The Dress Ceremony

In all my times aboard the good ship Mercy,

I was never able to attend a dress ceremony -

oh, but I wanted to!

To see and feel the joy of new life and hope . . .

read on -

Part of the Mercy Ships Obstetric Fistula Program includes the dress ceremony. This week onboard the Africa Mercy a dress ceremony was held for seven obstetric fistula patients celebrating their healing and new beginning!
What does a dress ceremony involve? Take a moment and envision the following…

From down the hall, the distant drums start to beat as the voices begin to sing out in celebration. Onboard the Africa Mercy, this is a day for celebration. Several women enter the hospital ward with their hands raised in celebration. Each one is dressed in bright fabric with fancy head-wraps and new jewelry. They each wear makeup, some for the first time in their lives. Today’s celebration is for them . . . because they have been healed.
The women share the emotional pain caused by their physical condition. As they stand up to give their testimonies, emotions are clearly written on their faces. Today marks a new day! Their strength and perseverance have finally carried them to the end of their suffering, and now they can let go of the past. It means they have the prospect of starting over and re-entering society. It is the start of a new life with delightful possibilities.
Joy wipes away their tears, and they dance out of the ward as they sing – a song of happiness, healing, and triumph that rings throughout the halls of the hospital. Each woman leaves the ship with her head held high in new-found confidence. It is her new beginning!

Obstetric fistula is an injury caused by obstructed labor. It causes a woman to continually leak urine, feces, or both. Sadly, these women are often shunned from society because of the smell resulting from their incontinence. In their culture, it is commonly believed that the physical problem is the result of a curse or a sin. Many of the women lose their husbands and families. They are completely cut off from society – alone and in despair.
Obstetric fistula awareness is important – it is a condition that could affect any woman in the world, but, with proper health care, it is preventable.
Healthcare is not easily accessible in many West African countries. In the western world, if the labor becomes obstructed, the mother is rushed into surgery for a caesarian section.
When it is time for obstetric fistula patients to be discharged and leave the ship, the women are given a monetary gift that will allow them to pay for an emergency caesarian section if one is needed in the future.
Healing takes courage, and these women are exploding with it!

HAPPY 25th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!!!

That's right!

Sam and I were married twenty-five years ago today

in a snowstorm!

It was a miracle!

This morning when Sarah brought her four-year-old daughter to swimming lessons, it was obvious she had had her baby - little Alexander!  When she told us her story, it was obviously a miracle.  Her husband is in the Marines on a ship somewhere in the world.  She had e-mailed him last Thursday that the baby was coming, but with no response, she contacted the American Red Cross in order to have them contact him.  While talking to the Red Cross (and in labor in the hospital), she noticed an unknown number calling her.  She thought it might be the hub, so she hung up on the Red Cross and took the call.  She was all excited - it was her husband!  Her first question was, "Did you get my e-mail?"  Unfortunately, he had not, but he had called to say that they were going on thirty days "no communication".  Only God could have orchestrated that perfect timing.  Her husband was able to call a few more times while Sarah was in labor and he definitely knows he has a son!  Truly a miracle!

It's a girl!

The Mercy Ships family is growing… 
 
In July 2017, the Africa Mercy is going to get a little sister. And by little, I mean a casual 570 foot-long by 95 ft. wide, 37,000-ton bundle of joy.

The new ship will have two hospital decks and it will be able to hold up to 950 people total when in port. 

Shall we sail?

Step by Step to a Brighter Future . . .

The plane’s shadow followed the trail of the Congo River to the wide Atlantic – to the ship, they said, that offered free surgery. Vivianne held tightly to the two government-purchased travel tickets as she prayed for her wide-eyed, beautiful daughter, Ravette, who sat beside her and stared out the window with fascination.

Maybe, just maybe, the ship would save Ravette. And, in the process, it would save Vivianne, too.
The two have travelled light. They left much behind – the disappointment over the lack of medical care; the brutal breaking of Ravette’s legs by the traditional medicine man; the lifelong ridicule; the helplessness; the hopelessness – all of this was too heavy to pack.

Ravette has lived her eleven years of life with a deformity known as genu recurvatum, which loosely translates as “backward-bending knee.” It is a congenital dislocation of the knee. Ravette struggled to walk, to sit in a car or chair, to climb a staircase, and even to attend school.

The most remarkable thing about Ravette is not her deformity. It is her beautiful, ever-constant smile. No matter what goes on, even if it’s painful or tedious, Ravette is always smiling.

This glowing smile illuminated her face when she met Dr. Frank Haydon, a Mercy Ships volunteer orthopedic surgeon from the United States. Dr. Frank smiled back as he cast an expert eye over her legs and made his assessment: “At this age, the knees are now deformed and won’t bend normally, but we can make them straight.”

Ravette and Vivianne were shown before-and-after images of a boy named Abel, who came to the ship during the Togo field service. Abel had the same severe case of genu recurvatum. They watched a video of Abel walking down a hallway with straight legs. “It was then that I believed my daughter could really be saved,” said Vivianne.

Prior to surgery, Ravette’s legs were placed in the first of a series of specialty orthopedic casts that would gradually stretch her legs. This process would increase the bendability in her soon-to-be-straightened legs.

Surgery has since come and gone for Ravette. Hobbling around the wards with her crutches, she is always finding ways to have fun. Whether she’s playing with the Paint program on an old computer or mimicking her crew friends’ English in a singsong voice – “I’m fine, ow are yooouu?” – she creates smiles and laughter.

There are many more steps ahead on Ravette’s road to recovery. Gradually and progressively, casts and braces will be removed until the bones are strong enough for Ravette to walk with straight legs and no assistance.

You may be wondering what’s next for Ravette and her mother as they board another plane to go home. Ravette is clear about her plans for the future, as she states firmly, “I want to find a job in an office working on a computer. I will be a boss!”
And then she adds, “But, first, I will tell other people who suffer to come on the ship to be saved like me.”

Her mother smiles and replies, “Yes, and so they can be saved like me, too.”
Yes, step by step, cast by cast, Ravette is making her way to a brighter future.

Story by Grace Antonini
Edited by Nancy Predaina
Photos by Michelle Murrey, Catherine Murphy and Josh Callow

Did you know . . .

That as of February 15, 2014 (taken from the "Africa Mercy Programs Projects Progress Report" - our friend Keith is in charge of the AFM Programs Department), there have been...

• 547 pairs of reading glasses distributed
• Over 800 participants in Leadership Conferences
• 1093 individual counseling sessions by our Hospital Chaplaincy Team
• 367 participants in Health Care Education Courses
• 25 participants in a Mid-Wife Course
• 4,179 patients at the Dental Clinic
• 26 participants in Various Mentoring programs (Ward Nurses, OR Nurses, Sterilization, Anesthesia, Surgeons)
• 347 bibles distributed

Let's go for a visit!

 

A smile breaks all language barriers

Peek-a-boo!

Minne-snow-ta!

Last weekend after another ten inches of snow, Micah went out and took the following pictures.  Enjoy!

Annie loves the snow most!

Gateway to Narnia!