Where else but Sand Creek Adventures can you spend an afternoon with two pharmacists from HCMC on the high ropes course and then send them down the zip line? Or laugh with a family from Shakopee on the low ropes course during pouring rain because everyone's phone app says it's not raining?!? And seriously, anywhere you look - there are blue skies, except overhead because it is truly a soaking rain! Only at Sand Creek can you spend a day with not one, but two bridal parties, at two totally different times and have fun with both! And, of course, at Sand Creek you might just find someone from Iowa who works with someone from your home town! And to think they pay me to be there . . . absolutely awesome!
Some days it is just so nice to be thankful for the little things . . . like meeting a set of twins named "Winter" and "Storm" at Sand Creek yesterday. I'll bet you can guess when they were born! Obviously during a winter storm . . . Or - seriously - being the ONLY person in the lap pool this morning when I arrived at the Y! Of course, that didn't last and I ended up sharing a lane somewhere on my second mile . . . but what a great way to start the day! Or thankful for a husband and daughter who helped me clean this morning - what will I do when they go back to school? Or maybe I'm most thankful that I have today and tomorrow off of work and it's not beastly hot! Glory!
Lord, we have seen the rising sun, awakening the early dawn
And we're rising up to give You praise
Lord, we have seen the stars and moon, see how they shine
They shine for You and You're calling us to do the same
So we rise up with a song
And we rise up with a cry
And we're giving You our lives
We will shine like stars in the universe
Holding out Your truth in the darkest place
We'll be living for Your glory
Jesus we'll be living for Your glory
We will burn so bright with Your praise O God
And declare Your light to this broken world
We'll be living for Your glory
Jesus we'll be living for Your glory
Like the sun so radiantly, sending light for all to see
Let Your holy church arise
Exploding into life like a Supernova's light
Set Your holy church on fire
Like the sun so radiantly, sending light for all to see
Let Your holy church arise
Exploding into life like a Supernova's light
Set Your holy church on fire, we will shine, yeah, we will shine
We will shine like stars in the universe
Holding out Your truth in the darkest place
We'll be living for Your glory
All our days Jesus we'll be living for Your glory, oh
We will burn so bright with Your praise O God
And declare Your light to this broken world
We'll be living for Your glory
Jesus we'll be living for Your glory, oh
So we rise up with a song
And we rise up with a cry
And we're giving You our lives
Jesus we'll shine
It is indeed a thankful Thursday when you are able to schedule your daughter's wisdom teeth extraction knowing that insurance will cover it in full. And, it is indeed a thankful Thursday when your doctor decides that PT is the best option for your daughter's knee rather than surgery. Indeed it is a thankful Thursday when your son announces that he has an interview to be a head guard at the Y on Monday morning. And indeed, the most thankful thing this Thursday, is having spent a week at Vacation Bible School in the "Hall of Truth and Justice" with your husband and daughter, starring your hub Sam as the "Prophet Samuel" . . .
Every year on 18 July — the day Nelson Mandela was born — the UN joins a
call by the Nelson Mandela Foundation to devote 67 minutes of time –
one minute for every year of Mr. Mandela’s public service – to helping
others, as a way to mark Nelson Mandela International Day. Our
volunteers, of course, dedicate more than 67 minutes of their time to
serve others but as we honor the service of all who are called to work
with Mercy Ships we take a moment to honor Nelson Mandela and express
gratitude for his endorsement of Mercy Ships in its desire to bring hope
and healing to those who most need it in Africa. One patient at a time,
one procedure at a time, one smile at a time- we do indeed hope to make
this world a better place.
“I applaud Mercy Ships in their
efforts of transformational development as they make a lasting
difference in a world of need. Mercy Ships has committed themselves to
the vision of an African renaissance in their vision of bringing hope
and healing to the continent of Africa. … I salute the vision and
mission of Mercy Ships and ask that you join me in supporting their
noble work and contribute to make this world a better place.”
- the late Nelson Mandela, Former President, South Africa.
Today's post is reblogged from "Through My Porthole". Enjoy!
If there was a collective noun for people healed from goitres,
it would have to be a chatter. Imagine having a huge growth on your
neck that effected your breathing, your speech, and the way people
treated you. Now imagine the growth disappearing within hours, with
little evidence remaining that it was ever there. Here is Lalao’s story.
Lalao’s and her husband struggle to make ends meet. Five of their six
children live in with them in one-room in Madagascar’s capital city.
Lalao’s husband travels to work on a rice farm, and Lalao helped support
their family by working in a small local eatery.
She gasped for breath. Pic J. Forrest
Their financial challenges increased 13 years ago when Lalao noticed a
lump in her neck. As time passed, the growth increased in size. Despite
the scarf she wore to cover her throat, the café owner dismissed her
appearance would disturb his customers. “That left me in a difficult
situation,” she shares.
The ever-cheerful Lalao set her hands to work at whatever came her
way; washing clothes by hand, toiling in the fields – earning less than
one dollar a day. Exertion made it difficult for her to breathe.
As the swelling at the front of Lalao’s neck grew, so did her
anxiety. Sometimes she awoke during the night choking and gasping for
breath. “It affected my breathing, in the beginning that was
frightening!” she recalls. “If I lay flat my breathing was blocked. I
had to make sure my head was upright, and I woke two or three times
every night.”
A friend received a text message alert advertising that Mercy Ships
was screening patients for problems like hers, so Lalao went along. She
received both a diagnosis and a solution.
Lalao & Serafine; a friendship forged through adversity. Pic K. Keegan
Mercy Ships could remove her goitre, but it requires pre-operative
monitoring of hormone and blood levels. So Lalao and half a dozen other
goitre patients would make the trip to the hospital ship on the coast
every month to have their check-ups. This made it impossible for Lalao
to hold down regular work. Reaching the goitre clinic involved six,
nine-hour return bus trips for Lalao, and the family’s finances were
stretched to a critical level. “I had to travel so many times, and it
costs a lot,” explains Lalao. “It was really difficult to lose my job
and the money. It was hard for my family to pay for my travel. I did any
work I could get just to help.” She even borrowed from her neighbours
who encouraged her to continue with her treatment.
When her surgical date finally came, Lalao sold the last four family
chickens and bought a bus ticket to take her once again to the Africa Mercy.
Lalao looking awesome a few days after surgery. Pic Justine Forrest
Lalao’s transformation was immediate and complete. Surgery was a gift
that removed the goitre which had plagued her for 13 years. “I feel
really free!” she declares. “ I don’t need that scarf (to hide my neck)
any more. I will give to my mother!”
This Thursday I am thankful that God still speaks to us today, whether through His Word, His people, dreams, visions, strangers . . . He speaks. Let me share just two talks from today:
On our way to Micah's 2:00 p.m. dental appointment, I felt that God nudge to talk to her about getting her wisdom teeth out, what it entailed and why it may happen. Sure enough, less than five minutes in to her appointment, our dentist shared with Micah that she needed to get her wisdom teeth out. No worries . . .
On our way to Micah's 3:40 p.m. doctor's appointment, she shared with me that she had had a dream last night that she was going to have surgery, so we talked about that and how sometimes God speaks to us through dreams and visions - or not. Now this took a lot longer than five minutes - can you say "running an hour late"? - but our doctor believes Micah may have a torn meniscus root her in right knee. It's pretty rare, so he is consulting with another doctor and her two options will be physical therapy or surgery. If it is surgery, it will same day surgery but recovery will require six weeks on crutches, not using her knee. Yet she remained calm and at peace because . . . God speaks!
County Road 8 east of Highway 13 was closed last week for construction, so I took 185th Street/Eagle Creek to Highway 13 on my way to work at Sand Creek this morning. Being a bit adventurous on the way home, I decided to follow the eastbound County Road 8 detour off of Highway 13. When the detour went south, County Road 10 went north so I took it north knowing that I had to go north to get home! I kept thinking sooner or later, I'm going to hit 185th Street - only I didn't! Nope, I circled around and ended up back on Highway 13 - about 5 miles north of where I had gotten off! My sense of adventure squelched, I took Highway 13 to 185th Street and home!
I knew the clocks at Black Hawk Middle School in Eagan ran five minutes fast so I got there at 5:24 p.m. last night to teach CPR. Only CPR wasn't at Black Hawk - it was at Falcon Ridge, so I was about 20 minutes late for class last night! Oops!
an unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage or injury.
Heidi, Micah, Annie (the dog) and I went to Cleary Lake yesterday. Heidi and I were on our roller blades, Micah was on her bike, and I had Annie on her leash. We had made it half way around the trail and had stopped at the wooden bridge so Annie could get a drink from the creek. Somehow, I rolled backwards down the bridge, my wheels caught in a groove, I fell on my bum, and cracked my head against the pavement - with absolutely no help from the dog! I saw a few stars and now have a rather large lump on the back of my head. Can you say ice and rest for today? (And quite possibly a mild concussion . . . arg!)
Today's post is reblogged from "Through My Porthole". What a life-change for a lovely young woman!
Muriella stood in a queue of more than a thousand people with
growths, injuries and disabilities – all hoping Mercy Ships could offer
help they needed but couldn’t afford. At first glance Muriella didn’t
seem to fit, but as soon as she turned and the right side of her face
became visible, the reason she was seeking surgery became obvious.
She was ridiculed about the growth on her face. Pic Ruben Plomp
A decade ago, a cyst began to develop inside Muriella’s cheek.
Initially, she was not concerned about the small lump, but it continued
to grow. Eventually, the tennis ball-sized growth made her the unwilling
center of attention. Muriella was subjected to mockery from the very
people she used to hang out with, and her teenage insecurity was exposed
for all to see.
As the lump increased in size, it relentlessly forced her cheek
outward. Going to high school became more and more traumatic for
Muriella. In fact, she changed schools twice in three years because her
classmates did not want to sit next to her or have anything to do with
her. When she came home after school, sometimes she would cry as she
prepared dinner for her sisters and her mother.
The family struggles to make ends meet since Muriella’s dad passed
away. Her mother works long hours in a factory to support her three
daughters and to pay for them to go to school. They live in a small
upstairs apartment with two rooms.
Muriella has big dreams. Pic Ruben Plomp
Muriella is a dedicated student, and she nurtures a dream to study
law. She is determined to advocate for the poor who are imprisoned and
cannot afford legal representation. Her passion is to see justice
provided for the defenseless.
But the relentless growth and the emotional issues it caused were
reflected in Muriella failing important exams. Her hopes and dreams for
the future were shattered. But even this was insignificant in comparison
to the fear of what would happen to her if the facial tumor continued
to grow.
An Australian nurse first encountered Muriella at the patient
screening as she lined up in the early morning hours with hundreds of
others, all seeking help. Naomi recalls the moment she told Muriella the
longed-for news: that the Mercy Ships crew would provide a free surgery
to remove her cyst. It seemed as though a little bit of life was
instantly breathed back into Muriella. She now clung to her hopes that
had previously seemed hollow.
A new chapter of Muriella’s life began as she and her mother traveled
to the coast to the hospital ship. Surgeons examined Muriella and
reassured her, “We’re going to help you, so you can go back to school.”
A week later, after a CAT scan and a multitude of testing onboard the Africa Mercy,
Muriella walked to the operating room to receive her free surgery.
Nervous but excited, she realized this was going to change all her
tomorrows.
She wants to be a voice for the voiceless. Pic Katie Keegan
The transformation in Muriella was dramatic and immediate. After the
surgery she was eager to go back to school. Now she looked like everyone
else. A light-hearted side of her personality that had been hidden for
so long began to emerge.
Through a relatively small procedure, Muriella’s life story changed.
She is beginning a new chapter full of hopes and dreams she can pursue.
Once again, Muriella is ready to sit her exams for university. She is
empowered to follow her vision to advocate for those who are treated
unequally. Muriella’s healing can become a gift to many. Her own painful
journey is enabling her to be a more compassionate a voice for
Madagascar’s voiceless poor.
Today I'm thankful for a good day with my dad down in Iowa, followed by a late supper at Culver's with Matt. I'm especially thankful for Tim, sitting in the booth next to us, who asked us why Micah had on a Mercy Ships t-shirt - only to discover his wife had been an Anastasis kid long before we had ever heard of the Ana! It was quite a lovely and laugh filled conversation!
Who would have thought Rudy's Red Eyed Grille would be closed on the Fourth of July? Certainly not us! So we went out for lunch yesterday - and we have enough left on the gift card that we can go again! Again, thank you Gabe and family!
After so many summers of not being in the States to celebrate the 4th of July, the family decided yesterday to NOT do anything special today. Matt's currently at the Y being paid time and a half - which left Sam and I FREE to celebrate meeting for the first time 29 years ago today while serving as staff at Eagle Lake Camp in Colorado Springs, Colorado! Thanks, Gabe (one of Sam's students), for providing lunch at Rudy's!
Today's post is reblogged from "Through My Porthole." Enjoy!
Teenage Isabelle’s consenting adult on the hospital ship was
her older sister. The ship’s medical team works hard to ensure all our
patients give informed consent for all treatment, however Isabelle and her sister never really grasped how close she came in ‘dodging a bullet’.
Isabelle lives in a small village in the mountainous centre of
Madagascar’s far north. The surrounding harsh terrain makes the area
almost inaccessible, especially during the wet season when the dirt
roads become mires of red mud.
The 13-year-old loves her village life, and her favourite thing to do
is to go on walks with her little sister and her best friend.
In their village there is no doctor and no clinic. So when Isabelle’s
face began to hurt and swell a year ago, there was no one to turn to
for advice. “I had a toothache, and I thought it was my tooth swelling.
But it kept getting bigger and bigger, and it didn’t stop!” she
declares.
Isabelle thought her tumour was a ‘bad tooth’ Pic Mercy Ships
As the side of her face become more and more distended, life began to
change for Isabelle. She was banned from school when her teacher told
her, “You cannot come here because of your face.” Isabelle suffered hurt
from every side. “Some people in my village were rejecting me, telling
me ‘Don’t come near! I don’t want your disease! I was afraid and was
praying to God asking, what is this problem? Why is it growing?” It
seemed like there were no answers for Isabelle, only painful questions.
Each evening in their small mud-and-thatch hut, Isabelle’s family
they roll their sleeping mats out on the hard-packed earth floor. They
huddle together and listen to radio broadcasts- a life-line for the
isolated community.
Isabelle in the ship’s ward. Pic Ruben Plomp
One night Isabelle heard something on that radio that completely
altered her future. She recounts, “It said, ‘Those who have diseases
Mercy Ships is doing free surgery. Don’t hesitate to come.” As her
father was away and her mother had just delivered a little sister,
Isabelle and her older brother set off for the Mercy Ships patient
screening day they had heard about on the broadcast. The siblings
walked for two days on the muddy road, stopping at villages for food,
water and shelter along the way. When they got close to the city, they
were able to catch a bus for the remaining half-day’s travel. The
arduous journey proved worth their effort. The rapidly growing tumor on
Isabelle face was examined at the patient screening location and they
were given a date to arrive at the Mercy Ship for free surgery to remove
the tumor. This time, her big sister accompanied her as she traveled
from the middle of the island down to the coast. Isabelle caught her
first glimpse of the ocean – and of the hospital ship that would change
her life.
A month after she was first examined, Isabelle received her free
surgery. Dr Gary explained the challenging decision-making process he
and another surgeon went through. Because Isabelle was at the cusp of
puberty, they were able to do a radical operation that would ensure the
expanding yet benign tumor was completely removed from her face.
The visible swelling that caused so much ridicule for Isabelle in her
village was only a third of the size of the growth. The developing
tumor relentlessly pushed up behind her eye, back into her cranial
cavity, and was embedded in the right side of her upper jaw. Isabelle
and her family were unaware that without specialised surgery, her
expanding facial deformity could cause at least the loss of vision in
her right eye.
The volunteer surgeons conducted a series of complex operations for
Isabelle that removed the tumor, and every piece of bone that it had
begun to devour. With bone and muscle grafts from her skull they
carefully reconstructed her face. They rebuilt the right half of her
upper jaw, they restructured her cheek bone and eye socket, remodeled
the side of her nose. They transferred muscle to restore her cheek and
complete her nose, and skin from her abdomen to her head. When she awoke
from surgery, Isabelle looked remarkable.
Isabelle ready for home. Pic Deb Louden
Just two weeks after surgery Isabelle was ready to head for home. Her
sister said their parents would be delighted to know ‘the swelling’ is
gone for ever. The girls never really understood the nature and
potential implications of Isabelle’s hungry tumour, even after the team
worked hard to explain. But that’s OK. I think they were mercifully
oblivious.
Isabelle was full of stories about the ocean and having her finger
nails painted. She had a handful of photos after having her picture
taken for the very first time. The source of her ridicule was removed,
and in typical child-likeness she was obvious that her vision (and more)
had been saved. Isabelle was focused on seeing her Mama, and getting
back to the serious childhood business of taking long countryside walks
with her friends.
Where else but Sand Creek Adventures can you spend an afternoon with two pharmacists from HCMC on the high ropes course and then send them down the zip line? Or laugh with a family from Shakopee on the low ropes course during pouring rain because everyone's phone app says it's not raining?!? And seriously, anywhere you look - there are blue skies, except overhead because it is truly a soaking rain! Only at Sand Creek can you spend a day with not one, but two bridal parties, at two totally different times and have fun with both! And, of course, at Sand Creek you might just find someone from Iowa who works with someone from your home town! And to think they pay me to be there . . . absolutely awesome!
