Thank you for joining me on my journey with Mercy Ships, an organization that uses hospital ships to bring hope and healing. This blog reflects my personal experience and perspective, and not the views and opinions of Mercy Ships. Thanks for reading!
Rainy skies, quirky old cars, and power lines. For some reason this view captured my attention.
The months leading up to Christmas could feel long at times, but I always knew that when January came, I could blink and it would be over. It's true that this ship wasn't built just to stay in the "Equipping" phase forever, but all the same I'm going to remember this season fondly.
Whether fine-tuning a logistical puzzle in a focus group or spending the weekend ticking off another wonderful hike in the Anaga mountains, I feel we've done our best to use this time well.
After my last update, in early December, the Africa Mercy pulled in to moor beside the Global Mercy in the Port of Granadilla after completing a 10-month field service in Dakar, Senegal. This was the second time this year that the two ships have been side-by-side, but it didn't feel any less surreal than the first. The crews of both ships gathered on the sterns, national flags and hand-written banners in hand. Cheers and chants were exchanged, and when the AFM gangway was finally lowered, many hugs were shared.
On the inside, both ships were already decorated for Christmas, and we spent the next month sharing events across the two--Santa Lucia was sung on the Africa Mercy, gingerbread houses on the Global Mercy. The Africa Mercy hosted the Christmas Eve service, and the next morning, was Christmas worship on the Global Mercy. Sinterklaas visited the children (and children at heart) on both ships.
Worship and devotions with the deck department
After taking two weeks off to visit visit some dear friends in Benin, I returned to the Global Mercy in mid-January and hit the ground running with the rest of the crew... Well, as fast as we could run, but there was a slight problem. Granted, we had been praying throughout the Equipping phase that if there were problems that could affect the operation of the Hospital, that they would surface in Tenerife so that they could be dealt with before the Hospital welcomed its first patients. But what arose in January was something nobody could have anticipated.
What I can share here is that Mercy Ships detected a threat to our network, and our IT team quickly responded. It took some time to do a thorough assessment, ensure our network is safe, and bring our systems back online. We are making good progress, but suffice it to say that it was pretty disruptive, and as a result January did not look at all like the smooth runway into the field service that we had imagined.
Lots of goodbyes were said in December and January leading up to our departure from Tenerife.
Among the more seasoned crew, there is a strong sense that there is more to the disturbance than just human evil. It's no surprise to us that the enemy of our souls would hate the "ships of help", as some patients in Senegal have called it. Just before we planned to bring the Global Mercy into service delivering hope and healing in a predominantly Muslim nation, there is bound to be unseen resistance.
"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."
1 Peter 5:8
Nobody could have predicted that particular challenge, but the good news is that at every turn, and with no small amount of sweat, our rebound seems to have gone better than anticipated, and we feel God's blessing in that.
Life rings signed by both crews were exchanged by the ships' Captains.
At long last, the crews celebrated one last night together with worship and prayers over each other, before departing our sweet island home and setting sail, both ships side by side, and headed south--the Global Mercy to Dakar, Senegal, and the Africa Mercy for shipyard in Durban, South Africa. The story of our startup is one for my next blog post, coming soon. :)
Thank you so much for reading and following along. Your prayers are heard and your support is felt tangibly!
Worship and prayer with the crew of the Africa Mercy, the night before our departure. In this picture, the AFM crew is in the center as the GLM crew prayed for them.
I'm leading a small group on board. This is my view during prep time!
Chelsea, who was in charge of the team responsible for hiring our 270+ Senegalese Day Crew, preparing for orientation.
Beds ready for the first patients!
In January, I got to help schedule and host a visit from our COO, Robert! He was so excited to connect with every crew member.
A rainy and lovely hike with old friends.
Exploring La Laguna, one of the first cities to be settled on Tenerife.
Watching the World Cup on board was as nail biting as you can imagine!
This week was a major milestone for Mercy Ships. On Saturday, the last patients were discharged from the hospital on the Africa Mercy in Dakar, marking the end of the first full field service since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Well done, AFM team!
Many crew who were on the Africa Mercy in the 2019-2020 field service remember a particular patient named Modou. His story was not memorable because he received surgery on the ship that year, but because he was one of the patients who did not.
Modou first came to Mercy Ships in 2019 with a condition affecting his ability to open his mouth, and consequently his ability to eat. He stayed at the HOPE Center for months, where he was on a special diet so that he could gain weight and be healthy enough to undergo his operation. Through all that time he spent waiting, Modou never stopped encouraging the other patients who would come and go, patients who arrived at the HOPE Center after him, and who would be admitted to the hospital before him.
The good news was, in 2020, Modou did reach his goal weight, and his surgery was scheduled! The bad news was that, before his surgery could take place, it had to be postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The premature end of the field service was difficult news to everyone on board at that time. But it was especially heartbreaking for patients like Modou, who had been waiting so long, had come so far, only to go back home without the physical transformation he desired, expected, and worked so hard for. That is a heavy burden to carry.
But God had not forgotten Modou, or any of the patients who were in that same situation, and neither had Mercy Ships. When the Africa Mercy was finally able to return to Senegal in 2022, the question was at the top of many crew's mind: What about the patients whose surgeries were cancelled in 2020? What about Modou?
The week that he was readmitted, my friends in Dakar texted me "Modou is back!" This time, nothing would stand in his way. The communications team was able to capture his admission day in photos.
You normally see a smile like this AFTER surgery!
Welcome back Modou!
I love this photo of the Pre-Operative team celebrating with Modou as he walked to the ship for his admission to the hospital! Many of them also worked with him in 2019-2020.
Just a few weeks ago, the entire Mercy Ships community celebrated the news that Modou was recovered after a successful surgery, and was headed home. For all the challenges and curveballs of the first post-COVID field service, patient send-offs like his are a very tangible reminder to the crew of why we are all here.
"Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time.
He has planted eternity in the human heart,
but even so, people cannot see
the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end."
-Ecclesiastes 3:11
Once again, the communications team was able to capture the special day when Modou left the hospital.
Jessica, the Clinical Dietician, saying goodbye to Modou, who she has looked after since 2019.
Take care, Modou!
Meanwhile in Tenerife, each week in the Equipping phase brings the Global Mercy one step closer to following in the AFM's footsteps. Now in November, the upcoming field service feels a little less far away and a little more "almost here"!
Several members of the Hospital team, on top of their daily work, had the idea to start offering weekly tours of the hospital space to the crew who wanted a closer look at the work taking place. This initiative has been of great interest not only to the newer crew, who may not have seen the hospital yet, but also to crew who saw the hospital looking shiny and new in Rotterdam, and might be wondering, how much work could really be left?
Each time I go down to the hospital and see all the work that is still ongoing, it is a tangible reminder of the purpose behind all the waiting. The hospital is not yet ready for field service, but they are hard at work down there to make sure that it will be! Some major projects have included installing copper piping that will transport medical gas to the operating room, and configuring the ceiling pendants--the pieces that hang down from the ceiling and provide lighting, storage and other essential functions during an operation.
The ongoing pendant work in OR 4
Copper piping stored in one of the wards and ready to install!
As we walked from room to room, Senior Radiology Technologist Martha said to the group, "Just imagine, in a few short months, these rooms will be filled with patients and their caregivers." So we imagined together, the admission waiting room humming with anxious anticipation, the rehab room alive with patients gaining back their physical strength, and the wards buzzing with nurses, chaplains, and doctors as they walk with patients and their caregivers on the road to healing. Despite the mountain of work that still stands between now and the first field service, I so appreciate that the hospital team took the time to invite crew to come in and share in the vision of what we will soon undertake as a ship.
"For since the world began,
no ear has heard and no eye has seen
a God like you,
who works for those who wait for him!"
-Isaiah 64:4
One of the wards, where beds are pulled away from the "bed head units" while they work on the wiring.
For its inaugural field service, the plan is for the Global Mercy to once again dock in Dakar, Senegal. Although it's unusual for Mercy Ships to operate in one location for such an extended period of time, the decision was made for a few reasons.
First, since it will be the first time the Global Mercy hospital will welcome patients for treatment, we're anticipating that there may be a few "hiccups" that don't surface until then. The hope is that operating the new ship in a familiar location will be an advantage in that regard.
Second, although 10 months is a pretty typical length of field service for Mercy Ships, that does not necessarily mean that there is no more surgical need at the end of that time! It's very common that we run out of space in our surgical schedule, but there are still patients in need of safe and affordable surgery, for whom there was simply not space. The extra time in Senegal will allow Mercy Ships to treat additional patients from within Senegal, but also from nearby countries, including the Gambia.
Until then, our focus turns first towards advent, Christmas, and the celebration of Emmanuel, God with us. Beyond that, our sights are set on Senegal, and we cannot wait to see what God will do through this team and this ship!
The Windmills admire a beautiful Granadilla sunset.
I'll admit that the past few months have been difficult to put into words. But hopefully in this update I can bring you up to speed on the highlights.
Besides being on a completely new ship, and everything that brings with it (more on that at the end of this post), one of the other major differences between 2020 and today is getting to enjoy much more freedom on our little island home! Far from being in lockdown, during our free time, the ship's crew can now come and go from the port, swim, hike, eat in restaurants, visit businesses, and explore the beautiful place that God provided for us more than two years ago, at a time when we had literally no where else to turn.
The natural beauty of Los Christianos, one of the beautiful coastal towns on Tenerife.
In June, the Global Mercy sailed from Tenerife down to Dakar to moor alongside her little big sister, the Africa Mercy, for one month. While there, we were able to welcome a number of Medical Capacity Building trainees into the hospital. This was a very significant milestone in the life of the Global Mercy--her first time in West Africa, supporting the local healthcare system by providing training to its professionals. Many of the crew had never been to Africa, and we could not have been more excited.
While the two ships were together, Mercy Ships hosted several African Presidents and Ministers of Health for a visit of the Global Mercy. It was an incredible honor to welcome these guests on board.
Following that visit, Mercy Ships had organized a very meaningful ceremony to symbolize theGlobal Mercy joining the Africa Mercy in service, and the crew of both ships were able to participate in the celebration. With a prayer and a vase of flowers smashed against the bow, the Global Mercy was christened.
After the christening, the senior leadership of each ship took turns carrying two torches, which themselves were beautifully and very thoughtfully crafted from pieces of previous ships in the Mercy Ships fleet. The first torch was lit and carried down the gangway of the Africa Mercy, across the dock, to light the second torch beside the gangway of the Global Mercy. In the background, the Academy students and members of the ship choir (called the Key of Sea!) led the crew in singing "This Little Light of Mine". You can watch a wonderful video of the torch lighting here!
Lead maxillo-facial surgeon Dr. Gary and AFM Managing Director Bernard participated in a torch-lighting ceremony to symbolize the GLM joining the AFM in service.
Looking back at the Africa Mercy as we sailed away from Dakar.
On the first of July, we waved goodbye to the Africa Mercy and set sail. A few days after arriving back in Tenerife, the third and final phase of Global Mercy equipping began. There are some major projects that need to be completed before the ship will be ready to receive patients for surgical care.
To give you a snapshot of what equipping looks like, I have a story to share. One week I noticed that the temperature of the water coming out of my faucet ranged from hot to steaming hot. I mentioned this to another crew member, who confirmed that this was definitely not normal, so I submitted a maintenance ticket. The next time I came down to deck 6, every plumbing cabinet in my hallway was open. Apparently I had unearthed an issue that spanned my entire neighborhood!
This is all just part of the territory when you're working on a newly-delivered ship! I am encouraged by the thought that every single problem that we solve now is a problem that we don't have to solve while also caring for patients in the hospital.
Most of the equipping work is concentrated in the hospital on decks 3 and 4. Up on deck 8, where I work, it could look like not much is changing. But there is an equally important mission that is harder to see. The ship community is establishing the culture on board. As we are figuring out "how we do things around here", we pray that God will give us wisdom to use this time well, and to establish momentum in the direction we want to walk. It's slow work, but deepening this community's roots can and will have generations of impact.
"If the root is holy, so are the branches." Romans 11:16
So while the crew are understandably eager to be back in West Africa, doing what the ship was designed to do, there is plenty of work to do between now and then.
To those that have prayed for good health for the crew, thank you--God has heard! We have had a number of COVID cases on board, which would be very hard to avoid in a ship environment, but none of the cases have been severe, for which we are very grateful.
To those that have prayed for safety, thank you--God has heard! In both our work and our play, the crew have stayed safe.
To those that have prayed for this new community on the Global Mercy, thank you--God has heard!
To those that have prayed for wisdom for how to do this work well, thank you--those prayers are always needed!
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