45,168 Procedures
950 Dental Hygiene Procedures
577 Denture Donations
(Photographs by Mercy Ships' photographers)
Friday, June 14, 2013
Highlights from Guinea 2021-2013 Outreach: General Surgery
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Highlights from Guinea 2012-2013 Outreach in Pictures- The Blind Will See Part 2
Highlights from Guinea 2012-2013 Outreach in Pictures- The Blind Will See
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| To God's Glory- The Blind Will See 1,745 Cataract Surgeries Performed 111 Pterygium Surgeries Performed 13.483 Eye Evaluations 3,397 Pairs of Eye and Sun Glasses Distributed
(photo layout & photos compiled by my friend Josh Callow
& other Mercy Ships' photographers)
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Highlights from Guinea 2012-2013 Outreach in Pictures- Screening Day Part 1
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| Screening Day 2012 (photo layout & photos compiled by my friend Josh Callow & other Mercy Ships' photographers) |
...testing God's nudges...pink fans...and Fan Milk...
I stepped off the plane and thanked God for safe
travels and finally opening the doors for me to depart Guinea- as it had been
ridiculous struggle against corruption and bribes (which I refused to pay) with
the airline officials for 4.5 days,…yes days… prior to that moment. I acquired
a visa without difficulty. My luggage arrived in one piece. There was no
appearance of tampering with its contents (as happens more often than not in my
foreign travel). And I cleared customs without one question being asked about
the thousands of dollars worth of chemotherapy drugs I was carrying for the
mission hospital. I smiled and squealed
with delight as I stepped out of the Lomé airport and was greeted by my former
translator who worked with Mercy Ships in 2010 and 2012 while the ship was
docked in Lomé, Togo.
Right
outside the airport, I found a Fan Milk man with his little bike- cooler
selling my favorite packaged, iced treats. Fan Milk is one of the best
inventions in Africa- it is only sold in Togo, Ghana, and Benin- it is the
closest thing to an ice cream man this side of the world! I have been craving
the cold, little Fan Milk treats for a year now (since I last left Togo)! In
this land where it is so hot, that even gum melts, cold treats are a necessity! For a mere 30 cents I purchased one of my favorite
treats and first used it as an ice pack to cool my sweaty skin and then tore a
small hole in the package with my teeth and savored the cold chocolate milk
flavored slush that seeped through the hole, cooling my tongue in a heavenly
way.
My
former translator and friend helped me secure another essential in Africa; a
fan. I smiled and definitely took it as God’s special gift to me that pink fans
were cheaper than all the others and pink is my favorite color. We stopped to acquire a few more Fan Milk
treats for my ride, I thanked my friend for welcoming me, and then the taxi
driver and I set off for my home for the next few months… Hôpital Baptiste Biblique,
an amazing mission hospital, in the African bush, located at the base of a
glorious, lush, green, mountain, a few hours northwest of Togo’s capital city
of Lomé.
I nodded off and on in the taxi, not really fatigued from the
short plane flight, but all the drama leading up to my departure- and the early
hour in which I had to leave the ship to head to the airport. I startled awake
to a refreshing breeze, the outdoor temperature had dropped by at least 10
degrees as we ascended toward the mountains. The shift in temperature assured
me we were almost to our destination. I
was giddy as we neared the hospital. I could not stop grinning from ear to ear.
As the taxi came to a stop, I jumped out of the taxi, un-loaded my luggage, and
breathed in the fresh air and said, “God- here goes nothing…lead me, strengthen
me, guide me, and uphold me as I go deeper for you, testing if I have what it
takes to be a missionary nurse on land, show me your will as I test the nudges
you have put on my heart….and thanks for Fan Milk and pink fans!”
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