Bienvenido a Tenerife!

A week ago Saturday and after ten days of sailing we arrived to this - our view from the dock in the Canary Islands. 

Technically a part of Spain, the Canary Islands are located off the coast of Morocco.  This is one of the closest countries to West Africa that is considered first-world.  Here in Tenerife the ship will get its annual inspections and maintenance done while the crew has some time to relax before heading back down the coast at the end of January. 

We had a few days to walk around and take in first world living once again before many left the ship for the Christmas holidays 

While enjoying a snack we got to see dinner preparations in the meat market..yum!

Haley and James were excited to see fresh fruits and veggies once again

and Jamie and I had a moment with our festive friend

Last Sunday we attempted to hike Mount Teide, both the highest elevation in Spain and the highest elevation in the Atlantic Ocean.  Mount Teide sits 12,198 feet high. We arrived at the cable car for a bathroom break (which you can also take to the summit) only to find out the cable car was closed due to 75 mile per hour winds at the top.

  The volcano last erupted in 1909, and you can see in this picture the lava that came down the sides.   

Despite the strong winds we headed up anyway. 

There were times when it was physically hard to walk forward due to the strong winds! 

 Due to a delayed start in the morning with our car rental, we knew we wouldn't make the six hour summit, but attempted at least a portion of the trip. 

Minus the craters and the extreme cold, I almost felt like I was hiking at home in AZ!

With our volcano rocks...pumice stone anyone?

Haley, me and the clouds

While it was cold, drizzly and a hard hike with the elevation, we will re-attempt the hike to the summit in January when we have more time...so stay tuned!

Two days after our hike both Jamie and I left Tenerife.  I'm just headed home for the holidays but Jamie left for good.  I'll miss you friend! 

After some crazy flying from Tenerife to Madrid to Paris to Detroit to Minneapolis, I am now enjoying my white Christmas in the frigid tundra of Minnesota.  Happy Holidays!

Sailing up the African Coast in Pictures

For twelve days we sailed north up the coast of West Africa and arrived this past weekend in the Canary Islands.  Many Mercy Shippers had already left the ship to return home or help with advance team preparations for our 2010 field service in Togo.  The rest of us enjoyed the sail north with a number of ship wide events all week long.   

Every night people fell asleep to the sound of the waves and the rocking of the ship up on Deck 8.   Here are Jamie, Becca and I out underneath a meteor shower with our rafts (the best $2 investment for Mercy Ships) singing Christmas carols before sleep time.  

Each night consisted of a different Christmas event on the ship.  There was a story telling night, Christmas craft night, Santa Lucia event and a Christmas sale.  At one of the Christmas events Danae, Jamie, Christina and I got a branded Christmas photo with the Mercy Ships mug! 

Christina and Becca acted out our Legend of the Candy Cane story for the Mercy Ships families on the Christmas story telling night.  They did a great job!

I also teach piano lessons on the ship.  Me with my two star students Caleb and Ken after our Christmas recital.  They are so precious and just the cutest guys ever!

We've seen quite a few beauties here on the sail - dolphins, whales, meteor showers and even a water spout pictured above. 

My HR office after a rocky night 

The sail was relatively painless the first eight days, however the last two days were quite a bit rockier due to the swells in the water.  I would sit in my rolling chair in the office and every few minutes I'd roll to the other side of the room!  This made for an interesting experience to say the least. I've never been on a cruise, but I can imagine that sailing on the Africa Mercy is a little more authentic with the constant rocking back and forth!

The view at sunset - absolutely breathtaking.  All in all, very memorable times sailing up the coast of Africa.  Next up, Tenerife, Spain!

Packing Up and Saying Goodbyes

As the 2009 field service in Benin comes to a close, we've had many goodbyes over the past few weeks.   The first was a very generous thank you dinner with the President of Benin Yayi Boni at his palace in Cotonou.  Five Mercy Ships folks were knighted into the National Order of Benin on behalf of all the good works Mercy Ships has done for Benin.  No small feat!

Here we are in our finest African attire getting ready to celebrate

The venue - the Presidential Palace

and the fabulous African entertainment: tribal dances with beautiful costumes

Who would have thought when in Africa we would dine with the President?

We also said goodbye to our 200+ day volunteers that live in the local community and came to work on the ship every day.  Sadly I didn't bring my camera so the pictures are minimal.  We ate, celebrated them, and appreciated all their hard work this year.  One of my favorites is Rebecca.  She and I spent every morning together as I dried my hair in the locker room while she folded the scrubs working in the laundry department.  Every day she would just stare at me awkwardly.  I couldn't figure out what her deal was.  After a while I realized it was because the sight of my hair dryer amazed her!  She had never used one before and turning it on every morning caused her to stop folding her scrubs and just watch me dry away in awe and wonder...every single day.  Sometimes it's the little things here that still surprise me most.  Only in Africa!  =)    

I constantly tease my friend Jesse about getting an African outfit made for him because he always says he'll never wear one.  However, at our day volunteer event he was presented by his day volunteers in the galley with a nice African outfit which he wore proudly!

Me and Jamie with Jesse in his true African attire 

In other thoughts on packing up, we prepared for the sail with a swimmers and pirate watch.  Just a few weeks ago there were pirates of the coast of Benin that attacked a ship about 20 miles away from where we were docked.  Watching for any unwanted visitors in the days before and after leaving was critical.  This involved wearing some rather snazzy reflective gear up on deck eight between two and four a.m. and shining our huge flashlight (more like spotlight) into the water every 20 minutes to look for potential swimmers that might make their way up the side of the ship.  Yes, that is a real possibility.  We had some fun moments hanging out on deck eight amusing ourselves in the wee hours of the morning this past week. 

A glowing Haley and I with our fun gear

Kelly: Is that a swimmer I see?  Haley: No Kel, just a fish.

At one point my friends even took me hostage! Fun times on deck eight.  So far we haven't had any unwanted guests, so I guess we are doing our job!  Next up...the sail!

A Little Perspective

Recently I had the opportunity to go with some friends to visit a few hospitals here in Cotonou. Was I in for an eye-opener. Six of us went with Jean, one of the translators on the Africa Mercy ward.  He had some connections with the local medical folks that allowed us to tour both a government and a private hospital here in town.

People had mentioned that the African health care system was pretty different but I didn't know to what extent. Upon my arrival to the Africa Mercy this summer, I remember thinking that some of the equipment on board was pretty old in comparison to back home at PCH. Granted we are in the middle of Africa using donated supplies so this is to be expected. But after visiting the local hospitals here, I realized how lucky the Africans are that get the opportunity to come to our ship. It doesn't even compare.

The first hospital we visited was the local government hospital. Upon arrival we met the charge nurse and had a walking tour of multiple areas. Think of a creepy hospital horror movie with dingy lighting, dirty floors and rusty medical equipment. Then fill the halls with people sitting on gurneys, lying with open wounds, and their family members all just waiting around patiently. This was our tour of the ED. We learned that everyone has to pay for their own equipment, supplies, meds, and so on, and they don't get treated unless they have the cash up front. Even outside, there were tons of people milling around along all the walls of every building, with their blankets set up for sleeping and their cooking utensils in tow. Jean explained that the hospital doesn't provide food for the patients, so care givers must come to provide the necessary nutrition and sometimes even patient care, pretty much living outside the hospital doors in the sweltering heat.

We saw the OR's (one of three were being utilized as the surgeons were on strike) and we had the opportunity to see every exam room on our personal tour complete with patients being examined as we walked into their room! (HIPPA violation anyone?) About 70% of the people in the ED were there due to zimi accidents (the ever-present motorcycles that skid about town before crashing periodically). We learned that it cost about $8 US a day for a standard bed in the communal ward, and roughly $60 US day for a private room - VIP style.
As we walked to one of the OR's we encountered an overwhelming stench. I looked at my friend Christina and said "I think I'm going to throw up. What is that?" Now hospitals don't smell all that great to begin with, but this was unbearable. I had never smelled anything that literally made me gag instantly and I couldn't place it. As we walked closer to the OR I realized it was the smell of rotting flesh, coming from a man lying almost naked on a gurney set apart from everyone else. There was just a small sheet covering from his belly button to the bottom of his right leg. Other than the smell I noted the flies. They were everywhere. Upon further prodding, the nurse explained that this poor man had been lying there in the hallway all by himself for a week. The flies were due to the fact that his leg was rotting underneath this cloth and needed to be amputated, but he had no one to provide the money for the operation ($160 US) and the scan needed prior to amputation ($12 US). He only had enough for some antibiotics, so there he lay, drifting in and out of consciousness. It was awful to think that this was ok. Back home this man would have been treated emergently regardless of his financial status. We spoke to one of the doctors about paying for the operation and she didn't seem too optimistic that the surgeons would be off strike in time. Then she wished us well and sent us on our way. We left feeling rather defeated.

We moved on to visit the peds clinic (also where the dietitian works!) which looked very peds-friendly, as well as the dialysis center. On a more uplifting note, the doctor explained that people with renal disease get government funding for their dialysis trips. In the dialysis center things seemed pretty up to date. Some of the nurses even said these were the same dialysis machines they used at home. Such a stark contrast compared to the ED.

Our next stop was a private hospital where Jean's brother was an OR nurse. We had a patient show us his skull fracture via x-ray (he was rather excited) and then we happen to walk in on the preparation for a C-section. We were able to watch the whole entire thing from about 4 feet away! (Roughly HIPPA violation #18 at this point). We saw the much more sterile procedure this time around. We got to watch the epidural go in, and we saw the surgeon perform the cesarean and grab around in that mama's belly to pull the baby out. The crazy part was when the OR nurse actually handed the baby through the window one foot away from us on a platter (yes you read that correctly) for clean up. Then she proceeded to hand the umbilical cord through the window as well. We had the opportunity to stay and wait to see the baby, interestingly, before mom even got to hold her. We all took turns oohing and ahhing over this little bundle of love. It was so great to see this after our very dreary experience at the government hospital. While we were still noticeably in an African hospital by African standards, it was refreshing to see the joy of bringing a new life into the world.  While we were waiting for the baby to be cleaned up we came across this ad on the wall below.  Mercy Ships teaching in the local community!

  

Our African hospital tour provoked unexpected emotions in each of us. From the birth of a baby to a very unkind dying process we were each changed that day. The lack of access to good healthcare just doesn't sit well. So much of third world living won't ever sit well. Conclusion: When in Africa, never get sick.

P.S. After much more wrestling that night about what to do, we decided regardless that we wanted to try again to get this man his surgery. My friend Christina spoke with Jean and he returned to the hospital the next day. This man's brother arrived that day as well and the man did get his surgery. Unfortunately he died afterward - at least with dignity and surrounded by his family.

A Day at the Exodus House

The world is as many times new as there are children in our lives ~Robert Brault

We went on a Sunday morning to deliver bags of rice, oil and school supplies.  We sat in a hot and stuffy room consisting of wood benches and concrete walls, packed in with the sand fleas.  The kids all sang their hearts out in a way I've never seen, and it was beautiful. 

Exodus House is an orphanage on the outskirts of Cotonou.   Mercy Ships has partnered with Exodus house and made multiple trips during this outreach to help build bunk beds, deliver food and school supplies, and just spend time getting to know the children.  Usually between fifty and seventy five children reside here, some with families close by that just can't afford to keep them.  Others don't have parents at all.  I had the opportunity to visit the kids at Exodus Orphanage just once before our departure out of Benin.   

About ten of us went on a Sunday morning to provide some donations and spend time with the children.  We attended church where we sang songs (mostly in French) and I have never seen children worship with so much enthusiasm and love.  Especially when you think of the circumstances in which they live and the passion they have.  Completely inspiring.  We heard a short message and we were encouraged to come up and share a favorite bible verse or word of encouragement.  

After the church service we spent time playing with the kids.  Living amongst fifty other children with just a few caregivers makes for some children that want love!  This was apparent by their desire to constantly touch us and talk to us and just love on us the entire day.  I brought stickers and nail polish which went a long way with everyone.  Interestingly, the African children only want to paint their left hand.  The right hand is the dominant hand used for every day tasks so they keep this hand unpainted.   

One girl asked to get the nails on her right hand painted as well, and let me tell you, the other children were more than upset, as this was not ok!  

Our very typical lunch by African standards.  Yum!!  Always available - massive amounts of carbohydrates (at least a good three cups of rice in this bowl)!   

Our lunch was a gesture of thanks for all the work Mercy Ships had accomplished during our time in Benin.  The children were amazingly well-behaved and had good manners and hygiene practices.  This was so refreshing to see in comparison to the normal African standards of children on the street.   In visiting just one time you could tell these children were cared for well.  They were charming, friendly, joyful and beautiful!

This little guy was precious wearing my sunglasses!

Proud of her beautiful hand!

Leah and her new friends

People say the difference between happiness and joy is that joy is independent of circumstance.  You can still be joyful when you have so little to call your own, because joy is an attitude of the heart.  This was so evident amongst the children at Exodus House. They reminded me that the richest person isn't always the one who has the most, but rather the one who needs the least. 

And the blogging returns....

So this past month and a half has been just plain busy! My apologies for my blogging absence. But alas, we are now sailing up the African coast and I have a little more time to blog once again. I believe today we are passing Guinea. More to come on the sail later. Let's stay in chronological order here....and start back in early November. Let the blogging begin! =)

The Ghanaian Life

Eleven of us headed to Ghana for a long weekend last month. We became tourists and saw a few sights such as the Kakum National Park Canopy Walk where we walked 30 meters above the ground and got a bird’s eye perspective of the forest.

Only one of four canopy walks in the world, we learned that some of the chemo drugs used back at home called Vincristine and Vinblastine come from the rosy periwinkle found here in the rainforest. How educational!

We also visited the Portuguese slave castle in Elmina, which is just one of many slave castles along the Ghanaian coast.  We learned that hundreds of thousands of slaves were captured in the African interior by slave-catchers and then sold to Portuguese traders in exchange for goods such as textiles and horses.

The slaves were subjected to all sorts of torture and indignities. They spent their days in dark dungeons, shackled, without room to live humanely. They were piled in so tight they couldn't lift their arms up and were made to eat and relieve themselves all in the same dungeon floor.  After their captivity, they were sent through the castle’s infamous “Door of No Return” to be transported and resold in the "new America." 

Next to the Door of No Return was this plaque: 

Also very educational, but very sad history. 

Next we went to Umbrella rock to get some good hiking in.

After our hike we had a chance to visit the waterfalls

The hike was long and the humidity was high.  Despite the signs we couldn't resist a quick dip.  Hopefully none of us encounter any parasitic friends in the months to come...we will see! =)

We also drove hours and hours on end to get to our daily destinations. But eleven people and a minivan can make for some interesting situations! Other than a few minor mishaps such as a breakdown in rural Benin...

...or the trunk flying open in Togo as we drove down the highway, we were good to go.

I came away from my Ghanaian experience with a new perspective on Africa. Ghana is one of the most developed West African nations. There are no zimi's (the ridiculous fatality-causing motorcycles and main mode of transit for many in Benin). Driving in Ghana without zimi's going every which way felt much more safe, not to mention more peaceful. The roads are regulated with guarded check points to ensure that there are no extra passengers in your car. Real in-the-ground gas stations are prevalent (and not just the imported Nigerian gas stands you see so often in Benin). And they speak English which is always nice. There were moments sitting in Ghana with my Mercy Ship friends that I thought I could be back at Kierland Commons after a day of shopping and eating appetizers in the sunshine. Snippets of my time in this African city of Accra were so similar to home.

However, not long after that thought, I was taken right back into my previous African mindset as I know in Benin. We went to get after-dinner drinks at a bar down the street and watched in awe as the amazingly limber African street performers did their acrobatic routines. While we were enjoying the street performers some girls of about ten or twelve came over and started talking to us. The first thing that came to mind was the fact that they were light-skinned. This caught me off guard as most everyone in Ghana is as dark as can be. While visiting the slave castle the previous day we learned that many light skinned Ghanaians were the product of rape, when the white government officials would rape the African slaves in the holding rooms of the slave castle. In chatting with these young girls we realized they weren't just looking to get to know a group of Americans. Rather they were working as child prostitutes and out to make a few bucks. Ugghhh. I was reminded that night on the streets of Ghana, that centuies later, slavery is still prevalent; perhaps not in the form we think of most, but it's there. Whether it be human trafficking or child labor exploitation or something else, there is a world of injustice right outside our door step if we care to look. So many of us are born into a life of privilege, while others will do just about anything to survive.  Unfortunately, sometimes that "anything" can be a bit harrowing.

As I'd hate to end my blog on such a negative note, I thought I'd leave you with this.  Gandhi once said we must be the change we wish to see in the world.  I have a friend in Phoenix who is doing just that in regard to this human injustice.  He works diligently to combat child prositituion in Phoenix.  You can check out some amazing work of his organization here. 

For the rest of my pictures of my weekend in Ghana (and definitely more uplifting!) check out this link here.