Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

06/08/08

Sierra Leone Screening     Hawa     Dr. Sheku     Joseph & Alpha  

Sierra Leone Screening Report

Through the US Embassy’s generous provision of helicopter transportation, a small screening team visited the cities of Makeni, Bo, and Kenema to select patients for screening. Other nongovernmental organizations had challenged us to reach into the interior and help patients who have fewer opportunities for health care. Nearly 40% of our non-ophthalmic patients came from the interior. Because they often did not have family in Freetown, we used ward space at a local hospital for women and children. The relationships built along the way have opened doors for a greater partnership with the local hospitals and staff when we return to Sierra Leone in November. Would you thank God with us for safe helicopter trips and successful screenings?   top

Hawa

We met Hawa during our Kenema screening. Years earlier the disease noma destroyed her upper lip and nose.  We scheduled her for a series of operations to give her a new nose and lip. Between surgeries, she stayed on the ward, building friendships and observing everything that happened. As she prepared to leave, she made clear that “because of what I’ve seen and heard here, I know now that God does love me.  I never knew that before and I never knew what it felt like to belong.  Now I do.  And I want my story to be told so that other people can learn to be loved and accepted, too.” Would you pray that this would be true for the people we work with in Togo?     top

Dr. Sheku

Last year when a few of us ventured upcountry to explore the possibility of holding screening in some more remote locations, we met Dr. Sheku, a general surgeon who was very interested in learning how to repair cleft lips. When we reached Kenema again in November, he repeated his interest in working with us. We packed numerous cleft lips repairs into a single week in February to give him maximum exposure to them. Working with Dr. Tony, he began to grasp the fundamentals of cleft repair. When the Anastasis returns in November, Dr. Sheku will again have opportunity to learn to repair cleft lips.

During his time onboard, Dr. Sheku marveled at the way the team of nurses and doctors worked together and enjoyed the work they were doing.  Would you pray with us that his exposure to Christianity would continue to challenge him? Pray that his heart would be softened toward Christ.     top

Joseph & Alpha

When we return to nations, we often have the delight of renewing friendships with patients and their families. During our Freetown screening it was fun to see a year-old toddler running around and recognize him as one of our cleft lip patients from the previous year. Let me introduce you to Joseph and Alpha. They underwent repairs of cleft lips last year and cleft palates this year.      top

Haja Fatmata

On evenings when I’m not interested in the meal being served in the dining room, I like to go in search of ‘street meat,’ skewers of grilled beef. For 50¢ I can buy 5 skewers of beef hot off the coals and coated in hot pepper. The first night I did this I met Haja Fatmata, a Muslim woman who has made the pilgrimage to Mecca.  We converse in Krio, talking about her childhood, her children, her aching legs, and our respective faiths. She allows me to pray to Jesus for her. The day before their Feast of the Sacrifice (commemorating Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son; they sacrifice a sheep and share the meat with family and neighbors), I was able to share how Christian’s do not need sacrifices as Jesus Christ made one sacrifice for all. Would you pray that when we return in November our friendship would grow and she would come to know the security of trusting in Jesus?     top

Togo

Mercy Ships last visited Togo 1995-96, before I joined the Anastasis. This former French colony is home to 5 million people. Of the 173 nations ranked in the Human Development Index, Togo is 141^st (Sierra Leone is 173^rd). Life expectancy is only 51.8 years. Approximately half the population has access to adequate water, while only a third have adequate sanitation. Togo’s HIV adult prevalence rate is 6%; above 4% and the disease begins to spiral out of control.

What are we as Mercy Ships doing to address some of these issues? The operations we provide address immediate needs of individuals whose health care needs are a reflection of these statistics.  While we cannot change the nation overnight, we can work with communities to improve their health. Teams will help a community build a maternity center, train laypersons in HIV prevention and community health, and teach courses in water and sanitation.     top

Another New Job

When the outreach began, I trained Ans and Diedre to fully assume the responsibilities of managing the operating room. I’ve missed the more intense interaction with the ongoing surgical care on the Anastasis, but Ans and Diedre have done a fantastic job stepping in to their new roles. I receive rare calls of “where do I find this?” or “why do we do this?” Otherwise they are functioning independently.

Late in the Sierra Leone outreach, Diedre awoke to find her husband, Gary, in cardiac arrest. He was successfully resuscitated and subsequently transferred to the UK where he underwent angioplasty and placement of a stent. As difficult as those early hours were, we recognize God’s sovereignty in the circumstances and rejoice that Gary will soon return to the ship to resume his role as manager of the outreach department.

During the past few months I have worked on grant proposals to help us obtain funding for the medical care we provide on the Anastasis. Quite honestly, I have not found it to be as fulfilling as I expected. You can imagine, then, why I was excited about the new opportunity put before me, to assume the role of Health Care Services (HCS) Manager on the Anastasis. Our current manager, Daslin Small, will become interim Anastasis CEO in July. In April I will begin assuming some of her responsibilities within our department while she takes her vacation and then begins the transition period to CEO as Dr. Gary Parker prepares for a year sabbatical. Would you pray for me as I adjust to this new role? Please pray for wisdom, good working relationships, and open communication.

In the upcoming year, we will be looking to build our training program for national nurses and surgeons; expanding our inpatient ward and renovating another room to become our new pharmacy; and returning to Sierra Leone for a full 6 ½ month outreach.      top