Prince Eddie

It is 4am and I am on my last night of 3 night shifts. One of the translators just made fresh squeezed orange juice and brought it into A ward for the 3 of us working tonight. Oh, the little things that make life so grand sometimes:)

I know I have been slacking the last couple months on my blogs so I am trying to slowly write a few that should have been written long ago.

Prince Eddie is a patient who was here for burn contractures on one of his hands. He was screened when the Anastasis(old ship) was in Ghana but was put on the waiting list and not called. When he found out the ship would be in Benin he came again for screening. This time he was able to get surgery. Even though he did not get treated in Ghana he did not lose heart or joy.

Prince Eddie had a smile that could light up a room. I have to say it was also refreshing having an english speaking patient.:) This patient was such a joy to take care of. He was here at a God ordained time I believe. He was always encouraging the nurses and telling them what a great job they were doing. He was always reading his bible and even prayed with other patients who were having a tough time.

I was working one day when he handed me a poem and I wanted to share it with you. Prince Eddie is a very gifted poet and ended up writing several poems while he was here, but one in particular really stood out. After I got this poem I immediately brought it to Ali and Suzanne to share with them and it almost brought them to tears. At that time on the ward we were dealing with some really hard cases and patients who did not have a good prognosis. One of the patients he prayed for actually had a rare kind of lymphoma and the boy actually ended up passing away. This poem was a reminder of why we are here and a welcomed encouragement in a great time of need. Without further delay...here is what he wrote:

Angels Amongst the Sons of Men

The day the Big White Whale landed on the black shores of Africa was a blessed day to the Sons of Men.
It came with Angels to walk amongst the Sons of Men.
Why do I call them Angels? Let me tell you of my time with them.

I came onboard the White Whale with rooms filled with
the lame
the maimed
the formed
the deformed
the wrong
and the rough.

And deep into the darkest part of the night, I saw men and brethren,
maidens and ladies, though flesh as us, yet with hearts as Angels.

Sleeplessly and tirelessly they toiled through the night,
through the pains and aches of men;
They, with hands to heal and mend,
bringing from above the Father's love to the Sons of Men.

Some they cut.
Some they tie.
Some they seal, and yet others
they fix with tools untold.

Like messengers of the Most High they came.
Not thinking of their own, they risked their lives
and sailed the seas to lands beyond the endless world,
to shores of Men afflicted and in pain.

Their hearts and lives they came to share,
as Angels walking amongst the Sons of Men.

Some in this life are born to pass,
and some are born in life to live,
Yet these Angels are born to preserve humanity.

Though some may see lives as waste,
yet with speed they move to save.
With words of love and touch of peace,
they endlessly toil to make right the wrong.

You were born as Men to your lands,
and yet as Angels you served the earth.
Gold is digged from earth beneath.
Treasures are hunted on high seas.
But love so pure and true
can only in hearts like yours be found.

Your labor in the Lord shall not be in vain.
For every life you touch and every soul you save,
For every bone you mend and every face you straight,
The Lord of Life and Light will light your path and guide your life.

For you are truly Angels amongst the Sons of Men.




Prince Eddie wrote that as a thank you to the nurses here. He explained that he wanted to write what the other patients also thought but could not express well without speaking english. He was very touched by his surgery and stay here and in turn left behind powerful impression and some inspiring poems.

A Visit to Edith's

First of all...my mom has been here for a week now and it has been so fun having her here and being a part of the ministry first hand that I have told her so much about! She started work right away so has not had much time to get off the ship except to walk on the dock. Wed. she was able to finally get out when she went to visit Edith with me.

Edith is the housekeeper/dayworker on the ward that I have written about many times. She is very dear to my heart. She has been wanting me to come out to her house to visit for quite sometime and after she had her surgery that delayed it more. Well, this past Wed. finally worked out for me and a friend to go. It was neat how it worked as this way so my mom could come along. My mom has really enjoyed getting to know Edith and Edith was so excited to have her along as well.

Edith lives about an hour away from the ship with her daughter and husband near the agriculture site that Mercy Ships is helping with. It is a long bumpy dirt road to get there. It had just rained so that always makes that trip a bit more adventurous! Mom enjoyed the long drive and finally getting out to see some of Africa.

They have a typical humble African home out in the bush as Edith says. It is so beautiful out there...nice to be away from the city. Edith cooked some yummy fish and sauce with rice. It was incredibly delicious! We took lessons as we watched her get her grinding board and grind the tomatoes into a paste and cook up the yummy meal. Even Mary, her daughter, helped stir the pot once in a while. In the meantime, Luara, mom, and I enjoyed playing with Mary and the neighbor kids. I had met Mary when they came to the ship and she kept asking her mom when I was going to come out. Apparently she had been really excited that I was coming and told her friends at school that a yovo was coming to visit her.:) One of the neighbors had the multiplication table written on a chalk board and repeated it several times for us. We got our work out as we were human jumgle gyms for the 3 kids to climb up and down on...was great fun!


We only had the car for 4 hours so we did not have time to go see her husband's agriculture site and meet the neighbors this time. I am hoping to get back there though. We enjoyed many laughs, dancing, and a yummy meal together before we had to go back. I am so humbled by the hospitaliy of the people here. I know they do not have much money but Edith had gone to buy a special big fish for us and make a really nice meal. SHE kept thanking US for coming out there...it meant so much to her. I always feel like I need to give something in return to help pay for the meal but I know that would be offensive to them as this is their special gift to us. It was so fun for me to have mom be a part of that and for her to be able to meet the family of Edith who means so much to me. I am looking forward to sharing more great memories and experiences with her in the coming weeks.

Zemidjan Bingo

So one day Ali and I were riding in the car noticing all the oh so random things they put on their zemidjan bikes here. We decided it would be so fun to make a roadtrip game called zemi bingo. You would have a bingo board and would have to find a zemi that represented each square. For example, one square could be a piece of furniture, one a live animal, one 5 people on a zemi,etc. We still have not made it, but maybe for the next road trip:) I have collected several entertaining pictures for your viewing pleaseure:) Many things I have seen on zemi's I would have thought I couldn't even fit them in my car at home...yet they manage carrying it on a motorbike. Some of my favorites that I have seen or heard include a door, large live pig, couches, 6 live goats, family of 5 (who needs a 4 door sedan?), and my all time favorite...a casket!

Joy Comes With The Mourning

We had a patient and family a month and a half ago who really impacted me and many of the nurses here. I have been studying the book of Esther and through that and this patient God really taught me a lesson in humility and trust.

Baby Hubert came to us as part of the baby feeding program we do. He was 9 months, but looked SO tiny and week and wieghed next to nothing. He stayed on the ward quite awhile and we all fell in love with him. It was so hard to watch his mamma just not seem to care about him...she wasn't motivated to feed him and you could tell the way she held him that the bond was just not there. It is hard to understand how this could happen. You see, he has been sick since he was born and he did not get the scars on his face like his siblings because his voodoo practicing parents were not sure they wanted to claim his life yet.

My friend Suzanne and I were on night shift together with him for awhile and enojoyed taking turns holding him. Even though he was so week and small he had such energy...he was a fighter. He was finally slowly putting on weight when he fell quite ill all of the sudden. He was diagnosed with malria and soon got a horrible rash, his heart starting beating quite fast, and lungs started getting stiffer and stiffer. He was soon moved to the ICU for isolation at first and later intubation(as we did not know what infection he had)/life support as his little body could not keep up with the infection.

Through this time there was so much prayer for him and the staff. Many of us kept wondering why this would happen...he was doing so well and then this happened. I felt like God would heal him...he had too...afterall, God brought him to this ship and we are a Christian ship that provides healing!!!!

Hubert did not make it. This was really hard for us to take and process. However, through this time there family was able to see how much we desperately loved and cared for Hubert and his family. His older sister Pauline was very distant when she first came and would not smile and did not seem to have a very stong bond with mamma either. As time progressed however you could see the change in her disposition and even her bond with her mom. Hubert's dad wanted nothing to do with him at first. And I was in the ICU with them one of the last few days Hubert was with us when his father asked me if he could hold Hubert and give him a bath! It was amazing to see the parent's hearts change and really care for and love Hubert by the time he passed.

Yes, Hubert's passing was very hard on us and the family. But through this God taught me once again that his plan is SO much bigger than ours. Hubert's life is precious and he was loved soo much by the time he went home to be with the Lord. But God had a bigger plan in this than healing Hubert. Through his life glory was brought to God and God's love was shown to him and his family.

This is where the book of Esther comes in. There was an edict made that all the Jews were going to be killed. At that time there was much desperation and mourning amongst them. God however, in his perfect timing and providence changed that and ended up protecting the Jews. He turned their mourning into joy...and in a way that only He could so that He would get the glory. He also used Esther and Mordacai to fulfill this...two common day people who probably did not aspire to be used or seem qualified. In the same way, even though God did not spare Hubert's life I know God had a plan for this. He turned mourning from Hubert's death into joy in the new family relationships/bonds that had formed and renewed. And the family who openly talked about their practice of voodoo was open to talking about God by the end of this.

Since this time the family has come back to the ship. Pauline was all smiles as was the husband and mamma. They are a new family. We can never understand circumstances or why things happen, but we have to look at the bigger picture and trust that God is faithful and works through all situations. Yes, we need to do our part in using our knowledge to provide care and pray against strongholds and pray for healing...but at the end of the day we need find peace in the fact that God is God and we are not. As it says in Is. 55:8-9, "For my htoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my thoughts higher than your thoughts." We also know that God does not willingly bring harm on his children: Lamentations 3:23-33, "Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men."

We have to place to judge why Hubert did not stay with us, but we can find peace that does know what He is doing and that He can use any situation to be glorified!