Just another day..

Just a normal day in the Academy: Finish getting reports out for the first quarter then a round of interviews for the teachers after school. This is normal, right?

A Screening full of Emotion

It's been over five weeks since Mercy Ships' patient screening day. It's the biggest single event the Ship coordinates for a field service. Potential patients line up for hours, often overnight, having come from as near as down the street and as far as hundreds of miles upcountry. Now that we're into the swing of the field service, with surgeries taking place every day, screening day seems in some ways a distant memory.

I was asked to assist the Team Leader, Deb Louden, in the history-taking area of screening. From 8 AM to 6PM eighteen nurses took down the surgical and medical histories, as well as vital signs, for thousands of potential patients. It was hard, hot, long work. Every time you looked up there were hundreds more in the sitting area, patiently waiting to be seen. More than once it felt completely overwhelming. As assistant team leader I split my time between taking patient histories and circulating as a support to the nurses who were, as well as making sure there was good patient flow through our area. I answered a lot of questions, scheduled breaks, kept upper management appraised of our flow and personnel needs. Though we were working hard all day, there was a fair amount of time to reflect and take in what was going on around me. The queue outside was immense and, at times, slightly unruly as the day became hot.
More than once that day tears sprang to my eyes looking at those who were sitting in our waiting chairs. They had made it through the initial screening. Would we be able to offer them surgery, or would we have to turn them away? Was all their travel, their time, and their anticipation for nothing? Or could the team onboard the ship help them in their sickness? It was almost too much for me to look at those I knew we couldn't help. I wasn't brave enough to face their inevitable disappointment. But even in my weakness, I could feel the grace of God in me, looking at each one, smiling encouragement. The heartache and years of shame represented in that waiting area was more than any human can stand. But by God's grace each one of us there was able to reach out God's hand of love and of hope, whether or not healing was possible, to each Guinean who came through our door. In my humanity it was hard to look at babies so malnourished they had little chance at life, or faces so contorted by tumor they were unrecognizable as human. But in such a real way, Jesus was there, helping us to tell each that he or she was precious.
At the same time, it felt unbelievably good offering something concrete; to say to somebody "yes, we have specialist doctors who can help you". Knowing so many would get the surgery they so desperately needed was tangibly exciting. The place was a buzz with possibility. There was unspeakable joy and unspeakable heartache all mixed up into one long day.
It stretched us all. As many things are in life, it was difficult and it was amazing.

Flowers!

We bought 2 plants in Tenerife for the cabin. After coaxing them through life with 1 small window and air conditioning one of them has started flowering! (Hannah's the plant expert in this family so praise to her :)).

Little things in life.

Guess what!?! Our IS department got the satellite working again; this means live football on the weekends once more. It's the little things in life :)
-Ben

Thank you!

A big thank you to Michael who shaved his head as a fundraiser for us!
You are awesome Michael, thank you so much!!

God bless,
Ben & Hannah

Dutch Blitz

Hannah and co playing a game called Dutch Blitz while I sit and read the news. It's maybe the most stressful card game I have ever come across!
-Ben

Faithful

Everyone thank you for your prayers!
We had an incredibly successful screening day on Monday. They whole crew, including the Academy, got involved and about 3500 potential patients were seen.
These days are always pretty hectic as a lot of people come through our site and line up for hours. But God was faithful and the people that we could help turned up; surgeries start tomorrow!

I will post more pictures of the screening as they are made available by our communication department.

God bless,
Ben

Prayer point

Just a quick message to add a prayer point. Tomorrow is the Mercy Ships Screening Day here in Conakry.
Basically it is the day where the whole ship runs a massive logistical puzzle and we try to see as many possible patients as we can and allocate surgery dates to this that we can.
There is always a lots of stressing and worries involved in the screenings. So I ask for your prayers for all the crew as we seek to serve the Guinean nation tomorrow and pray that the people that God has in store for us to minister to will turn up at the site.
Thank you already!

God bless,
Ben

View from the office

So I work from an office these days and I have to say that I'm pretty happy with the view :)

The AFM version

(just so you know: AFM is the acronym we use for the 'Africa Mercy')

This is the AFM version of a cold beer on a Saturday night. Hihi :)
Ben

From left to right

Hi all,
So we're in Conakry!! Today we actually had our first chance to get off ship. With some friends we drove over to the main market. Oh it was good to get out in the craziness. It is funny how something so foreign can seem so familiar.

I said that was the first time out actually that was true. As with most fridays last night was Ultimate Frisbee night. The advance team managed to find us a great field about a 10 minute walk from the ship. So a hot, sweaty hour and a half was happily spent chasing a frisbee around the field.

I have attached three pictures from left to right of our view from deck 7. Just to give you a taster of Conakry.
More to follow, I promise.

God bless,
Ben

Hannah's life

I feel it's high time I started contributing to this blog. I don't want Ben to do all the updating on my behalf, though he is doing a great job of it.
We've been in Guinea now for a little over two days. We enjoyed a wonderfully mild sail down here, all but the last 24 for hours of it, anyway. We saw dolphins, whales and many flying fish. More than anything it was a restful, relaxing, community building time before our field service in Guinea gets underway.
Since arriving to the ship four weeks ago I have been working in Crew Services in the housekeeping department. I've spent my days sweeping, mopping, disinfecting, scrubbing and generally tidying up. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, though it was very hard work. I got to know fellow crew members I might never have met otherwise and my arms are now quite toned (we a do a LOT of swabbing the decks here on the Africa Mercy). But, alas, my housekeeping days are over.
On Monday I transferred to the hospital. Since we didn't arrive until Wednesday, we spent the first two days of this week baking cookies (given to crew services as a thank you for waxing the hospital floors) and making cards (to be given to nurses throughout the filed service as encouragement notes). Wednesday afternoon, after watching the arrival ceremony and diplomatic formalities on the dock, the nurses changed from formal wear to work wear and got down to the business of unpacking the hospital. You see, our hospital gets packed up and tied down before we sail anywhere. It's not pretty when medical equipment tilts, tips, topples and generally gets destroyed during a sail. Bed frames were reconstructed, cupboards jammed with equipment were unpacked, signs were rehung. Within one day, the hospital went from empty rooms to functioning wards! What a beautiful transformation.
I've loved being a part of this field service from the beginning. The last time I was with Mercy Ships I arrived 3 months into the field service. What a difference being here before the patients, anticipating their arrival and praying for the surgeries that will take place before the patients are even selected! I can honestly say I am so excited for these next months in Guinea. Who knows the amazing people I will meet, the incredible interactions that will occur, or the lives that will be changed?
I know God has great things planned for this field service. I feel so privileged to be a part of what He's doing here in Guinea.
Blessings,
Hannah

'nough said.

I should really dedicate this to Jon Riley, he is usually the one sharing what he is listening to while writing to us in the cave (If you don't understand what I'm talking about, don't worry).

I was just listening to this from "Magnificent" by Matt Redman:

You are higher than we ever could imagine
And closer than our eyes could ever see
You are...

Magnificent, You alone are holy
No one else as glorious as You
Magnificent, Jesus You are worthy
Who can shine as brightly as You do?
Magnificent
You're so magnificent
Magnificent
You're so magnificent

'Nough said, right?

God bless,

Ben

Encore! Encore!

Once again on the bow, it's just a nice place to contemplate life during the sail.
Hannah's reading her book (the one she isn't really enjoying but won't stop reading) and I was about to pull out my Bible (ok my iBible).
The waves have picked up a bit overnight although the sailing is still quite smooth. I thought I would test uploading a video, this is us slapping and bulldozing our way through the waves. Like the splash?
Hoping for the rest of the crew it stays smooth, I secretly enjoy the rough sails though.. I'll keep you all posted.
God bless,
Ben


ps I was joking around with the idea this morning of buying a big ship and just living with all our family and friends while we sail around the world, let me know if you're interested and I'll reserve you a spot :)

Dronnig Ingrid

Today's picture once again comes to you from the bow of the ship (if by now you still don't know where the bow is in a ship then I am sure that Google will find you the answer).

This is looking back towards the ship and along the top you can see the bridge. Underneath that you can just make out the words Dronnig Ingrid. These were painted over many moons ago, but this was the original name of the Africa Mercy.
This ship was originally a train ferry in Denmark; used to shuttle whole trains from one island to the next. Like the Dronnig Ingrid name on the front there are still clues to be found around the ship to its working past. Who would have thought all those years ago, sitting in your ferry in Denmark that that same ship would one day become the worlds largest non governmental hospital, a tool in Gods mission to the world.
Who would have thought..

God bless,
Ben

Take a bow.

This picture comes to you from just of the coast of north west Africa. The sail to Guinea is a day and a half in and all smooth so far.
The picture might be hard to make out but it is Hannah sitting out on the bow (front bit) of the ship reading after dinner. It's quite relaxing to sit outside surrounded by nothing but ocean on every side.
Hopefully we'll get out here a fair amount this weekend, we obviously can't go 'off ship' so the pace of life slows down outside of work hours. Not bad really :)
Hope you all are well.
God bless and happy sails,
Ben

Behind the wheel

Time for tea?

An evening reading, blogging and drinking tea.. It's a tough life being a missionary :)

1 week (and counting of course)

So Hannah and I have been back onboard for a whole week now; and talk about hitting the ground running!

Hannah has been working hard.. but not nursing.. As there is currently no hospital up and running (as we are still in Tenerife before sailing to Guinea in a weeks time) she has been working in the Stewards department. The Stewards department takes care of cleaning the communal areas, hallways, crew kitchen, public bathrooms etc on the ship. This is pretty hard graft and although at face value not the most glamourous jobs, it is maybe one of the most important. It is these seemingly 'unimportant' job that actually end up being filled by people that serve hard and in the background.

It is only temporary, Hannah will be back nursing very soon. 

While my wife spends her days scrubbing hard I seem to have ended up mostly behind a desk.

The Principal handover started as soon as we arrived and I have been truly blessed by the willingness walk me through the countless process that have always gone unnoticed by me as teaching staff.

We continue to ask for your prayers as we plug into our respective position and rediscover what makes this vessel run again.

I know God answers prayer, and therefore I know you are all held in His hands.

God bless,

Ben

And just cause you should know by now that I'm a lyrics person, this is the one that stuck with me this week:

"And God let us be
A generation that seeks-
That seeks your face
Oh God of Jacob
And God let us be
A generation that seeks-
That seeks your face
Oh God of Jacob"

"Give Us Clean Hands" by MercyMe

Safe and sound.

Hi all,
Just a short message and photo evidence that Hannah and I arrived safely on the ship last night (currently docked in Tenerife.
It has been a whirlwind and we have really hit the ground running.
Thanks all or your prayer and support to get us this far. We both start full time work tomorrow.
God bless,
Ben & Hannah

On our travels

Hi!
I know the blog hasn't necessarily been flooded with posted since it was started but but but we do have (what we think is) a good excuse.

Hannah and I have been lucky enough to slot in a visit to the UK before travelling on to join the ship in  Tenerife.
It has been 2 weeks of travelling and visiting with family and close friends. I haven't seen my family (barring Skype calls) since our wedding last year, and we reconnecting with friends that we haven't seen in even longer. Fair to say we feel amazinly blessed allover again.

Dont worry people back in CA, we are still thouroughly missing having you all around too.
We did manage to sneak off for 3 days in the Highlands for some quiet time together, Hannah's first visit to Scotland, and of course she loved it :)

Our itinerary for the next couple weeks starts with us flying to Tenerife tomorrow to join the ship and sailing to Guinea about 2 and a half weeks later.

I'll get some holidays pics up here soon.

Miss you all wherever you are, God bless.

Ben

Guinea; a brief introduction

So the time Hannah and I will be serving with Mercy Ships the Africa Mercy will be docked in Conakry, Guinea.

I have compiled brief introduction on the country.
Main source: 'CIA World Factbook' (sounds scary, actually quite informative)

Introduction

Guinea

Background:

Guinea has had only two presidents since gaining its independence from France in 1958. Lansana CONTE came to power in 1984 when the military seized the government after the death of the first president, Sekou TOURE. Guinea did not hold democratic elections until 1993 when Gen. CONTE (head of the military government) was elected president of the civilian government. He was reelected in 1998 and again in 2003. Guinea has maintained its internal stability despite spillover effects from conflict in Sierra Leone and Liberia. As those countries have rebuilt, Guinea's own vulnerability to political and economic crisis has increased. In 2006, declining economic conditions and popular dissatisfaction with corruption and bad governance prompted two massive strikes that sparked urban unrest in many Guinean cities.

People

Guinea

Population:	9,947,814 (July 2007 est.)
Age structure:	0-14 years: 44.3% (male 2,226,414/female 2,183,153) 15-64 years: 52.5% (male 2,611,833/female 2,610,773) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 138,392/female 177,249) (2007 est.)
Median age:	total: 17.7 years male: 17.5 years female: 17.9 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate:	2.62% (2007 est.)
Birth rate:	41.53 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate:	15.33 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate:	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio:	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.781 male(s)/female total population: 1.001 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate:	total: 88.58 deaths/1,000 live births male: 93.68 deaths/1,000 live births female: 83.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:	total population: 49.65 years male: 48.5 years female: 50.84 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate:	5.75 children born/woman (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:	3.2% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:	140,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:	9,000 (2003 est.)
Nationality:	noun: Guinean(s) adjective: Guinean
Ethnic groups:	Peuhl 40%, Malinke 30%, Soussou 20%, smaller ethnic groups 10%
Religions:	Muslim 85%, Christian 8%, indigenous beliefs 7%
Languages:	French (official); note - each ethnic group has its own language
Literacy:	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 35.9% male: 49.9% female: 21.9% (1995 est.)

It's official!

First post is always exciting :)

It looks like it official, today (technically yesterday because of timezones) it was announced that Hannah and I will be returning to the Africa Mercy.

We are incredibly excited at the opportunity to be presented to serve with Mercy Ships again, it is fair to say that it wasn't in our initial 'what does life look like in the next couple years' plan.

But we truly have felt Gods calling to go for this season and therefore we are. It is daunting to say the least to suddenly pack up and go, but with your prayers and the Holy Spirit walking out ahead, then as they say here in the US: 'we've got this..'.

God bless,

Ben

ps Ill see if I can get Hannah to blog this week, it will be fun for us both to have a post on here.