Jasmine update

Just a little update on Jasmine. She was the first patient here in Cameroon. As she was carried up the stairs she was full of smiles and excitement at the hope of having straight legs. Her surgery is complete. as you can see in her post op photos her legs are now straight. Her first few days after were a bit rough as you can imagine. I am happy to report her smile has returned and she can now be seen daily learning to walk in the halls of the hospital. Yesterday she entertainer us both with a rapid round of patty cake. It was nice to hear her laugh and giggle. I will try to post another photo before long with her smiling. But  for now these are what I have access to.
Join with me in thanking God for .........
A successful surgery and continued health in her recovery,
The gift of her and her caregiver and all the patients in the ward having the opportunity to hear the gospel presented clearly,
for the generosity of so many around the world both on a personal level and a corporate level that helped make this a reality. God is the Maestro but we each must play our own part on the instrument he has given us.
Blessings. 

Today was a good day

So my work day ended on a high note today. I was just leaving for the day and stopped by the B ward on my way out to drop something off. They were just bringing a patient back from the OR. I got to help move the patient from the stretcher to his bed. The good news is....that is was Ulrich. The young man who's picture was in my last blog. Both of his legs have now been operated on and I am very happy to report they are both straight as arrows. I do not have a photo right now but hope to in the days or weeks to come. What an incredibly brave young man. He is so stoic. He has a long road ahead filled with physical therapy and learning to walk. PLEASE continue to lift him in pray. Pray that he will know the love, mercy and sacrifice of the God who sent a ship half way around the world to meet his need.
Thanks for the prayers to date.
hugs

Reminders

This week was a good week for reminders. I have had several this week. Reminders to pray for America as yet another Hurricane comes ashore ripping apart lives in its path. Just 2 weeks ago Texas suffered through Harvey and know Irma arrives in Florida. The loss and suffering is immense.
A painful reminder to not stop praying for my own nation. The states are a mess right now if you read the headlines which is about all I get, but hope remains so I pray.

I was reminded of my place in the Lord. As I studied Ephesians (see previous blog) I was reminded of who I was and who I have become. I am made new in Christ and I can walk in His promises and in my new identity.

This week I am also reminded of why I have come. Why I have left those I love and the comforts of home. This week surgeries began. All the planning and preparing has come to this moment. The first patient was carried up the gangway and into the hospital this week. She ( Justine) along with  several others are the first patients in Cameroon to have surgery.

During the weeks we have been preparing you tend to forget. You get busy with the daily tasks, scrubbing walls, moving boxes, and all it takes to sail from one country to another. The days pass and life happens and you get tired. And sometimes you just forget for a while. What it is all for. Why your muscles are sore and why the uncomfortable bed is worth it. 

The before pictures are dramatic. They have waited so long. So long without hope. So long without an answer to their dilemma. So long with being different or an outcast. So long being rejected and told they are not enough.

But God.......

God has not forgotten them.

 Isaiah 49:15 "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!


God has heard their cry. He has moved heaven and earth for them. He has called people and resources from every corner of the earth to come. To come to Cameroon. To bring them hope. To bring the hospital to them. And not just to that but he has sent us out to find them. To find his lost sheep. 

Luke 15:4
"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn't he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?

For months now He has sent His people out into the country looking for those who were lost and hidden. Those who were far away. Combing through the country looking for those who God himself wanted to bring here for a chance at a new beginning. Not just a new beginning in their bodies but in their hearts. Here they will have a chance to encounter the truth of who they are. The truth that they matter. That they are loved. That the God of the universe, the one who created all things has been pursuing them. Loves them, and wants to make them whole. Whole in ways we often don't even comprehend fully.

And not  just them but us too. Another reminder this week. It is not just about the patients. It is also about us. What God wants to do in our hearts. In our spirits. In our fellow crew members. Conversations took place this week with people here on the ship that have never known the Father. Have never read his word. And yet they were drawn here. Led here by assorted circumstances and reasons "of their own" so they, and we, and I could have our own encounter with the one who made us.

It has been good. It has been  humbling. It has been a great week of reminders. It has been convicting and it has been nothing short of amazing. 
Continue to pray that God will have his way. In us and around us. That the light of His truth will be lifted high. 

First surgery patient in Cameroon-Justine

A reminder to pray.

This is a drill, this is a drill

Well we had our first fire drill yesterday since arriving in Cameroon. It all seemed to go quite smoothly.It always begins with the same. The alarm goes off and you hear the fire team called to a location on the ship where a "fire" has been discovered. A few minutes later the general alarm sounds everywhere in the ship and we hear the announcement....."This is a drill, this is a drill, all crew report to your muster stations." This time it included a mock evacuation of the hospital due to the fire. crew members were dressed in gowns (over their clothes) and were the patients. Every department had to respond as they would if we were open and taking care of patients. Several crew members were put in make up and placed at the source of the fire and were "injured crew members". The training team really made it believable and even provided smoke and orange light that gave the appearance of flames.

The reason  I know all this is because this time the "fire" started where I work. I began quite close to my office and I was witness to the set up ahead of time and manage to snap some pics before the general alarm  went off. Once that happens everyone must head to their muster station. (that is salty talk for where we all must assemble and have a head count)

My cabin mate Damaris was one of the "victims". She told me all about it after and said she feels quite safe on the ship now. As a "victim" she pretended to be unconscious quite close to the fire and appeared to have taken a fall. She said she was quickly found. Next she was picked up under her arms and drug down the halls of the ship to a safer location. When she failed to respond to her rescuers she was then carried off the ship on a stretcher by the fire team. There she was met by a medical team who accessed her "injuries" and determined she needed to be sent on the hospital for tests. She was then carried to a vehicle and loaded. It was all done quite quickly and efficiently.

Worry not, she recovered quite quickly with a little soap and water.  :)
In the end the ship was evacuated and the fire team did well, the "fire" was put out and we were allowed back on the ship in time for dinner.

The "smoke beginning to fill the room pictured below and my office just next door with the orange light of flames beginning. 

A few of our "victims" pictured below.

Part of the fire team and muster station on the dock

finally....my office after the drill filled with residual "smoke". Got to love those fog machines.

Open House

It has been a busy week so far. Turns out medical supply is quite busy just before the hospital opens. Imagine that. hmmm. So anyway. The week so far has been super busy and I confess to feeling overwhelmed and stressed out. Multiple departments coming at you at the same time saying they need stuff yesterday just makes the day a bit stressful.  God has been faithful and reminding me to stop and pray when I start to feel the pressure. My boss Jim has been great too and had been providing treats on occasion to love and encourage us. This week it was cold Gatorade on a hot sweating morning moving heavy boxes, and M&M's later in the week when we were pushing hard to get things done. I am lucky to be working with 2 good guys on a daily basis. Franko and Eric. They are hard workers, smart and kind to me.

Eric and I are the new kids on  the block and we have our hands full trying to learn everything in the midst of trying to supply all the departments for opening. The computers had both of us frustrated on and off so far this week. This is in addition to moving A LOT of boxes and pallets around from place to place as it arrives on the ship. I have been trying to work smart and take it easier on my back. I am learning to accept help more quickly with the heavy items. The guys I work with are always quick to offer.

Wednesday after work we had an open house in the hospital which turned out to be quite fun. Many of the crew who work in different areas of the ship never get to see what happens in the hospital so before everything goes sterile for surgery, they open it up for tours and a little fun. People are allowed to go from room to room and check things out. There are demonstrations and things to try. The kids absolutely loved getting to get dressed up in gowns and pretend to be the doctor. You get to handle instruments and see how machines work and it is all quite interested. Although me and the guys I work with were busy giving tours in our area, we still managed to slip away for some of the time and look around for ourselves. It was a fun evening but a long day. Sleep came quickly and easily at the end.

Pray for us as we push these last few days. Hospital opens Monday. Pray for the patients that have already come and are waiting at the hope center for their day to come to the ship. Pray for hope and healing. Pray for God's name to be lifted high and for Him to get the glory for it all.

from left to right: Eric, Franko and me in  medical  supply

A few pics from open house.

A study in Ephesians

Studying in Ephesians chapter 2 this morning. Some wonderful reminders for me this morning that I thought I would share.These statements are true for me today and for eternity because I claim Jesus as Lord of my life. Lord-meaning he has complete control . My life is no longer a democracy. He gets to make the decisions because as my creator, savior and redeemer, he alone knows what is best for me.
These can be true for you as well if you will only surrender your self to Him. Repent of living for yourself and remove yourself from the throne upon which he belongs......

I was dead in my transgressions and sins
I was a follower of the world
I was a follower of the ruler of the kingdom of the air
I was disobedient
I was gratifying my sinful nature
I was an object of God's wrath
I was separated from  Christ
I was excluded and a foreigner
I was without hope
I was far away
I was without God

But thanks be to God, because of His great love for me and His AMAZING GRACE I can now say
I am made alive with Christ
I am saved by grace
I am raised with Christ
I am seated in the heavenly realms
I will be/have been shown incomparable riches of His grace expressed in His kindness
I am saved through faith
I am a recipient of God's most precious gift
I am not save by works
I am unable to boast
I am created in Christ
I am not a mistake
I am part of Gods plan
I am in Christ
I am brought near through the blood of Christ
I am reconciled to God.
I am provided access to the Father
I am a fellow citizen with God's people
I am a member of God's household
I am a citizen of God's kingdom
I am a dwelling place for God's spirit.

None of this is true because of anything I can do or earn. It is only by His grace, His sacrifice and His undeserved love.
I am undone!