The Great Interruption

Do you see the nativity scene? I was amazed!

Warmest greetings from the Global Mercy! So far in Sierra Leone, over 500 patients have already received life-changing surgery, and the OR is now taking a break for the holidays. On board we celebrated with many Mercy Ships traditions, involving lots of music, a variety show, and an amazing Christmas meal. 

One of my friends set up a holiday photo booth!

The Christmas worship team!

While there is lots of joy, many crew will tell you that Christmas on the ship brings lots of activity, and--who put that wall there? I didn't see it coming, but suddenly I hit it. "A Geography of Time" by Robert Levine uses the phrase "hurry sickness" to describe the consequences of fast-paced living--difficulty focusing on the present, and loss of interest in activities that are not traditionally considered "productive".

On Christmas morning, we had a worship service. The speaker said we are sometimes quick to get frustrated when our plans get interrupted (eh-hem, especially when we are hurrying through said plans). But the interruptions are often where God is at work, and whenever he works, we can be assured that it will be incredible. After all, God has an epic plan to heal the world.

When you think about it, that's kind of what happened at Christmas--what an incredible interruption! Can you imagine receiving the news that Mary got when the angel first visited her?

But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

-Luke 1:30

That would be a lot to take in! Giving birth to a never-ending kingdom? Oh boy, talk about pressure. What thoughts and fears could have gone through Mary's head? Plans for a normal marriage would have been shattered--if she could still get married at all. 

Was there a part of her that felt loss, with this new direction her life suddenly seemed to be taking? If so, you wouldn't know it by her response. Mary was presented with the perfect opportunity to feel frustrated, cheated, and bitter about how complicated her life had become, but she didn't take the bait. Instead she wholeheartedly embraced the work of God in her life without resistance.

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May everything you have said about me come true.... From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name."

-Luke 1:38, 48-49

We can learn so much from Mary's example. When she could have pushed everyone away and distanced herself from God, she instead proclaimed that she saw herself as highly favored. There is so much to gain when we welcome interruptions and open ourselves up to God's unpredictable workings. Imagine what God can do with a heart like that.

• Thinking about Mary's song in Luke 1 reminds me, have you seen the episode of The Chosen called "The Messengers"? I just watched it again the other day. I love all the imagination behind this show, while it still stays true to the scripture we treasure. This episode is about 40 minutes long.
• I also heard this song yesterday during a Christmas dinner with friends--enjoy!

I don't know how you accidentally join a hand chime rehearsal,
but that's what I managed to do earlier this month!

In this season, many crew are transferring to the other ship, the Africa Mercy. Goodbyes are hard, and I'm not always the best at keeping up with all the departures. I am staying on the Global Mercy for now, and after two weeks of handover with the next Executive Assistant, I switched to the role of Sales Manager at the beginning of December. 

One of my last meetings as Executive Assistant

Now I serve with a small team to oversee a few areas on board: The Cafe, the Post Office, and the Ship Shop, which is kind of like a convenience store with some basic food staples, snacks, merchandise, and other living necessities. Not surprisingly, there is a lot to learn, but I think I'm making some slow progress! To many, the cafe is seen as the heart of the community, where crew get together during morning breaktime or for evening crafting I'm looking forward to this opportunity to show hospitality to the rest of the crew.

My new team made this thoughtful sign for me!

I am so grateful for your prayers, support, and friendship through this journey. In God's hands, they are multiplied into a blessing to so many, and I can't thank you enough.

One of the green-soaked views from high up in the
hills at Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary

We attended a service at a local church on
Christmas Eve. The worship was very energizing!

Reaching Into God's Toolbox, Not Mine

Sierra Leone is known for having a beautiful coastline. One of the first places
I visited ashore with friends is known as River No. 2 Beach.

The Global Mercy arrived in Freetown on August 22. I arrived to join the ship the following week. The process of arriving involved not only a plane, but also a bus, a boat, and finally a Mercy Ships Land Cruiser, which arrived at our narrow dock space around 4 hours after my plane landed--what an adventure!

Passengers lined up at the Seacoach embarkation terminal to
board the water taxi that takes airline passengers from Lungi
to Aberdeen, where I would meet a Mercy Ships driver.

After serving in Senegal since August 2019, bringing the ship to any other country is a first for many of the volunteers on board, and the newness of everything hits us as soon as we descend the gangway.

The rolling green hills of Freetown start their climb literally across the street from the Global Mercy's the dock space. I've been told that they are officially hills, even though to my Minnesotan eyes they definitely look like mountains! One of my favorite views from the GLM's outer decks to the east is the Old Fourah Bay College building, perched elegantly on an ledge overlooking the port under a towering tree. (At some point the college moved to a new location on top of the hill facing the ship)

The view of Old Fourah Bay College (center) from Deck 7

Another iconic tree known as Cotton Tree (it's officially a kapok tree) served as a landmark in one of Freetown's downtown areas, before it was tragically felled by a bolt of lightning last May. A central object in stories of the nation's founding at the end of the 18th century, it was viewed by many as a national symbol of Sierra Leone, even appearing on the 10 SLL* note.

Cotton Tree was believed to be more than 400 years old. It required a massive clean up effort to clear the surrounding roads after it fell.

At the beginning of every field service, supplies are unsecured from their sailing storage places and arranged to resemble hospital wards and work spaces once again. The wards are scrubbed from top to bottom, canopies are raised, and events are hosted. Many teams grow between two to ten times their size as Day Crew arrive on board for their orientation. Virtually every department is carrying out training while also executing a sudden massive gear switch from shipyard to sail to field service mode.

Day Crew and Crew working together to set up a
canopy at the HOPE Center. Photo credit: Abigail Beinetti

The ship's senior management team paid a visit to the
HOPE Center to take a tour and pray for the team.

Most crew are still able to go into town on the weekends, and when we do, there is a lot of a lot to take in. Riding down the road in the back of a keke, I found myself wondering aloud, "Are we still in a market, or is every street just this busy?"

In Mercy Ships we believe that poverty is more than just material and physical, more than funds and food. We believe that every person on earth experiences some form of poverty, be it material, social, environmental, spiritual, or most often, a combination of all of the above. If there's anything that living and working in close quarters with several hundred other people will teach you, it's that without exception, we're all broken and in need of forgiveness, grace, and help. 

Another view from the HOPE Center.

For some, it's just more visible than others. 

It's visible to us in Freetown when crew and day crew are stopped on a daily basis virtually every time we go out. Men and women of all ages ask how their loved one might register for surgery.

Unfortunately, we have already said all of our "yeses" for this field service. Each "yes" is wonderful, life-changing news for the more than 2000 people who will receive surgery on board over the next 9 months. But each "yes" also comes with multiple "no's".

We knew before we arrived in Sierra Leone that even with the Global Mercy moored in the port, the available medical resources and personnel in the nation were dwarfed by the level of medical need. It's difficult to even compare to places like Dakar.

Arrival day in Freetown, with the "Advance" team on the dock
dressed in blue, along with other people invited to attend and
welcome the ship. Photo credit: Elizabeth Brumley

One Sunday during worship, I was reflecting on all of this--the things I had noticed out in town, the questions I'd been asked, and the smallness I felt in the face of all that is not in our power to fix. In contrast to this, we were singing a song about God's power to do the impossible, even when we don't see it.

Way maker

Miracle worker

Promise keeper

Light in the darkness

My God

That is who you are

Even when I don't see it

you're working

even when I don't feel it

you're working

You never stop

You never stop working

All crew were invited to do a prayer walk through the Hospital
before the wards opened. Here my group was visiting the lab.

When worship ended, the crew separated into groups and went down to decks 3 and 4 to pray over every space in the Hospital. It's amazing how much ground you can cover when you have several hundred people with the same goal!

Faced with the problems stemming from living in a broken world, when we look into our own toolbox to fix things, we will inevitably fall short. But we know there is great power when God opens up his tool box. With us he shares the tools of hope, joy, love, and most importantly, prayer. With these tools in hand, and when we learn from the Master how to use them for the greatest effect, ait's amazing to see the change that comes about, and imagine the change to come in the future. They're the only thing that takes our little drop in the bucket and turns it into an abundance of hope for a community, for a nation, and for the world.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

-Ephesians 3:20-21

Joy looks like these Deck crew preparing for arrival.
Photo credit: Elizabeth Brumley

With the Chief Steward Paul and his wife Dulce at an event for our
Partners that was held on board. Photo credit: Tirsa Tapia-Masson

During the Hospital Open House, the medical team gave
the rest of the crew, including kids, a first-hand  taste of what it's
like caring for patients! Photo credit: Elizabeth Brumley

Hope looks like our more than 280 Sierra Leonian Day Crew, pictured here all in one place for their first day of orientation! We could not do this without them. Photo credit: Tirsa Tapia-Masson

* The currency of Sierra Leone is called leones, abbreviated as SLL. $1 USD is worth about 20 SLL. Recently, the leone was re-denominated, knocking three zeroes off of the face value without changing the monetary value. Thus, 10,000 leones is now 10 leones. Currently, both types of notes are in circulation, as the old notes have not been entire recalled, but the values are so different that it causes no apparent confusion.

"In the strong name of Jesus we pray"

On Thursday, 2 March, the Hospital was still empty of patients, but not for long. The crew took the opportunity to go down to the Hospital decks together to cover every space in prayer.

Prayer walk through the hospital the week before the start of surgeries.

On Sunday, 5 March, the first patients were admitted to the Hospital on board for their surgery the next day. One of them was a boy named Amadou, who was going to undergo an orthopedic operation to straighten a bowed leg. He would be the first patient to receive surgery on the Global Mercy.

It is tradition for the Chief Medical Officer to lead the crew in a prayer immediately before the start of the first surgery. At 9:00am on 6 March, the voice of the CMO, Dr. Sarah, and the CMO Emeritus, Dr. Gary, came on over the PA system throughout the ship, and Dr. Gary said a prayer that has been adapted and used in previous years, shared below. In their workspaces across the ship, the crew paused their work and bowed their heads together in prayer.

Merciful Father, 

You have called us from many tribes and nations, languages and cultures 

Both young and old, you have appointed each one of us to participate in your Kingdom work here in Senegal 

The OR team meeting before the start of surgeries.

Compassionate Christ, 

Let us see you in those with deformed faces and broken lives

Let us hear you in the grieving and the oppressed

Let us know you in the hungry and the vulnerable

Amadou and his mother boarding the GLM for admission.

Transforming Spirit, 

You whose indwelling presence brings renewal and restoration 

Flow through our hands and pour out healing 

Flow from our hearts and extend hope to the hopeless 

Flow through our lives with saving grace 

Flow through all we do and make others whole

Amadou after his surgery.

Eternal God, Creator, Redeemer, Comforter 

Touch and transform us 

Let your love grow strong and deep within us

Let your compassion fill our hearts and overflow to others through us 

And may your presence in us bear fruit of mercy, love and justice.

Until your world is changed 

And all creation is restored and made new. 

In the strong name of Jesus we pray

Amen

Amadou playing in the ward after surgery.

Photo credit for this post goes to photographers Tirsa Tapia and Elizabeth Brumley. Consent is obtained from patients and their caregivers before being photographed.