An unexpected opportunity...

 I am most definitely a task-oriented person. I know this shocks most of you! ;) Needless to say, I like to focus on goals and accomplish them. But often times I forget that the journey is just as important, if not more important, than the goal. God is teaching me is to slow down so I don't miss opportunities along the journey. At the moment, my goal is to serve patients aboard Mercy Ships. However, the Father had a different goal in

mind the other night.

 It was Friday night. I was starting the first of four night shifts. Before every shift the nurses gather to pray over the patients and each other. During the prayer time I was feeling a bit worried about how I was going to stay awake and what I would do with myself in the wee hours of the morning. The night shifts here on Mercy Ships are a bit slow, not like night shifts I am used to back home. The patients usually sleep and do not require much care. That night I was assigned to C ward and these patients in particular require even less care. Most of them had their surgery weeks ago and are almost ready to be discharged. Also, C ward is kind of lonely because you are the only nurse for all of the patients. It's just you and a translator hanging out all night. And the translators usually sleep some of the night because they have daytime jobs or kids and do not get to sleep much during the day. As all of these thoughts swarmed in my head, I sensed the Holy Spirit saying that I should ask him what he had for me that night. So, I did. I literally said, "ok, what do you have for me tonight Father?" And he answered by giving me the privilege of listening to Nina's story. Nina is one of our translators in both A and C ward. She worked with me that night and for the next three nights. During those night shifts I listened intently as she told me about her life here in Toamasina, her husband & three boys and how she came to work for Mercy Ships. As I sat there listening I realized how narrow minded I had become in my mission aboard Mercy Ships. Yes, the patients are the main focus, but there are so many other workers aboard the ship... engineers, dining room workers, receptionists, housekeepers, financial personnel, media liaisons, etc. Some of are Malagasy people hired by Mercy Ships. Some are people like me who have chosen to volunteer their time and resources. Whoever they are, each one has a story and plays an integral role in the ministry of Mercy Ships. Listening to Nina’s story reminded me that the Father calls me to be the hands and feet of Jesus to all people. Not just the patients. Just as He has called me to care for the patients, He also asks me to care for those He places in my path along the way. The Father chose an incredible way to remind me of this simple, yet profound and foundational commandment. I hope this encourages and motivates you today as you seek the Father’s will in your own life!
(The picture below is Nina and I during one of the night shifts)

 

Something more than medicine...

It was a busy shift on D ward. I normally work on A ward with the plastics patients, but today I was assigned to help in D ward taking care of patients with cleft lip and palates. In English, that means patients who are born with abnormal openings in their lips and or mouths (see picture below). Today I was assigned four to five patients one of whom had been having a fast heartbeat all night. Her heartbeat wasn’t scarily high, but high enough to be worrisome. The nightshift nurse I was taking over for was concerned. She had tried multiple things throughout the night to bring down this little girl’s heartbeat down to a normal rate, but was unsuccessful. As the night nurse and I talked about her, the little girl just laid there staring off into space. She didn’t seem to be interacting with her world at all. At first I thought she was just a little comatose from strong pain medication or still recovering from the drugs she’d been given during her surgery the day before.As the morning progressed I noticed her watching everything I did. She just lay there propped up on pillows following me with her eyes. At one point I needed to get a bit more invasive with my care….meaning look inside her mouth and check her IV. I brought the translator over and the patient’s grandfather helped too. She did everything I asked without complaint, but I sensed there was still something wrong. She was so stoic, non-interactive and seemed to stare right past me when I talked to her and tried to get her to smile. Not normal behavior for a 7-8 year old little girl. As I talked to her I sensed the Holy Spirit say maybe she’s just scared. I asked through the translator if she was scared. As the translator asked her in Malagasy I watched her face intently. She didn’t nod or speak, but a few seconds later huge crocodile tears started to fall from her eyes and stream down her cheeks. She was scared. This little girl had come back from surgery with very little understanding of what we had done to her face. Then she woke up with a sore throat, pain in her lips and mouth from where we had sewn her cleft lip shut and an IV in her foot. She was frightened and the only way she was allowing us to see this through a fast heartbeat.When she started to cry I leaned over and rubbed her back and told her in English it was ok; she was going to be ok. The translator said this to her in Malagasy. I then held out my hands for her to come to me. She held up her arms to me and as I picked her up she immediately wrapped her legs tight around my waist and placed her cheek against mine. It was all I could do to not cry myself. This poor little girl just needed some tangible loving. And I was more than happy to stand there and cuddle her. The incredible part was when I laid her back in bed and checked her heartbeat; it had come down to almost a normal range. It was all fixed by a hug!I wish I could say my hugs fix all the patients here, but that’s not the case. I work with an amazing team of doctors, nurses, physical therapists, translators, pharmacists, lab technicians and many others who God has called and equipped to work aboard this floating hospital!

A Highlight of my shift...

Hello everyone!

I’m still alive and well! There are so many stories and fun adventures I could tell you about, but I cannot possibly capture everything in blog posts. So here is one story in particular that touched my heart. It was my second shift on the ward. For the first 6 weeks I am assigned to the “plastics” ward. This means most of the patients have burn wounds on their arms, hands, neck and/or legs. The burns are old and the scar tissue around the joint has healed into a deformed and immobile position, which renders that body part nearly useless.

The little girl I was taking care of that night had been accidentally pushed into a fire around the age of two. [To protect her privacy we’ll call her “Nicki”] Her burns where quite extensive, covering most her chest, back, right arm and right side of her face. Nicki is now six years old and unable to move her right arm and neck. When I started my shift, Nicki and her mother were brought to the ward from recovery. At first Nicki was drowsy, lying quietly on the bed with her mother sitting next to her. A large bandage covered her chest and neck. As she began to wake up she became restless and upset. Since she was speaking Malagasy (the language of Madagascar), I was unable to understand why she was crying. I thought she might be in pain and/or scared. I made sure she was receiving enough pain medication and then brought the translator over to help me talk with her mom to see if there was something else I could do. After a bit of back and forth translation and charades we found out Nicki just wanted an apple. J Haha! Unfortunately, since she had just come back from surgery and we were only able to give her some water and crackers. This seemed to satisfy for a little while, but she soon became restless and fussy again. It’s hard to keep a 6 year old trapped in a tiny hospital ward on a ship with no windows and on bed rest when they are used to living most of their life outside.

Later that evening I had to give her some medication and she was not having it!  I tried every trick in the book to get her to take the medication. She was even refusing to take it from her mom. Finally we just had to force her to take it, which proved somewhat difficult with the big bandage on her chest and neck. Needless to say, afterwards we were not friends!

I felt bad having to hold her down and force her to take the medication. These kids go through so much transition. They are plucked from their home in the village, brought to a ship full of white people who are scary and don’t speak their language. Then we poke and prod them, make them take yucky medications and cause them physical pain. I kept thinking “What could I do to make this little girl feel loved, cared for and safe?” Later that evening I came over to tend to her and reached to hold her hand. She noticed my nail polish and seemed to like it. I made some hand motions indicating that I could paint her nails. I don’t think she understood what I meant but when I came back and started painting her nails she gave me a big smile.

It was a beautiful moment that we didn’t need language to share. And was definitely a highlight of my shift!

Hopefully the slideshow below works! Enjoy the pictures!

I’ve arrived safely in Madagascar!

Please forgive the delayed post. I arrived late Thursday night in the capital city (Antananarivo). Unfortunately, the guesthouse internet was spotty and I was unable to update everyone. I arrived with 5 other Mercy Ship nurses and we had two lovely days in the Antananarivo before heading to the Africa Mercy Ship. During the two days in Antananarivo we spent time getting to know each other, explored one of the local markets and visited a lemur park. Before we knew it, it was time to go to the ship. There were a total of 21 Mercy Ship crew members traveling to the ship. Some were first timers and others this was their 7^th or 8^th time serving with Mercy Ships. Many were nurses, but others had jobs such as dining services, communications/media team and ship officer. It was so neat to hear where everyone was from, hear their stories of how God brought them to Mercy Ships and learn their different positions aboard the ship.

After a 10hr bus ride we finally arrived to the ship Sunday evening around 5pm. Since then it has been a whirlwind of hospital orientation and then I jumped right into my first shift at work! I cannot even begin to describe the amazing infrastructure and community aboard Africa Mercy. The ship is like a small town. It has everything from a bank, HR department, Starbucks, and of course a hospital! J It is an incredible privilege to be a part of something so unique and transforming.

At the heart of Mercy Ships ministry the goal is to exemplify Jesus and transform lives, not just physically but emotionally and spiritually as well. The goal of nursing care here is so very different from nursing in the States. In the states the focus is physical care and being able to know everything about your patient from a medical standpoint. Here on Mercy Ships we still care for our patients’ physical needs, but the emotional and spiritual needs are seen as the biggest priority. We get to know our patients, their stories; how we can meet their emotional/spiritual needs and pray for them.

We could give you the best surgery; you could have the best outcome and the physical transformation could be perfect, but if we haven’t exemplified Jesus and opened the door for His transforming power to work in your heart, then we’ve missed the point of ministry and serving.

It is definitely not by accident that God has brought me to Madagascar and surrounded me with a ministry community to remind me again how important it is to make emotional and spiritual care the main priorities!

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and pray for me. It is a privilege to be an extension of you in Madagascar!

Enjoy the pictures below!

 

Hi Everybody!

Great news....I am FULLY FUNDED!! I have reached my goal of $6,000 and then some. The extra funds will go towards other Mercy Ship crew members who are not fully funded yet. Thank you so much for your generous donations and prayers!

Join me as I pray for listening ears to hear God speak and prepare my heart to serve the people of Madagascar.

Hello Everyone!

First of all, THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the support following my video testimony last Sunday! I was blow away by your words of encouragement and monetary support. Through your donations I was able to raise $4,345.00 so far! (My goal is to raise $6,000.00 total). I have no doubt that God will continue to provide.

If you were unable to see my video testimony, see below to watch it.

At this point I am finishing up work and starting to think about a packing list! Only 5 weeks left of work. My last day is January 2nd. And then January 6th my flight leaves for Madagascar!

Thank you again for taking the time to be involved by reading my updates and praying. I believe the Father is doing amazing things through Mercy Ships and I am blessed to have the opportunity to be a part of it!

A Floating Hospital: Bringing hope and healing to the world's forgotten poor

“A floating hospital” that’s how I’ve been describing Mercy Ships. But, that's an understatement and doesn’t even begin to describe how the Father is using the ministry of Mercy Ships in Toamasina, Madagascar.

I am super excited to announce that I will be joining the Mercy Ships Crew for a three month term this January through March (2016)! I resigned from my current position as a nurse at Hershey Medical Center in order to volunteer as a nurse aboard the ship for three months. I will be taking care of kiddos before and after their surgeries.

Mercy Ships is an organization that provides FREE life saving surgeries to under-resourced people groups who have little-to-no access to any form of health care. One of the unique “vehicles” used by Mercy Ships is literally a big ship called "Africa Mercy" that has been converted into a hospital. BUT, there is so much more that goes into providing care, beyond just the surgery itself. The crew is literally the hands and feet of Jesus. We come in HIS name not only to help with immediate needs, but also to support and equip the people of Madagascar as they strive to improve their developing country. Lives are physically, spiritually and emotionally transformed. Would you consider joining me on this adventure? The Father has asked me to go and serve, but I cannot do it alone. Would you consider supporting me through prayer and/or monetarily?

My goal is to raise $6,000. All of your donations made via this my blog site are tax deductible and will help cover my monthly crew room/board fees, airfare costs and miscellaneous expenses such as shots, insurance, etc.

The ship pictured below is the actual ship I will be living and working on for the duration of my time in Toamasina, Madagascar. Thank you for your support. I look forward to communicating with you via my blogspot (the link is below)!!

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