I have been feeling very reluctant to write this blog post. However, I am so excited to share some of things that have happened in this first half of the field service. There’s a lot share and so many stories to tell. But I am going to be brief because if I have to tell everything, It would probably take so many days to finish this blog post.

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Even though the ship was docked in Dakar, Our focus was mostly in the interior because that was where we wanted to find most of our Senegalese patients. This is because Dakar which is the capital of Senegal is very well developed and has so many hospitals and the population living there, has a very good access to health care. Therefore, the screening team ( patients selection team) traveled to the thirteen regions in Senegal to pre-select potential surgical candidates to receive free surgery on the ship. We made very long drives to each of these regions every weekend and stayed for at least a week in each of them pre-selecting patients. And I am so delighted to announce that we made it to all these regions and found so many patients to help here in Senegal. The screening team has traveled to Thies, Diourbel, Fatick, kaffrine, kaolack, kedougou, Kolda, Louga, Matam, Saint-Louis, Sedhiou, Tambacounda and Ziguinchor region.

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where to begin? There are so many stories to share. But what I loved the most about all of these trips, was the fact that we got the chance to see where the patients live and then started to build a relationship of trust with them. My life will never be the same again. I think I forgot to mention in all my previous post how this job has changed my way of seeing and reacting to life situations. Now, whenever I walk on the street, my eyes are everywhere looking for someone to screen. It is just a reflex because that’s what I do on a daily basis. So many surgeries have already been performed onboard and so many patients have already been discharged and have started a brand new chapter in their lives. I get amaze every single time I see patients in their new transformed state. It is a feeling I can’t explain for sure. What a miracle indeed! I sometimes tell myself. It usually happens in this format, Today you see a patient what a big facial tumor and the next time you see them, you find it even difficult to recognize them because the tumor/ deformity that used to give them a particular identity, Is no more! Yes, indeed I tell myself every single time that this could only be God at work.

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On one occasion, I was seated on my charge nurse desk trying to figure out what patient needed what and keeping track of everything that was going on in the tent. It was quite a stressful day for me. I bowed down my head facing the desk and began to think really hard. It was one of those days that I was even finding it difficult to smile. As I to closed my eyes to think, someone walked into the screening tent. His face looked familiar but I just couldn’t figure out who he was. And as I was still in my thinking mode, I didn’t pay attention. This gentleman then started talking to our day workers( translators). And while they we having that conversation, I heard one of them (day workers) shout out of excitement. Then I got curious and asked why the excitement? He mentioned, this was the patient who had the big eye tumor! I looked at him but still couldn’t recall who he was. Then he walk to me and said” You found me in Kaffine” I was the guy with the big eye tumor to my left eye” He mentioned that I even made his ID badge and then he pulled out his badge to show me his before surgery photo. I couldn’t believe the patient who was standing before me was the same one I found in Kaffine during one of our upcountry trips! He looked so different and completely transformed. In fact, I just couldn’t contain myself and there I began to cry. Immediately, I got reminded again why I am here and doing this job. I got reminded why I wake up from bed every morning even in those days when my eyes don’t want to open and my body is telling me to sleep in . I was having a stressful day but everything changed completely because I found a reason to keep going. I wish I could better explain the joy I felt that day and how just seeing the transformation of that patient gave me so much strength to keep going.

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My life will never be the same again. we started this first half of the field service as a complete team. But two weeks ago, we had to say goodbye to two of our team members who have been serving on board the ship for the past four years. These two team members each played a vital role in the team and invested so much in the lives of the patients and crew members. I enjoyed working alongside them as they impacted my way of seeing things and even my relationship with patients on a daily basis. On several occasions we gathered together as a team to spend quality time with one another. Not forgetting other nurses who came all the way from the Netherlands and New Zealand to give us a helping hand in pre-selecting patients upcountry. These guys were on the road every weekend to the different regions in Senegal. There’s no way we could have done all these trips without extra help.

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Some of the things I enjoyed over the past months was the fact that as a team, we met every Friday morning, had devotions and did our thankful rounds. It is important for us to do so because it permitted us to share with and encouraged one another. In screening, we often get to listen to so many difficult/ heartbreaking patient stories and it is sometimes very difficult to process all of it. So sharing the burden as a team helps to make it lighter. Also, it is important that we praise God as a team for using us to be His hands and feet as this helps us not to only focus on the hard moments but to also be thankful for the patients that we as an organisation are able to help by providing safe surgery. Every time we traveled upcountry for prescreening and we get to say NO to some patients, I always find it difficult to close my eyes and sleep as I sometimes picture the faces of all the patients we said NO to because we couldn’t help due to one reason or the other. I sometimes ask myself what would become of them and It is always a difficult question because I most often don’t get answers. I wish we had the ability to help everyone who comes to us for help. But the truth is we can only help a few because we have only a few surgical slots for every specialty and region.

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We found so many patients with leg deformities, cleft lips and palates , facial tumors, goiters , soft tissue masses, hernias, burn contractures, women leaking urine/ stool ( vesicovaginal fistula). And even though we can’t help everyone, but there are still quite a few number of patients we have been able to help over that past months and we shall be performing so many surgeries in the months to come.

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During one of our upcountry trips in Kaffrine, I was pre-screening when I saw these two little twin brothers walk to me. And with so much excitement, I gave them that last two wrist bands for that specialty (orthopedic). Words can not express how excited I was that afternoon. I measured their legs to know the severity and noticed it was pretty severe! So many other patients came right after but I had No more wrist bands to give because I had given out the last two to the twins. And this is how I know that sometimes we just have to trust God in making the right decisions. I don’t regret giving them the last two wrist band because as I speak, they are currently laying down in wards with straight legs. Their lives have been transformed and they have a bright future awaiting them especially now that deformity has been corrected. Their legs are now straight and in few months from now, they will be returning to school like other children of their age.

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As we celebrate the birth of our Savior, I would like us to reflect on all those things that God has done throughout this year for you and your family. Find every reason to give thanks. And if after searching you still can’t find a reason, please close your eyes in prayer and help me thank God for transforming the lives of these patients and bringing them so much hope and a bright future to look at. This year again, Hopelessness did NOT have the final word in their lives. I feel so thankful working with these wonderful nurses from all over. Cameroon,United States, Australia and Canada. It has been so much joy working with each and everyone of them. I sometimes wonder how we keep the energy and the smiles after listening to so many difficult patient stories. God is the only answer! From my heart of hearts and with blessings, I wish you all a Happy Merry Christmas and a prosperous New year in advance!

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we are finally here! The Africa Mercy has finally arrived in Senegal-Dakar where it will be giving free health care services to this beautiful nation. Here’s the beginning of a new journey, lives will be transformed, the spark of new hope. Yes we are finally here! it is now over a month since we arrived in Senegal. Before we arrived, a lot of work have been going on behind the scene to see to it that we have a successful field service. People have been working really hard and so tirelessly to make sure everything goes well. The Mercy Ships advance team and many others did a great work over the summer holidays. So many prayers were lifted and a lot of actions have been taken so we can finally serve the people of Senegal. This is the beginning of new things, beautiful memories, the lame will walk again, the blind will see again, children who were unable to go to school due to one deformity or the other, would be able to go back to school

Senegal is located in Western Africa with a total population of 15,58 million. It is bordered by the Atlantic ocean, The Gambia north, West and South, Mauritania to the North, Mali to the East, Guinea and Guinea Bissau to the South. And just like other African countries, Senegal is very rich in culture and their values. The capital city is Dakar and it is where the ship is docked. Dakar is very beautiful and has so many big buildings, touristic sites, islands. Daker is known to have a population of about 1,146,0.53 over 2.4million. It is one of the largest cities in Senegal. The official language of Senegal is French. However, most of the population speak a local language called wolof. The wolof is spoken by so many Senegalese. In addition, the Senegalese people are so friendly and welcoming. They have such a big heart with the willingness to also be of help. So far, I thought dutchies were very tall until I came to Senegal and discovered how tall the Senegalese people are!

I have already been to the market fives times. It is my favourite place because it permits me to make new discoveries and interact with people. I have tried one of the most famous local Senegalese meal called “Thiebudine”. Its a mix of rice, fish and different vegetables. it is a communal dish and most Senegalese will invite you eat with them when having this meal. As I earlier mentioned, Wolof is one of the most spoken local language in Senegal and so I have been practicing some wolof lately. At least the basics to help me communicate with my patients and the people. Here are some few words in wolof. Let’s try it this way;

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English / Wolof: Hello/salaam aleekum, How are you?/Na nga def?, I’m fine/ Mangui fi. What is your name?/ noo tuudu? , My name is Christelle/ Christelle la tuudu. I don’t speak wolof/ degumma wolof tuudi tuudi, I’m sorry/ Baal ma, Thank you/ Jerry-jef.

Personally, I asked God why Senegal? considering the fact that it is more developed as compared to the other countries that the ship has been to. I struggled with this question for several weeks as I heard other people whisper to me the same question. I would say, I was quite excited to be back home. But had so many questions about our service here. On the arrival day, I was reading my bible and the Lord led me to this passage, Gen 15:7 which says ” The Lord spoke to him, I am the LORD, who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land as an inheritance.” I believe when the LORD directs the Africa Mercy to any nation, its because He has people in that nation HE would like us to help. To me, it also means someone lifted up a prayer in their distress and cried unto the LORD and the LORD is sending us ( The Africa Mercy) as a response to their prayers!

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So many things have taken place so far, We did a lot of cleaning to set the hospital and the technical department worked tirelessly to set up the dock tents namely; Eye, screening, outpatients and Rehab tents. We also had our day crew orientation day. Whenever the ship serves in a nation, we serve alongside Local day workers. These local workers help us to communicate to our patients as we can not do our job well without effective communication. In this field service, we hired over 250 day crew to work alongside us. Over the past weeks, the screening team have travelled up-country several times in the search of potential Mercy ships patients. We invited some patients to the ship to see screening again for further health evaluation. Among these patients, was little Saliou who was our first patient to receive surgery on-board for this field service. Our surgeons on-board saw most of these patients and we scheduled most of them for surgery. Last week, we gave out so many surgical appointments to our patients and I’m so happy to tell you that, most of them, just like Saliou have already received surgery!

The screening team will be travelling to all the 13 regions of Senegal for screen for potential Mercy ships patients. We have already been to; Thies, Fatick, Diourbel and Kaolack. Please I would ask you to pray for us as we go about making difficult decisions these coming weeks. Help pray for wisdom and the Lord’s Leadership, trusting that HE who has brought us here, will help us find the right patients. My heart is usually heavy in those days because I feel like saying YES to every patient. But one truth remains, we can not help everyone because even though we are a big organisation, we are limited in the things we do. Thanks be to God who is limitless and knows everything. He is all knowing and our earnest desire is that He helps us reach out to all those He would like us to help this field service. Yes, one thing stands forever, our God is faithful and as a good friend once told me ” Remind yourself that you can not help everyone”. However, we can help them heal emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Sometimes a patient just need that you cry and pray with them, hold their hands and tell them, everything will be okay.

Surgeries have started onboard the Africa Mercy. Our first patients was little saliou with a cleft lip, one could easily see on Saliou’s face how excited he was. Just like Saliou, Many other patients will be opportune to receive free surgeries on-board the ship. We will be travelling to Kaffrine to today screen for more potential Mercy ships patients. Please put us in your prayers as it will be another time to make difficult decisions. Also, pray for our patients who will be coming to see us. I am so excited to see what God will be using us to do in Senegal, What about you?

You never know the pain of saying goodbye until you say goodbye. No wonder, there’s a saying which goes “Never say never”. I have been into deep thoughts recently just because we are almost wrapping up with this field service. I was thinking of how we started and all the preparation we did at the beginning and some of the challenges we faced and just so many other things. Three weeks ago, I walked into the screening office and looked at the white board and noticed we had just 3 more weeks to work! Then I began to reflect back on how we started and just all the people we’ve been able to help this field service.  Florence Nightingale in one of her quotes’ said “one words are wasted if they cannot be diluted into actions which brings results” This simply means, if you cannot do it, don’t say it.

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I can say this field service has been quite challenging but it just gave me the opportunity to grow more in my nursing career. I had to learn how to use some of the medical instrument because they were quite different from what we use in our hospitals at home. Before I came on the ship, I could only do blood draws on adults but after some months spent working in the tent, I went From drawing blood on adults to drawing bloods on kids. If you are not a pediatric nurse I guess you know how challenging it is drawing bloods on children just because their veins tiny and are usually difficult find. I started by drawing bloods on ten year old kids then I went lower to drawing bloods on five years old, then from five years old I challenged myself the more to drawing bloods on children from three years old and the last blood draw I did was a baby of three months old! This has been one of my biggest achievements this field service. I also led the team on several occasions by being the charge nurse on the nursing diagnostic and surgeon screening days, As well as being on-call for the patients during the week. All of these helped me develop my leadership skills and ability to manage things as well. Every time I left my cabin to the screening tent, I had a goal to achieve and that was to learn something new. I believe in-order to be successful in life, one needs to be determine and hard-working. I am currently the only African nurse from Cameroon working onboard the Africa Mercy and serving alongside five other nurses coming from New Zealand, United states and Netherlands. Together, we strive for one purpose which is to bring Hope and healing to the poor and forgotten. It is a privilege for me to serve my own people, my brothers and sisters from other African countries.

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The past months have been very challenging but despite the challenges as a team, we were able to achieve the goals we set aside for this field service. It freaks me out when I think we’ve got just four more days to work in the screening. There is a saying which goes “every good thing has an end” But I think it has been the contrary because for every patient who received surgery on the ship, it has been the beginning of something new and a great future ahead. So many who came on the ship with so much hopelessness but yet leave with so much hope. It is something extraordinary which can not be better explained. I have seen the lives of so many Guinean transformed this field service, there have been restoration of homes, marriages, children who stopped going to school because of a leg deformity can now go to school, Men and women who stopped appearing in public because of a huge tumor on their face can now go back to their community and enjoy the freedom of company. Mothers who were leaking urine and stool due to obstructed labor during childbirth can now go home and mingle with their community because the fear of being wet has been repaired through the surgeries were provide onboard the Africa Mercy. Now I know God was telling me to leave home and come onboard, I know why so many of my plans did not work out the way I wanted, I guess it was because God was preparing me for this great vision. I might not have the money I wish to have now but the experience i’m gaining is far beyond what I could ever think or ask for. Few weeks ago, I was conversing with a friend/colleague back home and in our conversation, I told her that I was so worried about what the future holds for me but she gave me a gentle response ; She said ” Christel God’s plans for your life is great and He is the one leading you, He is using you to touch lives”. And that’s exactly what we’ve have done so far ,Transforming lives with life changing surgeries.

As we are wrapping up this field service, I would like you reading this blog post right now to know that Early in the beginning of this field service, we pre-screened over 6000 patients at the people’s palace in Guinea Conakry and as if that wasn’t enough, we made five upcountry trips to find more patients among which I traveled in two of those trips. So many thoughts crossed my mind as I witness the huge need for quality healthcare in Guinea Conakry. So many patients came from very far villages in the hope that they will be selected by my team to receive free surgery onboard the Africa Mercy. This made me speechless for several days as I was trying to answer the question of “WHY” why the so much need for healthcare in Africa. So far, we have been able to provide over 2,442 free surgeries, We have seen 33 palliative care patients( terminally ill patients), We hosted 155 Medical capacity building mentoring participants, we made 168 Mercy ministries visits to the orphanages and made donations to orphans, 7,937 free dental surgeries and mentored 1,096 local healthcare workers in Guinea to help strengthen their healthcare system. My heart is heavy as we prepare to sail from Guinea Conakry In just less than 10 days! I have been feeling reluctant to write this blog post just because I can’t believe it is the end of this field service. So far there have been a lot of bittersweet moments in the screening tent and also on the ship as we witness the lives of patients transformed every day for the past 10 months due to the free surgery we provide. I have been particularly blessed throughout my service here by all the patients. Their constant prayers, and all their testimonies of healing has been my driving force. It is true I don’t get paid at the end of the month but all the prayers and the blessings from the patients are more than a monthly wage and the job satisfaction I get is way more than I could ever ask for. Bellow are some pictures showing some of the great moments we had with our patients this field service down in the screening tent.

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Today, I’m going to share with you three patients stories out of the so many surgeries done this field service. I had the privilege to journey with these patients during their time here on the Africa Mercy.

Bangoura Abdoulaye Story: Bangoura came to us with a large facial tumor to the left side of his face. His tumor has been slowly growing for the past 4 years. The tumor started like a small lump on his face and before Bangoura could notice, the tumor had grown to the extent of occluding Bangoura’s left nasal passage. When I saw Bangoura on his First Nursing diagnostic day, I asked him some questions concerning the tumor just to have a clear diagnostic. These were Bangoura’s words “ I was just waiting for the day when I will close my eyes in dead and so many times I went to bed thinking I might not see the next day” My heart melted when he spoke those words and all I could pray for at that moment is that he receives a free surgery onboard. Bangoura asked me on several occasions if surgery was possible for him but I couldn’t give him an answer because it wasn’t in my power to make such a decision. Bangoura had to undergo series of laboratory testing and had a CT scan done on the ship. He was then seen by two surgeons who requested that an incisional biopsy be done just to rule out malignancy( any risk of cancer) and to make sure that we are providing safe surgery. Bangoura was then admitted in the hospital not for surgery but rather for a biopsy. After some weeks, the results showed that the tumor on Bangoura’s face was not maglignant(Not- cancerous). Bangoura finally came in the screening tent to see another surgeon and this time around he was given a surgical date! I personally announced to him his surgical date and I won’t forget the joy on his face and all the prayers and blessings he prayed over us. But there’s something more special about Bangoura and its the fact that Bangoura is a Muslim and he told me that when he became ill , his family abandoned him because they were afraid that the tumor he had was contagious But Bangoura stated that his loving wife who is a christian stood by him all through and encouraged him all the time. He was in tears as he expressed his sincere gratitude for all the care we had given him and the fact that we treated him well like everyone and encouraged him when he was at the verge of giving-up. I couldn’t recognise Bangoura after surgery because he was a completely transformed individual full of life and hope for better things ahead. Here are some of Bangoura’s post-op photos, The tumor has been removed!

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Mariama’s story: Mariama story was similar to Bangoura’s with the only difference that, Mariama’s facial tumor has been growing for the past 8 years. Mariama narrated that the tumor started growing 8 years ago right after her husband passed away. As such, many people in her community then concluded that she probably had something to do with her husband’s sudden dead and the tumor which was growing on her face was as a result of god’s punishment. Mariama’s husband died leaving behind four children with little income for their upbring. Again, I was the nurse who saw Mariama on the Nursing diagnostic day  and I watched her in tears as she explained to me what she had been through over the past years. Mariama visited several hospitals and was told that she needed surgery but she couldn’t get the surgery she needed due to lack of finances. The tumor was as big as the size of an orange and even went further pushing on the right eye. Mariama had to undergo series of blood pressure follow-up because she was very hypertensive. We gave her some blood pressure medications and monitored her blood pressure until it was normal before we could schedule her for surgery. Just like so many patients this field service, Mariama received a free life changing surgery onboard the Africa Mercy and left the ship feeling so thankful, more beautiful and younger for the tumor is removed! No more tumor, no more shame!  

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Charity’s story: I believe so many of you have seen charity’s post on social media over the past few weeks! I didn’t want to talk about her story but I just couldn’t help it because again, I was the screening nurse who was privilege to assess charity the day she came on the ship and even before she had her surgery. Charity flew all the way from Ghana to Guinea Conakry with someone who volunteered to come with her. This individual was the same person who contacted the ship to find out if charity could receive surgery onboard the Africa Mercy. When I first saw Charity, her face was almost covered with a piece of fabric this was to prevent people from seeing that she has a big tumor on her face. I had no idea of how the tumor looked like until she took off the fabric covering her face and behold there was a large mandible tumor which has been growing for the past 13 years! Her face was so stretched because of the size of the tumor with a massive intraoral involvement. I paused for a while as I imagine how she was able to survive this for so long. During the assessment, Charity stated the tumor started as as result of a tooth infection and has been growing slowing over the years.Charity even stated how she tried treating it traditionally by taking a lot of herbal medications to help manage the pain. After asking series of general health questions and drawing blood for laboratory testing, I took Charity on the ship to have a CT scan and an ultrasound, then she was later seen by Dr. Garry the Maxilofacial surgeon and Dr.Brian the Anesthesiologist who agreed to proceed with surgery. Charity finally received surgery onboard the AFM ( Africa Mercy) and was later discharged from the hospital when she was fully recovered. Charity returned home stronger, younger and with the biggest smile ever.

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As I conclude with this blog post, I just want to say thank you to all who stood by me this field service. All of you who supported me Financially, morally, Spiritually and physically. Thank you for believing in me and for assisting me over the past ten months and for always reminding me that I can do it. It is true that I couldn’t have finished this field service without God but most especially without you because you listened to God and decided to support me in every manner. Thank you for all the presents and words of encouragements through cards and so much more! Thank you for all the phone calls and messages. I am also thankful for all the friends I made this field service, For Some I might not see them probably for a while but i’m so excited to see some of my friends again this summer and spend quality time with them. We are truly finished for this field service and in some hours which I will not mention, we’ll be departing from the port of Conakry and will finally say Goodbye to Guinea . Guinea has been my home for ten months and has been so good to me..

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In this field service, patients like Charity, Bangoura, Mariama and many more received free surgery onboard the Africa Mercy and this time hopelessness did not have the final word. The next country will be Senegal and I will please ask you to pray for our advance team currently in Senegal making connections and working hard so we have a smooth field service over there. In the next field service, I will still be working in screening as the Senior nurse on the dock alongside three new nurses coming from Australia, Canada and united states. I will appreciate your prayers and support as I prepare myself for the job that’s awaiting me in Senegal Dakar. Please feel free to drop a comment, like and share

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There’s a proverb which goes ” Don’t judge the book by its cover page“.  Well, one may be tempted to think whether or not this proverb is true but it is very true in many ways. I have been away from the ship for about two weeks but before I left so many things were going through my mind and I was feeling homesick. we left for On-boarding on the 13th January to a beautiful place here in Guinea which is about two hours away from the ship. I quite remember before we left I had purposed in my mind that I was just going to be just with the people I knew, undergo the program then return to the ship. But we never know what surprises God has ahead of us. Also, whenever I heard about on-boarding, I thought it will be a time of teachings about Mercy Ships as an organization, why we are on the ship, and how to serve on the Ship. But I was quite wrong in my thinking. We were fourteen of us from four different Nations. ( Cameroon, Benin, Sierra-Leon, and Madagascar). Together with our instructor Dr. Chris Ampadu from Ghana.

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Indeed it was two weeks of great teachings about our worldviews, teaching us more about Africa and why Africa is at the state where it is now though very rich in resources. we were also taught on leadership development and how to serve others as a leader. All these teachings were so deep and rich. So permit me to give us a glimpse of what I learned and how I intend to implement it in my life.let us talk about our worldview.

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Worldview: The way we think, see and react to things and life situation is as a result of our worldview. There are three types of a worldview which governs the manner in which one may think and react to things. These include The animistic, secularist, and biblical worldview.

A worldview is likened to a pair of glasses which determines what we see and NOT what is there to be seen. Also, worldview is like a set of glasses in the mind. The truth is everyone has these glasses in their mind and the lenses in them have been set by their culture. As such, the cultural glasses in the United States( secular) will be different from the cultural glasses in Africa or anywhere else in the world. Now, in contrast to secularism, animism has a very different perspective of reality. Animism or the African tradition has a different way of seeing things, as a result, this creates a different set of values and way of life. Many of the worlds poor wear an animistic set of glasses and this way of seeing things contributes to the circumstances of poverty. Secularism, animism, biblical theism each see the world from a radically different perspective and as such create very different values in cultures and thus leading to very different societies and institutions. But because we are all created in the image of God, He wants us to adapt just to one of these listed worldviews which is the biblical worldview. If the whole world decides to abandon their different worldview and focus on the biblical worldview, then our world will be a beautiful one. Let me give you an example of these different worldviews and how they define nature;

Secularism says, nature is a closed system. There is no God, and there are only limited resources. Animism says, this world is not important it’s passing away and we just need to wait to get off it. Theism, on the other hand, says the system is open. Its open to God who created it and open to the angels and of course! open to man because God created man in His image. From this example, we can see how different worldviews can radically affect our world and also how we relate with people on daily basis. The worldview that whites are better than blacks or Christians are better than the Muslims, or that Americans are better than the UK or that men are better than women. But the big question is, What does the bible say? read( Genesis 1:26–28). Hence our worldview impacts every area of life. The worldview of people establishes the fundamental principles of their culture. So let us take off our different glasses and view things from the biblical perspective!

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In all of these worldviews, I found myself in each one of them by the way I reacted to situations in life and also by the way I related with people on daily basis. Because before I went for on-boarding, I had put people in a box. But the teachings made me understand that I have to change my mindset and begin to see things the way God sees them because God is love and in Him, there is no hatred, No malice, In His eyes, we are all equal. And so if He loves us all and if I say I love Him then, I must do as He says and love as he does. That is loving my neighbors without stereotyping others. This is a truth and a fact! because we all wear these different glasses which affect our relationship with people and even our jobs and hence our Nation. Learning all of these made us ( On-boarders) see each other from the biblical perspective. Not putting anyone in a box but rather loving one another and being our brothers keeper. This is what that made our on-boarding special and wonderful! I got to discover so many potentials from the other on-boarders and know who they are and what they can do. permit me to give you a glimpse of what we did on daily basis for two weeks;

• Quiet time- 5:00AM-5:30AM
• Devotion-6:30-7:10AM
• Breakfast together-7:10-8:00AM
• first teaching session-8:10-12PM
• Lunch break- 12PM-1:00PM
• Second teaching session- 1:00PM -3:00PM
• Coffee break-3:00PM-3:15PM
• Third teaching session-3:15PM-4:30PM. Then we called it a day!
• Workout with Abdul-5:PM-5:30PM
• Swimming in a natural pool- 5:30PM-6:00PM
• Dinner time-6:00PM-7:00PM
• Hanging-out and just playing games. Then bedtime. Below are some shots we took. All the smiles you see on these shots are genuine. This is what happens when we begin to see things from the same perspective( Biblical worldview)

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The field project: Then we return to the ship stronger and so filled with knowledge but that was not the end! We went through another one week of training with the staff development department of the Ship, teaching us some leadership skills and also how to understand the culture of the ship. We were also taught about the difference between the cold climate culture and hot climate culture and that the way people react to things is as a result of visible and invisible roots. So before we start complaining about people’s behavior towards us, let’s try to understand the roots or what their culture says about it. We had lectures from 8:00AM-12PM then had lunch. After lunch, we drove to the Dental clinic where we did our field project. The field project at the dental clinic was all about renovating the dental clinic so that when the ship leaves Guinea, that clinic will be used as a school to train Dentist in Guinea. The renovation was intense but together we made it possible.

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Then after the work was finished we all went out for dinner to celebrate all our efforts and hard work throughout the on-boarding.

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Graduation Ceremony: we celebrated our graduation on the ship together with other crew members. The organizing committee presented us to the entire crew and the crew accepted us in the community. We told the crew members what we’ve learned, did, and the transformation which took place in our lives as individuals. We decided to have a matching fabric for our graduation. To round it up, I will say it was a successful graduation ceremony!! Here are some pictures of our graduation

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Abdul’s story:

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Abdul Cole is a 22 year old from Sierra-Leone that joined the ship in Benin. Abdul started working on the ship as a day-crew until he decided to serve on the ship as a crew. He works in the deck department of the ship and these are the guys behind the scene doing all the hard jobs and working under the sun most of the time. Abdul have been on the ship for three years but as I earlier said in all my previous post, everyone on the ship who comes to serve as crew is a volunteer and we have one goal which is to serve the people of the Country we are. I decided to talk about Abdul on this new post because he’s got an interesting story which got me thinking of how God can use anyone to serve Him despite of who you are and where you are coming from or even your religion won’t stop God from using you.

We live in a world where people easily judge others because of where they come from even without knowing them personally. It has come to a point where people will describe you based on where you come from or based on what you wear or based on the religion. But the truth is the love of God is spread aboard and you can’t ask Him to choose who to love or who not to love because He created us all in His awesome image and so it’s our responsibility to show love even to those ones we think they don’t deserve it.

I am not exempted from it because i actually put this guy in a box just because he was a Muslim. This was quite unfortunate because I couldn’t even recognize the fact that this is a Muslim serving as a volunteer in a Christian organization and who is willing to pay in order to serve! Abdul signed-up for the On-boarding program. On-boarding is all about spending time with God and series of teachings of how to serve Him as Christians. It is also a time to share some of our challenges and gets to know one another more. Knowing all of that, Abdul decided to do the on-boarding. I remember talking to him before we went for on-boarding and he told me how anxious and stressed he was because he had been so stereotype and was wondering how it would be knowing that he was going to be the only Muslim among thirteen Christians. I remember trying to persuade him to become a Christian and so many others around him but i totally forgot that even at that, God loves Him.

Before we went for on-boarding, He told me” Christel, I am open and ready to learn whatever God will be teaching and ready to evaluate it and then make a decision”. Those words were quite deep because this was a Muslim talking. Based on my little experience about Muslims, I know that a Muslim will not call the Name of Jesus not to even talk of pray in His name. And I began to imagine how the on-boarding would look like for him. I didn’t want to be in his mind to see what was going on in there.

Abdul, spoke to his mother about the fact that he was going for on-boarding and to his greatest surprise, his mother supported him and told him that it was sorely his choice to choose what he wants and who he wants to become. Having the support of his mother was great but he couldn’t stop thinking of the decision he was to make. Just like in every religion there are principles and again based on my little knowledge about the Muslim religion, it is” prohibited” for a Muslim to pray in Jesus Name. The same will be true for a Jehovah witness fellow who refuses blood transfusion just because it is not allowed according to their beliefs and principles of the church. I also know of churches where ladies are not allowed to mount the pulpit to preach and others where female members are not allowed to come to church without covering their hair (headscarf).

We are so much surrounded by these so many principles that it makes us not to see God’s goodness in the lives of others and we forget that the Love of God is unconditional and it is our responsibility to show that love to everyone despite the race, religion, beliefs, character. And if we check the scriptures we will discover that Jesus died so there will be no more separation among us.( Romans 8:31-39).

During the on-boarding, we had sessions of teachings and also of sharing our life experiences and challenges on daily basis. Abdul was at first not very comfortable at responding to questions because according to him being a Muslim, he has little knowledge about the scripture and so he wouldn’t often respond to questions. But our instructor Pastor Chris Ampadu respected him and treated him as anyone else. So Abdul began to feel free and will be the first to respond to questions when asked and it was just so amazing to hear him speak as he responded and spoke with so much wisdom. And as we continued, we discovered the potentials he had and he was such a blessing in the group. We showed Abdul that we love him and God loves him too.

One evening after a session of teachings about the love of God and how God so much loves us and we have the responsibility to reciprocate by loving God. But the big question was, how can you love god when you don’t love others? How can you love God when you see others and easily judge them and out them in a box? How can we say we love God? This got me thinking and I repented of the fact that I had stereotyped him and put him in a box and this made me not to see the great person in him. So I met with Abdul and asked him to forgive me for putting him in a box and looking at him in a different way and he forgave me and told me how he was deeply hurt. Sometimes in the attempt of trying to portray ourselves better than others, we hurt people.

Before we left the on-boarding ground, Abdul gave his life to Christ and decided to be a Christian not because I persuaded him but because he was convinced that its the part he wants to go and also as a result of the love we showed towards him. He left on-boarding feeling very refreshed and confident about the choice he made and decided that there was no turning back. Today Abdul and i are very close friends.

I believe things have changed now because of the transformation that took place while we were for on-boarding. Things are not going be the same again because we now see things from God’s point of view. I have learned not to stereotype others but love them because the love of God is unconditional.

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The world will be a beautiful place if we all can love people for who they are knowing that by so doing, you are demonstrating God’s love and spreading this gospel. We can not say we love God and hate or despise one another. Today, Abdul and I are best of friends! Please like,comment and share.

I would like to say thank you to everyone who has taken time to read my blog. Its a New year meaning the beginning of new things and continuation of projects but in everything God has been faithful in keeping us. Its 8 Months now that i left home to serve on the ship and the truth is it has not always been a bed of roses. The ship life is good but quite complicated especially for people like me because i’m really not a crowd person but i have learned to adjust and get to know the community better. Before we took our Christmas break, Permit me to tell you that the Screening team went upcountry again to find more patients. But this time we traveled for about 48 hours to find those patients . This trip took almost 2 weeks.

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As we all know Guinea Conakry has 4 regions. So over the last couple of months our goal has been to traveled to these regions and screen patients then give the appointments to come to the ship for further evaluation. First we went to Mamou and Boke and 4 weeks ago part of our team traveled to Nzerekore and Kankan which are the other 2 regions of Guinea to look for patients. It was a huge success because so far we’ve found so many patients and some of these patients have already received surgery. So while part of the team was away looking for more patients myself and another nurse in our team stayed back on the ship to continue seeing patients. It was such a hard time because we had more work to do than before and its at that time that i realized the importance of team work.

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It was also more work for our team that went upcountry because the goal was to find as many patients as possible which was 100% success because these cities were informed about mercy ships and about the big pre-screening that will be taking place making the trip a success. Again the team had to work late until pass midnight because so many patients showed up and most of them were YES’S. They were able to find more children with bowed legs, Windswept legs, Knocked knees, quadriceps contracture and also patients which big facial tumors and other facial defects like the mandible tumors, Parotid tumors, a few cleft lips and palates, Norma, Ankylosis. They also found patients with Big Hernias, lipomas and off course women who are leaking urine and stool as a result of prolonged labor during delivery and trauma.

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Then we saw more patients on the dock and took a Christmas break. Spending Christmas on the ship was quite strange because it was the first time i was spending Christmas without my family and friends. I practically had nothing much to do other than staying in my cabin, watching movies, and participating in less activities because everything was very strange. What i miss the most is spending quality time with family. But nevertheless I spent Christmas with some good friends on the ship and my Cameroonian brothers and sisters.On Christmas day, we were invited by a Cameroonian who has been in Guinea for 16 months with family. He invited us at his house for dinner together with the other Cameroonian crew. Also, we had activities such as the open mic night, Winter wonderland, and many other performances which were quite interesting and that was how i spent my Christmas. I equally spent my new year on the ship which was very different from the way we celebrate the new year at home. On the ship lunch was not provided whereas at home we will cook different varieties of meals and share together as a family. We will also invite others to share the meal with us. But on the New year day, i slept in then Face-Time with family and friends back at home. In the evening , my roommate and myself were invited by one of our day-crew to their local church for a dinner. we had local food which was so good then we drove back to the ship and called it a day.

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This year, i would like to inform you guys that i will be going for on-boarding. On-boarding is a program for long-term crew members on the ship whereby we receive teachings on how to serve in a community. During on boarding, we shall be away from the ship but will still be in Guinea. A place is set aside for the on boarding program. we are 11 of us going for the African On boarding and coming from four different African countries. So it will be a time to know one another and also to have quiet times with God and receive teachings about leadership. So in order for us to going for on boarding we had pay an on- boarding fee which required us to raise money as the on- boarding crew. In order to archive our goals, we decided to do something to raise funds. We all came together as on-boarding crew and started making African Fast food on Saturdays and served it at lunch time because on the ship, lunch is not served on Saturdays and Sundays so many crew members will always go off ship for lunch. We made grilled fish and Fried plantains, Peanut sauce and rice with either chicken or Fish. And we made the every Saturday for 7 dollars. We did that every Saturday for more the 4 weeks. In addition to that, we organised a Gala night and invited Crew members on the ship. the Gala night consisted for a fashion show, Dance by the AFM academy students( Grade 1), singing and games. But the mean idea was to raise funds and that night we were able to raise sufficient funds for our on-boarding thanks to the generosity of the crew members on the ship. We will be leaving for on-boarding on the 13th January through the 2nd of February. Permit me to present to you the on-boarding crew and pictures of how busy we were in the crew galley making peanut sauce and Fish!

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I will like to end by saying i love my job and seeing a lot of patients life change everyday is what that keeps me going. Also a huge thanks to all who have been donating and supporting me financially and also everyone who have been praying for me. As a volunteer on the ship i wouldn’t have been able to meet some of my needs without your support. Happy New Year!

My alarm went off at exactly 4:30am then i made a simple prayer unto the Lord” Father God please help us today so that your love can be seen through us even as we get to see every patient because we are nothing without You Amen”. Then we all gathered down stairs entered into our cars and drove to the screening site.

We arrived on site at 5:20am and we saw a massive and long line of patients waiting for us to see them but since the hospital director was on night shift and have a great mastering of screening because is was once the screening manager before he became the hospital director, he had started pre-screening some patients at 04:00am even before we arrived on site.

Then we all moved to our different stations. altogether we had four different stations after which the patients were pre-screened they will pass through the following;

• The evaluating station: At this station, the patients who were YES’s will be further evaluated by a nurse and a brief History about their problem will be taken by that nurse depending on the patient’s specialty. Also we could still say NO to the patient after being evaluated if we the patients had other health issues that was not making it safe for them to receive surgery.
• The scheduling station:After which the patients have been evaluated by the nurses we then send then to the scheduling table to be scheduled for an appointment to the ship. These patients were being scheduled by the screening team manager who was assisted by one of the missionaries from the United states but who have been living in Guinea  for so many years now so knows how to speak in some of the local languages.
• Badge printing and medication station: This station was lead by the ship pharmacist and the screening team admin and one of our day crew for language translation. They will make badges for the patients for clear identification and then give to each of the patients, Multivitamins and IRON depending on how long their appointment was in order to keep them healthy.
• The transportation station: Now this is a new thing on the ship in this field service because throughout the previous field services we have noticed that even when patients are given an appointment to come to the ship, there is something which is still stopping them from coming and so from our findings we discovered that 80% was as a result in lack of money to get to us. That’s the reason for this study.  so, one of our Maxillofacial surgeon was the one in charge of this study and was assisted by one of our day crew for translation.  I won’t go into more detail but you can email me if you wanna know more about the study because its so long to explain. but the unique goal was to make sure that our patients get to the ship after receiving an appointment.

So, That morning i wasn’t pre-screening at the gate but i was at the evaluation station. I can still remember my first patient and the smile she gave me. She was a Maxillofacial specialty because she was suffering of a problem known as Norma, at the same time she felt shy because She was missing part of her face and nostril as a result of Norma. Which is normal knowing that she have been like that for so long and have been rejected by those near by her. I tried to picture myself in her position and understood how it felt like but she left my table smiling and feeling much comfortable more than she came.

Then i saw my second patient who come with her dad. she had an intraoral tumor that have slowly been growing from the time she was born and hindering her from being the pretty little girl that she is but still at that she was still very beautiful and i could see the board smile on her father’s face knowing that his daughter is just a few steps to be released from the shame she carried along because according to father patient had to stop going to school since no one will want to relate with her at school and people will always laugh at her.

Again as i kept going, I had this 60yr old Patient who have had a cleft palate and bilateral cleft lip since the time he was born! He had this great smile on his face as i evaluated him. i was so glad that after evaluating him i could send him to the next station to be scheduled. After seeing this patient just thinking about his age and still having a cleft lip and palate that could easily be repaired at birth made me realized how much Africa as a whole is in huge need for health care.

I had evaluated so many patients who were just waiting to be scheduled. feeling hungry since i had not yet taken my breakfast, i took a break for 10mins and went back. By midday, the pre-screening had stopped at the gate and so i had more help from the other nurses who were pre-screening at the gate.

We evaluated patients until midnight! I know you will be thinking i made a mistake when i said midnight but no, we actually evaluated patients until midnight. As i said we had no plans to work that long but we we had more patients than we expected because most of them were YES’S. Our security team had to send some patients away to come the next day because they were too many.

Dinner was brought to us at the pre-screening site so we continued working. Personally for me it was the longest day of my carrier but it was a privilege for me to serve because i knew that this is what God wants me to do. It was amazing because we felt so strengthened until we saw the last patient and every patient for me was different even-though tired we kept smiling as we saw every patient.

All i could see at the end of that day was God’s amazing! It kept us going from 5:30am till midnight! Then we drove back to our hotel and i didn’t sleep until 1:00am. We all rested for the night and regained energy for the next day which wasn’t planned before we left the ship. But as i said God’s plans are always the best. It may look stupid in the beginning but the truth is behind what we see as stupid a beautiful plan….

 

THE LAST PATIENT!! Just as i said behind every ugly thing if you look and be patient for a while, there’s always something beautiful.

Some of the patients we sent away the previous day were asked to return on this day to be evaluated since we couldn’t evaluated all of them at once. And so we returned on site and continued evaluating the patients at exactly 8:00am. we continued evaluating until 12:pm and we were done. Some of the patients were just waiting to be seen by the other stations since we were done evaluating them. So we started packing our equipment while waiting for the rest of the team then came this patient who traveled all the way from Sera-Leon she saw on social media that we were in Mamou so she traveled from Sera-Leon on Monday hoping to be in Mamou on the Tuesday to be pre-screened but she had problems on her way coming as there was a strike in one of the villages on the way and her phone was stolen so she was been delayed and arrived Mamou on Wednesday instead of Tuesday. when she came in, We said YES to her not because of her story but because she had a Mandibular tumor which have slowly been growing.

After she had left, We all thought about everything and then understood that God knew she was coming and retained us in Mamou one more day according to His plan for her life. Because if we had finished pre-screening on Tuesday, she would have missed us and would have traveled for so long in vain. But God kept us there The following day just for this one patient and because of that other patients were seen equally.

We packed all our vehicles and then headed back to the hotel. Stayed in Mamou that night and left for Boke the following day..

The following day we had our breakfast in the hotel where then spitted in groups. One group had to meet with the government to make sure everything works out well while the other group was making sure that we had enough snacks and make sure we had dinner ordered for 7pm. Meanwhile myself and some other stayed back to meet with the local and missionaries  help to explain to them what the ship is all about and the type of patients we were looking for and how to communicate patients information back to us because every information is important.

When all the other group returned, we all drove to the pre-screening site to see it and also to make sure that all is set for the next day. The name of the pre-screening site was called Maison de jeunes de Mamou. It was very big with much space. We had a briefing with local help again telling the they we have to be on site at 5:30am the next day. Then we drove back to the hotel where were logging and had dinner.

After dinner as a team we had a briefing of how we wanted things organised and our plans and goals for the trip. Our goal was to schedule 92 patients out of the 1000 patients we had to pre-screen in Mamou. I guess you will probably be asking why only 92 patients out of 1000 patients right? The reason is because according to our screening statistics and experience, out of 10 patients most often 2 out of 10 patients will be a YES while the remaining  will always be NO’s. But you never know what God’s plans are so a lot of things usually don’t happen the way we always plan it.

Our plan was also to finish pre-screening and evaluating the patients on the same Tuesday/16/Oct/2018 then drive to Boke but as i said God’s plans always prevails all the time. Also, on that same night before the pre-screening event, we had part of our team who left for night shift making sure that patients who have already traveled from far distances are safe and also in line to be screened.

I felt it important to share this because i saw great level of humility in all the people who made it to this trip because most of the people who serve on the ship being it as a cook, housekeeper or whatever come from very wealthy backgrounds and had great jobs back at home but most of them left it just to come and volunteer to help in Africa so as to give another person a reason to smile. It is something so unique about the ship. And so one of the people who was on night shift in Mamou was the hospital director of the Mercy ships.

Bellow is a picture of the entire team before the pre-screening day!!

 

 

It was early on Sunday morning at exactly 6:30pm that we left the ship heading to Mamou which is one of the regions here in Guinea to look for our patients. we were 16 in total including crew and day crew and each of us had specific responsibilities throughout the trip but all this functions was leading to one goal which was to find our patients and give them an appointment to come to the ship.

We left with four Mercy ships trucks and each of the vehicles had two drivers and three passengers which could either. This was because it was going to be a long drive so we had drivers who are crew members switch after every four hours or two hours. We also had snacks in every vehicle and enough water so we don’t get hungry and dehydrated.

So early that morning before we left, we had the managing director of the ship as well as my ship family to wave us off and prayed with us and for us before we left. It was a smooth trip to Mamou as we stopped couple of times on the way to use the rest room.  We had a security code when someone had to use the rest room on the way and it was also very easy to communicate because we were always in communication because we could just radio each other since each of the vehicles had a radio.

We drove all the way to Mamou safely and arrived later in the afternoon. We logged in a hotel and we shared room. It was great because i shared a room with one of the crew members who is in our team that i don’t share the same cabin on the ship so it was also a time of knowing each other more which was something i found awesome.

We slept and then God’s faithfulness took us to the next day………….

I have been thinking of what to share for a while now with all whats happening here in Guinea. As you, I work from Monday to Friday and the my weekends are off and everyday is a different specialty.

This week have been very special for me as well as the entire screening team on-board. the Africa Mercy. One of my special moments was having to see all these cute babies and moms coming for their screening appointments for more nursing diagnostic.

On nursing diagnostic days what we do is draw bloods, nursing assessment making sure that these patients are well and ready to be seen by the surgeon who will decide whether or not they are surgical candidates

 So it  was time to draw bloods. To begin with i could say i am an adult nurse because back at home i will work mostly on adults meaning not good at drawing bloods when it’s a kid as from 6 yrs-0 months. But on the ship we see patients of different age groups so you never know.

Now in my team we’ve got great nurses including myself and we kind of work according to the strength of each other. so we all know our limits and who’s best at what and then we go with that but you know there are days were everyone is busy doing something with a patient that you just have to face the challenge that is in front of you.

One of these days was on Tuesday we had patients of different age groups and all of us had something doing and so we had to ensure that blood is drawn for all patients as fast as possible and sent to the lab for testing so the patients can have results before they leave to their various homes before next appointment.

I had already drawn bloods on 5 adult patients on that they and since the other nurses were drawing bloods as well, the process was quite fast as the nurse in charge for that day was making sure that everything goes well. i had just finished drawing bloods on a patient so i went to return the patient’s chart to the charge nurse so i can see another patient.

 The charge nurse told me it was the last patient for a blood draw and then she gave me the patient’s chart but to my greatest surprise it was a 4yr old!!

My first reaction was a question and i asked do you want me to draw bloods? then she replied yes i do! When the patient came in i was trying to figure out how this is gonna happen. Then i heard this voice ” You can do it”. this was the first time i was doing this and so i had to convinced the 4yr old with a balloon so that she won’t cry because i knew it wasn’t gonna be an easy one. i had assistance from two of the nurses  to help hold the child so that she won’t move. And with my tunicate i tied her left hand to better visualize and stabilize the vein  then i saw a little vein and went in with my butterfly needle, it felt like i wasn’t in the vein but i could feel that i am in the vein so i moved the needle a little bit backwards as though i was about taking it out then i had a back-flow!!

This was one of the most satisfying moment for the first time in my carrier just by seeing that back-flow as blood ran into the syringe! Then i understood that sometimes we just have to be fair on ourselves and trust that we can do those things we think we can’t.

The following day, we had patients with different age groups and we had to repeat some labs for some patients since it was a follow-up day. And so i had to follow-up this little 3yr old boy and also draw bloods as well. And again i said to myself ” christel its not because you draw bloods on a 4yr old that makes you think you can draw bloods on a 3yr old but i had to do it. So  again i had help from the nurses to help hold the boy still and nice and as i went in to the vein with my butterfly needle i had a back-flow of blood in the syringe!!

But above all the most satisfying moments of these few weeks is seeing that the patients we screened have received surgery and very happy to live a new life free from judgement, shame an rejection

So this week i learnt a few lessons;

• Never limit yourself because sometimes you can do more than you think
• Always stay humble to learn from other because you might use what you’ve learnt someday for the good of everyone
• Two is better than one.
• Its possible all the time if only you are determined! Its all about team work!!

I will ask that you please pray for us as we leave the ship for the upcountry screening  1week trip to find more patients but this time going into the interior. This will be happening this coming week so please pray for wisdom, strength, security and grace to see all these patients with much love!

Will tell you how the trip was when i return, we are hoping to find potential patients!!And please don’t forget to share, comment, like and donate.