God is good! All the time! Even when there are cockroaches!
My life has been full of change the past few weeks. Let me catch you up.
I have moved off the ship. I still work with Mercy Ships as a nurse, but I have moved to Mercy Ship’s off-site house (It used to be called the Hill House, but it now referred to as The Lighthouse) in order to work in the Obstetric Fistula Clinic (OBF Clinic).
What is the OBF Clinic? I’m glad you asked. The Vesicovaginal Fistula (or VVF) program takes up a lot of bedspace onboard the ship. At one point, our ladies were in beds on 3 different wards. Needing a lot of beds is a well known part of the VVF program, so in order to run the program all year, a second location for the women to recover was planned to open this past October. The Clinic is open and the ladies have begun to be transferred out to the clinic to complete their recovery. At this time, 101 women have received free surgery through our Women’s Health program!
It is always a challenge to get things started, and the OBF Clinic is no exception. The team, including nursing, transportation, engineering, and management (to only name a few), have been working incredibly hard to get the clinic ready for the ladies and also to make the Lighthouse a better living space. One of the challenges that arouse for the nursing team was being a little short in the staffing department.
That’s where I came in. At the beginning of the field service, I had spoken to my boss about wanting to come out to the OBF Clinic at some point during the year to experience it. Turns out that chance to experience it happened right away! J So here I am, sitting in The Lighthouse after finishing a daytime shift at the Clinic.
I am really enjoying the experience of being more immersed into Cameroon. Our lifestyle is still quite cushy compared to the average Cameroonian’s. We have air conditioning units, running water, an electric generator, and a cook who makes delicious food for us and also cleans the main living areas. But there are also numerous bugs, mice, and ants that like to live with us. There’s a significant increase in dirt and sweat involved in daily activities as compared to the ship and windows leak whenever it rains. In my mind, I compare it to camping. But on the plus side, I live with an amazing group of women who inspire me to grow and be better each day.
The Team Leader for the Hospital Ward side of the VVF Program is going home at the end of December. This leads to my next life change. I have been asked to take up her position in January. So when I move back onto the ship in December, I will begin to train with the current Team Leader to learn the job.
I’m not going to lie, I really dragged my feet on this change. I jumped at the chance to go to the OBF Clinic, but the Team Leader job required a lot of prayer. It’s a step away from bedside nursing (which is my favorite thing) and more towards management (which is not my favorite). But God encouraged me through 1 Corinthians 1:26-31.
“Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things –and the things that are not- to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God –that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord’.”
My inadequacies are nothing compared to the power of God. If he wants to use my weak and foolish heart to lead the VVF team onboard, then he will do it regardless of my lack of management inclination or training. All that happens on Mercy Ships, is not of human doing. God is behind all the work that is done. And praise God for what I’ve seen happen here in Cameroon! Ladies going home dry, cleft lip babies getting fat, children who had bowed legs walking up tall, and huge life-threatening facial tumors being removed. God is good! All the time! Even when there are cockroaches! God is good! All the time!
As you are thinking of Mercy Ships this November, I ask that you pray for our Women’s Health Program. There has been a lot of difficulty in locating the patients for the VVF program and getting them to the ship. We have been operating full steam ahead since arriving in Cameroon, but we are quickly coming to the end of our lists of known patients. Pray that the women who are living in Cameroon with obstetrics fistulas would find their way to the screening centers. Pray that these women who live in isolation would hear word of our program and be able to make it to the ship. Pray for our crew members as we navigate the decision making processes of dealing with these issues.
