Life in an African Village

WOW! I am not sure quite where to start…I feel as if I have gone from one distant world to another. Daily I have to remind myself that I am NOT at a State fair exhibit.
I have been staying in 3 different places in rural, Central Ghana. Kirk and Christine move between 2 small villages and one small town. Monday through Thursday Christine and I are in the smallest village, about 50 people, and this is where we are trying to be teachers! Hmm…I never wanted to be a teacher but for some reason God thinks I can be and I am really enjoying it. We also are faced with any injury or illness that comes up. My nursing skills here are quite limited here. I have no idea of the cultural and natural treatments that they use and there is no local Osco to run to. Christine has been here long enough that she has seen a lot of the tropical diseases and knows how to diagnoses and treat. I am learning a lot from her.
As a teacher I am Sister Abena Dara. I am curtsied to and when I call on the students they stand next to their desk to give me their answers:) They are a VERY respectful culture. Today as I was teaching a chicken walked through the classroom and I wanted to stop to laugh and the kids didn’t even realize it! There were also chickens in the tree- they didn’t notice this either.
I am eating a lot of African food (with my hands), bathing outside with rain water, washing my clothes by hand and sleeping under a mosquito net. It has all been quite humbling- relearning how to bath, eat, cook- everything. Kirk and Christine are very patient and have been fabulous!
From Friday to Sunday afternoon we are between another small village which is more peaceful and just a place to relax. And their other home is in a small city where they can buy things for the week from the market and there we can also catch up on emails. The electricity is on about half the time so we try to plan our errands depending if it “lights on” and “water on”.
I am really enjoying being part of this culture and getting to know what gets them out of bed in the morning. I can clearly see the impact Kirk and Christine are making by becoming part of these people.
Again, there is so much to learn from these children. I wish you could all hear them pray in the mornings. One student from the class gets up in front of the room and leads them in prayer and then all the children pray at once. And they PRAY- from the bottom of their hearts they pray! They know that without God they have nothing. He is their provider and sustainer and they believe it! I am seeing a living example of child like faith! I have seen a true example of Matthew 18:1-5…
“I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.”
That is all for now. I will have many stores and pictures to show when I get home!
Also, please pray for me to get and stay healthy. I have been sick with a fever for the last 3 days which has kept me in bed. We are not sure what it is, nothing serious but enough to be miserable. So I want to be healthy and well to be ready to teach again on Monday. Miss everyone!!

Ghana

I just wanted to let you all know I arrived safely in Ghana. Although, there is no bus to my destination today so I am spending another night in Accra with Kirk and Christine's friends. Please pray that I will be able to be on my way tomorrow. I only have 5 minutes left on this computer at the internet cafe so this will be brief. Ghana is very different from Liberia- much more prosperous.
Alright, sorry so brief. Please be praying for me. Pray for disernment and strength to live this lifestyle. It is going to be a real adventure!

"Report to your cabin to remove your belongings!!!"

Friday night was quite an adventure here on the Anastasis! We had a Scottish dance (Ceildh) on the aft deck! It was great fun! One of the crew members did a little instruction and then we had an opportunity to put our skills into action. We were all having a grand ol' time when their was a overhead page saying, "Duty plumber please report to C1." Interesting we all thought- one of the toilets must be overflowing again. Not much was thought of it and we continued dancing. Not long later we heard, "All deck hands please report to C1." Hmm...now we are all thinking this must be a little bigger than an overflowing toilet. This still didn't stop us- we kept dancing! But then the announcement came stating- "Anyone living in C1 please report to your cabin to retrieve your belongings!" Oh, gosh, I thought...that is my area- what is going on??? So myself and my roommates and the few others living in my area take off running to see what is going on! It was quite exciting actually- racing down the hallways of the ship going to see just what is going on. As I got closer to the steps down to C1 (my area of the ship) I heard water running. Not water like the shower got left on, WATER! Like a waterfall! As I saw the steps water was pouring down the stairs. So we sloshed down the steps to find about 6 inches of water in the hallway to my room. Thankfully there is a bit of a ledge into the rooms so the water wasn't that deep in my room yet. More importantly someone had already gotten in my room and removed my PACKED suitcase from near the doorway! Praise God for that- that could have been a huge mess! Needless to say the next hour or so consisted of a chaotic assembly line of filling buckets of water, passing them up the steps and dumping them overboard as the deckhands ran around trying to manage the water supply and set up pumps. Thankfully nothing was damaged and the whole mess was just an error of not containing one of the water tanks properly. It was a wonderful experience actually- everyone working together and getting things done! It felt a bit like a scene from The Titanic- dancing, loving life quickly turning into a panic of rushing water! At one point I did hear someone ask, "are we going to sink??" Hardly! but it was surely not an experience many people have had!

So, that was the climax of my time here on Mercy Ships. My flight to Ghana was cancelled yesterday so now I hope to leave here today. I will be leaving the ship in just a couple hours. I am excited to go to Ghana but also really sad to leave what I have experienced here and the WONDERFUL people I have met. I better get going. I don't know when I will be back on my blog but I will write as soon as I can and let you know what is in store for me in Ghana. Blessing!!!

Moving on

"Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare." Psalm 40: 5

My days here on Mercy Ships are coming to an end. I am sad to leave, grateful for my experience and excited for my next journey. Please be praying for me as I leave Monrovia on Sunday. Please pray for my travels- the weather, that my flights will not be delayed or cancelled and for God to continue to guide and direct my life. Also, that I will be open and willing to hear what the Lord wants to teach me and use me over the next 5 weeks in Ghana.
These are my travel plans:
May 13: Fly from Monrovia to Accra
May 14: Bus trip to Dunkwa-on-Offin to join Kirk and Christine
June 15: Fly back to Monrovia
June 15-18: Stay on the Africa Mercy
June 18: Fly to London to spend a few days with Adriel
June 25: Back to Phoenix
Traveling here in West Africa can be very challenging so pray I will be patient and flexible if/when things do not go as I have arranged.
I am sorry that I cannot send a personal email back to all of you who have been so faithful at emailing me. I will do what I can over the next couple days before I go. I will try to put updates on my blog while I am in Ghana but I do not know how regularily I will be able to.
A couple weeks ago as I was sitting with a patient and he was reading aloud Psalm 27 (which I have clung to as I prepared to come to Liberia and have returned to many times since I have been here) I was reminded how God hands have been blessing this experience. I would not have been able to do this if it hadn't been for all of your finacial and prayer support. Many times when I have had these "moments" with patients or been at an orphage or out in the city I have thought of all of you who have been just as influencial in this mission. I just happen to be the fortunate one who gets to be here really seeing, hearing and feeling God's presence. Each of you- whether you have prayed, financial supported, called, emailed, sent packages, encouraged me before I left- you are all serving the Lord and reaching out to the lost and forgotten, just as He has called us to do. Let us not be living complacent lives but keep on going to the nations as Jesus has asked. "There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in the land." Deuteronomy 15: 11
I praise the Lord for how blessed I am to have so much support! Thank you for all you are doing for me and being a part of this journey!

Ducor Palace

Good morning! Here are a few more pictures. If you look on the top picture the big building on top of the hill is called the Ducor Palace. It once was a 5 star hotel- a paradise vacation spot. During the war, like everything, it was taken over by Charles Taylor and later taken over by the people from the villages that fled to Monrovia to escape the genocide that was happening inland, in the villages. Until recently, when the current President ordered eviction from Ducor, there were around 2,000 "squatters" living in the hotel. As you can see in the second picture it was a gorgeous place but now it is a smelly health hazard. The views from the top of the hotel are amazing. I met the caretaker who has lived there 30 years. I can't imagine what he has seen. This place has gone from a executive get-away, through war, to a hideout for refugees. Now it has been bought by the Lebanese with hopes to refurnish it or rebuild. Most of the new businesses and prosperity here is being lead by the Lebanese. This is yet another sad story of what human corruption and deception can and does do- yet in the midst of it all, there is hope. These people have hope! Psalm 42 is a great example of hope and it concludes with this..."Why are you so downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your HOPE in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God." We are praising God here in Liberia. In the midst of heartache there is hope that is very evident here. No one can take that away! As long as there is hope there is reason to keep on keeping on...

Bong Mines

Yesterday I went on a train ride outside of Monrovia to the Bong mines. It was wonderfully fun! The end of our 40 mile train ride (2 1/2 hours) was at an old iron ore mine that was shut down during the war. Apparently the train still runs up there 6 days a week. We did haul back a couple cars of gravel but I question the benefits of running this route! The man who runs the train has been gracious enough to allow a group from Mercy Ships to go every other weekend. So, we drove 2 of the Land Rovers onto a flat bed train car- some people then road in the passenger car and the rest of us rode on top of the Land Rovers, yes on top:) It was beautiful. It was so nice to get out of the city and see the country side. I guess I am not sure what they call it- jungle side maybe?:) It is magnificent! So green and lush. The villages were incredible and the children came running to the tracks waving and hollaring! It was precious. I have so many pictures I can't wait to share. These are just a few I took from the train. The first one is at the lake where we swam near the mines. Moira is my wonderful roommate from Scottland. She keeps me laughing and teaching me new phrases! The children were some that came running to greet us when we stopped at one of the villages. It continues to become increasingly more evident the heart for children that God has given me! They just melt my heart! The next picture are men shopping out of a wheelbarrow. You can buy anything you need out of a wheelbarrow here in Monrovia. It is quite fasinating actually! Then the last picture is just some women doing their thing! Such beautiful people!
I also had a fasinating day today but I will have to write about that tomorrow I am off to bed! Sorry so brief...Blessings!

Jesus Loves the Little Children

Last night I was walking back to my cabin when I spotted a couple of the pediatric patients that were hanging out outside one of the ward bathroom- creating mischief I am sure. I stopped and chatted with them for a little while. Chris and James have been on the ship about 6 weeks. They have both stolen a little bit of our hearts. They both had surgeries and skin grafts to release burn contractures that they endured as a result of the open fire that is commonly used here in Liberia for all their cooking. They are both leaving tomorrow on a Red Cross flight that is taking them back "up land" to their homes.
Chris was wiggling all around on my lap, blabbing about something when suddenly he started to rub his forearm all over my forearm. I wondered what he was doing. When I asked him, "Hey Chris, what are you doing?" He responded, "I am trying to make you brown!"
Oh, the words of a child!
Red, yellow, black and white they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world!