A Modern Day Leper

Ward A on the Africa Mercy is full of ladies that are currently getting treated for VVF. Vesico Vaginal Fistula is a hole between the urinary tract and the vagina causing a continuous involuntary discharge of urine. Urine leaks from these ladies all the time all day long. This condition is common in women here in West Africa who are A: very young pregnant woman whose bodies are not developed or ready to carry a baby causing a rip or B: women who endure days and days of very painful childbirth often times in the deep bush hours and even days away from medical treatment causing great pressure and a rip. This disorder and it victims just break me. These ladies communities, friends, and families often outcast them for having this “disease”. They are shunned and left to fin for themselves broken and “ruined”. Being equivalent to a leper...... A modern day leper.

Often times the babies of these ladies do not survive leaving the women with great sadness and pain with nothing to show and nothing left to live for.

I refer to these ladies as leaking but I think that might give you a sugar coated image of what leaking really means. Female readers imagine just for a moment what it would be like to have a continually flow of urine flowing from your vagina 24-7, and for treatment you use old cloths to soak up the wet discharge. Male readers imagine for a moment living with your wife who is always wet, and smells of urine. I would like to say that if this was a problem in the US that we would accept these ladies. That we would truly live out what it means to love like Jesus. That we would be less superficial or more accepting, I however am not sure. I think our society has a long way to come before we can truly say we love like Jesus.

The stories of these ladies are heart breaking.

However…….. There is a happy ending to some of the ladies that are currently sleeping and living on board the African Mercy. Doctors and nurses on board the ship are working very hard to treat as many of these patients as physically possible. A 15 minute surgery can change the lives of these leaking women, giving them a new start. The ladies leave here and are often accepted back into their communities and families.

Last Tuesday I was able to attend a dress ceremony for a few of the ladies who were about to embark on their new lives. The dress ceremony occurs when a lady is “cured” and ready to go home. She receives a NEW dress that symbolizes her new start. As I stood there and watched these ladies celebrate to new beginnings. I thanked God for giving me a new beginning through Jesus and also for sending skilled Jesus loving people to West Africa to be His hands and feet to these people. I prayed for strength and courage for the ladies. I prayed for healing physically and emotionally, and I also prayed that maybe just maybe one of them saw HIM through the healing that had taken place on board the Africa Mercy.


The ladies who were going home leak free at last Tuesdays dress ceremony. These smiling faces represent stories and pasts that will break your heart. Thank God for healing and a new beginnings.

Relaxed and Rejuvenated

I am just coming off a long holiday weekend. Which basically means we had 4 days off to relax and rejuvenate. A groups of 13 traveled 2 1/2 hours north to a beach town called Robertsport. There we spent 3 days and 2 night camping and enjoying the beach. It was WONDERFUL. The weather was sunny and hot, NO RAIN! We laid out, and YES!!! I am well on way to having the "African Tan" I have been longing for. We read books, sang songs, had a campfire, roasted marshmallows, took long walks along the beach, napped, and most of all just enjoyed each others company. It was so easy to see to God all around us. All you had to do is perch yourself on top of one of the many huge rocks that overlooked the sea and watch the waves come crashing in.

The beauty in simplicity.

Saturday I was walking along the beach and I ran into my little friend Emmanuel. Emmanuel is an 11 years old who lives with his father in Robertsport. He came up to me as I was sitting on the sand and asked me if I wanted to take a walk with him to some "really big" rocks a ways up the shore line. I thought to myself seems safe enough he is 11 and I can probably take him if need be..... so I agreed. As we walked he shared with me that his mother had died during the war and it was just him and his father. He asked me why I was in Liberia, and I told him then he asked me if I missed my family and I said YES!!! of course. After that he asked me the question that I have been waiting for someone to ask me..... WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO COME TO LIBERIA AND HELP US????? I was then able to share my heart with an 11 year old. Of course I had to put it into term that he could understand but it was still the "moment" I had been waiting for.

Finally after several miles of walking and chatting we reached our destination. And it was a beautiful site. On our walk back to my camp site we sang songs. He taught me a traditional African church song, and I taught him Jesus Loves Me....he LOVED that song. haha anyway over the next 2 days he came to visit me several times, each time I had PB&J sandwiches and yogurt waiting for him. I was his new best friend.

After an amazing weekend I am once again back and ready to work . Bring on another 6 weeks!


Below are a few pictures from the weekend. Please click on the Robertsport link to the right hand side to view more photos from our trip.









Emmanuel and I

The View

The beach

Beach Church

Let your words be few

I was reading today in Ecclesiastes 5 :

1Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.


2Do not be quick with your mouth,
do not be hasty in your heart
to utter anything before God.
God is in heaven
and you are on earth,
so let your words be few.

I am so quick to go before God and tell him all my wants and needs for my day, week, month, year and even life. I often forget that God is in heaven and I am on earth and I should let me words be few before Him. Sometimes it is just nice to enter into his presence in silents and just sit and wait for Him to speak. No list of demands no needs just simply being. This verse reminded me of the song Let My Words be Few by Phillips Craig and Dean:

You are God in heaven
And here am I on earth
So I'll let my words be few Jesus,
I am so in love with You


Chorus:
And I'll stand in awe of You, Jesus
Yes, I'll stand in awe of You
And I'll let my words be few Jesus,
I am so in love with You


The simplest of all love songs
I want to bring to You
So I'll let my words be few Jesus,
I am so in love with You

Such a simple song but oh how it reveals the desires of my heart.

I think this week I will let me words be few leaving room for me to listen rather than speak.

And I'll let my words be few Jesus, I am so in love with You

Going to the chapel and I am gonna get married!!!!

Yes!!! Praise God I have been proposed to. Shame on those of you who thought it would never happen…it just goes to show you that God truly can move mountains. Twenty-four years of being single in the US and only 9 weeks of living in Liberia and I have found the man of my dreams! Well not really the man of my dreams but apparently, I am the woman of Willams' dreams. Williams was a patient of mine last Monday, and Wednesday he dropped this heartfelt declaration of his undying love off at the dental clinic for me. I was more than flattered by this romantic gesture and I have decided to accept the offer. :) As Willams simply put it, "we are going to the church for marry." So for those of you who would like to send wedding gifts can send them to us at the address posted in a previous blog.

Just in case you can’t read the letter in the picture here is what is says:


Dear Jessica

I write to inform you that from the day I saw you, I saw love, I saw joy , I saw life, and I saw everything I wanted in this world in you. I pray that one day I will be able to take you to church for marry, I think that will be the greatest achievement of my life, and I promise you that I will always love you. No one can ever take the place you accompany in my heart. For you are so special that I can never love anyone else as much as I love you. My love is running for you like a river.

Truly yours
Williams



On Friday, Williams returned to the clinic in hopes that I would accept his proposal and I sadly had to turn him down. I guess that I am not a believer in love at first sight or at least not love after a 45 min teeth cleaning. My prayer is that Williams will one day find the person that will make his love run like a river.


ONLY IN AFRICA!!!!!!!

Hope you enjoyed a glance at the day to day events of my world here.

After Work Fun!!!!

This was a little after work fun Jen and I had today! Thought you would like to check out the photos and video footage. I bet you all wish you could have mini scooter races with your co-worker on a dock with the Atlantic Ocean surrounding you after you got of work today.

Oh the joys of living and working on a hospital ship in Africa!! I love it!

A Day with the Eye Team

Thursday I was able to take the day off from the dental team and tag alongside the eye team for the day. It was wonderful to see how God is working through the other teams. We left the ship at about 7:45 am and traveled for the next 30 mins to Gaye Town. When we arrived there were tons and tons of people waiting outside the clinic where they work. We packed in all the supplies for the day and set things up and then the team leader headed out to face the crowd. They screen 100 people a day for possible surgery patients and glasses patients. I was able to register patient which at times I had a little bit of difficulty understanding what the patients were saying. English is not the same in all parts of the world. After I finished that task I was given the job of performing visual acuity tests. It was great to be a part of the team even if it was only for a day.

I was watching one of the team members fit a lady for glasses, she put a pair on her and handed her a piece of paper she said can you see this the lady said no, so the team member took that pair off and put on another pair and immediately the lady said “WOW!!! Oh thank you Jesus I can see again. I can see again this is amazing, this is such a blessing. Thank you!” Who would have thought a pair of reading glasses could change one’s life. And the blind shall see….literally

I must say I was out of my comfort zone most of the day. I have absolutely no knowledge of the eye or the different diseases of the eye. I know mouths and everything that comes along with mouths. Mouths are my gift. It is so good that the crew of Mercy Ships is filled with an array of gifts that the Lord has blessed each of us with. We are all able to work together to essentially treat the entire body of the people here in Liberia. Not just the mouth. There are lots of teams that are doing wonderful things here and it was nice to get out and experience that first hand.





The Eye Team!
Giving the kids cookies

The line-up of patients outside the clinic in the morning. Only 100 people will get seen.