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!

Sunday, March 19, 2023

"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.

Tuesday, March 7, 2023

We Made It, Guys


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 MercySinterklaas 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!