What happened in Togo?

Do you ever wonder what happened before we arrived in Togo?  After all, we got there on the last day of surgeries and things were being packed up.  I snagged this from my friend Jodie's blog.  Read and be encouraged by the ministry of Mercy Ships.  

Legacy in Lome

When we depart from each country that we visit it is our prayer and desire that we have left behind a legacy, a legacy of hope, a legacy of healing and a legacy of God's love in action. Most of us will never know the sheer desperation and isolation that those in developing nations face when struck down by an illness, a birth defect or one that appears later in life. When the Africa Mercy sails into the ports of some of the poorest nations on earth we have a job to do, a God ordained legacy to leave behind.

Eye Surgeries (Mercy Vision)

*  794 Eye surgeries performed

* 1,718 UV blocking sunglasses, 1,160 reading glasses, 43 prescription glasses dispensed

Maxillo-Facial Surgeries (Outlook of Hope)

* 315 Max fax surgeries including 34 cleft lip and/or palate repairs

Plastic Reconstruction Surgeries (Reconstructing Hope)

* 72 Plastic surgeries

*509 Physio encounters

* 409 Occupational Therapy encounters

Specialised Surgical Solutions
* 219 General Surgeries (mainly hernia repairs on young males such as the man above)

VVF (Vesicovaginal Fistula) Surgeries (Hope Reborn)
* 49 VVF Surgeries
Above a VVF patient celebrates in her new dress and head dress given to all the VVF patients.

Togo Smiles (Dental)
* 9,688 Dental procedures performed for 4,649 patients
* Dentures for 454 patients
Photo above is the dental team celebrating their 3,000 patient in Togo 2012 field service.

Palliative Care
* 14 patients regularly visited

Plastics and Ortho Follow Up (Togo 2010 Patients)

Patient Life Program
* Available to our patients 24/7 providing counsel and comfort as well as taking care of the practical needs of the patients.

Capacity Building
* Workshops held so that highly skilled personnel can train many different groups of professionals on issues such as mental health and trauma.
* Children's Camp held for 30 local children.

Leadership Conferences
* Average of 892 leaders attended various conferences.

Food for Life Agricultural Training

* Training trainers in modules such as composting, mulching, soils, animal husbandry and nutrition.

Anaesthesia and Midwifery Conference

* 121 Health care professionals and 18 students attended a two day conference.

The Hope Centre (Hospital Outpatient Extension)
* 1035 people participated in community health education on subjects such as malaria, worms and immunisations.
Above a Hope Centre day worker teaches patients and caregivers about the affects of worms.

Day Worker Education
* 36 Hospital day workers received instruction in various health care matters
* 15 day workers received instruction in palliative care matters
* 1 day worker received instruction in sterilization

Mercy Ministries

* Hundreds of crew members were regularly involved with ten local partners. In addition, and in partnership with a group of local church leaders, the Jesus film was viewed by thousands in their local language. Hundreds expressed commitments to Christ and requested prayer.

Above crew members visit the Quatre Libre with YWAM.

Donations

* Mercy Ships was able to make dozens of donations to hospitals, clinics, WHO, other mission and aid organisations, churches, church leaders, schools and libraries. As well as corporate donations, hundreds of individuals crew members made donations of both cash and possessions to local individuals and organisations.

These numbers are obtained through the sacrifice of volunteer crew, prompted into action by the whisper of the Holy Spirit, from every corner of the globe, offering their skills and talents, funded by those at home to leave behind a legacy that will remain long after the Africa Mercy sails away.

On a personal note . . .

Matt started driver's ed classes today!  In two weeks, we're hoping he has his permit!  Watch out, world!

I went to a sleep clinic today to determine if my enlarged thyroid was causing me sleep problems.  In the end, I was working with two doctors who determined it wasn't.  Why am I telling you this?  Well, in my ONE hour appointment (which probably should have been only a half an hour), I was able to share Mercy Ships.  They came in asking me questions because one of the other doctor's I'd seen earlier this year, had put it in my medical records that we were serving on board this summer.  I'm not sure there's a call for sleep specialists on the ship, but how cool that they wanted to know more, they let me tell stories and they asked a lot of great questions!  To God be the glory!   

Check it out!

Something fun to watch!  My hero, Jay Swanson, who drove to the top of Mt. Teide and rescued me, put this together!

Like a ship out of water . . .

Pretty amazing, isn't it?

The Anastasis

Named after the noble white ship that brought hope and healing to so many, our puppy, Anastasis, had surgery yesterday to remove a tumor that was starting to hamper her windpipe.  She looks bad, but she is recovering nicely!

Adjei Family . . .

We received word today from the Head Chaplain aboard the Africa Mercy that Gina Adjei passed away in Ghana this morning after courageously battling cancer.  We had her son, Daniel, in summer program last year.  Please pray for her husband, Lawrence, and their young children, Daniel and Esther.  Thank you.    

Worship on the Bow . . .

If this works, you'll see the video Reka Goodson took of the crew singing "Jabulani" on the bow of the Africa Mercy.  If you look left, you'll see me unsuccessfully attempting to do what Reka successfully did!  Enjoy!  

We're Home!

Greetings from Minnesota!  I'm not quite at 100%, but I am able to sit up in a chair and fill you in on the last few days.  Read on:

Friday, June 29

We took off in the land rovers for Las Teresita's Beach on our final day of summer program.  A locked gate allowed us extra time in the land rovers and an unexpected scenic drive through the ports!

It was a lovely beach . . .

Definitely warmer out of the water!

So we played in the sand!

Back to port!

We would have posted this sooner, but the ship was without internet access on Friday and Saturday!

 

Saturday, June 30  

Matt and I signed off the ship at 7:00 a.m. along with a group of nine singles.  Destination:  the highest point in Spain, the volcanic Mt. Tiede.  We needed to grab a bus to Puerta de la Cruz and from there take a bus up the mountain.  Unfortunately, none of us knew where the Santa Cruz bus station was.  With a combination of broken Spanish and helpful taxi drivers, we arrived at the bus station only to discover we had to run through the station and up two flights of stairs in order to catch our bus.  We arrived just as it shut it's doors and was preparing to pull out.  Fortunately, the driver let us on and we were off!  

We arrived in Puerta de la Cruz with forty-five minutes to spare only to find a long line of people waiting ALREADY for the bus up the mountain!  There's only one bus a day that goes to the volcano and obviously, no one wanted to miss it!  Somewhere, on the way up, I began to feel nauseous.  The closer we got to Mt. Tiede, let's just say, the less there was in my stomach!  Matt, my hero, sat with me for two hours at the top while I waited to see if what I had was motion sickness or something more.  After more "spewing", I knew I couldn't go up, so I bought Matt a ticket to go up the cable car with a group of English-speaking Dutch students.  They promised to take good care of him and he promised to find our group and stay with them.  

Mt. Tiede

My brain is still a bit fuzzy with what happened next, but from what I pieced together is as Matt was getting on to the cable car to go up, a portion of our group came off, so he stayed with them.  I found them and Estheia, a mid-wife student from Wales, took one look at me and called the Park Ambulance Service.  Based on her report, they were prepared to transport me to the nearest hospital based on the fact that I had thrown up so many times and the other end was in action, too.  Estheia contacted the ship, got my medical information ready to fax to the hospital, and sat with me.  Once the ambulance arrived, Callie, a business major from Texas, took over with her limited Spanish.  Because my vitals were good (pulse, blood pressure and oxygen content), it was decided not to send me to the hospital, but to have the ambulance crew stay with me until I was able to get off the mountain.  In the meantime, another member of our group, Melody from New Zealand collapsed.  She had a combination of altitude sickness and low blood sugar.  The ambulance crew began to work on her, too.  The park service put us in a private sick room.  Check it out.

 

Estheia, Callie, Diego, me and Carlos

We became best buds - as the ambulance crew's normal clientele were usually coated in blood and missing limbs, we were a welcome reprieve!  I have to believe that Jesus allowed this all to happen to give Carlos and Diego a glimpse of Him here on earth.  They saw our love and concern for one another, they watched us interact, and they heard our stories - all in Callie's limited Spanish!  Eventually, our chief receptionist, Jay Swanson from Washington State, arrived in a land rover to bring us off the mountain.  It was a precarious journey down, although Jay said I did a nice job of "tossing the cookies" as no one else in the land rover heard me - and he didn't have to deal with residual tossing!  

Once on board the ship, I spoke with the captain who wanted to make sure I was all right, had a good friend from the Netherlands, Lia, come down and take care of me and find Matt supper, and I went to bed after sending out a prayer request that we would be able to leave as scheduled on Sunday.

Sunday, July 1  

As I hadn't thrown up for 15 hours, the nurse on call (a friend from Minnesota!) gave me anti-nausea pills for the trip home.  The ship doctor allowed me to travel - even though he was sure I had the bug that has been pursuing the ship for the past few weeks.  By 11:15 a.m., our cabin was mostly clean, our bags were packed, our papers were back together, and we were ready to roll, only to discover there had been a miscommunication between the head of transportation and the purser.  We didn't have a ride to the airport!  It eventually all got worked out, but we left 45 minutes later than what we had planned.  

We made our flight and as we were somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean on our way to Madrid, I turned to Matt and said, "I don't feel sick anymore."  Glory to God!

We were in Madrid as the UEAFA soccer tournament was played.  Spain won - Spain partied through the night - we tried to sleep.

Monday, July 2  

We survived long lines in the Madrid airport, a long layover in London, longer lines in the Chicago airport, and finally arrived home around 11:30 p.m. on Monday. 

Tuesday, July 3

The m/v Africa Mercy was put in to dry dock today in Gran Caneria.  Pray for the crew on board as they are currently living with out any air conditioning in a Canary Island heat wave.

W

  

Wednesday, July 4  

Like I stated earlier, we're home!  I'm not quite up to par - just feeling dizzy and tired, but not throwing up.  For that I'm grateful.  If I do have the ship virus, it will have to run it's course, but how pleasant it is to let it run from here!  Thanks for your part in our journey!