Just a kid

Being at the beginning of an outreach has been an unexpected blessing. I have been able to participate in the screening day which only happens in the beginning, there were less people on the ship, ergo less people's names to learn (and of course now all of us that came before the hospital opened feel like real experts). Also, we were able to ease into our roles a little easier and orient a little longer. So, I am so very glad to have come when I did. There are however a few things that are not as good. One of which is that the crew activities are not in full swing as yet. One of the things that the crew does each outreach is find a few local charities and partner with them. This has been a little slower than us who are anxiously awaiting oppertunities to serve off the ship would like, but they really want to make sure that the charities we partner with are in line with the model of Jesus and that we will not have to back out later.

Yesterday, the first one actually occured and, as I was off work, I was able to participate. Mercy Ships will partner with a local orphanage run by the same order of nuns that Sister Theresa was in. We left at 8:30 and drove about 20 minutes away through the crowded city streets (always an adventure). Our driver was a petite British blond who has been on the ship with her family for several years. She and her husband have 3 children one of which they adopted in Liberia. She kept us in stitches as she made comments about driving in an African country. I can tell you that I WOULD NOT want to drive here. When a 2 lane road becomes a 6 lane road....Scooter, car, scooter,other direction, scooter, car, scooter....not me! Oh my and never mind the pedestrians. It makes for quite the adventure each time we venture out. Anyway, I digress...



Having arrived at the orphanage, we were ushered into the courtyard and then got to play with the children for the next several hours. (actually since there where so many of us, a few of us cleaned the nursery. It is cleaned once a week from top to bottom. We left it cleaner than my kitchen..please no comments from all of you who have seen my kitchen. Later we had time to play with a few of the children. Several had been orphaned within the last few weeks. You could tell they where new as they were underweight. Me and 2 others played and sung any childhood song we could remember. They particularly liked the Itsy, Bitsy Spider and Brother John (which I could sing in French). Actually that was a song that everyone knew, it was just some knew it in Dutch, some in Norwegian, and some in French. I plan to google songs and simple games before I go back. We forget so much from childhood don't we? We helped to feed them lunch which was awesome. Sometimes I think I missed my calling as an Italian mother....eat, it's good for you! And then there was one special little kid. He was shy at first just like any other kid. He smiled, played ball, and sang just like any other kid. But I was so glad to see him there. I was especially happy because the last time I had seen him was on screening day, and seeing him there at the orphanage on Wed. meant that sometime in April, Dr Gary and the Mercy Ship team is going to give him life saving surgery,,,

More experiances

Well I've 2 more experiences I wish to share...as I left off last post, I was going to church. Let me tell you, people in Benin worship! There was dancing and singing and amening...well whatever amen is in French and Fon and I want you to know that a joyful noise was raised to the Lord. I'm also here to tell you that real men where pink...I know this because the dynamic "minister of music" was dressed fully in pink! I wish I could have gotten a picture of him..he was really good but pink obviously is not a cultural taboo for men here as it is in the states. After about 40 minutes of singing, they brought a young woman up and told the story of "how a motorcycle can defeat a car", the gist of which was that this person had been struck by a car, had actually gone completely underneath the car and neither she nor her motorcycle was hurt or damaged in anyway. After the request number of announcements, the pastor got up to speak. He would speak in French, a translator would repeat his words in Fon, and then another translator would repeat in English. He started out welcoming us from the Mercy Ships (there was about 20 of us) and then he told us that the Lord we worship is also in Benin. Well that was obvious to me from the way He was being worshiped here! He then started his sermon. He told us all that he did not doubt that we had faith, but what was our faith in? Was it in the things that we can see? Or, was it in the unseen things of God. It was a good sermon, although I must admit that some of it was lost on me as we where sitting near the children's section and suffice it to say that children are the same all over the world....I'll let you figure out what they where doing.

The second experience I want to share happened on the ward today. I saw 2 women get their lives back and yes, I wept, but I wasn't the only one. The women had both had VVF (vesico vaginal fistula repair) surgery. Just to back up a little, because of the lack of physicians and funds, when women have difficult labors here, they may be in labor for literally days. Often when this happens, the children are stillborn. During this time, because of the pressure put on the vagina, the tissue dies and a hole or holes (fistula) develop between the bladder and sometimes the rectal wall. This causes these women to be incontinent of urine and/or feces. They are often thrown out by their husbands and become outcasts in their villages. They may live like this for years. (We watched a documentary called A Walk to Beautiful which I highly recommend. The film followed a few women with this problem.) Today was the dressing ceremony for the first 2 women this outreach who had repairs. During the ceremony, as a symbol of their new lives, they are given a dress and there is much rejoicing. I remember last week as I first went into the ward they were in, the smell was strong. I could not imagine living like that for the years that some of these women have. But today was a happy one! The praise team led by Clementine, sang and talked with them about the love of Jesus. As many of the crew as could came to participate. The most poignant moment for me came late in the ceremony. The women each came up to sing 'her' song. The first lady was a petite individual dressed in a brand new beautiful yellow dress. She was shy at first, but as she began to sing, she became more confident. She began to go around to each person and would sing the same phrase (which I couldn't understand) and then point towards heaven. One of the translators told us that she was saying that she could not thank each person enough, that God would have to thank them for her. When she got to Clementine, she grasped her hand and tried to fall to the floor on her knees, but Clementine rushed in and pulled her up before she got there and gave her a long, wonderful hug. Well, I thought I was the only one crying until I looked around and saw nurses, translators, and yes, even one of the surgeons weeping. It was one of the most special moments of my nursing career and I will remember it always.

I'll post pictures of the ceremony when they are put out. My love to all...

First week on the wards

I have now completed 4 days on the wards. It has proven to be very different and very similiar...I mean nursing is nursing all around the world....but stepping over people asleep on the floor, hearing a cacophony of different languages, reusing anything that can be reused...that's different. Sometimes it is wonderful different, sometimes not to wonderful.

The first two days I had adults and a large 11 year old and simple surgeries. I discharged 3 on my second day and it was great to see how happy they were to be "fixed" and leaving. So going into my 3ird day, I felt comfortable and completely at ease until....my assignment was a 5 yr old, a fresh postop 4 year old, another preop 4 year old, and (horrors) a 5 month old. Now for those who don't know, I have NEVER done pediatric nursing and they quite scare me. I even took my paper to the charge nurse just on the off chance that a horrible mistake had been made...which it wasn't. Well OK then, deep breath, I can do ALL things through God who strengthens me, so I did. I discovered that nursing children is like nursing adults except that you are MUCH more careful about their meds and their smiles come quicker and are, I must admit, sweeter and more infectious. The mothers stay with the children and actually do much of the care for them. I just give them meds and play with them. My preop child was delited each time someone got water from the fountain and would scream with laughter. She was here to have her leg staightened and that would be her last night of bearing weight for 3 monthes. The mother was warned that she would have to carry her .

Gotta to go to church, I will post more later...