Leaving Guinea, having a break and arriving in Senegal

It's been a while now since we last posted - thank you for your patience - and thank you for the many encouraging comments we had regarding our blogs when we were home in the summer.

We left Guinea in the middle of June.  We had grown very fond of Conakry and the people that we met - the Day Crew, the patients, the church we attended towards the end of the field service and our friends from Christian Missionary Alliance (CMA) who we stayed and worked with for our field practice last November.  We are grateful that we are able to stay in contact with some of them through Facebook and What'sApp.  Although we had not publicly stated our departure day and time, nevertheless there were a good number of people there to wave us off from the dock.  The dock had been cleared, the gangway lifted up and we were off, waving madly, holding back tears and some led us in worship as we left.

About to leave Guinea

Up with the gangway

Artwork from the night before

On look-out

Matthew steering us to Las Palmas

We enjoyed the sail, Matthew was on two four hour watches each day on the bridge - 12 noon to 4pm and 12 midnight to 4am.  He did a great job and we are very proud of our 19 year old being part of the team that steered us safely to Gran Canaria - and here to Senegal.  

Worship on the bow

Dolphins

Dolphin watching, worship on the bow - oh and some work too - were all good parts of our five day sail to Las Palmas.

Looking great at night!

We arrived in Las Palmas and had only a few day there before flying back to the UK a bit earlier than originally planned, for an appointment with a knee consultant for Lynne's knee,  but we took the opportunity to look around a little, and take a day trip on the day the ship came out of the water for 'dry dock'. When we returned from our day trip, the only way on to the ship was via 72 steps up a scaffold type tower.  We (well Lynne really) was very grateful that the Tower of Terror only had to be negotiated once!  Matthew was staying on, on his own for a couple of weeks and cabin sat for us, meaning for the first time in nine months he had his own personal space.

Get that gangway in place!

    

Night out with friends

Las Palmas Old Town

   

Returning to the Tower of Terror!

          Looking across to Tenerife

On our day trip 

We arrived at Bristol Friday 21st June - exactly nine months after leaving!  Discombobulated (a word we used during our training in Texas and field practice in Guinea) described exactly how we felt for the first couple of weeks!  But it was good to be back.  

We had an appointment three days later with a knee consultant - Lynne didn't need an operation after all.  The meniscus wasn't torn - but there was wear and tear on the knee!  The joys of getting older!!  After the initial surprise we sought a physio - who was fab - and made plans to be as fit and healthy when we returned to the ship and then took the opportunity to enjoy the extra time we had at home!

Matthew arrived safely home as planned on 9th July, flying on his own for the first time.  Was great to attend our daughter Zoe's graduation and greet our older daughter Hannah when she returned from a six month trip to New Zealand, as well as catching up with other family and many friends.  It was also great to welcome two friends from the ship, Ian and Sarah, who were on a flying visit to the UK for a weekend.

Off we go again! 5am on a Tuesday!

The same view by night

                                                                                                                                                                                                                  All too soon it was time to pack our bags again and return to the Africa Mercy which by now had moved from Las Palmas to Tenerife!  We had an early morning flight from Bristol and arrived back at the ship by lunchtime.  A beautiful island but we only had a few days to explore a little before sailing for Senegal.

          Our view from the ship

Getting ready to sail again

  

Cathedral in Tenerife

Our new neighbour - we didn't think we were that small!

We were due to leave Tenerife around 6pm Saturday 10th August.  If we missed our slot our larger neighbour would take it so everyone had to be back on board by midday.  All were present!!  We left as planned, and as warned, the ship rolled quite a bit that first day - and a bit for the rest of the nearly four day sail.  Some of our number unfortunately suffered quite badly with seasickness.  We did take medication for the first day or so but were generally okay which we were thankful for.  Stuart and Matthew were very busy when we left and during the sail and Lynne had meetings but it was a bit less intense for her.  We do enjoy the sailing.

Securing the gangway for sail

Ready to sail

Ready to sail

Matthew and Min, one of our Ghurkas

Securing the gangway in Senegal

Arrival in Dakar

Arrival Ceremony in Dakar

The Advance Team were waiting to greet us on the dock.  They had been in Dakar since April preparing for our arrival.

We arrived in Dakar on 14th August.  There was a three week set up plan to prepare for the opening of the hospital on 9th September.  Much to be done in that time - such a huge job but it was great to be involved in it all and be on the ship for the start of the field service.  We look forward to what is in store for us in the next nine months.

"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Still enjoying being here and what is a typical week like?!

Where does the time go?  Life is busy here and we realise that it has been too long since we last posted and in just over three weeks the ship leaves Guinea!  Around February and March is apparently the time in the field service where many people feel quite tired - several months have gone by and there are still several more to go.  Although, we weren't here at the start of the field service in August, we were busy until we left the UK in September to head to the States for five weeks training, arriving in Guinea for field practice in October and finally arriving on the ship in November and it is true, we had times earlier this year when we have felt really tired.   We were also not able to get out and about as much during this time as we've been hampered by an injury to Lynne's knee which has made getting around difficult.  We are so thankful that we have access to a Crew Physician, Rehab team and Radiology Team here on the ship.  An MRI has confirmed a torn meniscus (with a bit sticking out!) and Baker's Cyst so we have just organised slightly earlier flights home in June to see a Consultant with a view to having an arthroscopy.  Despite these things, we have continued to so enjoy being here doing the jobs we have, serving with fellow crew members and meeting the nationals and the tiredness and knee pain (thanks to a steroid injection) are receding.

Palm branches for Palm Sunday

Garden of Gethsamane presentation

Easter is a very special time to be on the ship.  Holy Week starts on Palm Sunday and we had palm branches brought down from up country to put round the boundaries of our dock space and on Deck 8 at the top of the ship and a service in the evening. 



During the week there were various events and services.  The Youth's 'Presentation in the Garden of Gethsemane' on Maundy Thursday was particularly beautiful, reflective and atmospheric, as was the Good Friday 'Tenebrae' service.  Tenebrae is Latin for 'darkness' and the service is characterized by the gradual extinguishing of candles (battery operated ones for the ship!) until the room is in darkness at the end. 

Back to Roume

Tenebrae service

Easter Saturday we took the opportunity visit Roume Island again - probably for the last time.  We have really enjoyed the peace and beauty of Roume and enjoyed going with friends and making new ones.



There was an Easter Sunrise service, an Easter Celebration Service then a feast at lunchtime not dissimilar to Christmas.  So grateful to all the crew who put so much time and effort into planning and organising this week, including Chaplaincy, Food Service and Crew Service as well as other crew who use their creative and craft skills to make the ship look amazing.

Easter Sunrise service

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunrise service

We continue to be amazed and humbled at the work Mercy Ships does.  Tomorrow is the start of the final week of surgeries and the hospital will stay open for one more week after that.  The second round of Plastic surgeries has finished and a six week stint of Women's Health surgeries (childbirth injuries and gynaecological) has also finished.  Medical Capacity Building where nationals are trained in many different medical areas continues pretty much all field service long in different parts of the country but has also now finished.  The final week of surgeries bring General Surgery (hernias and lipomas) and Maxillo Facial cleft lips.  Stuart and Mike, another carpenter, have also been capacity building by training the local day crew, in twos, in some basic carpentry skills.

Two of the Carpentry trainees

So, what is a typical week like.  We were 'warned' before we arrived at the ship that is is very easy to develop 'FIMO' (Fear Of Missing Out') and we fairly quickly realised what that meant but we have still managed to fill our week!  Hmm!


We both generally work an 8.00 am to 5.00 pm working day which just whizzes by and our evenings have started to fill up - Stuart and Matthew also do 'On-Call' and Matthew has 'Night Patrol' to fit into all this.  We usually have dinner around 6 pm.  On Mondays Stuart goes to a book study group from 7.00 pm to 8.30 pm, Lynne started a small group but hasn't been due to needing to rest, ice, etc her knee.  At 7.00 pm on Tuesday evenings we usually go to a 'Music Get-Together' to play and sing with a group of others, and on

Our OnBoarding family

alternate Tuesdays at 8.00 pm we meet up with our OnBoarding group (those that we did our training with in the US and Guinea field practice) to hear how we are getting on and encourage and pray for each other.  On Wednesday evenings from 6.00 pm to 7.00 pm there is a 'Medical In-Service' which is when one of the surgeons will give a presentation about their specialty or another area of experience.  It is fascinating, awe inspiring, at times somewhat incomprehensible to us non-medics and we have heard about facial tumours, thyroid surgery and goiters, obstructed labour, paediatric brain surgery, in-flight CPR,  treatment of  sacrococcygeal teratomas (what?!), ponsetti - we have learned so much!  For the medical crew, attendance at these, depending which country they are from counts toward their continuing professional development.   

Deck Team on Ice Cream duty

Local church we've attended recently

 Thursday evenings there is a Community Gathering from 7.30 pm to 8.30 pm followed by ice cream.Mercy Shippers seem to love their ice cream!  Fridays sometimes see us going out or Stuart going out with some of the men but has been on-call quite a few Fridays. 


Saturday we might go out for the day or  sometimes there is a film or just for part of the day,other event in the evening and Sunday varies - we have been to the Hope Centre service several times, we have recently been going to a local church or we may rest and catch up with things as in the evening is Church on the ship, followed by Brits tea in one of the family cabins.  There are always other ad hoc events going on too. 

'All British' goodbye breakfast to Judith

Bye to Lee at Guinea Gardens

We have made many new friends since arriving here.  Many have come and gone and those goodbyes can be tough but we are thankful for them all - we would rather have had them even for short while. Goodbyes are also a good excuse to eat out .

Obama where we enjoy going to eat.  

Hey!  That's our berth!

Getting ready to move again

As the field service draws to a close, the ship had to move out of our berth to allow the berth to be dredged.  After two cancellations we moved one day; then moved another 20m later that day; we stayed there for two days - no make that another day
 

Masks on for another move

Followed by a long night

 - next to a ship unloading dusty stuff; then time to move back - oh wait, we'll move once, and then again that day at 10pm!  It was a long night for the Deck crew as the Day Crew needed driving home when they'd finished.  Amazing how many football games are being played on the roads at 2am!!

As we start to pack up the outlook changes again and yesterday we watch the resident T-Rex (Terex) move two containers into place ready for the pack up team to begin their work.

Getting the pack up containers in position

Love this view of the islands and the sunset

Father and Son at work

As we finish this field service and look back over the last year, we are thankful to God for His goodness and faithfulness.  We thank Him for all of our friends we've met on this ship, the work of this ship and our family and friends back home supporting us.  In just over five weeks time we will be home for six weeks and Matthew will be following us a couple of weeks later as originally planned; we will return to the ship in August in time for the sail to Senegal and the next field service.

'The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end.  They are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness.'    Lamentations 3:22-23

Ship Holiday Weekend and a day in the Life of Stuart

This weekend is a three day Ship Holiday weekend.  Approximately every six weeks, to allow crew to take time out for a little longer and rest we go into Ship Holiday routine on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Many crew get the whole time off but, of course, this is a working hospital and crew live on board so ...... the wards are still open and medical staff need to work, patients need caring for, dressings need to be changed; there was an unexpected admission yesterday to the hospital so OR (Operating Room or Theatre as we call it in the UK) had a surgery today; crew need feeding; housekeeping staff work as the ship is not self cleaning; launderers continue to wash bedding, towels, uniforms, scrubs as people are still coming and going; reception staff and the Gurkhas need to work too.  And this time, Matthew was on call Friday and Stuart is on call all weekend so they have both worked and Lynne went into the office for a few hours to keep up with the admissions and discharges and order patient meals for Sunday and Monday as it is bit tricky to order in advance.

We took the opportunity on Friday as we were both off to get off the ship and went to a local hotel to chill by (a different) pool.  (We have had a pool at almost every place we have been to since leaving the UK in September!)  It was a great place to relax and just be somewhere different; it was by the sea and, as is often the case, also next to a building site!  We tried to take a taxi back to the ship to get back in time to see a friend off but after about half a mile the roads were completely blocked (as they often are - with no warning or obvious reason and at any time - so we got out and walked back!  Only took about half an hour and we were back in time to say bye and we then went out again for shwarma and pizza.

A few of us at Roume 

View as we were walking

Last Sunday we went back to Roume Island.  We have been there once before and really enjoyed it so took the opportunity to go back as a friend was organising the boat.  Hopefully Matthew will be able to come with us next time - but he was on call!  The last time we went we met an Austrian lady who is a midwife and for a good number of years has been spending three or four months every year volunteering on the island offering midwifery and other medical care - amazing!  We bumped into her again as we got off the boat!  We had a fabulous day with some other crew.  We were serenading by some locals and Stuart couldn't resist joining in.  We even met a young guy, born in Guinea, now living in Bristol who was on the island visiting family and friends!

Over the last couple of weeks we have both had the opportunity to be involved in our, or another, department's devotions.  Stuart led devotions for the Deck and Supply Departments and Lynne was involved with the worship for the monthly Ward devotions.  Good to take time out with others in this way.  The Ward devotions includes time for staff to share stories from their work.

So, what is a day like for Stuart?  Well the deck department starts the day at 0745 with a time of devotion followed by a daily briefing, who is on duty who is watching the water supply and what deliveries are expected.  There may then be a specific safety briefing on firefighting, diving activity or working aloft  Then we disappear our carpentry shop to look at the list of jobs that come to us via the ship intranet.

 High priority jobs are those that impact the mission of the ship and these could be anything from a loose door handle or making up a special shoe for one of the patients.  Then there are the bigger items like moving fitted office furniture or making shelving.  At this time of the year we are also planning work for the maintenance period in June in Las Palmas. The is a constant stream of personal items to fix like, my shoe, my sewing machine, my bicycle,  can you make up a fishing net?  It all great and most work needs some ingenuity as we can't pop down to Screw-fix or Wickes for stuff.  

Since being here we have realised that most of the workshop machinery is old, worn out and not as safe as newer items tend to be.  so with the captains support I have ordered some serious new kit that should arrive in the summer.

We are also training  some of the day crew in basic carpentry skills, as we seldom see any machine tools this training is based on hand tools and we end the course by building a tool box and providing them with a set of tools.  Sadly the only tools we can buy locally are very poor quality and look like they will last only a few months. 

At the end of this field service our day crew will leave the ship and try to find a job locally, if these carpentry skills help them find a job and feel needed then its a step forward.  


Below is a recent story from the hospital...



We love this verse on our cabin wall:

For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you "Do not fear; I will help you"    Isaiah 41:13