Ebola

Mercy Ships made this public announcement a few days ago (August 8^th).  But things change rapidly and since then there have been several suspected cases of Ebola in Cotonou.

As our hospital ship, the Africa Mercy, prepares to leave for its ten-month mission to perform life-changing surgeries and train local healthcare professionals in Benin, West Africa, Mercy Ships continues to be acutely aware of the Ebola situation in the region. The organization is taking appropriate steps to protect its volunteers and staff. In April, Mercy Ships redirected its upcoming mission from Guinea to Benin out of caution for the safety of its crew. Benin has no reported cases of Ebola.

The Africa Mercy is the world’s largest civilian hospital ship, designed to operate as a surgical specialty hospital. It is not configured to provide the type of treatment required by Ebola patients. In addition to having changed its itinerary, Mercy Ships has also implemented strict travel restrictions to the affected areas and will continue to monitor the situation closely, making programmatic adjustments as needed.

Founder Don Stephens commented, “The well-being of our patients and dedicated crew is our greatest priority. It is fundamental to our continued service to the forgotten poor in Africa. Our prayers go out for the countries impacted by Ebola. These are places and people we know well because we have served them in multiple visits over more than two decades.”

Even if the suspected cases in Benin test negative, the threat remains real. We were due to set sail for Cotonou, Benin later this week but we have decided to postpone our departure for two weeks. Simultaneously we are making contingencies plans and praying for God to intervene and curb this epidemic.

For those of you who have been following Mercy Ships and/or Ebola, you will know the epidemic began in Guinea earlier this year, and rapidly spread to the neighboring countries of Liberia and Sierra Leone. Since then it has spread further through West Africa, where like Europe, travel across national borders for people from the region is easy. No visa’s are needed, the borders are porous. Although now there are reports of travel restrictions and various countries in the region have declared ‘state emergencies’.

Mercy Ships was originally planning to go to Guinea for ten months starting this august. But the Ebola outbreak in Guinea unfortunately meant we had to change plans at the last minute and divert to Benin. Last minute changes are a lot of work and our team currently in Benin has been working hard for the last four months building relationships and making everything ready for us to serve there. With confirmed cases of Ebola in Lagos, Nigeria approximately 2 hours away the possibility of confirmed cases in Cotonou is very real either now or in the future until this outbreak is under control. For those reading this who are intending to work with us in the next field service, know that crew safety is the highest priority for Mercy Ships.

The Ebola outbreak is unprecedented.

It is an extraordinary situation, and extraordinary situations require extraordinary solutions.  

So please pray for wisdom for me and the senior leaders of the organisation as we decide the best way forward.  The safety of our crew IS the priority. Our mission IS to follow the 2000 year old model of Jesus bringing help and healing to the forgotten poor. These two statements are not incompatible, even in the face of Ebola, and I will use all the skills that God has given me to ensure we do both to the highest level possible.

Learning French

I spent the month of June in Lausanne learning French. There were moments when I really thought, ‘this is one of the hardest things I have ever done!’ and then other moments when I was overwhelmed by the beauty of things I was experiencing.

Why French? For the most part, Mercy Ships works in Francophone countries in West Africa. The working language on board our ship is English, but for training doctors and nurses on the land we must work in French. One can use an interpreter but to make lasting relationships you need to connect with people and that requires communication. I know communication is more than simply the spoken word, it is also actions, for example, the words we ‘say’ with our smile or our touch. But words do bring extra depth. They permit sharing thoughts and feelings, emotions, all the things we treasure in a relationship. And without them, there is only so far a relationship can go.

In a teaching context, I can teach knowledge and skills using an interpreter, and attitude can be modelled. But if I (or you) reflect back on the people who have influenced us most in our professional or personal lives, it isn’t just the academic things you remember people for. Often it is because someone took a personal interest in you, and somehow helped you discover more about yourself and released you to fulfil your potential. It is personal, and that is why I want to learn French. To give to the people we train, something more than just academic knowledge, to get to know them as people and encourage them to reach higher than they dreamed before.

Why Lausanne? Simply because Mercy Ships has an office here and I have friends here. What a good decision that was – I had no idea how much I would need a good friend beside me. I was told recently that I talk a lot….I wasn’t aware that I did….but now I know it is true! When I arrived here and couldn’t speak, it felt like I was suddenly muted. When you can’t speak, you can’t express yourself. Normally I love meeting new people and enjoy finding out who they are or discussing things in a work context. But that was impossible. And it felt so un-natural not to say anything. There are those people who will go out for an evening with friends and not really say anything…..I am not one of them…..but I became one of them…and it felt awkward. Also, I am not a natural linguist. I found scientific things much easier at school, and I am also a little bit tone deaf. So, if I hear a music note, I can’t reproduce it. That makes it a bit tricky learning a new language. The French sounds ‘en’, ‘on’ and ‘an’ are not easy for me to hear the difference, let alone reproduce it when I speak, neither are the verb endings –é and –ais. Some of you reading this will be laughing….but it is true. I have really found this difficult.

I was in language school from 8.30 – 14.30 and would come home and do 2-3 hours of homework and practice. In many ways I worked harder than I did for some of my medical exams. But I absolutely loved it, although there were days when I found myself in tears. The feeling of being mute, and incapable of expressing myself was humbling. Every single day I was out of my comfort zone, and I didn’t want just to resort to speaking English, which would have been so easy here, as everybody speaks English! I set my standards high and gave myself little challenges like getting my haircut and speaking to the hair dresser in French ! And gradually despite the tears, I could see my progress. I was actually surprised how quickly my oral and written comprehension improved. Speaking though was, and still is slow…..the brain has to think so much quicker when you speak! Especially someone like me who likes to speak! 

I have been very lucky to be living with a friend, during the 4 weeks at language school. Sophie is from Lausanne, and we worked together on the ship for almost a year. She has been (and still is) a faithful and committed friend. She was generous with her time, driving me all the way into the city centre for my first day at school, and then helping me find my way around the city to various other meetings for Mercy Ships. She was patient with me, speaking French slowly at home most evenings, but still allowing me to speak in English when I was tired or frustrated! She graciously included me in most of her social activities with her friends and family and church. There I heard French spoken continuously and everyone was extremely welcoming. I also enjoyed meeting with the staff in the Swiss Mercy Ships office and I think they valued being able to meet a doctor from the ship. Several of Sophie’s family would also often correct my poor grammar in a way that was kind, helpful and not destructive. We did many fun things on the weekend such as climbing mountains; going to the Carabana Music Festival & Montreux Jazz Festival, eating fondue, drinking rose, celebrating Philippe and Francoise’s 40^th wedding anniversary, watching French movies and the World Cup. More than all I could ask or imagine. Good memories of beautiful experiences adding immeasurable value to the language learning.

So after 4 weeks I have learnt some French, and have acquired the necessary tools to help me with the next steps of increasing my fluidity in speaking and expanding my vocabulary. And instead of just ‘gritting my teeth’ and surviving, I have many precious memories of time with a friend and her family. 

After the rain, when there is sun, a rainbow appears. After my tears, there was joy, and then heaven appeared. I think that this month, I found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. 

June: goodbyes, sailing and more

What do you think of when you think of the month of June?

If you live in Cape Town you will be preparing for a dusting of snow on top of Table Mountain. Brrrrr! Go warm yourself beside an open fire.

In England, I think of English summers, strawberries, raspberries, and long evenings. And because I love sport I think of the various English sporting events that take place, Royal Ascot, the Derby, Henley, Wimbledon, and the various triathlons that I used to enjoy. But now, volunteering with Mercy Ships, June has become synonymous with two things. Firstly goodbye; and secondly, sailing.

Mercy Ships has an annual rhythm whereby we spend ten months in a country from August until June. Therefore June is always the time to say goodbye to people who have become friends. People in the host country and on the ship. Many crew members have written about the goodbye phenomena and how it feels, ‘holes in my life….created by the absence of people I love’; ‘like my heart is getting ripped out of my chest every time I say goodbye’; ‘why is this so hard?’; ‘I feel like I have an emotional hangover’.

Different people cope in different ways. I always try to take the attitude, ‘I can’t keep the best people here all for myself……I have to share them!’ I like to think I am releasing them to the next thing with every good wish and blessing, and however much it hurts I trust myself to the ONE who will never change or leave.

But after all the goodbyes, the ship sets sail. This is a beautiful time. A time for resetting the compass, literally and metaphorically. The Captain must check the compass and do a series of manoeuvres once we leave port to reset the compass and set the new destination. I do the same metaphorically. I use the sail as a time to reflect on things past and reset my bearings for what lies ahead.  The vastness of the ocean helps me do that. It creates the space to think.

The Africa Mercy set sail a few days ago from Pointe Noire for the Canary Islands, a fourteen day sail. However, this time I am not sailing with the ship. I have missed the beauty of the ocean and the thinking space it provides. I flew home a week ago to start language school in Switzerland, so I have had to create my own space instead. Space is in many ways a state of mind. Even in the midst of the business of last week in England and all the changes as I adjust to life in yet another foreign country, space is possible. And I am continually reminding myself to reset my compass. To make sure my foundation is secure so that as I start with the end in sight I know I am headed in the right direction. My crew mates on the Africa Mercy just crossed the point zero zero, where the equator meets the Greenwich (prime) meridian. I missed zero zero this year, but last year I sailed here on my birthday and I wrote about it on my September 2013 blog entitled 'Intersection'.

I am grateful for the last month. I don’t like goodbyes, but I do like sailing and I need the opportunity it gives me to check and reset my compass. What are you grateful for this month?

Note: None of the above photos are mine - they are all courtesy of various members of the Africa Mercy crew, including Josh Callow, the amazing Mercy Ships videographer who recently wrote a very heartfelt blog about goodbyes called 'The pieces of my scattered heart' which is well worth a read and describes the emotions far better than I can  www.josh-callow.blogspot.com