Most of the others on the ship blog as well and they have great stories to share. So when you're all caught up with my posts and want some more to read... check out their blogs. These are some of the good ones. Enjoy.
http://www.iknowwhoholdstomorrow.blogspot.com/
This is the blog of one of my roommates from Canada.
http://alirae.net/blog/
The best blog I have ever read. This nurse has been with Mercy Ships for years and also has traveled elsewhere in the world. Her blog even won an award for being on of the top 20 travel nurse blogs. An amazing nurse and person!!
http://racheljonesrn.wordpress.com/
This is the blog of a fellow nurse and Connecticut native! She writes so well. Enjoy!
http://africameetsdanielle.blogspot.com/
Another nurse's blog. She does alot of in the country adventures and has great stories to share.
http://nauticalnursing.blogspot.com/
This nurse is hilarious! So much fun and her blogs are just as fun!
http://jky2003.blogspot.com/
This blog is by one of our cooks. It shares a whole other side of Mercy Ships.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Day in the OR
I failed to share the day I spent in the operating room. I'm sorry. So here it is! We, as crew, have the opportunity to spend a day in the operating rooms if we desire. A few weeks back on one of my days off I did this. I was able to observe three operations and it was cool to see what goes one in the OR, as well as see how the staff, all from different countries work together.
In the ward, we all work well together, but we all have our own patients and we don't often encounter conflict or a clash between two styles of nursing or in different ways of doing a nursing task. In the OR, the scrub nurse works so closely with the surgeon and the anesthesiologist. It was definitely a great thing to witness.
In the first operating room I visited, our general surgeon, from Uganda, was doing an inguinal hernia repair on a child. Something that I have been curious about since being here is why there are so many inguinal hernias, and why there are so many in the young boys as well. I don't have an answer, nor do I have any proof really if the incidence is more than it would be in the Western world. Once I find the answer, I will be sure to share. This was a boring surgery and almost complete by the time I went in. I watched as the surgeon isolated and removed the sac in which the hernia had protruded, as he finished the surgery and closed the patient.
The second operation I witnessed was performed by an ENT surgeon from South Africa. He was removing a few neurofibromas that had formed to the front, back and side of the patient's ear. That was a cool surgery to watch.
The third operation was a flap release on a patient who had previously had a flap created to make a top lip. The patient was a 12 year old girl who had had cancrum oris when she was between 1 and 2 years of age. Cancrum oris is a gangrenous disease that destroys tissue of the face, mouth and cheek. It occurs in third world countries, as it occurs where the predisposing factors of malnutrition, dehydration, poor oral hygiene, and poor sanitation exist. As a result of the disease, if one survives, there is usually significant facial destruction. This patient had a missing portion of her top lip.
I had met this girl at the Hope Center prior to her first surgery and she was so conscious of her missing lip, that she wanted to cover her mouth in all the pictures we took together.
Three weeks prior, she had an Abbe flap surgery done, also known as a lip switch where the bottom lip is used to create a flap to the top and she remained that way for three weeks so that blood supply to the new top lip remained. This surgery was releasing the flap and creating two lips, an upper and a lower. Very very cool surgery to witness. The Max-fac surgeon here on board is an amazing gift to West Africa. He's from America, but has been doing surgeries in West Africa and with Mercy Ships for many many years. He is so talented in his ability to reconstruct faces and correct deformities. It truly is incredible! I saw her a few days after the surgery, and though she still has steristrips to the site, she has two beautiful lips, with which she will some day soon be able to smile with confidence!!
I was able to see how everyone worked well together. The scrub nurse not only provided the tools and supplies to the surgeon, but also acted as the surgeons assistant, often holding retractors in place and pulling portions of skin back, etc. In two of the operating room, the two nurses, the scrub and circulator both worked together at home. That was cool because they already had their own sort of system going on and were used to working with each other. The surgeons were all very good at working with others and were very patient with the others in the room. The anesthesiologists were all great! One was from the UK, another from Holland and the third from Germany.
I was not allowed to take pictures of the operations themselves, but here are some photos of the OR. Enjoy!!
In the ward, we all work well together, but we all have our own patients and we don't often encounter conflict or a clash between two styles of nursing or in different ways of doing a nursing task. In the OR, the scrub nurse works so closely with the surgeon and the anesthesiologist. It was definitely a great thing to witness.
In the first operating room I visited, our general surgeon, from Uganda, was doing an inguinal hernia repair on a child. Something that I have been curious about since being here is why there are so many inguinal hernias, and why there are so many in the young boys as well. I don't have an answer, nor do I have any proof really if the incidence is more than it would be in the Western world. Once I find the answer, I will be sure to share. This was a boring surgery and almost complete by the time I went in. I watched as the surgeon isolated and removed the sac in which the hernia had protruded, as he finished the surgery and closed the patient.
The second operation I witnessed was performed by an ENT surgeon from South Africa. He was removing a few neurofibromas that had formed to the front, back and side of the patient's ear. That was a cool surgery to watch.
The third operation was a flap release on a patient who had previously had a flap created to make a top lip. The patient was a 12 year old girl who had had cancrum oris when she was between 1 and 2 years of age. Cancrum oris is a gangrenous disease that destroys tissue of the face, mouth and cheek. It occurs in third world countries, as it occurs where the predisposing factors of malnutrition, dehydration, poor oral hygiene, and poor sanitation exist. As a result of the disease, if one survives, there is usually significant facial destruction. This patient had a missing portion of her top lip.
I had met this girl at the Hope Center prior to her first surgery and she was so conscious of her missing lip, that she wanted to cover her mouth in all the pictures we took together.
 |
| A good picture of Usman, Abie, and me! |
Three weeks prior, she had an Abbe flap surgery done, also known as a lip switch where the bottom lip is used to create a flap to the top and she remained that way for three weeks so that blood supply to the new top lip remained. This surgery was releasing the flap and creating two lips, an upper and a lower. Very very cool surgery to witness. The Max-fac surgeon here on board is an amazing gift to West Africa. He's from America, but has been doing surgeries in West Africa and with Mercy Ships for many many years. He is so talented in his ability to reconstruct faces and correct deformities. It truly is incredible! I saw her a few days after the surgery, and though she still has steristrips to the site, she has two beautiful lips, with which she will some day soon be able to smile with confidence!!
I was able to see how everyone worked well together. The scrub nurse not only provided the tools and supplies to the surgeon, but also acted as the surgeons assistant, often holding retractors in place and pulling portions of skin back, etc. In two of the operating room, the two nurses, the scrub and circulator both worked together at home. That was cool because they already had their own sort of system going on and were used to working with each other. The surgeons were all very good at working with others and were very patient with the others in the room. The anesthesiologists were all great! One was from the UK, another from Holland and the third from Germany.
I was not allowed to take pictures of the operations themselves, but here are some photos of the OR. Enjoy!!
A bit out of my league!
So this past week, I was again on a stretch of night shifts. I went into them anticipating great nights, becuase most of the B ward patients were hernia patients who wouldn't require much during the night hours. If I only knew that I would actually be on C Ward, which is our overflow unit, which is currently populated with Maxillofacial patients.
To say the least, I was out of my comfort zone. I had gotten used to and quite comfortable with all the general patients and even the plastics patients, but hadn't yet cared for a max-fac patient. The first night I was actually split between B and C ward, and I was thankful that the C ward patients I had were a few days out from their surgery dates and generally slept through the night. Three of the patients had had ICBG surgery.
That stands for ileac crest bone graft. Patients who have facial tumors removed from the lower portion of their jaws often also require mandiblectomies (or removal of the mandible or lower jaw). During that initial operation, metal plates are placed to create a new jaw and then after that initial surgery heals, the patient returns to have the bone graft. Bone is taken from the top of the hip bone and manipulated and placed onto the metal plate to provide added strength to the plate. This is necessary so that the person will be able to chew and eat as one with a normal jawbone would be able to. These patients, as can be imagined, have alot of pain and actually require bupivicaine injections into the hip for a few days post op, in addition to oral analgesia to help with the jaw pain. I also had a baby who was post op day 1 after having a cleft lip repair. This baby required scheduled pain medication during the night but otherwise slept. So all in all it was a great night.
On the third night of my stretch, I was placed solely in C ward and had 10 max-fac patients to care for myself. What a challenge! I felt so overwhelmed when getting handover, firstly because they were all max-fac, secondly because I was by myself, and thirdly because there were many things I was going to have to do that I haven't done yet while being here on the ship.
I had 5 ICBG patients, all in different postoperative stages, one still had her bupivicaine catheter in her hip.
One patient who was post op a hemimandibulectomy (portion of mandible removed). She had a cancerous tumor which had been removed. After surgery, she had some issues with healing and developed some necrotic tissue and nerve exposure. She was experiencing alot of pain and may eventually need to go back to the OR. She had an NGT for liquid feedings.
There was another patient who had a displaced jaw and was post op (I forget the name of the procedure). During her immediate post op period, however, she was unable to swallow meds and ended up needed a nasogastric tube for medication administration.
I had a pre op cleft lip repair baby and a post op cleft lip baby, who had just had surgery that day.
My last patient was a young girl who had a supraorbital mass that was going to be removed the next day.
Sounds busy enough, right?! I asked the Lord for grace for the night and I'm so glad He was with me along the way. It was one crazy night! It was the first night where I didn't get tired or had time to sit. It was go go go all night. Pain meds here, pain meds there, feedings for this baby, oral rehydration for this patient, NGT feed for that patient, preop washes for the preop patients, starting IV fluids on this patient, more pain meds here, vital signs on all of them and those who were postop only 1 or 2 days, it was vital signs every 4 hours. I had one patient who started vomiting. Another choked on his meds. It was quite the night. I thank the Lord He helped me through.
I was able to witness and can with confidence say that He never gives us more than we can handle. Mother Theresa once said, “I know God won't give me anything I can't handle. I just wish he didn't trust me so much.” I sort of felt this way, but remembered that not only does God not give us more than we can handle but He always is there to help us through. He never leaves us to do it by ourselves. How encouraging! So to all my fellow friends and readers, trust God and know that when the task ahead seems impossible or very difficult, know that we have a God who cares and who will never leave us on our own. He is with us each step of the way. Be encouraged!
To say the least, I was out of my comfort zone. I had gotten used to and quite comfortable with all the general patients and even the plastics patients, but hadn't yet cared for a max-fac patient. The first night I was actually split between B and C ward, and I was thankful that the C ward patients I had were a few days out from their surgery dates and generally slept through the night. Three of the patients had had ICBG surgery.
That stands for ileac crest bone graft. Patients who have facial tumors removed from the lower portion of their jaws often also require mandiblectomies (or removal of the mandible or lower jaw). During that initial operation, metal plates are placed to create a new jaw and then after that initial surgery heals, the patient returns to have the bone graft. Bone is taken from the top of the hip bone and manipulated and placed onto the metal plate to provide added strength to the plate. This is necessary so that the person will be able to chew and eat as one with a normal jawbone would be able to. These patients, as can be imagined, have alot of pain and actually require bupivicaine injections into the hip for a few days post op, in addition to oral analgesia to help with the jaw pain. I also had a baby who was post op day 1 after having a cleft lip repair. This baby required scheduled pain medication during the night but otherwise slept. So all in all it was a great night.
On the third night of my stretch, I was placed solely in C ward and had 10 max-fac patients to care for myself. What a challenge! I felt so overwhelmed when getting handover, firstly because they were all max-fac, secondly because I was by myself, and thirdly because there were many things I was going to have to do that I haven't done yet while being here on the ship.
I had 5 ICBG patients, all in different postoperative stages, one still had her bupivicaine catheter in her hip.
One patient who was post op a hemimandibulectomy (portion of mandible removed). She had a cancerous tumor which had been removed. After surgery, she had some issues with healing and developed some necrotic tissue and nerve exposure. She was experiencing alot of pain and may eventually need to go back to the OR. She had an NGT for liquid feedings.
There was another patient who had a displaced jaw and was post op (I forget the name of the procedure). During her immediate post op period, however, she was unable to swallow meds and ended up needed a nasogastric tube for medication administration.
I had a pre op cleft lip repair baby and a post op cleft lip baby, who had just had surgery that day.
My last patient was a young girl who had a supraorbital mass that was going to be removed the next day.
Sounds busy enough, right?! I asked the Lord for grace for the night and I'm so glad He was with me along the way. It was one crazy night! It was the first night where I didn't get tired or had time to sit. It was go go go all night. Pain meds here, pain meds there, feedings for this baby, oral rehydration for this patient, NGT feed for that patient, preop washes for the preop patients, starting IV fluids on this patient, more pain meds here, vital signs on all of them and those who were postop only 1 or 2 days, it was vital signs every 4 hours. I had one patient who started vomiting. Another choked on his meds. It was quite the night. I thank the Lord He helped me through.
I was able to witness and can with confidence say that He never gives us more than we can handle. Mother Theresa once said, “I know God won't give me anything I can't handle. I just wish he didn't trust me so much.” I sort of felt this way, but remembered that not only does God not give us more than we can handle but He always is there to help us through. He never leaves us to do it by ourselves. How encouraging! So to all my fellow friends and readers, trust God and know that when the task ahead seems impossible or very difficult, know that we have a God who cares and who will never leave us on our own. He is with us each step of the way. Be encouraged!
 |
| Some of our cleft lip babies from C and D ward! I took care of the one with the balloon on my first night!! Cutie :) |
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
A Forgotton God?
Today in my devotions I did a mini study on the Holy Spirit. I have been using Our Daily Bread as a template, as it were, for my personal time with God and today's was entitled "The Forgotten God." I recalled the name as being the same as a book written by Francis Chan, a great author of many spiritual books. I knew the devotional would be about the Holy Spirit and the excerpt focused on how the Holy Spirit is not impersonal but rather is involved in many aspects of our lives as believers. It then began to list Scriptures that talked about how the Holy Spirit is ever living and present in our affairs. I'm going to share some of them with you. :)
The Holy Spirit is present everywhere.
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there, If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. Psalm 139: 7-8
The Holy Spirit knows all things.
But God revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 1 Corinthians 2:10-11
The Holy Spirit has infinite power.
The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore , also, that Holy One who is to born will be called the Son of God. Luke 1:35
The Holy Spirit does what only God can do:
Create- The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Genesis 1:2
Give Life- For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:2
The Holy Spirit is involved and engages in personal ways with us:
Grieves when we sin- And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30
Teaches us- These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 1 Corinthians 2:13
Prays for us- Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Romans 8:26
Guides us- However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all thruth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. John 16:13
Gives us spiritual gifts- But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. 1 Coritthians 12:11
Assures us of salvation- For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Romans 8:6
The verse in pink spoke to me the most today. A few weeks back I was asked to do devotions for the ward nurses and the Lord placed on my heart to encourage the other nurses from John chapter 17 where the Lord Jesus is praying to God for his disciples. We started by talking about who and what is a disciple. A disciple is one who follows Christ. He is one who heeds the teaching of the Lord Jesus (John 8:31) and one who loves his fellow man (John 13:35).
As followers of Christ we are His disciples and we were encouraged by the words Jesus prayed for us. We meditated on the thought that Jesus loves us so much that He desires to pray for us and to commit us to God. He prays "Now I am no longer in the world, but theses are tin the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are." Can you imagine Jesus sitting on the right hand of God, praying for those who follow Him. How awesome! We also thought about how we often don't always know what to pray and we were encouraged to know that even when we don't know what to say, we can be assured that Jesus is also praying. This verse above tells me that not only does Jesus pray for us, but that the Holy Spirit also does; and the Holy Spirit prays specifically for the things that we forget or don't even know we ought to pray for. God really wanted to make sure all the bases were covered. We are so mortal and small compared to God's greatness. We are forgetful beings and don't always know what is important. I am encouraged to know that I serve a God who knows all things and knows my needs even before they are uttered. What an amazing God! Let us never forget how good He is.
Be encouraged!
The Holy Spirit is present everywhere.
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there, If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. Psalm 139: 7-8
The Holy Spirit knows all things.
But God revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 1 Corinthians 2:10-11
The Holy Spirit has infinite power.
The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore , also, that Holy One who is to born will be called the Son of God. Luke 1:35
The Holy Spirit does what only God can do:
Create- The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Genesis 1:2
Give Life- For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:2
The Holy Spirit is involved and engages in personal ways with us:
Grieves when we sin- And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30
Teaches us- These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 1 Corinthians 2:13
Prays for us- Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Romans 8:26
Guides us- However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all thruth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. John 16:13
Gives us spiritual gifts- But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. 1 Coritthians 12:11
Assures us of salvation- For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Romans 8:6
The verse in pink spoke to me the most today. A few weeks back I was asked to do devotions for the ward nurses and the Lord placed on my heart to encourage the other nurses from John chapter 17 where the Lord Jesus is praying to God for his disciples. We started by talking about who and what is a disciple. A disciple is one who follows Christ. He is one who heeds the teaching of the Lord Jesus (John 8:31) and one who loves his fellow man (John 13:35).
As followers of Christ we are His disciples and we were encouraged by the words Jesus prayed for us. We meditated on the thought that Jesus loves us so much that He desires to pray for us and to commit us to God. He prays "Now I am no longer in the world, but theses are tin the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are." Can you imagine Jesus sitting on the right hand of God, praying for those who follow Him. How awesome! We also thought about how we often don't always know what to pray and we were encouraged to know that even when we don't know what to say, we can be assured that Jesus is also praying. This verse above tells me that not only does Jesus pray for us, but that the Holy Spirit also does; and the Holy Spirit prays specifically for the things that we forget or don't even know we ought to pray for. God really wanted to make sure all the bases were covered. We are so mortal and small compared to God's greatness. We are forgetful beings and don't always know what is important. I am encouraged to know that I serve a God who knows all things and knows my needs even before they are uttered. What an amazing God! Let us never forget how good He is.
Be encouraged!
Monday, October 10, 2011
Fatima's House
This past weekend, I went to Fatima's House, an orphanage located about an hour drive from Freetown. The orphanage was started by a local couple who took in orphans after the war. They then began taking in other children who were unwanted, albino, or who were to be given as sacrifices. As the orphanage grew, the couple bought some land about 1 hour from Freetown where they now have over 50 children ranging in ages from about 2 to 20 or so. The couple raises the children to value education and every child attends school. As a result, the children that have grown and left the orphanage are all educated- some are teachers, and three of the girls have become nurses. The couple also teaches them each to give back to the communities in which they came from.
A group of about 7 of us went and when we arrived, we were greeted by dozens of children. We had them gather together and we sang songs with them and we taught them about the Africa Mercy, its mission, the work that takes place on it and about doing God's will for our lives. We each shared what we do on the ship and why we were there and some shared about what they like most about the ship or something interesting about life on the ship. The older school age children and teenagers were very attentive. After we were done talking, we made paper replicas of the Africa Mercy from preprinted cutouts. Then we did some coloring pages with the kids, while others played soccer, and others played with another ball. It was nice being with the children who all have so much life and joy. Each child was so unique, yet they are all viewed and treated as one of the couple's children. The atmosphere was one of a large family; I believe that is how the couple intends for it to be. I even had to remind myself it was an orphanage. The young kids kept calling me "Auntie" a term used to address the women in a community. I was touched by the endearing name.
While we were visiting, the father of the house was attending a meeting with the locals. There have been recent attacks in the community and 12 kids (not children from the home) were taken this week and their body parts had been found. It is believed that children are being taken to be used as sacrifices and idol worship. Because the home is in that community and there are many children, there is extreme concern about what should be done. There is alot of fear in the community. Apparently there had been previous missing people but their whereabouts were unknown. After finding the bodies of the missing children, it is thought that the others were also taken to be sacrifices. Prayer for the home, the children and the community is needed. Pray for safety and for peace.
A group of about 7 of us went and when we arrived, we were greeted by dozens of children. We had them gather together and we sang songs with them and we taught them about the Africa Mercy, its mission, the work that takes place on it and about doing God's will for our lives. We each shared what we do on the ship and why we were there and some shared about what they like most about the ship or something interesting about life on the ship. The older school age children and teenagers were very attentive. After we were done talking, we made paper replicas of the Africa Mercy from preprinted cutouts. Then we did some coloring pages with the kids, while others played soccer, and others played with another ball. It was nice being with the children who all have so much life and joy. Each child was so unique, yet they are all viewed and treated as one of the couple's children. The atmosphere was one of a large family; I believe that is how the couple intends for it to be. I even had to remind myself it was an orphanage. The young kids kept calling me "Auntie" a term used to address the women in a community. I was touched by the endearing name.
While we were visiting, the father of the house was attending a meeting with the locals. There have been recent attacks in the community and 12 kids (not children from the home) were taken this week and their body parts had been found. It is believed that children are being taken to be used as sacrifices and idol worship. Because the home is in that community and there are many children, there is extreme concern about what should be done. There is alot of fear in the community. Apparently there had been previous missing people but their whereabouts were unknown. After finding the bodies of the missing children, it is thought that the others were also taken to be sacrifices. Prayer for the home, the children and the community is needed. Pray for safety and for peace.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Reflections of Service
A few songs and scriptures that have touched my heart this week!
Lord I'm available to you
You gave me my hands to reach out to man,
to show him Your love and Your perfect plan.
You gave me my ears, I can hear Your voice so clear;
I can hear the cries of sinners,
but can I wipe away their tears?
You gave me my voice to speak Your word,
to sing all Your praises to those who never heard;
but with my eyes I can see
a need for more availability,
I've seen hearts that have been broken,
so many people to be free.
Chorus
Lord, I'm available to You.
My will I give to You,
I'll do what You say do,
use me Lord to show someone the way
and enable me to say,
my storage is empty and I am available to You.
Now I'm giving back to You
all the tools You gave to me
my hands, my ears, my voice, my eyes,
so You can use them as You please.
I have emptied out my cup
so that you can fill me up.
Now I'm free, I just want to be more available to You.
John chapter 15 and John chapter 17
"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you , unless you abide in Me... By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be my disciples."
"These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."
Chapter 17 vs 6-19 is Jesus praying to God for his disciples. The Bible says that he who heeds the teachings of the Lord Jesus are His disciples and those who love one another are his disciples. Those who serve Him are His disciples and I was encouraged to know that Jesus prays for His disciples, all those who follow Him. He cares for us so much that He goes to God on our behalf ... "Christ, who is at the right hand of God, also makes intercession for us" Romans 8:34. How awesome and encouraging! He prays that God will keep us through His name and that we may be joined together as one (vs. 11).
Working with Mercy Ships has shown me a perfect example of the body of Christ. There are so many different facets, departments, and tasks that are performed by so many different people in order for this ministry to function and it serves as a great picture of the fact that "the body is not one member but many" and how one cannot function without the other (1 Cor 12).
God has really showed Himself to me this week. I have been praying about and thinking about His will for me in terms of extending or coming back to serve in Togo, and at times I feel as if I'm praying on deaf ears. I know that God is there, I know He is listening and hears my desires, wishes, and concerns, but sometimes it feels as if I can't hear what He has to say to me. This past Sunday, I went to Pastor Abu's church and the service was about waiting on the Lord.
He preached from Habakkuk 2: 1-3.
"I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, and watch and see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected. Then the Lord answered me and said: 'Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he amy run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Becuase it will surely com, It will not tarry.'"
He used the passage to talk about how the Lord's timing is the best timing and we must learn to wait patiently for His timing. It may be for us to wait for an answer to a question that we have been waiting for an answer or to wait for direction, or to wait for a desire to be fulfilled. While we wait, we are to be faithful and committed to what we are to do in our present circumstances, and even when the challenges and hard times come we must wait our time and not take things in our own hands and move ahead of God. He shared examples of those who didn't wait on the Lord's timing including Abraham in Genesis 16. God has promised him and his wife a child, but Abraham and Sarah became impatient and took things in their own hands, and as a result Ishmael was born and this has further resulted in consequences we currently see and deal with. Saul also was impatient in 1 Samuel 13 where he was to wait for Samuel to perform the offering. He couldn't wait and did the sacrifice himself and as a result, he lost his kingdom. We must remember that "God has a divine calendar." I was really touched by the sermon and felt God was telling me to just wait on Him and in His time, He will reveal to me His plan for my life. GOD CAN NEVER BE TOO LATE!! How wonderful!!
Sunday night in the service on the ship, the sermon started and the topic was "Waiting on the Lord." I was in shock. God couldn't have made it any clearer that He just wants me to be patient to hear from him. I am ready and willing to do His will, for His glory.
Take My Life and Let it Be
Take my life and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days,
let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands and let them move
at the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
swift and beautiful for Thee.
Take my voice and let me sing
always, only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold
not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
every power as You choose.
Take my will and make it Thine
it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart it is Thine own
it shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord I pour
at Your feet its treasure store
Take myself and I will be
ever, only, all for Thee.
Take myself and I will be
ever, only, all for Thee.
Lord I'm available to you
You gave me my hands to reach out to man,
to show him Your love and Your perfect plan.
You gave me my ears, I can hear Your voice so clear;
I can hear the cries of sinners,
but can I wipe away their tears?
You gave me my voice to speak Your word,
to sing all Your praises to those who never heard;
but with my eyes I can see
a need for more availability,
I've seen hearts that have been broken,
so many people to be free.
Chorus
Lord, I'm available to You.
My will I give to You,
I'll do what You say do,
use me Lord to show someone the way
and enable me to say,
my storage is empty and I am available to You.
Now I'm giving back to You
all the tools You gave to me
my hands, my ears, my voice, my eyes,
so You can use them as You please.
I have emptied out my cup
so that you can fill me up.
Now I'm free, I just want to be more available to You.
John chapter 15 and John chapter 17
"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you , unless you abide in Me... By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be my disciples."
"These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."
Chapter 17 vs 6-19 is Jesus praying to God for his disciples. The Bible says that he who heeds the teachings of the Lord Jesus are His disciples and those who love one another are his disciples. Those who serve Him are His disciples and I was encouraged to know that Jesus prays for His disciples, all those who follow Him. He cares for us so much that He goes to God on our behalf ... "Christ, who is at the right hand of God, also makes intercession for us" Romans 8:34. How awesome and encouraging! He prays that God will keep us through His name and that we may be joined together as one (vs. 11).
Working with Mercy Ships has shown me a perfect example of the body of Christ. There are so many different facets, departments, and tasks that are performed by so many different people in order for this ministry to function and it serves as a great picture of the fact that "the body is not one member but many" and how one cannot function without the other (1 Cor 12).
God has really showed Himself to me this week. I have been praying about and thinking about His will for me in terms of extending or coming back to serve in Togo, and at times I feel as if I'm praying on deaf ears. I know that God is there, I know He is listening and hears my desires, wishes, and concerns, but sometimes it feels as if I can't hear what He has to say to me. This past Sunday, I went to Pastor Abu's church and the service was about waiting on the Lord.
He preached from Habakkuk 2: 1-3.
"I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, and watch and see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected. Then the Lord answered me and said: 'Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he amy run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Becuase it will surely com, It will not tarry.'"
He used the passage to talk about how the Lord's timing is the best timing and we must learn to wait patiently for His timing. It may be for us to wait for an answer to a question that we have been waiting for an answer or to wait for direction, or to wait for a desire to be fulfilled. While we wait, we are to be faithful and committed to what we are to do in our present circumstances, and even when the challenges and hard times come we must wait our time and not take things in our own hands and move ahead of God. He shared examples of those who didn't wait on the Lord's timing including Abraham in Genesis 16. God has promised him and his wife a child, but Abraham and Sarah became impatient and took things in their own hands, and as a result Ishmael was born and this has further resulted in consequences we currently see and deal with. Saul also was impatient in 1 Samuel 13 where he was to wait for Samuel to perform the offering. He couldn't wait and did the sacrifice himself and as a result, he lost his kingdom. We must remember that "God has a divine calendar." I was really touched by the sermon and felt God was telling me to just wait on Him and in His time, He will reveal to me His plan for my life. GOD CAN NEVER BE TOO LATE!! How wonderful!!
Sunday night in the service on the ship, the sermon started and the topic was "Waiting on the Lord." I was in shock. God couldn't have made it any clearer that He just wants me to be patient to hear from him. I am ready and willing to do His will, for His glory.
Take My Life and Let it Be
Take my life and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days,
let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands and let them move
at the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
swift and beautiful for Thee.
Take my voice and let me sing
always, only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold
not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
every power as You choose.
Take my will and make it Thine
it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart it is Thine own
it shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord I pour
at Your feet its treasure store
Take myself and I will be
ever, only, all for Thee.
Take myself and I will be
ever, only, all for Thee.
Joy in the midst of pain
Someone from home has asked me if every day is as good as I make them sound on the blog, and asked me if I ever have a bad day. The honest answer is yes, there are some bad days, but they are so few I can count them on one hand. Thank the Lord!
The wards have been busy. I am still alternating between A ward and B ward. This week I was only on B ward which currently has a nice mix of plastics patients and general surgery patients. I generally have 5 – 7 patients during the shift and that usually includes a few dressing changes. Plastics dressing changes can be very tedious. Meticulous care has to be taken with the graft sites and sterility of the sites must be maintained since they are susceptible to infection. It also requires, at times, more than one nurse to do the dressing change, one who assists to help maintain sterility. This, as a result, sometimes leaves only one nurse on the ward to care for the other 19 patients. It can get busy and overwhelming at times, but the atmosphere is still wonderful.
This week, I experienced a heart wrenching experience. We have a patient on the ward who had burn contracture releases done on her neck, axilla and arm. Her axilla and arm graft sites and her donor site became infected and she was now requiring twice a day dressing changes with vinegar soaks as treatment for the infection. Having been assigned to her, I only had 4 patients, because her dressing change can take a few hours. This was my first experience with vinegar soaks on the infected wound, and it hadn’t occurred to me how painful it could be. She now was getting premedicated not only with pain medication but with an antianxiety medication as well. The surgeon wanted all three of her sites to be changed at once so he couldl visualize them to assess whether they had improved enough to regraft. As I was removing the old dressings, she started to cry from the pain of the dressings coming off the raw infected wounds. I couldn’t bare to know I was causing her that much pain. I had another nurse and a day volunteer with me- one to hold her arm which had to remain close to 90 degrees from her body and the other to help me stay sterile. After the surgeon saw the wounds, I then began to apply the vinegar soaks. She was screaming and crying and begging me to stop. It was awful. Its hard to believe that something so painful can be doing any good. I have to wonder what else we can use for the infected wounds rather than something so caustic as vinegar. She asked me to stop and then asked me to pray. She then asked the other nurse to pray as we moved on to the other sites. By the end, two and a half hours later, she thanked me and thanked God for all the nurses and the doctors. I don’t understand. I was causing her so much pain, yet she was so greatful. This experience really took a toll on me. Causing someone that much pain just doesn’t seem right, even when in the situation, it is what is best. I teared up many times during the dressing change and prayed that God would take away her pain. I can only pray for her as she continues to go through these dressing changes daily, for strength and for decreased suffering as she experiences this.
The people here have suffered so much. And yet they are the most grateful, most appreciative people I have ever come in contact with. Many of them, when you ask them how they are doing, simply respond, Tell Papa God tenki, meaning “tell God thank you.” They have suffered in their lives and in the war, and they still find it in their hearts to thank God for each new day and for every situation they encounter. I find myself ungrateful for the smallest things but am reminded that all things come from the Lord, both the good and what may sometimes feel like bad.
Other than this dear heart, the ward and patients are great! I had seven patients yesterday, one of which was a fistula patient. This outreach we aren’t doing VVF fistula repairs but we had a 6 year old with rectovaginal fistula, which we did repair. I also cared for a 10 year old who had a ureteral stricture from pelvic trauma in a MVA a few years back. She was living with a suprapubic tube. After we removed her urinary catheter yesterday and she voided for the first time since the accident on her own, the joy she had was unexplainable. She couldn’t stop smiling and every time she went, she would make sure I knew and would keep count. J Oh the little things we take for granted.
I enjoy work and I enjoy connecting with the patients. I enjoy spending time with them both in the hospital and at the Hope Center. God is doing great work here in Sierra Leone. I have been praying about His will for my life after this outreach and my time here ends. Some have asked me to return for the outreach in Togo, which I’m praying about. Please pray with me as I seek the Lord’s mind for His will for my life.
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