EBOLA

As you read what I've reblogged from Dr. Michelle, consultant anaesthetist aboard the Africa Mercy, do pray with us . . .

Mercy Ships made this public announcement a few days ago (August 8^th).  But things change rapidly and since then there have been several suspected cases of Ebola in Cotonou.

As our hospital ship, the Africa Mercy, prepares to leave for its ten-month mission to perform life-changing surgeries and train local healthcare professionals in Benin, West Africa, Mercy Ships continues to be acutely aware of the Ebola situation in the region. The organization is taking appropriate steps to protect its volunteers and staff. In April, Mercy Ships redirected its upcoming mission from Guinea to Benin out of caution for the safety of its crew. Benin has no reported cases of Ebola.

The Africa Mercy is the world’s largest civilian hospital ship, designed to operate as a surgical specialty hospital. It is not configured to provide the type of treatment required by Ebola patients. In addition to having changed its itinerary, Mercy Ships has also implemented strict travel restrictions to the affected areas and will continue to monitor the situation closely, making programmatic adjustments as needed.

Founder Don Stephens commented, “The well-being of our patients and dedicated crew is our greatest priority. It is fundamental to our continued service to the forgotten poor in Africa. Our prayers go out for the countries impacted by Ebola. These are places and people we know well because we have served them in multiple visits over more than two decades.”

Even if the suspected cases in Benin test negative, the threat remains real. We were due to set sail for Cotonou, Benin later this week but we have decided to postpone our departure for two weeks. Simultaneously we are making contingencies plans and praying for God to intervene and curb this epidemic.

For those of you who have been following Mercy Ships and/or Ebola, you will know the epidemic began in Guinea earlier this year, and rapidly spread to the neighboring countries of Liberia and Sierra Leone. Since then it has spread further through West Africa, where like Europe, travel across national borders for people from the region is easy. No visa’s are needed, the borders are porous. Although now there are reports of travel restrictions and various countries in the region have declared ‘state emergencies’.

Mercy Ships was originally planning to go to Guinea for ten months starting this august. But the Ebola outbreak in Guinea unfortunately meant we had to change plans at the last minute and divert to Benin. Last minute changes are a lot of work and our team currently in Benin has been working hard for the last four months building relationships and making everything ready for us to serve there. With confirmed cases of Ebola in Lagos, Nigeria approximately 2 hours away the possibility of confirmed cases in Cotonou is very real either now or in the future until this outbreak is under control. For those reading this who are intending to work with us in the next field service, know that crew safety is the highest priority for Mercy Ships.

The Ebola outbreak is unprecedented.

It is an extraordinary situation, and extraordinary situations require extraordinary solutions.  

So please pray for wisdom for me and the senior leaders of the organisation as we decide the best way forward.  The safety of our crew IS the priority. Our mission IS to follow the 2000 year old model of Jesus bringing help and healing to the forgotten poor. These two statements are not incompatible, even in the face of Ebola, and I will use all the skills that God has given me to ensure we do both to the highest level possible.

Have you ever wondered . . .

Will eternity be long enough?

. . . Long enough to find Abdell and hear about the children in her home orphanage
and to see if she had any of her own . . . 

. . . Long enough to find Samuel and discover what life brought to him and Uncle Allan . . .

. . . Long enough to talk with Osman and see what adventures he had with just one leg . . . 
 

These three are dear friends from Sierra Leone.  
Pray with me, not only them,
but also the people of Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria
as the deadly Ebola virus runs rampart.




"Most Holy God, watch over and protect your people."

Challenging CPR Challenge!

Today was a CPR first!  We were practicing how to help a person who is choking and the class paired up.  I had two ladies chose to be partners who were both so large that neither one could get their arms around the other so that they could do the abdominal thrusts!  Arg!

Happy 9th Birthday, Annie!

She's cool!

OKAY . . .

You know how there are things in life you just think, but would NEVER say because it just wouldn't be appropriate.  Well, check this re-blogged post, where the writer's name will remain unknown to you . . . It's probably just enough to know that I have shared these same thoughts while I was in Tenerife with the good ship!

There are definitely things that I would like to leave here and never see again. Like the flocks of people in their speedos. Speedos never have and never will be attractive. Or like people at the Airport that are far too ignorant to attempt to speak Spanish and when questioned can’t even tell you which airport they are at, and definitely can’t do so without swearing. Or like sitting on the beach and being surrounded by topless obese women in thongs. I have embraced it because it’s necessary but I would much rather be in Africa . . .

Summer Photo . . .

Marina, who's now working in HR on the ship, sent us this picture from our time in Texas . . .

She took it at our open house - note the partial "Welcome" behind Micah's shoulder and it's me with the kids on the big screen behind my shoulder!

Yeah, I can . . .

I touched base with one of our neighbors this week who's son is also a senior.  His son has already been accepted to two colleges and blah, blah, blah . . . When I told him Matt was considering going to the ship for a gap year, he said he'd never let Matt go - "Ebola!"  My God is bigger than that.  He's a lot like Mercy Ships Receptionist Kristen Jack's God.  Read on . . .

I’m a Seattle girl, and one of the hallmark traits of a Seattlite is that we speak our mind and share our opinions because what’s the worst that can happen; someone disagrees and then goes back to drinking their coffee or smoking their pot. My world doesn’t hinge on whether you agree with me or not, it hinges on whether I was authentic and spoke up when something was important to me.
Sitting here in Cotonou, Benin, a mere two hours from Lagos, Nigeria where another case of Ebola has been confirmed, this Seattle girl has something on her heart she wants to share:

My God is not a god of death and disease but of life and beauty. My God is bigger than fear, no matter how valid or logical. My God is not bound by borders nor confused by Ebola. My God is unpredictable and wild and my God loves in just the same way.

After monitoring the Ebola situation and evaluating the risk, Mercy Ships made the bittersweet call not to go to Guinea for our 2014-15 field service. So our team packed for Benin instead. Because of the short notice we heard a lot of, “Just do what you can, everyone will understand if something doesn’t get done.” But since we arrived in Benin we have watched as door after door was blown off the hinge for us and tasks were checked off that no one expected us to accomplish. And to that all I can say is God is for us and for this country. I believe this is a nation set apart and Mercy Ships has been brought here to play a part.
 
And because of that I refuse to believe that we have been preparing and speaking hope into people’s hearts just to pack up and leave before the first patient steps a foot on the gangway. I refuse to believe that all our connections and hard work were for nothing. I refuse to believe my God is that small.
But its still easy to succumb to fear, look around, there are plenty of reasons. We live in a broken world where planes are shot out of the sky, where earthquakes devastate entire communities and disease kills thousands. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel that twinge of fear in my gut when I read the news– over the next three weeks one of my primary tasks will have me at the international airport every couple days.

But I have to cling to truth and what some may call foolish trust. There have been two distinct times where logically and medically I should have died. But here I am, living and breathing and enjoying each day. I know intimately that God holds each day of mine and I can say with confidence God knows how my story will end. It doesn’t mean I throw caution to the wind and neglect preventative measures at all. It does mean that I will continue to do what I’m doing everyday and maybe use the hand sanitizer a bit more often.

But what really gets me is that, should Ebola cross the border into Benin, I can cash in my American citizen chips and go home. But my friends here aren’t so lucky. They have no golden ticket in the form of a blue passport. They have no choice but to face this. For one friend going home would be just as bad as staying here… Home is Guinea and Sierra Leone. But that’s an internal dilemma for another day…

At the end of the day, I work for an organization that I trust. I know our leaders evaluate well and I know they pray hard. I don’t envy the decision makers but I trust the decisions they make. They made the call to change our course from Guinea to Benin and they have continued to monitor the outbreak and will evaluate again. And because I trust them I will keep doing what I’m doing and praying big bold prayers.