Humbling Experiences

Many times I wonder "Why me? Why am I so blessed? Why have I been given so much?" This has been one of the weeks that has caused me to think a great deal. I believe not one day went by this week where my heart did not break. It began with a weekend trip to the "stilt village." This village is a short boat ride away from where we live and is an African form of Venice. :) A village built completely in the water, all the buildings are on stilts with canoes as the only form of transportation. It was fun to watch all the fishermen casting their nets so artistically and the women selling fruit from their canoes. Children as young as five years old were out canoeing about. I was struck, however, with the filth of the village and could not stop thinking about the diseases that must ravage such a place. The water was literally strewn with trash and smelled of sewer. Of course this could be because the "toilets" in these buildings are just enclosed holes that dump into the water. Quite a fun experience. :) They do have a central well for drinking water but otherwise everything from bathing to swimming to washing clothes is done in the filth. What kind of treatment exists for the little kids that get deathly ill from waterborne diseases? Uff. It truly is "survival of the fittest."
Next I got to enjoy a church service held in our hospital ward. This was such a highlight of my weekend as I got to see the patients I had been taking care of singing, clapping and dancing (for those that were able.) The service was translated a bout 4 times into different dialects and was so joyful! How amazing to see hope in the eyes of these severely disfigured and sick people and to even hear the testimony of one of our "long term" patients as she came to know Jesus in her time on the ward! I have been so convicted and encouraged lately through some amazing conversations with friends around me of the need to be constantly praying for the people we see. I want to acknowledge God in every moment of my day, in all that I do...and I want this habit to continue at home.
One such prayer was answered for a patient of mine. A teenage boy here has a massive tumor on his face, disfiguring him beyond recognition. I became his nurse after they decided not to operate on a 2 month old that was going to need the ICU (I was nervous about this anyways as their ventilators here are ancient!) After this boy had been admitted for surgery we realized that he was going to need several blood transfusions and there just weren't any matches for his rare blood type. He was told he would not get surgery and you should have seen the agony in his eyes. He had finally tasted the hope of becoming "normal"..no longer an outcast of society. We prayed for more donors and our lab started not only testing our ship crew (who are the regular blood donors) but began asking for blood from our African volunteers and translators. As we waited, a translator and I started singing and before I knew it four more African men joined us, the drums came out and we soon had a group of about ten people singing and dancing! It was so fun! :) That has to be one my favorite parts of working here. Long story short, God provided three people with this boy's blood type and two days, three units of blood later..this boy was headed to surgery.
Finally, a third humbling experience was visiting the orphanage. A group goes every week and it happened to be my day off so I got to join them. My heart broke as soon as I walked behind the fence and saw about thirty little faces looking up at me. The sisters that run the orphanage do a wonderful job and work hard to find homes for these children but are working in a culture where most local orphanages are corrupt, selling orphans for monetary gain. Liberia actually shut down all foreign adoptions for this reason..child trafficking. My heart immediately fell in love with the "sick ward". These were orphans who would probably never be placed in homes and were segregated from the rest for diseases such as severe malnutrition, HIV and TB. The kids sit in their own soiled clothes for hours and I definitely smelled of urine when we left but it didn't matter. They are all so hungry for attention! We immediately had at least four kids crawling onto our laps and clinging for dear life. One little boy I held was about 3 yrs old and weighed only 8lbs. He was skin and bones. Apparently he had been tied in a plastic bag and thrown in the river as his parents couldnt raise him. Another little boy with HIV had been tied to a tree for days and rescued by the local police. They all appeared so sickly to me and I can't help but wonder if God will use me to nurse children like this back to health someday. Who knows where God will lead but I do know that my heart is so heavy after spending time with these kids.
Overall it has been an incredible week. I am so glad that I have a hope for something beyond this life that I can share with these people who know nothing but suffering. We are so blessed! What a privelege to be humbled in such a way...

Africa: week one or two? :)

Hi guys! Just wanted to thank you for the prayers and encouragement this past week. I am adjusting to life on the ship and it can be a rough transition but God is good :) First off: Work. I did come here for that I suppose :) The ward is SO different from home but I am in full swing of working now. I am oriented to the ICU but we dont really have any ICU patients so I'm taking anywhere from 5-10 patients on the ward, mostly kids. They have all had surgery of some kind...cleft lip and palate repair, bone reconstruction, tumor resection, or skin grafting for severe burns. Its busy and you would never see the severity of some of these things back home so it makes it interesting! My favorite part: holding the little babies and toddlers and loving on them and learning french from the teenage boys. They all laugh at my pronunciation...ha. The frustrating part: since the wards each house about 20 patients the kids feed off each other..if one screams they all do. One throws up, the rest of the vomit is to come... it gets a bit overwhelming. But the people I really admire are the African translators and disciplers. They come in to do devotions and prayer with each patient if they want it. I have seen much hope come from that. We as the crew are the walking blood bank so we are all on call in case a patient needs transfusions...thats exciting i suppose! :) Ship life: i got off the ship this last weekend! That actually was so re-energizing to me as the ship can feel a bit like prison at times. Suzy, Meg, Davie and I went on an adventure. We had no idea where we were going (my favorite kind) but ended up taking zimis (motorcycle taxis...the cheapest local form of transportation) to a town called Ouida about an hour away. This is the official capitol of Voodoo and is home to the port where all the slave trade occurred for Benin and its surrounding countries. They now have a monument called the " Point of no Return" which marks where the slaves were tortured, chained, and put on ships. It was really humbling and sad to stand there and begin to grasp the impact that slavery had on these people. Uff. It also has a snake museum and temple. We made friends with some Africans and frolicked in the ocean, got really sun burned, ate pineapples off the core and other etnic food, and found a hotel back in Cotonou. It was pretty traditional for Africa I'd say...no running water, hot, cheap, and one twin bed for the four of us! You can say we did not sleep much :). On Sunday we joined a group of people at a nice pool though for a birthday celebration which was so relaxing! it was really fun to get to know some of my crew mates better. Im not sure what this weekend has in store but we shall see. Im praying for you all and would appreciate continued prayer for joy and hope. It's easy to feel lonely and left out even among 400 people...and i find myself getting discouraged and selfish too. So prayers are welcome :) thanks guys! love ang

Africa Mercy

well im finally here in Cotonou. i'm home!! (for the next two months at least). Ah my heart was so happy last night it could have burst!! i flew first to paris and then to benin and God was ssoooo good in sending people my way to befriend all along the way!! A big guy from New York named Leo helped made the hour and a half trek with me to the airport early wed morning. then on my way to paris I met an older guy from california who had spent most of his life on ships and had of course been to Benin (who knew!!). He was a musician turned phd professor who told me all about the rhythm of the music in Benin and how it was the most unique thing he had ever heard and it changed his life. Then i met an accountant from Cali in paris...he was pretty self absorbed but whatever. Then i met a couple from Norway on the plane to Africa who were also joining up with Mercy Ship! It was so nice to have someone familiar to wade through the African airport with. Our plane was delayed a bit for security reasons and when we got off at about 9pm we were greeted with 80 degree humid weather and crowds of people. Trying to push my way through a sea of people just to snag my bag was an adventure! and it made me so happy! :) An african man named Rene picked us up and was so incredible. I wish I spoke French soooo badly!! i'm going to take lessons and will hopefully learn fast. I got to practice some norsk with the norwegian couple and then we made Rene teach us French phrases. I hope i learn fast! uffda. Driving was insane...not as busy and crowded as India but definitely NO traffic laws of any kind. people were driving over medians and curbs and sidewalks in their jeeps..pretty fun. I loved the way people were dressed and out and about! The poverty along the water was so sad...its amazing how poverty looks so different in every country. I'd say its similar to Bangladesh but different...not really sure how to explain it yet. Then we got "home"! Rene joked with us and stopped to drop us off at a ship that was a half sunk, run down shack.haha. No, our ship is beautiful!!!!! its huge. very welcoming. gorgeous. it will take some time to get used to swaying all night and day but such is life. i am staying in a cabin with 8 girls...i have a top bunk bed and small closet. id say its a bit bigger than a 2person dorm room at college. its tiny! ha. today i have orientation. its amazing to me how many people come and go on this ship! only one other girl in my cabin is a nurse so its nice to meet people from all different departments. The hostess girl that loves working out and seems fun is named Suz! ha. and my bunkmate is a really cute girl from South Africa. i got unpacked and have learned a little about the ship...we have more freedom than I expected. I will find out my shift schedule and then we are free to go off the ship as we please if we have a partner. Safety is a big thing here...there are no safe beaches and the dock is the only safe zone but relatively safe if youre with someone. they have someone on guard all night and day looking for pirates and "swimmers" who are people who swim around the back of the ship to try to climb up and steal. But so far so good. This ship houses about 350 people! and new people come and go almost every day. That will be a blessing and challenge..it seems you have to be used to change constantly. But, there are always groups and activities going on and i want to sign up for as many as possible once I get my schedule! There are running groups three times a week, an aerobics class, french classes, groups that meet from every different country, groups that take trips to surrounding countries (pray i get to go on one!) groups that go to the orphanages (i really want to do this!), prayer meetings and bible studies, and groups that do psychological counseling stuff. Rene was telling us that because of all the war it has left people so psychologically damaged. uffda. so all in all im so excited to be here. I still have no idea what to expect in the hospital or anything. I also dont know who my friends will be as it seems all my roommates and I have very different schedules..they say they dont even see eachother that much! sad. so tdoay its a bit lonesome as i explore on my own. so pray for someone. God has been faithful thus far, i know He will do it again! pray for boldness to dive in here. The hospital is packed full and is booked solid thru the summer and they havent even had their second screening day. i guess for hte first screening day people came from countris all over to get an appt for surgery and we are soo busy. which is awesome! praise God. And a Norwegian engineer guy told me that I came at a good time because we will be sailing this weekend out to sea! He said this is the only time for the next couple months so im excited! well love youall, hope this doesnt bore you!! dont know how much ill get to email as its slow as honey here. ha. love to you all! praying for you...let me know specifics. your ang

BCN cont

Hi! So i was tired and cranky when i wrote the last one and therefore will add a bit...sorry i have no idea how to work pictures :)
day 1:arrival at night, getting lost, walking with lots of luggage, finding my hostel, jet lag
day 2...exploring in the rain by myself...i found my way around town, ate gelatto, got lost, walked more, figured out the metro system, got lost, hung out with Jesus and went to bed early
day 3...i met some friends!! i hung out with Sasha and Angela all day. We got to see Parc Guell which depicts Gaudis architecture. it was awesome! we walked all over and found more hidden treasures. They are not believers bu tI was praying that God would give me opportunities to love people even while being a tourist. we chatted with some guys at the hostel for hours and then we all got dressed up to go to flamenco and dancing! a super fun night
day 4...Easter! i had to move hostels which was good since my room was full of guys the night before. a bit sketch. i found my way to a small hidden church and actulally felt so at home! i loved it!! it was so joyful. I wanted to get out of the tourist scene so hiked all over town and prayed and enjoyed spain
day 5...sasha and i met up to go to montserrat ! it was a beautiful monastery and hike outside of barcelona...it was soo hot! and we met some cool people there too. God is so good :) We came home to make a cheap pasta dinner and then i got to know some of the people in my new hostel
day 6: im going to the beach with some guys from my hostel and will get some last Spanish souveniers and treats. We are then meeting a bunch of travelers for traditional tapas tonight, one last time. Its off to Africa tomorrow! Luckily a big guy from New York is leaving for the airport at the same time as me, 7am tomorrow, so we will help each other get there. Im nervous but ready!

Barcelona baby

Hi from Barcelona... I wanted to let you all know how my week has been. What an adventure! From stumbling along tiny streets with 75lbs on my back to getting lost to making new friends..it has been fun. ;) I stayed at one youth hostel for three nights where I met some fun people, two of whom I have been exploring the city with. I enjoyed some fresh seafood paella, saw Parc Guell which is famous for Gaudiś architecture (sonia i thought of you!), went to a flamenco show, twirled around in a sundress, shopped, went to an outdoor market, found a special Easter service, explored the non-touristy side of barcelona and went on a trek to a monastery an hour outside of the city. that was unbelievable! it was sunny today and so good to be outside. I am now at a new hostel that is farther outside of town which is a "bugger" as my austrailian traveler friends say. God has been so good to give me some good weather, friends to spend time with and time alone to spend with Him. I was so energized after the church service on Sunday and felt more at home here! i hate being a tourist and always just wish to fit in wherever I go. Iḿ sorry this is so brief..im working on a bad headache from being outside all day. Loneliness got the best of me a couple times but mostly I have loved speaking spanish, exploring, being friendly and learning about a new culture! dang i cant put many pics on here so will try to upload some to facebook. thanks for your prayers!! i truly sense them. love you all..i have been praying so much for many of you. off to Africa on wednesday.