Visiting the Agriculture Site

One of the highlights of one of Mercy Ships ministry outreaches is the Agricultural Program.  The students are carefully selected to participate in the course and are then expected to take their knowledge and learning back to their villages to teach others.  In the morning, they work the soil and learn about what plants in tandem bring the needed nutrients to the soil (planting peanuts between rows of corn for nitrogen) and about keeping a compost pile.  They are taught use of the land God's way, all organic and not burning which destroys valuable bugs and organisims).  

 Foday and Ibrahim are teaching me how to use bark for twine to hold together a trellis for the beans.  Part of their training is that they have to teach and give back what they've learned.  I'm now the student! 

I'm standing with Bambi; his arms were cut off by the rebels during the war.  His resiliency and thirst for learning is simply amazing. He has an infectious smile and zest for life that is just unexplainable considering his circumstances.

I gotta say that the group was very lively and extremely motivated to learn.  The day I was there, they were learning about malaria, it's symptoms and how to prevent it.  At one time or another, everyone here contracts malaria and many children die from it still.  These students were so attentive and excited about learning, it made me realize how much we take education for granted, whereas here in Sierra Leone, 52% of the people are illiterate. 

THE GRADUATION CEREMONY                The entire community came out for the celebration.  The graduates were so proud and excited about their accomplishment.  I felt proud for them too, and was moved to tears at their deep joy and appreciation.  They received gifts of a wheelbarrow, a shovel and watering can. 

The singing, praying, dancing, praising God, tears of joy was contagious and overwhelming.  It was all so simple, yet so profound to share in their joy and hope for a better future.  To know these people has been such a priviledge and I will carry them in my heart.

Update on Ramatu

"I feel so beautiful now!"

I told you a little bit about Ramatu a couple of weeks ago, and I want to share her transformation with you.  She has lived in shame for the past 10 years, covering her face, abandoned by her family, being shunned by her community, called a witch and accused of as being possessed by evil spirits.  

"I'm so thankful to God for this new life!



She is now free of shame and ready to live her new life.  The doctors expect the swelling to go down much more, leaving her with a beautiful face and a "future and a hope"!

Observing Surgeries

Last week I had the privilege of viewing three surgeries; moving from one operating theatre to another.  It was amazing, not only to see what actually takes place, the skill and precision of each operation, but also amazing is how Mercy Ships works!  In one operating theatre, there was a US surgeon, Ethiopian assisting surgeon, an Austrailian anesthesiologist, a British OR nurse, and a Swiss assisting nurse.  All of them only on board for just a few days and never worked with each other before, came together to perform this delicate operation of separating the fingers of a little boy who had been burned from a cooking fire five years ago and his fingers had fused together on both hands.  

Imagine never having any medical attention after such a debilitating injury.  We are in the "plastic surgery" phase of the outreach and are operating on many children with burns that have never been treated resulting in very limited use and mobility.  It's amazing that a person who couldn't bend their leg or arm because of a burn contracture, can now open up their arms wide for a big hug! 

I watched the surgeon take pry open the fingers that had been contracted into an unuseable ball, carefully stretching the muscles & skin, clip the skin and graph more skin from the thigh of the boy.  Then they drilled rods into the fingers to keep them straight for the healing process and, of course, many weeks of physical therapy.   

On to the next operating theatre where I was able to see a cataract removed.  I was able to see everything on a large monitor in the OR.  The surgeon deftly made an incision, scooped out the cataract (which hs a consistency like firm white rubber) then slid in a new lens, all of which took about 8 minutes!  Apparently this procedure is rarely done in the US because the cataracts rarely get to the point of such severity and the western world uses laser technology to smash and dissolve, rather than cut and scoop!  Nevertheless, this low tech method is extremely effective with these types of severe cataracts.  

It was a facinating day!