All the bags are packed . . .

And we're ready to go!  Matt finished his finals this afternoon and he said he did well.  If he did, it was because so many of you were praying him through!  We'll head to the airport at 7:15 a.m. tomorrow and hopefully fly to Philadelphia at 11:00 a.m.  From there, we're off to Brussels, arriving around 8:00 a.m. Thursday and then we'll leave Brussels at 2:00 p.m. Thursday and nine hours later, we should be in Lome! It's going to be a nasty 48 hours - and I'm starting to dread it, but I have to believe that He who has called us this far and has provided every step of the way will carry us through!  Next post - from Africa!   

It was bound to happen . . .

Ever since Micah was a month old, I have combed, straightened, and/or braided her hair every day, without fail, for over twelve years!  There were a few breaks here and there when we left her braids in for a few days, but mostly it's been she and I until yesterday when I taught her how to straighten her hair!  Now, she only did the front, but she did a good job!  To those of you with "white" hair, that probably seems a bit delayed.  But my girl has "black" hair and she can make a 'fro with the best of them!  I plan on a minimum of an hour to get through her hair after a wash - whether it's combed, braided or straightened because that girl has hair!  And yesterday, she did a great job on it.  Way to go, Micah!  

You're not in America any more!

In just a few days we'll be in Togo - and we have a lot to prepare for!  Did you know that . . .

-Greetings include a handshake and verbal "Hello" in French (Bonjour), Ewe (Woezo-lo!), Kabiye (Alafia-we) or another tribal language.  
 -Togolese carry everything on their heads - one banana, a fully-assembled ceiling fan, up to 300 eggs, firewood, a big basket of chickens, or a 5- gallon pan of water.

-You are expected to bargain for everything you purchase at market. You should offer about one-half of the first price quoted by the vendor.

-Togolese houses are made of concrete or of mud or brick with straw roofs.

-Soccer is Togo's favorite sport. People go wild during World Cup competition.

  
-Togo's traditional religions stress fetishism and idolatry. Ancestor worship is common, along with the worship of snakes, trees, rainbows, fire, etc. Fetishes are used as protection against evil spirits and against other men. (A fetish is an object that is considered holy or as having some special power.)

-Fresh fruits and vegetables are available in abundance, along with meats, fish, dairy products, pasta, and nuts-- plenty to maintain a balanced diet.

-Togolese eat lots of starchy foods--rice or fufu (boiled, pounded cassava root) with spicy tomato sauce and sometimes fish or meat.

-Worn-out tires are recycled into sandals, toys or fuel for smoking meat (love that burnt-rubber flavor!)

 -It is disrespectful to give or receive things with your left hand. Always use the right hand.

 -Eye Contact -  Interesting to know, when an elderly person is talking to a young one, it’s disrespectful to look into the persons eyes. The eyes are lowered. 

-Again, if someone older than you is carrying heavy stuff, as a sign of respect you should take it from them immediately. Don’t leave them carrying it.

            

-Crossing your legs when you sit or talking to someone with your hands in your pockets is considered condescending.

-Togo is hot and humid most of the year and the temperature seldom drops below 70 F.

-During Fall and Winter months harmattan winds bring dirt and sand from the Sahara Desert.

-During Spring and Summer months is the rainy season.

Arrested!

Last night, just as we were sitting down for supper, the doorbell rang.  Sam went to answer it and found a CIA officer at the door.  He said he was there to arrest both Matt and his best friend Corey (a frequent diner at our house) for sending threatening notes and trying to skip the country.  We weren't sure what was going on, but he cuffed the boys and was taking them in for questioning.  As they passed the garage, they saw our friend Kim standing there laughing!  Oh, yeah - they were pranked! 

"Officer Lee" looked pretty convincing

Handcuffed!

Last summer the boys had gone to Kim's house for a baking lesson.  She'd sent them home with the goodies in a bunch of her good dishes.  Well, those two nasty boys sent her a thank you with a ransom note included - "Send us chocolate mousse and we will return your dishes."  It's taken Kim almost ten months to nail 'em, but she got them good last night!  Corey doesn't like spiders and Matt doesn't care for mice - look at what they got!

Pretty sure they came out the winners!

Edoudard Eyessi

Since birth, Edouard Eyessi suffered from a troubling hernia condition. Any kind of exertion, even speaking loudly, caused sharp pain. The swelling, which increased as Edouard grew older, was extremely uncomfortable. Most worrying of all, was the concern that Edouard would not be able to father children when the time came for him to marry.

Doctors told Edouard’s parents that nothing could be done for their child until he was six years old. “Waiting all of that time while watching how difficult it was for Edouard to play like the other boys his age was so difficult,” his mother, Eugenie, explains.
When Edouard’s parents brought him back to the hospital just after his sixth birthday, the doctors shared a distressing prognosis. Given what they knew, the only operation they could perform on Edouard would likely take away his ability to father children. Eugenie and Edouard’s father, Athanaz, made an immediate, but heart-breaking, decision. They would help Edouard manage his condition rather than risk robbing him of his ability to have a family of his own.

During his boyhood years, Edouard greatly missed playing football or any of the physical games so popular with his friends. Also, he wasn’t able to help out much around home. He could not carry anything heavy, and frequently pain and swelling kept him off of his feet.

On his good days, Edouard helped others in a very special way. Eugenie’s pride for her son’s talent bursts forth as she says, “Our Edouard has an amazing healing touch. One of our elders had a leg that ached ferociously for a long time. No one could help ease the throbbing at all. Then Edouard tried. He used his hands to massage her muscles and joints. Right away the pain left her leg.”

Edouard continued to provide his massage therapy to family and friends – including his father, who works very long hours as the Headmaster of the Lomé Public School. “All day and on most evenings, I am involved in meetings. There are many problems I need to help solve, and, of course, the tension builds up in all of my muscles. Edouard is wonderfully gifted in helping my muscles to relax and removing the knots in my neck and shoulders with this knowing hands,” his father explains.

Players on the local football team have also called upon Edouard’s physical therapy talents. Mr. Wilson Adjei, one of Edouard’s teachers and a football player himself, made arrangements for Edouard to volunteer his services. “Even though Edouard has no formal training, he has an awesome natural ability. Our team members are much stronger and more pain-free thanks to Edouard’s manipulations and massage therapies,” he remarks.

At age sixteen, Edouard Eyessi, while practicing his massage technique in front of the family television, heard an announcement about Mercy Ships coming to Togo to provide free medical care. Edouard’s family immediately agreed that he must go the patient screening. Edouard describes his first never-to-be-forgotten day with Mercy Ships: “Mr. Adjei accompanied me to Kegue Stadium, and we arrived at 4:00 a.m. By the end of the morning, I had been accepted for a second examination at the hospital ship itself. I did not sleep at all that night as I kept praying that my healing had been found.”

Edouard’s prayers were indeed answered. Within weeks, Edouard was onboard the Africa Mercy, the world’s largest nongovernmental hospital ship, having his free, life-changing hernia operation.

Edouard’s surgeon was Dr. Nabil Gayed, a general surgeon from the United States. Dr. Nabil, a first-time Mercy Ships volunteer, was delighted with the outcome of Edouard’s surgery. “In the developed world, hernias at birth are dealt with swiftly before they become a problem. I would never see a hernia more than five centimeters. Here, with no access to surgical treatment, hernias grow to the size of footballs. This is a serious stand-alone medical issue. So many boys and men are broken by painful and swollen hernias. They suffer major bowel and reproductive problems that devastate their already challenged work and social lives. I am blessed to help change that picture, especially for a young man like Edouard with his entire future ahead of him,” comments Dr. Nabil.

Before his full discharge from Dr. Nabil’s excellent care, Edouard received a special bonus. Chris Webb, a kinesiology specialist, spoke at length with Edouard about his own career path, answering many questions. Chris encouraged Edouard to work hard to complete his studies and get good grades, now that he is physically restored. Joanne Gates, a Mercy Ships physiotherapist, then walked Edouard through two actual examinations she was conducting. Edouard was rapt with attention. “This is the field I want to work in. To be able to see the work of such an expert is so thrilling! This is the second Mercy Ships day I will always remember,” declares Edouard.

When Edouard returned home to complete his recovery, the Eyessi household was beyond words. Eugenie describes the reaction of her husband in a voice trembling with joy: “Athanaz wept at the sight of our Edouard, who was now free of the terrible pain and limitations of the hernia that had plagued him for so many years. We thought we must be dreaming – but, thanks to Mercy Ships, we were having a dream come true.”

Written by Joanne Thibault
Edited by Nancy Predaina
Photographs by Debra Bell

In Just Ten Nights . . .

Matt and I will be moving into a cabin very similar to this.  Pretty sure we won't have the rose petals or the beds together, but this will give you an idea of what our new home away from home will look like!  (Stolen from Murray's blog - he and Candace live just a few doors away!) (:

AFI

Some stories need to be told, maybe to open our eyes to a different reality or maybe to show us what an amazing ministry we will soon be part of or maybe just to show us that God is still in the business of miracles.  This is Afi's story.  The pictures are hard to look at - at first.  Don't let that stop you from reading on . . .

Afi's Release from Shackles

“Every moment of my life is difficult to survive. I struggle greatly, and I struggle alone,” Afi says with tear-filled eyes that testify to the pain she has suffered for the last four years. As she speaks of the suffering she has endured, she takes a rag to wipe the tears streaming down her scarred face and recounts her story with courage and grace.

Afi suffers from a disorder called epilepsy. She can suddenly have seizures that force her body into debilitating tremors. One day in 2008, Afi was cooking over a fire with her one-month-old son strapped to her back. Suddenly, she felt ill and thought she needed to sit down. Before she had time to react, her body went into a seizure, forcing her to fall face-first into the fire. She lay there in the fire, seizing helplessly. Luckily, her infant son was not harmed, but the damage to Afi was brutal. She suffered severe burns on her face, neck, hands, and legs.

Afi tried to go to a hospital to get medical help, but the hospital turned her away because she had no one to take care of her son. As her wounds began to heal, her skin started to contract, pulling her face down and her shoulder upwards. The injuries became her shackles over the next four years. Afi’s husband left her because he could not stand to look at her. Riddled with guilt, he ended up committing suicide, leaving Afi to be the sole parent to their three children.

People believed that Afi’s deformity was the result of a curse. She was no longer able to sell fruit in the market because people were too afraid of her. She was forced into a life of isolation, with only her children to help her. The village would no longer allow Afi to walk through the center, touch anything, or be near anybody. When children caught a glimpse of Afi's face, they ran away in fear. She had to hide in her home. If she wanted to go anywhere, she had to sneak around the outskirts of town.

Recently, she went to the hospital again, desperately seeking help. Catching a glimpse of a TV, she heard that Mercy Ships was coming to Togo, West Africa. Afi wrote down the dates. Leaving her children with her father-in-law, Afi tried to get to the port. Relentlessly, she made three trips to the port gates, each time being turned away by the local security. Finally, she was allowed through and examined by Mercy Ships crew.

It was a wonderful day when she was given her appointment card. “I know now that things are going to be better. I can tell my life will move in that direction,” Afi says as she spends her days on her hospital bed onboard the Africa Mercy. Afi’s surgery will release the contracted skin, allowing her neck and shoulder to move again. Her eyelids and lips will be released and repaired. She will receive function and movement again – release from the shackles, the injuries that have held her captive.

She has already had a taste of how much better her life will be. Mercy Ships crew are not afraid of her, and they look her in the eyes. This is the start of a new life, with new hope and a new future. She smiles through her tears saying, “Thank you for everything, and thank you to everybody. I now see a new life coming my way. I pray God will help me each step of the way.”

Every person deserves the right to look human.

It pays to have friends . . .

Last week, we heard from our friend, Jodie, that we will be in Cabin 4314.  We weren't sure if that meant we had a two berth or a couples cabin.  Today, we heard from our friend (and boss!), Shelly - it's a couples cabin!  It has two single beds in it that can be put together or pulled apart (Matt and I will do the apart!) as well as it's own bathroom, kitchen sink and counter, and if we're really lucky, a fridge and a microwave!  That's not a given.  However, we do have dishes!  Shelly said if we don't mind random, she went down to the Boutique (like Goodwill, without a price!) and nabbed us a couple of plates, some bowls, some silverware and some Tupperware.  Random sounds wonderful!

Twins!

And I don't mean the "Minnesota Twins"!  I mean these two - Atsu (pronounced "Achoo") and his twin sister, Obei ("Obey").   Atsu is the little guy on the right and that giant on the left is Obie.  Both babies have been breastfed since their birth in October, but Atsu had difficulty feeding with his cleft lip and palate.  By March, as their parents worked with Jessica, the infant feeding specialist on board the ship, Atsu was ready for surgery  . . . 

Happy Mother's Day!

Now, as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, " Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him." John 9:1-3

To all Mothers,

Imagine having 6 children. For some of you, that was 2 children ago; for others, it's just overwhelming to think about! But in Africa, eight is a rather small family. The family I want to tell you about is unique. As farmers, they had children so they could work their farm (not unusual here OR abroad just for survival), but something went wrong. Five.....yes....FIVE of them were born with cataracts! Five of them---are blind! We were all stunned to find a family with so many children blind! Unbelievable!

Allow me to introduce you to the family. Momma (and Pappa, of course) are poor farmers.

Adjo is the oldest, about 16 years old (although the parents are not sure), and born with cataracts, but could see minimally at least in her younger years. She is obviously the "mother" of the children and tries to watch out for the others (although being blind made this tough!).

Kokou and Kossi are 11. We thought these boys are twins, but turns out they are cousins! BOTH were born blind.. and now.living in the same family.

Komi is probably 7 (momma thinks he is 5), and shy, but loves to be teased even though he can only see light.

Yawa is 6, quiet and a fearful girl who just sits quietly in her own darkness due to the cataracts. 

Abba is a 6 month old girl and the only seeing child in this family! Spends most of her time being carried on momma's back.

For 16 years, Momma has been taking care of her blind children. Now, they have come, afraid, unsure and ashamed of their own poverty, asking for hope. Glenn and Dr. Wodome examined them and discussed their prognosis. You see, children born with cataracts must be operated on BEFORE they are 7 to have a good result, because by then the brain will "not turn the eyes on" anymore after having so many years of no visual stimulation. But......they decided to do them ALL! 10 eyes! There was enough evidence that their eyes were working on some level all this time....so there was a chance! There was hope.

Surgery went well. We unpatched each child and watched. Kokou, the cousin, was first. I showed him a book and pointed to a tiny bee. Kokou looked with his new eyes and exclaimed," It's a bee!" He was now excited about the possibility of finally going to school! Yawa, so quiet, was next. She showed no signs of seeing at first, but suddenly her baby sister dropped her toy. And to our surprise, Yawa quickly retrieved it and handed it back! She COULD see! Now it was Kossi's turn.. He's the artist! He could see colors and delighted in coloring the day before surgery, but held his paper an inch away and to one side to see. After unpatching, I held out a red crayon. He perked up, took the color and began furiously coloring a new picture...this time, on his lap! He was so happy! Then came Adjo. She had had a lot of pain, because she is older, and her eyes were swollen. But, she seemed so pleased with her sight. Her brother, Komi, looked all around intently. He seemed confused. I tested his sight, and he was seeing double! When I covered his left eye, he then brightened and saw clearly (this should clear up in time)!

Momma now confessed to our translator that she was overwhelmed and worried she would not be able to control them...especially the boys! Ha! Poor mother. Don't we all feel that way as our boys get older! (much less all suddenly being able to see!)

A week later, they all came back for their checkup. What a change! (Take a look a the pictures to see the difference). Adjo RAN up to me and flung herself into me for a big hug! She looked beautiful! All dressed up and walking confidently on her own! She was now determined and independent. The older boys jibber-jabbered together all the way up and down the stairs hardly paying attention, as if they had done this all their lives! Yawa was still quiet but still taking charge of Abba. And Komi had adapted to one eye, and was smiling and joking around for all the cameras! They not only received their sight, but now their personalities really came to life!

And Momma? She was all dressed up, proud and ready to show off her 'new" children! 

Hope had come.  Happy Mother's Day!

Sibi Julie

Life for Sibi Julie had a rough start. She was born with a normal weight, but a bilateral cleft lip made it difficult for her to take nourishment. So, she quickly began to lose weight. Every day was a challenge for Sibi and her mother.

The superstitious West African culture made the situation even more difficult. To keep her daughter safe, Sibi’s mother kept the baby hidden inside her compound. When people saw Sibi’s deformed lip, they said her mother was cursed. Some said that both mother and baby were being punished because of the mother’s sin.

One day, a friend told them that Mercy Ships was having a mass medical screening in Lomé, Togo, West Africa.  Daring to venture outside, Sibi’s mother brought the child to the screening. She was did not really believe that Mercy Ships could help, but she was desperate. However, when she saw other children there with the same problem, hope flickered in her heart. To her surprise, Sibi was given an appointment card for a free corrective surgery onboard the Africa Mercy.

First, Sibi was put on the Mercy Ships infant feeding program to help her gain weight before the surgery. It quickly made a difference. “Sibi has gained at least a kilo since I had help and advice about how to feed her,” her mother said as she proudly showed off her baby girl.

Sibi soon became a celebrity on the wards as nurses and day-workers loved to hold her and show her off to the other patients. “I am very surprised they took such good care of us – unlike the local hospitals. Here Sibi and I had fun and have had no challenges,” her mother commented.

Sibi resting on the ward after her surgery.

Now, Sibi’s mother proudly shows her daughter to people – she no longer has to hide in the shadows cast by superstition. “I am so happy with the results! I can now see a new life for my daughter. I am very grateful for this gift. Thanks to the Africa Mercy and crew for how they treated us. I couldn’t have afforded this surgery, but Mercy Ships did this for free. I am very, very grateful!” her mother joyfully exclaimed.

Check out these little ones . . .

Obviously, they only allow cute kids on the ward!

Meet some of the VVF ladies . . .

This is taken from Heather's blog again - have fun meeting some of the VVF ladies:

"It's VVF season, and that means I have a new home, or at least a new ward to call home.  We take B ward, which used to be plastics, and turn it into something else entirely.  We shuffle staff around to find the translators that speak nothern languages.  We find the nurses who most want to work with these oh-so-precious ladies, and we bring them together into an amazing team.  We cover the windows to the ward to allow more privacy, and we don't allow cameras, (only during our dress ceremonies).  Because these women, they've already known too much shame and negative attention.   It's time to shower them with love.

The first day of VVF, as they began screening women onboard, I walked down the stairs and I could smell them.  It's a horrible thing to say, but the smell of urine preceeds them.  Strong, concentrated, infected urine, leaking constantly down their legs.  Puddles on chairs, trails down hallways.  Heads bowed low.  Eyes rise up to plead with you "make it better, take this shame away."  What is the cause?  An accident of birth.  In more ways than one.  Some have been born with problems and have never known any different.  Many more have suffered through childbirth that just wouldn't end.  Days of labor with the baby stuck, not progressing, only to deliver a stillborn babe, or make it to a hospital for a radical c-section.  And then, a few days or weeks later, suddenly they leak urine.  Why?  Because the baby's head, forced against the bones of the woman's pelvis cuts off the blood supply to the bladder and/or the rectum.  Once the baby is finally delivered, the dead tissue where things were pinched off for so long leaves a hole behind.  And that's only in the women lucky enough to survive a labor like that.

Traumatic labor, dead child, and now leaking.  Often that leads to rejection.  From community, from husband, from family.  

Years later, we meet them.  They hear the news of free surgery for women who are leaking, and they come.  Sadly, we cannot help everyone.  But those we can... I have fallen love with this ward of women.  They are precious!!!  It's a ward full of catheters.  The monitoring is constant, but worth it.

It starts slowly.  You smile at them as you introduce yourself, and maybe they will smile back.  Lacking a common language, there are a lot of hand gestures and charades, and these sometimes bring the smiles and laughter best.  The other day, one of the nurses found a boiled egg flattened in someone's bed, and showed it to me.  I laughed and made a motion as if it had been an egg the woman had laid... well that sent of gales of laughter from one side of the room.  This was humour they could all appreciate!  And then there are "the twins" as we briefly called them.  Two women, looking fairly similar, in beds side-by-side, who slowly but surely started serenading us.  Quiet, gentle singing would come from one of them, and if she drifted off to sleep or stopped, the other would take over.  So beautiful and soothing!  Such a great way to show just how happy they are!

Two weeks ago we had our first dress ceremony, or "Gladi Gladi" as some call it.  The ones who are dry get brand new dresses to symbolize their new lives.  We sing, we listen to testimonies, we pray over them, and we present them with bibles, soap, and mirrors.  

One woman said "I have had this problem for 13 years, 5 times a day I must wash my clothes.  I hide in my room all the time.  It was my fifth baby that got stuck and caused this problem.  Now my family are the only ones who bring me things like clothes."  Another woman mentioned that she lives far away in the north, and prayed that God would deliver her from this.  She trusted him to come through.  And one day she got the news that we were here.  She doesn't know how the news could reach her so far away, and she was the only one who got the news from her area and was able to come.  And now... now she is dry, and she thanks God for that!  

And with each ceremony (we've had three so far) the stories continue.  The rejection, the shame... and now... the celebration!

Romeo

 In 2010, one-week-old Romeo Touloulou was one of the youngest patients ever to board the Africa Mercy hospital ship. Romeo, born with a cleft lip and palate, was in dire condition. He was unable to take nourishment. Weighing only 5.75 pounds (2.61 kilograms), he was on the perilous brink of malnutrition.

Romeo was immediately put under the tender care of volunteer nurse Melissa Davey in the Mercy Ships Infant Feeding Program. Melissa and Romeo’s mom, Badokideou, worked hand-in-hand. They were very patient as they gently encouraged and helped Romeo feed on infant formula from a plastic cup. Spectacular progress was achieved. Romeo gained the weight needed in order to have surgery to repair his cleft lip. Following his successful surgery and now very proficient at feeding from his cup, Romeo soon tipped the scales at 13.5 pounds (6.12 kilograms). Everyone was overjoyed at the progress of the smiling and chortling baby boy.

Romeo’s mother felt deep gratitude. “My Romeo was blessed with perfect timing. He was blessed to have been born at a time when the Africa Mercy was in port in Lomé, Togo. Thanks to Mercy Ships, Romeo is a now a healthy and happy five-month-old boy,” she said happily.

Romeo's cleft palate visible.  However, Romeo’s cleft palate, a hole in the roof of his mouth, could not be repaired while he was still so young. Nurse Melissa was ecstatic when she learned that Romeo would be a Mercy Ships patient again during the 2012 Togo field service. Once more, Romeo was blessed with perfect timing.

“It was wonderful to see Romeo’s name on the admissions list for a cleft palate repair. While Romeo would not remember me, I recalled his sweet smile as if we had seen each other yesterday,” Melissa remarked.

Badokideou, Romeo’s mom, recalls that, “within minutes of being with Melissa, Romeo was smiling and eagerly reaching for his welcome hug.”

For this visit to the Africa Mercy, Romeo was under the gentle care of dietician Jessica King in the Infant Feeding Program. She shared the joy of following Romeo through his cleft palate surgery. “Being here for moments such as this to witness Romeo’s triumph over a very hard challenge is so special. I am so glad for Romeo and his family to have the peace that comes with this restorative surgery,” she explained.

For Romeo and his family, there is much happiness and more gratitude for the second blessing of perfect timing. In the words of Romeo’s mom, “Thank you, thank you, Mercy Ships!”

The VVF Ladies

Heather, a Canadian nurse on the ship, wrote this is her blog and I just want to share it with you.  VVF is easiliest explained as birth injuries.

"Today, I found myself flipping through every chart on the ward.  It was for a good cause, I needed to find specific info that had been charted during screening.  But during the process, I ended up reading most of the screening details of our VVF ladies, and the answers they gave made my stomach turn...
How many prenancies have you had?  1... 6.... 9... 5...4....2....3...etc...
After what pregnancy did your problem start?  Invariably, this answer was the same as the answer to how many pregnancies.
How long were you in labor?  2 days, 4 days, 5 days, 7 days (incomprehensible!  7 days!  And she lived!)
How was the baby delivered?  C-section.  (except one... who delivered after 4 days)
Did the baby survive?  Stillbirth (every.  single.  one.)
Did your husband leave you?  yes/no (about half and half)
Can you read/write?  No

So many... tragedies.  So many lives twisted, changed, ruined.  For lack of proper medical care.  When it takes days to get to a place where they can do a c-section.  With each chart I flipped open, the answers were harder to read.  The repetition, painful.  I was sad, angry, almost sick.  I knew the end result.  I know that we are treating these women, attempting to return dignity to those who are wet, leaking.  But still.  All I could picture was their labors.  Their hours and days of agony.  The thick ropy scars running down their abdomens from emergency surgery.  The pain of loosing a baby.  And then, the final indignity, to find yourself in a puddle of urine, unable to control the flow.  Shunned by those around you. 

I used to get annoyed that we are so strict about "failure to progress" in labor.  Give the woman a bit more time, she can do it!  But this... it's a reminder... of how good we have it.  Access to monitoring.  Healthy happy babies.  Healthy, happy moms.  I'll stop complaining, and rejoice with our ladies as they go from wet to dry! 

Tani Nakaba: I am beautiful!

In the dockside Mercy Ships admissions tent, a young girl poked her head around different corners and people. Whenever someone looked up, they merely caught a quick glimpse before she was out of sight again. Her distant giggles filled the air as she snuck her way around the crowd, always blending in with the other patients. Finally, she jumped out and laughed as her name was called, “Tani Nakabe.”

Tani is 11 years old and has come to the Africa Mercy to continue the repair on her severe facial burns. In 2010, she had a free surgery onboard the hospital ship to repair her upper lip and to begin the reconstruction process on her nose.

Tani’s burns date back to when she was only one year old. She was playing on the floor while her mother cooked dinner on an open fire inside the grass hut. When her mother left to fetch water, the unthinkable happened. The grass hut caught on fire, spreading ferociously as the dry grass fueled its fury. Little Tani was trapped in the house and surrounded by flames. Luckily, her father saw the fire and pulled her from the inferno. Tani’s head and body were still burning. A neighbor, trying to help, grabbed the nearest bottle of what appeared to be water and threw it over the child. Unfortunately, it was not water – it was palm wine alcohol. The burns seared her face, leaving Tani with no nose and a severely damaged right eye and upper lip.

Tani’s entire village remembered the tragedy of that day and never persecuted Tani for her appearance. She was able to attend school. In fact, she is at the top of her class. This acceptance, unusual in the superstitious West African culture, allowed Tani to grow up as a joyful child. Her infectious laughter melts the heart, and her smile brightens any room.

Despite her appearance, Tani is brave and bold. Many crew members remember her marching through the ship’s hallways in 2010 shouting, “I AM BEAUTIFUL!” in English. After receiving her first surgery, Tani’s demeanor never changed. Every day she went up to deck seven of the Africa Mercy and played with all the other children.This year, Tani’s damaged right eye was removed and a skin graft was placed in its stead to help with her appearance. Dr. Gary Parker, Chief Medical Officer and surgeon, explains, “Her right eye was partially destroyed by the burn, but remnants of the eye remained. Her eye would weep continuously and had the appearance of an open wound that never healed.”

Tani’s appearance will improve, and the difficulty with her damaged eye will be gone. But her joyful, courageous personality will have the greatest impact as her voice rings out, declaring, “I AM BEAUTIFUL!”