Merry Christmas

This past month has been busy with lots of different festivites for the holiday season here on the ship. On December 1st many hands decked the halls turning the ship into a winter wonderland!



"Winter Wonderland"

With an international crew representing over 30 countries, I got to experience and learn about some other traditions. The Dutch celebrate Sinterklaas on December 5th. We enjoyed a choir processional on December 13th for the Swedish tradition of St. Lucia.

St. Lucia



 On December 23rd we had a barbeque out on the dock per the Australian Christmas tradition. After sunset we sang Christmas carols by candelight.



Caroling on the dock

Singing by candelight

Christmas Photo Booth with friends!

 

CHRISTMAS DAY!!!!

 

Borrowing the Dutch tradition, everyone on the ship places a shoe outside their door on Christmas Eve. The pitter-patter of feet can be heard as people go up and down the hallways filling shoes with goodies.

 

Shoes lining the hallways!

 

Excited on Christmas day to find my shoe filled with goodies!

A big THANK YOU to the awesome galley and kitchen crew who pulled off the most amazing Christmas brunch! We had a breakfast buffet on one side and lunch items on the other. In the middle of the dining room was a spread of fresh fruit, cheese, pastries, and cookies! We spent about two and half hours in the dining room eating and talking with friends. The remainder of the day my friends and I played games, watched White Christmas, and made a few phone calls to family and friends!


Christmas Brunch

 

Excitedly waiting in the buffet line with my friends
Karin and Melina from Sweden and Switzerland!

I feel blessed to have enjoyed so many wonderful opportunities during this Christmas season and to celebrate in Africa with people from so many different places! The meaning of Christmas still remains the same no matter where I am, Jesus Christ the Savior was born!

 

Hoping that everyone had a wonderful and blessed Christmas!

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS from Africa!!

 

The Week Before Christmas!

This Christmas season is a bit different with living on a boat off the West Coast of Africa! It is hot and humid, nothing like the winter wonderland we all dream of back home, but I have enjoyed the opportunity to be here during this holiday season. The week before Christmas I helped pass out Christmas presents at several of the off-ship program sites that we partner with on a weekly basis. This includes the School for the Deaf, the Hope Center, and Jean Paul II Daycare Center.

 

 

SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF:

The children waving goodbye outside of their classrooms!

One of the classes proudly showing off their crafts.

 

HOPE CENTER:
 



The Hope Center is where our patients stay when they leave the hospital yet still require follow up appointments at the ship. Many of our patients live too far away and don't have the money to travel back and forth. This was my first time visiting the Hope Center, and I really enjoyed getting to see and spend time with several of my patients. We helped them with their crafts and gave them presents such as clothes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and other donated items!

At the Hope Center with some of my patients!

Check out his new hat!

All the patients and caregivers showing off their craft projects!

JEAN PAUL II DAY CARE CENTER:

 

Oh the excitement on their faces is absolutely priceless!

Helping to distribute gifts to the little children

She's checking out her big stuffed animal!



Kids eagerly awaiting to open their gifts!

 

Oh! What a fun opportunity to see the joy on so many people's faces this week!

 

Stayed tuned for another post coming soon about Christmas on the ship.....

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM AFRICA!!

 

Cuddles with Kids!

I cannot imagine a better way to spend a day off than loving on kids! At the orphanage the children are full of cuddles and smiles. This Thursday my friend and roommate Bethany Salmonson took some amazing photos to capture the precious moments with these children. Hope you enjoy her pictures!

 

 

I love his smile!

The children loved the balloons, but it turns out the balloons didn't love the concrete!
 

Reading one of my favorite childhood books...Curious George!



Sleeping child!



Robyn enjoying her "cuddles" as she calls it!
 

Trying to get him to smile!




I finally got one! He's very serious,
 so it takes a lot of work to get a smile out of him!
 

Precious moments!

Bethany our photographer

I definitely plan to return again soon to love on more babies!



Life in the hospital

I have been on the Africa Mercy for a month, and I’m learning how different cultures can be. The ship is quite western including many aspects of the hospital, but that doesn’t stop African culture from influencing life here in the hospital. 

I currently work on “D” Ward which focuses mainly on maxo-facial patients who have various tumors, goiters, cleft lip & palates along with other things relating to the head and neck. On the ward there are 15 patient beds which are military cots separated by only a few inches. For patients under 18 there is a mat underneath the bed where the caregivers sleep. It is great that African life focuses so much on community, because that is a lot of people by western standards to be sharing one open room and one bathroom! Personal space and privacy doesn’t exist quite like back home!

One of the things that I love here is how the patients care for one another. While one of our adult patients went to surgery, the other patients and caregivers took turns holding that mother’s baby! Even if they just met that day, they will frequently help one another out! At times we’ll even have other patients translating for another patient who only speaks a certain tribal language/dialect. There are three major tribal languages spoken here in Guinea: Sousou, Fula, and Malinke. Even though French is the official language of the country, it is everyone’s second language that they learn in school. So we definitely don’t meet HIPAA regulations back in the states with having 15 people sharing one room and translating for one another!

My favorite part about working a day shift is taking patients up to Deck 7 to go outside for some fresh air and sunshine since the hospital is located on Deck 3 where there are no windows. It is also great exercise having the patients walk up four flights of stairs! I enjoy spending an hour sitting with patients playing cards or chasing children up and down the deck while looking out over the water.

Although it may seem like different worlds at times, there is so much to learn from the African culture especially as they focus on community and care for one another so well.

Les Cascades de la Soumba

After only venturing out into the city of Conakry these last few weeks, I enjoyed traveling out of the city to see some of the countryside of Guinea! Along the way we spotted a couple of “mountains” on an otherwise fairly flat dusty ride as we traveled two hours north to the town of Dubreka.

As always traveling in Africa quickly turns into an adventure. Since our driver wasn’t certain of the exact location of the falls, he hired a local boy to show us the way on his motorbike. We were heading up and out of town past a tiny stream, eventually driving between people’s houses on what no longer appeared to be a road! Turns out we were definitely in the wrong place. In that small village we found another man who knew of the waterfalls; so he hopped on the back of the bike and the two of them eventually led us to Les Cascades de la Soumba.

As we stepped out of the car, the roaring sound of the waterfalls beckoned us up and over the stairs until we were greeted by the beautiful sight of the water rushing over top the rocks and down the stream! What an amazing sight to be in nature and enjoy the waterfalls.

It has only been a month since the rainy season finished, but I’ve been told the falls already have less water rushing over top than the previous couple of months. I’m glad I could see the falls now before the water stops cascading over the rocks by the end of the dry season in March/April. Here are some pictures from the day: 

It's a Mountain!



Welcome to Dubreka

  

While lost in the small town these cute kids came running up to our car!

Les Cascades de la Soumba



Enjoying the Falls



A closer look at the falls



My travel companions: Una, Jenny, Me, Jospeh our driver, and Robyn

 

Welcome to Africa: The Flu and Acid Bugs

On my second week in Africa I didn’t receive the warmest of greetings! I ended up with the flu on Monday night, and I spent almost five days in bed! It is amazing how large the ship appeared on the first day of arrival. After being cooped up in my room for several days with only briefly getting out of my cabin, the ship started to feel a bit smaller with not having many places to go where I wasn’t going to infect someone else! I am glad to report that I am doing better with each passing day, and I’m back to work on night shifts this weekend.

One advantage to having a cabin on the lower decks of the ship is there are no windows! It is great for sleeping when working night shifts or being sick in bed. After awhile though, you need to get outside to see the sunlight. There are lots of chairs on the top decks, and there is even a pool on Deck 8.

WATCH OUT FOR THE ACID BUGS! I’ve recently discovered these new little flying insects here in Africa which are attracted to artificial light! I’ve only encountered them on Deck 7 and 8 of the ship. They do not bite, but you must be careful because the Acid Bug releases a toxin which causes inflammation and blistering to that area on the skin! So you have to keep a watchful eye when venturing outside on the ship decks!



The "ACID BUG"