A DAY OF SUPRISE

How does one describe the world around them when it is so new, vibrant and disturbing all at once? As I walk the streets of Benin, I am met with sights and smells familiar, though not to Canada. Something is different though. I can not place it. As I look around me I see everyone staring at me. Then the realization hits me. I know what is different, it is me. I do not belong here. I am a lone white man standing in a sea of Africans. Interestingly enough I can not remember if I experienced that feeling in Guatemala. A moment of unease passed through my mind as all the eyes that were staring at me seemed to be accusing me, the white man standing in the country where so many slaves were dragged away and never seen again. I had a very mixed range of emotions streaming through my mind. Emotions that were not easy to describe. Emotions that seemed not of my own design.

Then an interesting thing happened as I turned to investigate the 6th watch shop lined up in a row. As I peered into the jumbled mess of watches of all makes and sizes trying to find one that I could wear while working, a man approached and took me by the shoulders and said in english "this man here, listen everyone, this man here is a good man, you treat him right, this man here he work with the ships, see, you see his bottle it says Mercy Ships, you man are good man, thank you for all you do..." He went on for a little while and not too quietly at that. Perhaps it was just me but the eyes that surrounded me seemed to soften and some turned away. I felt very self conscious but now for the opposite reason. This man had turned up out of no where and had now put me on a pedestool trying to make me better than the other people. I felt I did not deserve the attention I was now recieving. I quickly barterd for my watch, which the shop keeper had initially asked 20000 CFA for and now accepted 8000 CFA, turned and left the market respectfully accepted the nods, smiles and affirmations offered to me. This new attention will be difficult to understand.

I really do want to communicate with everyone who is reading this about how much of an amazing day I had yesterday. It was a simple day, one that demanded nothing of me. I was free to wander and explore Cotonou as my heart for adventure pounded in my chest urging me out into the town and into the unknown. As loud as that pounding was, there was another beat of my heart that surged to great heights than I had expected. A little boy, about ten years old, who I had met in the hospital the night before needed a friend. I had visited him breifly the night before but he was not doing too great so I told his father I would come back the next day. I sat at breakfast in a deep debate, two passions of mine, adventure and children, were competing for space in my day.

Suddenly it donned on me that the unexplored country lay not off the ship but near at hand. In fact he lay just one deck down from mine on a hospital bed, with a few tubes, dressings, and a chance at a new life. I am limited as to what I can share openly but I will try and describe a little of what I can.

This boy, amazing and so very brave, has lived his whole life with a tumor consuming half of his face. The growth distorted his face into unlikely proportions, displacing anything in it way. He has had an amazing surgery through the grace of God and is now lying in a hospital recovering from a traumatic and difficult surgery. I look into his face and see a new boy. Time will still be needed to fully recover but he has been set free. His tumor has been removed and he is now able to live a very different life than before. His father tells me that he has never been able to talk because of this tumor but he has his own ways of communicating.

As we sat together and he tried to teach me how to drum on his knee I experienced a different sensation. I was connecting with this brave boy without language, without a translator. It was just me playing with an amazing kid. The tubes, dressings and insisions did not change who he was. As we looked into each others eyes and silently communicated I could not imagine anywhere else I would have rather been. A brave boy experiencing freedom from a life darkened by despair, who had been lying on an operating table just nights before struggling just to survive the night. Now, sitting and playing with a smile creeping into the corner of his mouth as the swelling subsides.

I was part of his moment. I was part of his life, if only for a little while. We connected and played. I could see a light in his eyes the more he played becoming brighter. His eyes opened wider, I think he was distracted from his pain. He was free and could soon go home to a new life. His father was taking a nap under the boys hospital bed already. I realized we had been playing for hours already. The boy reached around on his bed, searching for something. Anxiously trying to find something hidden in his sheets and then he found it. Triumphantly yet exhaustedly, he pulled a little giraffe out from the sheets. Clutching it tightly he turned over and instantly fell asleep.

Where else could I want to be but in this place, watching a boy clutching a little giraffe falling asleep with the feeling of hope surrounding him? He slept peacefully while I held a little baby boy in the bed beside him.

I had found my adventure.

Giles

The first tear

As i told many of you before we left, i had fully expected to burst into tears upon seeing the Africa Mercy. I've wanted to come here for so many years, thought about it, prayed about it and just truly hoped that one day i would be here. But, to my amazement, once we drove around the gates to the pier and I saw the Africa Mercy in all of it's hugeness, I felt calm and peace. I couldn't have mustered a tear even if i wanted to. (Well, an onion would have done it, but that's not the point here).

I've settled in here with no trouble, attended various orientations and still, that same surreal peace surrounded me. I'm not saying that it was a bad thing! I saw patients like the one's pictures are used on the web site and other Mercy Ships publications, and still felt very little emotion. As a nurse, we all learn in our own way how to detach ourselves from our patients emotionally. We see things that are unimaginable to the majority of the world and think nothing of it. We have to, or we couldn't do what we do. But, I worried in the first two days that I was detaching myself from Africa. I wondered where those feelings were that made me want to come here in the first place. Here, of all places, I felt very little.

But then it came. My second day on the ward, I took a toddler to the OR with her mom. On the ward she loved to play and was so full of smiles. The OR nurse checked her chart, prayed with her, and carried her in. Her mother sat on the bench, stoic in all of her African beauty, and trustfully relinquished her daughter over to us. She smiled and bowed her head. Then she began to cry, saying "I don't want to cry, i don't know why I am crying. It is God's blessing that she is here and can have this surgery. I am so thankful." In this moment, everything hit at once. The tears flowed. The reality of the life changing services provided by the Mercy Ships is astounding.

I have so much to learn

adrienne

(new friends we met at a local church)

You've heard it from Giles, we've arrived safely. My initial impressions of Africa and Mercy Ships have been very good. We have received a tremendous welcome here from the staff. Everyone is eager to help us settle in, as well as cautioning us not to do too much all at once! Still, we enjoyed a brief tour of Cotonou, and yesterday visited a local church. The weather here is what we expected, hot and humid. I sure am glad the hospital and ship are air conditioned. Still, traveling around in the back of land cruisers in this hot heat is not so bad! I had expected worse.



Today marks the beginning of our official work on the ships. We will both be orientated to our respective departments. Mine begins as all nursing orientations should - at Starbucks. I'll let you know the details later. Giles was happy to find the carpentry shop was a tad bit larger than a closet, and has received numerous pats on the back for being the first official carpenter on the ship since last year. He's been told the work has been piling up for him. We have yet to see wood.

As Giles mentioned, Africa definately has its similarities to Guatemala. The markets definately have the same flair about them. Brightly coloured clothes & open stock fruit are widely visable. The same perplexing methods of marketing exist here, whereby you'll pass 5 or more vendors selling the same thing beside each other. Whenever your vehicle stops, you're surrounded by people trying to sell you things from kleenex to phone cards to soccer balls. The tell tale signs of overwhelming poverty are not hard to find. It doesn't take much more than driving a few streets from the populated main streets of Cotonou to find the faces of those in need.

The power of a smile is unquestionable. Separated by language barriers, cultural stigmatisms and the like, it is near impossible to communicate with many of the patients. The hospitality center, as mentioned by Giles, is a converted warehouse used to house patients who are waiting for surgery. When we were there, approximately 14 women had travelled from Northern Benin to wait for VVF surgery. Many more are scheduled to arrive today. Since then, I've been advised that I will likely need to translate through 5 different languages in order to communicate with these women. And yet, with a hand shake and a smile, this daunting task of communication doesn't seem so overwhelming. Through this simple gesture, a world of words is communicated.

And so our learning has begun. We have so much to learn and understand about the culture and customs here in Benin. We'll keep you updated as we go!

-adrienne

Safe onboard the Africa Mercy

We have arrived safe on board the Africa Mercy and what an amazing and warm reception we have received. It is like coming home. We are settling in to your room and getting to know our way about the ships 8 levels and 500 ft length. The ship is amazing. I know I will never get board here, not with so many things to explore and amazing people to talk to, who have lived and seen more than many can ever claim.

Our flight was long and arduous but worth every bit of it the moment we stepped on board. It is so amazing to see so many nationalities, denominations and people with such loving hearts all in one place and with one goal. Christs mercy is truly surrounding as we are able to witness and be a part of lives changing before our very eyes.

We were taken to town and shown around getting a feel for the diversity in wealth in such a small area. The streets are reminisant of Guatemala's streets filled with vendors and people approaching your truck to sell you a wide range of items from phone cards, sheets, fruit, to radios and irons. Motor bikes consumed the streets and weaved throughout traffic. Our senses were teased by exhaust fumes and various odors of many different natures ( some good and some, well, different).

We also went to an Mercy Ships outpost was setup to house the perspective paitents and were able to see some beautiful patients. Some of them were awaiting there first surgery and others were waiting on additional surgeries. One little girl we saw, with a beautiful smile that would warm even the coldest heart, is recovering from burn wounds. Her arm was completly useless to her after her burns and was retracted with no mobility. She came to Mercy Ships for surgery and smiled shyly as she stretched out her beautiful little arm all the way and turned to us triumantly and turned her arm around so that we could witness her new found freedom. Thank you Lord for this beautiful girl!

Until we meet again, Giles

Through Fire and Water

I am BACK!!! I have just returned to Winnipeg after completing my BST/STCW Training in Mobile, Alabama. In layman's terms, a marine safety course that is internationally recognized. It was a very interesting course, and even more interesting were the people I was able to meet. Many stories were told and some good laughs had too!

The training consisted of three stages, first aid, marine fire fighting and personal survival skills. The first aid was pretty standard with not too much to tell there, but the other two topics were very interesting. For those of you familiar with my wild spirit, the course seemed to be tailored to me. As you can see in the photos, we donned the heavy professional safety gear of fire fighters, complete with an oxygen supply. We set a bunker on fire and entered as teams of three men operating the hose, each taking our turn at the nozzle. I thought it would be hot, but I had no idea just how hot it really was. With the fire raging ahead of us and smoke obstructing our view, we plunged into the smoke and maneuvered our way close to the fire. It was intense, just the way I like it.

What really surprised me was the heat threshold that seemed to divide the room. There was a very clear division between the smoke and the clear area below where we preferred to work. More surprising was the division of the heat. If you were to place an un-gloved hand two feet from the floor, you would feel relatively no heat but as soon as you raised to to three and four feet, it was suddenly and explicitly unbearable. Now I truly understand the reason why they tell you to crawl.

Then came the survival skills. This involved a lot of theory which I will not burden you with. A more worthwhile note is the water training we embarked upon. The goal: survival in the case of an abandoned ship. We had one minute to put on our exposure suits and then had to leap into an inflated and covered lifeboat - seven men in a six man boat. Sounds simple right, first you must understand what an exposure suit is like to truly understand the difficulty of the situation.



Recall Gumby, the large and bulky stick figure that was grossly un-proportionate and could be bent into any shape? Swap out the green colour for red and you are good to go -- the exposure suit. In this suit one might be able to last hours in the frigid arctic waters and float extremely well. Sealed tight the suits trap air around you and keep you dry, and in a matter of fact, rather comfortable. There were a number of tasks we were assigned to do; jumping into lifeboats from variable heights, exiting the lifeboat, water entry into lifeboat, and righting an overturned lifeboat. Even in the pool this was all more difficult than it sounds never mind the added struggle against weather and waves crashing down upon you.

All in all this was a very informative and surprising adventure involving a pleasant mix of class and trial. I feel more confidant in my abilities to handle a crisis aboard a ship and while hopefully never needing these new found skills I would still be ready to employ them in a heartbeat if the need ever arose.

This Thursday, the 21st we are off to Benin, Africa! We are so excited and really ready to be on board the ship. Keep checking the blog for updates and information.

A sneak peak, view this video

Africa Mercy 2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHdUEHmfiXo

Arrival in Benin 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmcKmdHenq0

Off to Alabama

Giles left this morning for a 5 day safety training course in Mobile Alabama. He'll be learning fire suppression techniques, first aid and basic survival skills. While his official job is ship carpenter, he is considered deck crew. He will also be working security as needed. Therefore he will have yet another strangely somewhat random certification to add to his resume. For those of you who know Giles, you'll merely be nodding your heads and laughing in agreement.

The days until our departure are in the single digits now, and our house is a little chaotic as the packing has begun. We are excited though, and as the day draws closer so does the reality of what we will be doing. Excitement, nervousness, a little anxiety, hope, elation... these are only a few of the emotions we're feeling as the days grow closer and closer.

The next entry will likely be on board the ship, or from an airport along the way. See you then!