Brazzaville Screening

 I was going to write about the screening trip to Brazzaville, but I can't seem to get the words out. Sometimes I want to share everything with you, to let you in to some of my thoughts but today I am just going to put photos up, I hope you get a bit of an idea of how the day went.

The screening site was at a church

This little girl was seen and given an appointment to come to the ship to be seen by a surgeon and hopefully will have surgery on her burn scars (contractures). Hopefully I will see her when I change her dressings!

People waiting in lines

The team

Change

The incredible team

Change is upon us now, as the Plastic Surgeon left a week ago and an Orthopaedic surgeon has arrived. This means our dressing changes are slowing down as patients heal and are sent home. In a few weeks I will be joining the ward and nursing orthopaedic patients as their will not be any more plastics patients.
It has been an incrediable 8 weeks, very busy at time with highs and lows, but the amazing thing is the team I am part of. The photo here is the plastics team, from surgeon to rehab team (physio's and OT) plastics team leader, physician and the dressing team. All from different countries and a few whose English is not the first language but we all have the same goal, to see the patients life change.

a social outing with some of the team

Morning rounds

It is so great to see the patients leaving to go home after being on the ward for so long having dressing changes. I find it a blessing that I am able to get to know the patients as I do the dressing on a regular basis. To see their wounds looking fantastic and their smiles at being able to use their fingers for the first time in years or be able to walk, as their leg contracture is released and can put their leg down straight!
I feel it is such a blessing to see what God is doing in this place and in their lives of not just the patients but the crew as well.

See what I can do now that I have straight arms!

Father's love

Change can sometimes be hard, but it is made easier when trusting God fully. At the moment I am in a Bible study group and we are going through Psalms, Songs of ascents.
Psalm 121

1. I lift up my eyes to the hills-

where does my help come from?

2. My help comes from the Lord,

the maker of heaven and earth.

3. He will not let your foot slip-

he who watches over you will not slumber;

5. The Lord watches over you-

the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

6. the sun will not harm you by day,

nor the moon by night.

7. The Lord will keep you from all harm-

he will watch over you life;

                                                              8. the Lord will watch over your coming and going

                                                      both now and ever more

A little miracle

Love the patients, they teach me so much

Plastics Dressings

Dressing room

Plastics dressings is my job title at the moment. This job means my whole day is taken up with changing dressings (bandages) on the plastic surgery patients. As some of you know I have been working in a plastics ward back at home and are used to dressings. But here on the ship is slightly different, as there are different dressing we use and the way we clean the wounds is different. It is good to see what works here better than what we are use to at home.
It has been 4 weeks since we started plastic surgeries here in Congo. There have been up's and down's. One of my own struggles is when we have a patient with an infection in their wound. But I pray that God will healed them that the infection will go and I trust Him that He can do it, he is a God who heals.

dressing room

One of the best things is when you see the change in the skin graft, it is healing!!! The infection is gone or is going and it is not longer a problem.
When the skin graft is healing so well that soon the patient will be able to go home. The telling of the patient that they should be going home soon, that the surgery they have had has worked, that they will be able move their limb or use their hand which they have not been able to use for years, their precious smiles and their eyes glistening from happiness, their thank you's. Then in that moment I realise why God has brought me here.


 I love the fact that God has a plan in everything, little did I know when I moved to Swansea 8 years ago, that God had bigger plans for me. I got a job in Burns but then they added plastics to it. From there I have been able to gain knowledge and now I am able to use my skills and knowledge which God has given me.

One of the patients with their dad

Playing on the ward floor

 To be able to use my skills and knowledge on the people of Congo has been such an experience and reward, which  I would never have thought possible.

Beautiful

Screening day/ Selection day

A few days after screening day I have been able to digest some of what happened that day. Still even writing this makes me emotional.

Lets start with numbers around 7,000 people queued up all day to be seen. Around 6,300 went through the main gate. 4,200 of them were potential patients. Over 1,000 went through the pre-screener and onto the surgical specialities. This selection day was the biggest in Mercy Ships history. They are amazing numbers but it also shows that there is a big need in this country.

The people queued for hours during the day just to be seen by a doctor, for some the last hope they have. It was great to see the people who received the appointment card to come back to the ship, their big smiles and their "Merci" (Thank you), some were so excited, it made my day all so worth the pain and aches of walking miles. But of course I dealt with a lot patients who unfortunately could not be helped. It was heartbreaking to see the people walking the line which meant they were not a candidate for surgery. In my little French I tried to show them that I cared, that I was sorry we could not help. At the end of the line we ask if they wanted prayer by our prayer team, it was encouraging to see so many take the opportunity to be prayed for. That maybe we could not help them physically but we could help spiritually.

The most frustrating thing of the day for me is that some of the problems the patients had and that the ship could not help with could so easily be sorted at home, they would see the GP and then referred to the right doctor and have their health issue sorted in a matter of days/months. While here they suffer with their problem for years and years.
What do you say to a teenager that has deformities in her legs which means she has to walk with crutches or stick for the rest of her life, as we cannot help her, as she sits there sobbing, all I could do was give her a hug and  I gave her a silent prayed that she would know she was loved. 

As you can tell I found it very emotional, and I have shed a few tears everyday since. But also I had moments of pure joy, as a little girl (the one in the picture) gave me loads of hugs and played with me for a little while, while her mum waited in line to get the appointment card to return to the ship. Or when a group of men were discussing why they had not been accepted, I explained why to them, I got the translator to invite them to prayer if they wanted to. One of the men wanted prayer, so I took him to the prayer room, while walking with him, he asked if I was a Christian, when I replied yes, he had a smile in his face, then he asked me if I loved Jesus, when I told him yes I did, his smile got bigger and said that was very good. I then told him I was sorry we could not help, but his reply was so good, he thank me and said that it is all in God's hand. It brought me back to reasons why I was there.
It is all in God's hand, he has chosen the patients we are going to have, and that we are here for a reason. I am excited to see what He has planned for our time here in Congo.

Thankfulness

I am back on the ship!!! I have been here less than 48 hrs, and already I am so thankful for what God is doing in my life by coming here! So I thought I would write a blog of thankfulness, and in the same time you can keep up to date with what is going on...

Thankful for my time at home with friends and family
Thankful for the house selling
Thankful I was able to sell or give away my furniture and bless others with it
Thankful for a supportive church
Thankful for the people who support me
Thankful for my health
Thankful for a safe journey
Thankful for an upgrade on my plane journey
Thankful for meeting up with friends
Thankful for His plan in my life
Thankful for a family cabin (with a sofa)
Thankful for the little things that make the day great
Thankful for all the nurses joining
Thankful for amazing friends
Thankful for the Peace in my life
Thankful for the opportunity to serve

I could go on and on but I think you can see how thankful I am.

reunited with friends (and a fantastic cabin)

Next Thursday is our big screening day, please pray that the right patients may come and be given an appointment to have their surgery done. That it will all go smoothly. 

  

Amazing?!!?

People come to me after they find out what I am up to and say 'what you are doing is amazing'

Well to me it doesn't feel that amazing, to me it feels like I am doing what I have been called to do, it is exciting as I love the work I do on the ship, and I feel very privileged to be part of such a great work that God called me to do. But to be honest I do get days that I don't want to go, I want to feel settled in one place with friends and family. Then I realise that I would be miserable doing that!

At church the services have been on singing a song, even when we don't feel like it, when everything is going wrong, when you feel there is no hope, that's when we need to sing more. Well my song since coming back is the Hillsong 'I surrender'. To me it is personal as I needed to surrender everything to Jesus, and I feel like in the last few months I have been. And the difference in my life has been amazing! All the stress and work I needed to do to get ready to leave has been pretty high but then I give it all to God and the peace I have is Amazing!

So I might not feel like I am doing anything amazing, but God is doing amazing things!

I do have a newsletter and if you would like to receive it, please email me!



Answer to Prayer!

Just a quick note to let you all know that I accepted an offer on my house! I was getting ready to get it off the market when a couple came to see the house and they made an offer. The paperwork is now going through, but it is still a long process.

 

I am so thankfull for everyone who has been praying with me for the sale of the house, but still pray that everything will go smoothly and that we will be able to exchange contracts before I leave!

 

This verse has spoken to me in the last few weeks,

Zephania 3:17

The Lord your God in your midst,

The Mighty One will save,

He will rejoice over you with gladness,

He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing

Congo

Having received my acceptance letter from Mercy Ships,  I thought it was time I went into more detail of where I am heading to.
I will be joining the ship in Congo, to be precised Point Noire in Congo Brazzaville. This is not Congo DRC, which a lot of people get mixed up with.
So here it is a bit about Congo......


 The right name is Republic of Congo, it is located in Central Africa, bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Angolan exclave of Cabinda. The capital is Brazzaville, which why some people call it Congo Brazzaville.

Congo was formerly part of the French colony of Equatorial Africa, upon independence in 1960, the country became the Republic of the Congo. The people of Congo are largely a mix of Catholic and Prodestant. There are 62 spoken languages in the country, but it can be grouped into 3 categories. The Kongo are the largest ethnic group and form around half of the population. The second largest group is the Teke who live north of Brazzaville with 17% of the population. Boulangui are 12% of the population living Northwest of Brazzaville. Pygmies make up 2% .The Republic of the Congo's sparse population is concentrated in the southwestern portion of the country, leaving the vast areas of tropical jungle in the north virtually uninhabited.

 

 

The country is located along the equator because of this the weather is consistent all year around, average temperature during the day is 24 C. The dry season is from June to August, and 2 main rain seasons March to May and Sept to November.

 

The ship will docked in Pointe Noire, the second biggest city after the capital Brazzaville. It is situated on a headland between Pointe-Noire Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Pointe Noire is the main commercial centre for the country, and at the centre of the oil industry. But it is also know for its fishing.

 

This is just a small look at Congo, and where I will be based for 10 months on the ship. This is the first time the Mercy Ships has been to this country, please pray for the team who are there getting things ready for the ships arrival in August.

I will hopefully be joining the ship on the 21st of August. I am already getting things ready for leaving but the main prayer point is my house, I am trying to sell it but there is not much interest at the moment, praying the right person will come along and buy it!

 

Leaving on a jet plane, don't know when i will be back again......

Well it is sort of true, I am leaving on a plane and I don't really know when I will be back again. Yes you have read it correctly I am leaving, hopefully I will be joining Mercy Ships at the end of August, this time in Congo! I am joining the crew as long term, this means at least 2 years, but it may be longer! Therefore I am not really sure when I will be back in the UK. (Of course I will come in between to visit friends and family).

 

I am really excited and looking forward to joining the ship in Congo. This is the first time Mercy Ships has been in Congo and I feel such a privilege to be part of the team there.

 

So how have I come to this decision????

Well after praying and finding what God has for me, it became clearer that I was to join the ship, I know some of you are thinking... so soon???!!!

Yes the time is right and I feel so much peace about it all, that I know this is what God has planned for me.

Also 2 years and more feels a long time, but I have known for a while that God had called me to Africa for a reason and that eventually would be there for a longer time.

 

There is so much to do at the moment, there is a lot to do before I leave in August, the house being the main thing. Please pray that everything will be ready for me to leave in August and that the time I have here in the UK with family and friends will be good.

 

I will keep you posted on how things are going and the dates of me going. Also I will do some fund raising so will let you know about them.

 

Jeremiah 29:11 & Isaiah 58:11-12

Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!



Hope you all had a good Christmas and enjoyed the festivities! I was working Christmas day but fortunately I was off then for a week. This meant I could go to my parents house to enjoy Christmas with my family. It has been a while since all my sisters and brother where together. The family is growing too, with a new nephew but also the rest of my nieces and nephews are getting bigger!






For New Years I was able to go to Oxford for a few days with one of my good friends, it was a good time of relaxing and chatting!

At this time of year I always reflect on the year that has just gone, and I can say that 2012 has been one of the best years yet. I have been so amazed and blessed through out the year, from working with wonderful patients and staff, to friendship and most of all how God has supplied all my needs and more!

Also at this time of year I look forward to the year ahead to see what I will be doing! As some of you know I am looking to see where God wants me, I know he has more for me and I think that is back in Africa. Looking to see if its back on the ship or something new. Therefore I am changing my blog's name to Ana's Adventure as you must probably have seen. I will be changing it later depending on what I do.

A verse that has spurred me on is in Isaiah 58:11

The Lord will guide you always;

he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land

and will strengthen your frame.

You will be like a well-watered garden,

like a spring whose waters never fail.

After an amazing year I can only wait and see where Jesus guides me!

Hoping you all have an amazing year too