Thursday, July 29, 2010

"Surprise!..."

On July 27, it was Alisia's 15th birthday, and she was in for the surprise of her life.  For days she had been pestering me about setting up her party, sending out invitations...the pressure from her was crazy!  Now, living on a ship in Africa does tend to make a person have to be more creative about birthday parties.  There are no local theatres, malls, bowling alleys, or Church 'E Cheese (for the younger kids).  A parent has to be creative and dare I say "sly".

Little did she know, that a few weeks earlier I had contacted her youth leaders (who are the most awesome youth leaders ever!!) and let them know that the day they had set aside for youth group on the ship, was her birthday.  Now Alisia, being a summer baby, has always struggled with having her birthday in the summer, no one is ever around.  Well, not this time.  Plans were set into motion to throw her a surprise party...and that it was!!
Thank you all for making this an incredible and most memorable event for Alisia!

Monday, July 26, 2010

"Priceless..."

On Sunday we went to the more rural church plant of the church we regularly attend.  We also took enough Bibles for everyone in the congregation-in French and in the local language, Ewe.  Now, many of the men already had Bibles.  On the other hand, many of the women did not.  This young woman received her first Bible.  She was hugging the Bible and praising God for it.  The look on her face says it all...

PRICELESS!!!

Saturday, July 24, 2010

"The Visit..."

Mike and I woke up early this morning, for a Saturday.  We had made arrangements with one of my day volunteers to visit a local prison.  The smaller of the two prisons in Lome, only housing 230 men and 5 women.  The larger prison, I was told, had about 1700 people incarcerated.

Now, I have been to visit a prison in Canada, and Mike had done prison ministries years ago in San Diego.  But we were not prepared for what today would hold.  The prisons in Canada and the States are palaces compared to what we saw today.

We drove out of Lome to an area called Tseve.  It was about 1 hour and 15 minutes away from the ship.  When we arrived at the prison I was stunned.  The building was about 50 feet wide and 100 feet long.  The walls were solid concrete, with 6 inch sharp spikes protruding out of the top, and no windows. The walls were a faded egg shell wash with a brownish strip at the bottom.

We entered the prison through a large blue gate that was padlocked behind us.  Facing me was another blue gate that was barred and locked.  To the left was a small work area where two men were making small clay ovens which they lined up underneath another egg shell colored wall that had 6 barred windows-the cells which slept 30 men per room, on mats, on the ground.  We turned to the right and entered a doorway where four women were sitting on mats, on the sandy ground, and one was preparing their one maize meal of the day over a small clay oven.  A pipe in the corner dripped water onto the sandy ground.

There were no chairs, so one of the guards brought Mike and I a bench to sit on.  The area was no bigger than a 5 ft by 8 ft room.  There only shade, from the blazing sun, was the made from the shadow of the wall.  Off to the side was another door where the women slept, on throw mats on the floor...I did not ask where the bathroom was...I did not want to hear the answer.

We warmly greeted the women and shared a bit of the Bible with them.  I asked if they could share with us their names and a bit of their story.

"I have 5 children.  My husband died and left a debt.  Since I am his wife, I have to pay the debt, but could not, so I was put in prison 3 months ago.  I will be here until my family pays the debt."

"I was accused of being a witch-I am about 60 years old.  I have been here 1 day."

"Someone in my village/family died and I was accused of murdering that person."

"Someone went to the police and said I owed them money.  I could not pay my debt, so they put me in prison."

"I murdered my one year old son, I was not in my right mind.  I still have a six year old child.  Now that I have Jesus, I am in my right mind.  I have been here one year."

I asked my day volunteer if they had had a trial.  He said "No, they probably will not because they cannot afford counsel.  They will remain in prison till someone in their family pays their way out or until the Prison General decides they can be released."

We talked and prayed with the women, said our good-byes and moved to meet with the men.

We walked through the blue barred door, down a small hall that had their one meal of maize cakes sitting in two large bowls on the floor, and entered into a courtyard.  The courtyard was 25 ft by 100 ft.  It had 3 trees, a sandy ground, and clay cooking pots lined up along the right hand wall.  No chairs, no benches, no basketball court, nothing, absolutely nothing.  Only 230 men standing there singing praises to God.

Once again, the guard brought the bench through for Mike and I to sit on.  The men stood, a few sat in the sand, the sun beat on their heads.  Perspiration from the heat of the morning dripped down their faces.  As I was talking to the men, I looked into their eyes.  Many of them where young, a few old, but they all had the same hopeless, helpless, lost look.  Why were they there?  Stealing, cheating, debt, murder...all without a trial.  All waiting and hoping they had not been forgotten by their family on the outside.  The prison will provide one maize cake a day...if they have the food.  If not, the prisoners will go hungry.  The prisoners are dependant upon someone on the outside to bring them food.  We talked and prayed with the men and then left. 

As we were leaving, one of them said:  "Please do not forget us." 

In all honesty, I could never forget the look in their eyes.  I will never forget this visit.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

"Summer Program..."

For the last few weeks aboard the Africa Mercy, since the kids have not been in school, they have been able to participate in the Summer Program.  Last night we had the celebration for the ending of the Summer Program.  The kids had a wonderful time singing, memorizing scripture, visiting pools and beaches.
One week they discussed different heroes that we have around the ship-nurses, doctors, the captain...
One of the songs they did was  "Lean On Me"...actions included.
This game was not "rock, paper, scissors"...it was "kryptonite, spider web, plungers..."  (all signs of different heroes-kryptonite=Superman, spiderweb=Spider Man, plungers=Larry Boy")
Joshua was plungers
Alisia and Bess were Kryptonite...

The AFM kids who were in the summer program-they all had a great time....thanks to all who made it super for the kids!!

Sunday, July 18, 2010

"Home Sweet Ship..."

Well, we have been back on the ship for about 36 hours now....it is good to be back.  Some things have not changed...some things have changed.  Especially some of the short term crew.  As I looked around last nigh,t as I walked around the ship, there were many new faces...oh ship life....

One of the real joys about being back is hearing some of the patient stories.  Mike and I were taking a walk around the ship after dinner tonight and we stopped and talked with Allison.  She told us of a few amazing patient stories that just reinforced why we flew half way around the world to Africa.

The first one was about one of the VVF ladies.  She had been wet for many years.  A man came to her and told her that he would be willing to wash her rags and care for her.  She wondered why this man would be willing to do such a thing.  They started to read the Bible together...and she came to believe in Jesus.  She claimed the verse that talked about the woman that was bleeding for twelve year and by touching the hem of Jesus' robe she was healed.  This VVF woman started praying to Jesus for healing.  She came to the ship and received her healing-after praying for twelve years....God is amazing.

The second person, was another woman who had a fibroid tumor-she looked nine months pregnant.  Normally we would not have had the surgeon on board the ship to be able to help her.  Through events only masterminded by God, we had the perfect surgeon on ship for her.  In the middle of July the surgeon removed a 37 pound tumor.  Some people would say "coincidence" or "great luck"....on the ship we know this orchestration of events as God's sovereign hand moving.

Finally, this last lady is more a story of hope than healing.  Once again it is about one of our VVF ladies.  Unfortunately her surgery was not a success.  But she remained on the ship for about 2 weeks after her surgery-still wet.  Allison, would go down to the ward in the evening and read a Bible verse to the lady and then the lady would look the verse up in her Ewe Bible and read it to the rest of the women on the ward.  Through these times God was working on this woman's heart.  Before she left the ship, one of the other nurses had an opportunity to share the plan of salvation with this woman.  Even though is still is wet, she is now plugged into a church.  But more importantly, she knows she is loved by an everlasting God and will one day in eternity be healed.

Priceless....

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

"Final Thoughts..."

As we get ready to head back to the ship, our friends, our ministry, our passion-I have been reflecting on some of the things that we have seen in the last six weeks....things we will miss... but hold in our hearts...
Montana-Missouri River
Friends...
Rocky Mountains, Canada
Fort Rodd Hill-Victoria,B.C. Canada
Catching Fish-Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Moses Lake, Washington
Morning sunrise-Bainbridge Island, WA
Family time...
Most memorable moment..."Alisia and Joshua look...a bear!  "A what?..." "A bear!"  "A what?..."  "A   B-E-A-R...a BEAR!!!"  "Oh, a bear...look a BEAR!!!"

Saturday, July 10, 2010

"VVF Ladies..."

While we have been on vacation, surgery for the VVF ladies has been happening on the ship.  VVF is a tragic result of poverty.  Where we in the west would get immediate medical attention for complications with childbirth, these women suffer for days in prolonged labor and as a result pay the consequences for a life time. "The words below are not of my own, but of the VVF ladies.  At the dress ceremony we celebrate each of these ladies’ healing, it takes at least two translators to tell each of their testimonies. Words are spoken in Kotikoli, Moba, Tchokssi, Kabye’, and Ewe and finally translated into English." (Allison Green)
So, in her own words…

“When I sit, stand, and lie down- I was wet.”
"I could not even sit with my sister.”
"I did not know there were others like me."
“I have suffered until death.”
“It was my 6th child." 
“I was in labor for five days and no one to help me.”
“The baby died inside of me.”
“Went to many hospitals with no help, I lost hope.”
“I had no child to give me drink.”
“Thought it would never happen to me.”

"I have leaked for one year.”

“Three months…

twenty years…

I cannot remember how long ago.”

"Hallelujah. Praise the Lord.”

“You have received us with love.”
“I know God because of you.”
“I am not the same before. I am beautiful now."
“My family will receive me now.”
“I heard there were angels to help us.”

“You saved my life."

Thursday, July 8, 2010

"Froid Finale..."

My favortie part of Montana...Priceless....

"Froid pt. 4..."

One of the amazing things about the women in Froid are the quilts they make.  Part of the centennial celebration was a quilt show.  Now, Froid in the winter time, lives up to it's name in french-meaning cold or frigid.  When the winds get howling and the snow gets blowing the women get creative and quilt.  As you can see from the following pictures there are some amazing quilters in the area.





I love this last quilt!  Through quilt blocks, it shows different events in the life of a family.
Finally tomorrow, my favorite part about the Froid area...

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

"Froid pt. 3..."

Now, another part of the small town experience is a fashion show.  This fashion show was extremely unique.  It covered clothing from 1910 to present day.  Most of the outfits were originals...
This outfit was worn by Mike's great grandmother in 1910.  Her and her husband were one of the founding families in the Froid area in 1910.
This was another outfit, circa 1920's.
The town doctor's wife wore this outfit in the 1950's.
This wedding dress and flower girl dress were from the 1960's.
One of Froid's cheerleaders outfits...

A variety of outfits from the 1920's to present day...including a Michael Jackson outfit from the 1980's.

Stay tuned for the continuation of the Froid experience...

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

"Froid pt. 2..."

Our time in Froid was an incredible "small town" experience.  To start with there was an antique car show.
Then we moved onto the parade.  I love small town parades.  There is nothing fancy about the parade it is just down to earth and hometown.  The above picture is the school mascot-the Froid Cardinal.
Followed by the school band....
Followed by the cutest kids in a mini antique car...

Followed by an antique tractor...John Deer of course!...

And yet another John Deer...

And the John Deers that would not run were towed...

And another one....there must have been at lease 20 tractors....

And an horse drawn hearse...

And another old car....

And then we had the token "new car"....
We had a great time looking at all the tractors and tractors and cars....tomorrow...the fashion show....