government organizations). Ever since the war has ended, the place has been flooded by different organizations, trying to get the place back on its feet. The roads are all filled with either yellow taxi's or white, SUV's bearing the names of different NGO's. Doctors without borders, SIM, Samaritan's purse, Merlin, and the United Nations are here, just to name a few. "UNMIL" is the United Nations Mission In Liberia, and there's a guy in a little shack that prints up these t-shirts and has this sign up out front. Here in the port, we're set right next to the Bangladeshi and Nepali base camps. It is good to see some of these organizations begin to pull out of the country, because it means that progress is slowly happening, but it can also cause some desperation and fear, because the needs here are still so great, and infastructure is still so weak. When a nation is in such difficult times, they must depend on outisde assistance, but that assistance must pull out in due time to allow the people independence and a chance for development that is sustainable.
So, I stop and realize that I haven't told you that much about life in Liberia. This is a great picture capturing the state of the roads here. As you can see, the vegetation is lush and green, the land is fertile, and the roads are rough. This is a picture from a trip we took out into some of the villages outside of Monrovia. Land Rovers are, to say the least, necessary. Even getting to church requires me shifting the old, friendly beast into 4-wheel drive. Life in the villages seems to be quiet and simple. The people are living off the fruits of the land. After reading Wendell Berry (thanks, Liz), I come to see the beauty of living a life closely tied to the land. Here, you go to the local market (an outdoor, chaotic place) and peruse the merchandise, and it is virtually all locally grown. The staple food is rice, which can be grown here, but it is a lot of work to grow it, and most of the rice is imported from Asia. The other staple is Cassava (sp???), which is a starchy tuber, a bit tougher than potatoes. The other main attractions seem to be potato leaves or Cassava leaves, stewed with a heavy, dark orange oil from the palm tree, and mounds of hot peppers, perhaps with some salt fish added in for protein. This food is, to me, rich and delicious, although very fatty. They also lack the variety that we're accustomed to, as would be typical for anyone living off the local land.
Personally, things are going well. My work is still fulfilling, and I find myself constantly challenged, and stimulated by the things I'm learning. The eye is truly a miraculous body part, so complex and fine-tuned and delicate. What a gift God has given us in sight. Day in and day out I work with blind people, and I begin to see how crucial it is for our lives, for our independence, for our survival. I have decided to continue working with the eye programs into our next outreach in Sierra Leone. This decision has been heavy on my mind, but I have prayed it through carefully, considered it, and decided, with thorough peace, that it is the place for me to continue working. I'm so thankful for this assurance and peace.
Well, I love all you guys, and always love to read your comments. I know you all want to see pics of my dreads, and I'll try to get an updated one soon. They're actually coming along really well, and I even got some compliments on them today. I went to the hairdresser this past week, and she put in a few new ones for me, so I have a few new members to the family, that need some tender loving care. Loving and missing you.

End of Camp Blues

2007-09-11T15:02:00.000-07:00

So, I realized that this place was a little bit like camp; fun and games, and lots of people and new friends, and constant stimulation, but camp is only really fun because it ends after two months. So, after two months, I guess I got (what I'm affectionately terming) the end of camp blues, when it feels like it's probably time to go home, but you realize there's no going home. This sounds a little dramatic, but, since, admittedly, I'm a camp addict, this seemed the best analogy for the difficult time I began having here aboard the ship. It's really a great place in many ways, but there is constant stimulation and constant change, and just when you get to know people, they head home again. I think I've come through this phase though, and now am trying to settle into more regular life, enjoying people, and maybe getting into more regular, sustainable patterns of life.
I've had many adventures the last couple months. Perhaps one of the greatest blessings has been the church that we have been attending every week. The church is about a half-an-hour from the ship, out in the country. We go there with Land Rovers every week, and recently have been using 4-wheel drive just to get through the muddy roads. Well, this past week, we had a Land Rover signed out to use, but we went out and the battery was completely dead, so, a few of us decided to head out via taxi toward church. We got dropped off at a crazy, loud intersection by another Mercy Ships vehicle, and then jumped onto taxi motorbikes out to the area of our church. We then got off, after we paid (initially the price was 50 LD - Liberian dollars- but by the time we had gotten there, it inflation had driven the price up to 150), and walked the little dirt road to our church. We were quite late, but not really too late for African Time, and I think it quite surprised the church members, for them to see us arriving the same way that they come every week! Our church is great, though. It's small, and very rural, and ministers to a refugee camp with about 1,000 people from Sierra Leone. Our pastor is truly a visionary, with dreams of starting up a school and a clinic in the area to serve the people. It has been a rich experience to worship regularly with one group of people and begin to form real relationships with them. All the kids love the camera, and the picture above, is one they took when I let them play photographer for a while. Kind of blurry, but kind of fun... There's also a picture of our pastor (on the left) and one of the elders, and a couple of Mercy Shippers.
Well, lots of other stuff going on, but it's my bedtime. Miss you lovely people at home so much, and always love hearing from you in your comments. Please pray for Liberia and its development, life here is very hard for most people. Love you guys.

Rainy Days

2007-07-21T04:27:00.000-07:00

Hello friends and family!! Hope you all are well. Things here in Africa are going well, although they are very busy. Life on the Africa Mercy has picked up and operations are in full swing! The rainy season has arrived in full force, and it downpours several days a week. Unlike at home, life sort of slows down when it rains, because it is difficult for people to travel around and get where they need to be. This morning it looked to be a nice day out, so I am excited to try to visit one of the local beaches, since I haven't done that since I've arrived. One must take full advantage of the sun when it decides to show its face!!
This week has been a difficult work week, because we re-started eye surgeries, and have a lot of kinks to work out of the system. However, we were able to do about 20 eye surgeries this week, and hope to increase over the course of the time here. My work is to coordinate our various workers and the patient schedules to keep things moving along smoothly, the surgeons busy, and the patients well-looked after. I still have much to learn about how to do this efficiently, but with God's strength and direction I know things will get better. Yesterday we also had a Celebration of Sight Day, where about 200 previous eye patients came for a party and to receive a laser treatment (if needed), to prevent the recurrence of a cataract. It was a wild day, but overall came out quite well. There was African singing, some testimonies, and a little bit of dancing going on.
Last weekend I had the chance to go to a home for handicapped children to play and provide the simple ministry of presence, touch, and verbal stimulation. There were several children there with varying disabilities. Many of them are unable to talk, walk, see, or hear. For some, all we could do was literally rub their backs and sit with them. Others were able to play with balloons, blow bubbles, have simple conversations, etc. In some ways, it was hard to go there, because their situation is difficult, but at the same time, it was great just to be there, to learn a little about what their lives are like, and to give the staff a break, while providing a sligh change of pace for the kids. Many of the kids are quite joyful, and it seemed like they were being well-cared for, which is so encouraging. I hope to go back again while the ship is still here.
Well, I won't attach any pictures this time, I seem to be having some difficulty with it today. I miss you wonderful people in my life, but am glad to be here serving. God has been so good to allow we to come here, and I think He has many lessons for me to learn along the way. Thanks for your support, prayers, and encouragement!

The First Surgeries

2007-07-08T15:15:00.001-07:00

The first surgeries are finally underway and have gone very smoothly! The first patient to receive surgery on the Africa Mercy was one of our eye patients, and she had a cataract removed. It was a very exciting day. To see pictures and some video, visit the Mercy Ships website at www.mercyships.org and click on the American Flag. I'm actually in a couple of the pictures, and I've heard I'm also in the video! The patient that received the surgery was adorable, and so excited that she was dancing for joy after the operation! It was a very special thing to be a part of.
This week I got to go out to one of our mobile eye clinics and see how we screen to find our surgical patients. Sometimes hundreds of people arrive to be seen at these clinics, the need is just overwhelming. During the rest of this outreach, we are hoping to see lots of kids and do surgery for them, giving them a new shot at life. This picture to the right is at the clinic, which was held at a church out in the country, about an hour from Monrovia. The countryside is absolutely beautiful here!
The weekends hold many adventures. This weekend we spent a day with some local people, learning how to make potato greens with hot pepper sauce, and I mean hot! After we had eaten the local meal of turkey, rice, palm oil, pepper, and potato green sauce, we headed out onto the river for a better look at the city of Monrovia! We were in this fishing boat, high above the water. It was a great day for sun, and the water. Sadly, though, you see a very different side of Monrovia, where there is much more trash, and people living in unbelievable poverty, in little shacks along the river's edge. As much as I love swimming, I did not swim, because all the outhouses are built over the water, so that all the waste can just drop into the river. That was possibly the least tempted I've ever been to swim!
Hope you all are well at home, and always enjoy reading your posted comments! Miss you guys. WE had our own little 4th of July party here, where we ate ice cream together as Americans (and let a few foreigners in to our party). The only person who brought an American flag to our party was a German!

Overdue Update

2007-06-30T12:56:00.000-07:00

It has been too long since I've written...so much has happened, it's hard to know where to begin. Africa is wonderful, but such a different world. For the first several weeks, I was feeling very isolated from the local culture, because it's very easy to do everything in your life right on the ship and never venture out. However, I've still had some great adventures off the ship.
We had the chance to take the landrovers and load them onto the train and travel a couple hours via train to the mines, which are now big lakes that have filled in over time. A few weeks ago, we went to a place called bong mines. Before the Liberian civil war, this was a place where steel ore was mined and then sent on the railroad to the port, where it could be exported. There was great swimming, and an amazing train ride where you could climb on top of the land rovers and see the country side!! This was a chance to see a little bit of what the more rural life looks like around here. We also got to do some cliff jumping into one of the lakes, which was probably several hundred feet deep.
I've also had several chances to visit local churches, which is a great way to meet more people, to hear their music, and to learn more of their way of life. Their services are jubilant, giving all their praise to the Lord, despite their difficult circumstances, bringing their offerings of adoration and thanksgiving. It's all quite humbling. Some of the churches don't have any power, so they mostly have drums and their voices to make music, you would not believe how sound fills these rooms of worship! I made plans to attend church with an African one morning, first we were leaving at 8:30, then it was 9:30, then it was 10 (at which point I was told that we were not operating on African time). Then we spent several minutes out on the busy street trying to arrange some sort of transport...which turned out to be unreliable at the best, the car turning off every couple minutes, all the way to church. Sometime we'd only go 100 feet before the car would cut out again, and the owner would have to get out, pop up the hood, fiddle with something, and get in and drive off again. When we finally arrived, it was probably a church of at least 300, packed out to the max, with temperatures far exceeding what is comfortable, and I foolishly had left my water bottle at home. I was the only white person in the whole service, and they had us sit in the front row...I was sure I was going to pass out, when we'd had almost 3 hours of service! However, I made it through and got home mid-way through the afternoon, relieved to still be standing upright, needing some recuperation from such an all-day event!
We also went to visit Firestone (which you may recognize from the ads on your tires), which is a rubber plant. Unfortunately, it seems to be quite an example of exploitation, where this company makes great profit on the Liberian land, while paying something like 6 cents an acre per year to rent the land, and this is over a 99 year contract....you may be able to read the words on the sign saying, "celebrating 80 years of partnership with Liberia"...partnership being a very generous term. It's actually quite a beautiful area, though, and the trees are tapped much like we tap for sap to make maple syrup. Rubber is originally a white liquid. In the background you can see the lovely house most likely owned by a an American Firestone employee. The local workers do not exactly live in the same conditions, but it is at least steady work for the people.
Well, many other things have happened as well, and I will try to update this more regularly, and to remember to actually get some pictures of myself at the various places I visit, and pictures that show my new dreadlocks! I've already got one convert to dreads, and he is putting them in right now, it's very exciting!
Please pray for Liberia and our work here as it begins, now that the transition is complete to the Africa Mercy. There are many needs here, and we can only work in God's strength.

Africa at last!

2007-06-17T11:43:00.000-07:00

Well, I've arrived here in Monrovia, Liberia and have settled into my new home on the Africa Mercy. As we drove out onto the dock, the sight of the Anastasis (the ship soon to be retired), and the Africa Mercy sitting side by side seemed almost surreal because of their unfathomable size and the fact that I'm actually here to live and serve. I am living in a 6-berth cabin, and thus far we only have 4 girls, but we're sure that we will soon be filled to the max. Here is a picture of my space, which will soon be smaller when I pull the top bunk down. It's tight, but most certainly adequate. My roommates are from the States, Canada, and the Netherlands. The ship is very multi-cultural, which is challenging and fun, although sometimes accents can be a little difficult to understand.
Our work has not yet started, because we are still making the transition from the old to the new ship, but we will begin seeing patients on the 25th of June, so as you can imagine, we are all very excited for that day. However, there is much work to be accomplished in the meantime. We trust that God will give us the strength and perseverence to complete all the work in time!
Please write on this blog or e-mail me whenever you get a chance. I hope to put more pictures on here soon.

2007-05-01T12:28:00.000-07:00

Here goes, this is my first blog ever, I'm finally getting things ready for my big trip to Africa with Mercy Ships!! Hopefully there will be much to follow shortly.