Every good and perfect gift

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17

I love this verse as it reminds me of the goodness and faithfulness of God. And I need that reminder. The verse tells me He is consistent. He does not change like shifting shadows. In uncertainty He remains the one certainty. And all good things come from Him, He is more than simply the author and giver of life. He is the author of good things, He is the ultimate source of goodness and blessing.

Life is a little uncertain right now. Who knows what the future holds? Who knows how I will get through the next few months - there is a lot on my plate, lots of things to juggle, deadlines approaching as our time in Madagascar draws to a close, while at the same time planning projects for Benin and Cameroon with deadlines for those rapidly approaching too. I am on route from the ship in Toamasina, to the capital city Antananarivo about to start the last of our training courses. Normally the flight goes direct or takes a minor detour via Isle St.Marie. But with the airline Air Madagascar nothing is ever certain. There are frequent changes. The first one was that instead of a brief stop in St.Marie I now have 6.5 hours. But then an hour ago that changed and the delay is now only 5.5 hours.

But I am reminded that God knows all things and I decided to visit a local hotel and wait there as there is very little at the airport - is not staffed all day! So I am sitting writing this at a beautiful place called Princess Bora hotel. And they have been very generous and actually given me a room to use while I wait. The room is free of charge and is stunning! They love Mercy Ships and this is their way of contributing to what we do. What a blessing, and a good reminder that all good things come from God. I needed the space today. Space to think and read and recharge my batteries!

A few days ago I had spent several days visiting three other towns in Madagascar where we have done ‘checklist training’. But then more uncertainty. The weather here was terrible, so the tiny Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) plane could not take my friend and I back to the ship in Toamasina. Instead we ended up in the capital 8 hours drive away, and uncertain how to get home? MAF could not take us back the next day or the day after, we didn't have passports with us so couldn't get a domestic Air Madagascar flight. So we took a car and arrived back at 1am. Uncertainty. I missed some meetings, still struggling to reschedule one of them, and I was tired but at least I had 24 hours on the ship before heading back to Antananarivo – hence I am grateful for a few hours in a beautiful hotel today. A very tangible reminder of God's goodness.

I am reminded that God knows what we need. And as this field service draws to a close I am incredibly proud that we have trained over 1500 people, and operated on approximately 1400 patients. That is a lot of lives impacted by our small and dedicated team. No wonder we are tired. No wonder we need a break. But every moment was worth it, every late night, every tear shed when I had moments of uncertainty, or not sure how we would pull something off, or not sure what was the best decision to make. And I know God’s goodness in it all. His goodness to me, to the people we trained, to the patients, to my family and supporters.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created” James 1:17+18

Thank you Lord God that you give me life, and that I can offer it back to you.

Lasting Impact: Inspiration

SO far the facts speak for themselves, 1000’s have been healed and 1000’s have been trained, since we arrived in Madagascar in late August 2015

 

As Mercy Ships seeks to follow the 200 year old model of Jesus and bring hope and healing to the world's forgotten poor, we too want to leave a lasting impact. We want to leave a lasting impact on our patients and on those we train. We want to be remembered as an inspiration to 100’s and 1000’s.

So, I wonder who or what inspires you?

Maybe you had a teacher who encouraged you at school.….maybe you have sporting or political icon who you look up to…. maybe it was a professional mentors who inspired you in your career? Or maybe it was just a quotation you read somewhere, and is now a motto you seek to live your life by. I have several friends whose email signatures contain a quote, which is particularly meaningful to them.

When we think of these inspirational individuals, while some of us will think of something specific they did, often I think we can't. We don’t remember exactly what they did or said that inspired us, but rather it was just a sense of something about them. Something tangible yet difficult to articulate. I think it is often the sense of relationship that creates the feel of lasting impact. A sense of being believed in, or trusted in, or invested in……simply loved and encouraged.

And I hope that is what every single one of the numbers above feel. The 1000’s of patients and 1000’s of healthcare workers we have trained.  I hope we have been an inspiration to them and had a lasting impact on them, in a way that outlasts the time Mercy Ships is in Madagascar. We will leave here in a couple of months and I hope we have made a difference. They wont remember everything that I told them about their surgery and anaesthesia and post-operative instructions, but I hope they remembered we cared, and that inspires them to care for others. They won't remember everything I taught them on a training course, but I hope they remembered we were pleased to be there and enjoyed teaching them, and that inspires them to teach others.

When I watch the Mercy Ships YouTube videos https://www.youtube.com/user/mercyshipsvideos and read the comments on our training course feedback forms, I think I know. We have made a lasting impact. And I have loved every minute I have spent here. It is worth the sacrifice.

Dr Hasina

One of my highlights about this year has been the success of our ‘big dream’ project – to implement the World Health Organisation Surgical Safety Checklist in all the regional hospitals in Madagascar. It has been a big hairy audacious goal (BHAG). And thanks to a wonderful team effort  - a team made up of some the most incredible people I know – this BHAG has almost been achieved.

One of these incredible people is Dr Hasina Rakotoarison. She is a Malagasy doctor has been working full time on this project since August 2015, and had previously helped me try out some ideas earlier in 2015 that paved the way for this big project. 

Hasina loves her country and her people and is passionate about bringing hope and healing through healthcare to those in need.

Here are some of Hasina's reflections on her experience  which she has allowed us to share. The photos have come from Dr Linden Baxter, another member of the team who originally shared Hasina’s story on her blog a few weeks ago. 

I had never heard of the Checklist until my Supervisor at the Hospital proposed it as an interesting topic for my thesis to finish my medical degree. I chose to study this area because I was very interested in patient safety, and the Checklist was little known in Madagascar but had astonishing benefits for the safety of the patient having surgery. I always had in mind that I want to become a surgeon, so I planned to apply the checklist to my own work, but I never imagined that I could have an opportunity to share the benefits of the checklist with other teams around the country.  For me, this project with Mercy Ships is very exciting because it has made a dream of mine come true; to share what I have learned and spread the message to surgical teams in every region.

During the last 17 training courses, I have discovered that many other people are also very passionate about increasing the security of patients undergoing surgery, but they don’t have many opportunities to discuss this together and find practical solutions. Even though I am Malagasy myself, I did not realise the challenges some of these teams face in their everyday working lives. For example, some teams in remote regions are very isolated, the health care needs of their population can be very great, and the hard-working hospital staff manage in difficult conditions.

 

Hasina the local doctors and nurses adapt their own Checklist for the operating room

This training course has given me an opportunity to encourage those who share the vision to increase the quality of care for patients, and work together with them to make that vision a reality in their local hospital.

I have also seen how a tool like the Checklist can transform the atmosphere in teams, improving communication and working relationships. Even our training team didn’t recognise the significance when some hospital teams said that the secret of their success was ‘love’. This is something I have learned from them when I read the feedback forms! Because even such a simple word like ‘”LOVE” I didn’t understand until much later when I came to realise how right they were in saying you have to “Love each other”. The Checklist is not just a simple tool, it can change the whole hospital. The Checklist brings love with it and can change everything at a place where it is implemented well. We have noticed that where teams support each other and communicate well, you can FEEL the difference in the working atmosphere if they have love in their team.

 

The Checklist can reinforce relationships in the operating room by helping teams work TOGETHER for the good of the patient

The hospital teams I have met on this project demonstrate by their actions the true meaning of ‘love’ described in book of Corinthians:

‘Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.’ 1 Cor 13:7

In the future, I wish to remember those people from the places I have visited where there is great need, and would love to have the opportunity to revisit them to assist in providing healthcare and bringing ‘hope and healing’.

 

Hasina volunteers as a patient for a simulated operation to practice using the checklist. One day she hopes to come back as the surgeon!