Amazing Race - Africa Mercy Style

Hi, this is Eli.

Last Saturday 15 teams of 3 people each participated in the Amazing Race.  They had to make it to certain destinations that had different challenges such as: drinking two cups of a nasty blended concoction with sardines, hot sauce, peanut butter, etc. (some people barfed); score three goals against three local kids in soccer; pound and eat their own fufu (a west African dish of boiled yams and plantains pounded together with water to make a dough-like paste); make a fire that got hot enough to burn through a rope that was over it; make up their own rap song; paddle a local canoe to a lighthouse and back (some people had to run the muddy beach instead when the tide was too high); find a certain person at a large local market who was walking around; and catch two roosters.  There were ten stations in total, spread out across downtown Conakry. 

The teams had to either walk, run, or take taxis but they only had a small amount of local money so they had to use it wisely.  We ran the rooster station.  We got to explain the rules when they arrived and then let the roosters out in a courtyard (which was at the site of our shore-based dental clinic).  The teams had to catch the two roosters while wearing a rubber glove on their heads and yellow dishwashing gloves on their hands.  It was fun and funny to watch them.  Some teams were more experienced with animals than other teams so they caught them faster.

It got a bit boring sometimes waiting for the next team to come.  The first team came at about 9:10 in the morning and the last team just after 2:00 in the afternoon.  Afterward, all the teams and the organizers went to a local hotel with a pool.  There were some kittens there that I liked to play with and hold.  It was a really fun day.

The end.

Alya

Soriba sits on a stool at the end of an empty hospital bed with his arms folded across his green and blue striped shirt. His eyes are fixed on the door. He is waiting for news of Alya, his son, who has been in surgery for nearly three hours to remove a tumor from his small neck.

Across the narrow hallway of the hospital ship, Alya’s skilled volunteer surgeon, Dr. Neil, works diligently with OR nurses to finish up a successful surgery. “Incredible,” he says of Alya’s tumor, which had grown around his windpipe. “He was a few months away from suffocating from this.”

In his six short years, the tumor Alya has had on his neck since birth grew from the size of a quarter to the size of a potato. But today, because of Mercy Ships, there remains only a crescent-shaped scar, made up of a couple dozen stiches, where that tumor used to be.

Before surgery, Alya was teased by his friends for the
lump on his neck.  He as also out of breath and tired.

Now there is just a small incision
where the tumor used to be.

There is a sacred moment in the hospital wards of the Africa Mercy when a nurse tells a patient’s family member that the surgery was successful. Delivering this news is more than just giving an update – it is telling someone that their loved one’s life is forever changed. Mercy Ships ward nurse Rachel Greenland smiles as she approaches Alya’s father. “The surgery went very well,” she says. Soriba’s eyes flutter between Rachel and the translator as the message is relayed in his language, Susu.

“Everything went well. He hasn’t woken up yet, but he will soon,” Rachel says.

Sitting up a little straighter now, Soriba looks around the room. He smiles and in Susu announces to the ward, “My mind is free, my heart is happy!”

Another patient chimes in from a bed nearby, lifting his head to get a better view, as he says, “Let God bring these kinds of people every year in this country!”

“Amen!” says Soriba.

What had been hushed mumbles quickly turns to chatter from the surrounding patients and caregivers. “May God help them to bring healing for other illnesses we have here,” says a woman in the bed behind Soriba.

Soriba turns and holds up his hands, adding, “Amen. May there be healing for all.”

Four days later, a squirmy Alya sits on his knees at the end of his hospital bed, pulling on his father’s shirt. He is no longer the little boy who can’t catch his breath. He is no longer exhausted from his hindered breathing.

Alya proudly wears a red star sticker on the middle of his forehead and a huge smile on his face. Next to him, his father eyes the door – this time for a different reason.  Today, Alya finally gets to go home, and they are anxious to leave.

“Without this opportunity, we don’t have the means for surgery,” Soriba says. “Now I am happy; may you come every year.”

Written by Catherine Murphy

Edited by Nancy Predaina

Photos by Paul Millgate and Bright Effowe

Peter's Ponderings

I should probably post some kind of family update after over a month hiatus from blogging.  There certainly has been no shortage of events, happening, fun times, frustrations, school stuff, and work woes to blog about.  Life is very busy.  Good, but busy.  We (individually, as a family, as a crew, as an organization, and as the body of Christ) have achieved some amazing things through His power and grace, and we continue to do so.

However this post is, as the title says, a pondering.  What is a pondering?  It is a musing, an 'I wonder', a rumination, a 'huh?', a consideration...well, you get the idea.

So, here it is: how do you handle generational cultures in the workplace?  Do leaders have a responsibility to understand generational dynamics and adapt their approach and expectations in regard to them?  Do followers (subordinates) have a responsibility to do the same?

We seem to make (or at least intend to make) allowances for cultural differences in regard to race and culture in the nationality or ethnicity sense, but what about generationally?  There is incredible variance in how a Silent, a Boomer, an X-er, and a Millennial see the world around them, interpret things, approach work and goals, etc.  They are vastly different worldviews.  Is it majority wins - whichever generation is most represented in a workforce gets to set the tone and everyone else is expected to conform?  Is there an approach that would be amenable to even, say, two different generations working together?

Thoughts...?

Keepin' It Casual

After a few days of feeling so-so, my headache, sinus, cough, fatigue yuckiness finally got the best of me today and I opted for a day resting in the cabin.  Xavier decided that I looked like a comfortable mattress.

One of the advantages of working from home is a casual dress code.  Our new personal assistant seems to have taken it to the extreme.

We're Alive!

What have we been up to lately?

Dara is homeschooling Xavier this year.  It has been a rewarding experience but also with many challenges.  He can spell his first and last name out loud, can count to 46, and can read a number of small words.  While Dara is thrilled with the privilege of teaching him those things, it is tough to do on the ship.  She can't really take him on field trips or just pop over to the library.  It also means that she spends her days until 3:20 with Xavier and then helps the other three kids with homework while trying to entertain a 4-year-old who has already spent the whole day in the cabin.  We knew that this would be a challenge but decided that it is well worth it, and Dara is an awesome teacher.

Grace is still planning on going to France for the next school year.  She has begun babysitting and selling cookies to try to earn money.  She is still filling out the application for the organization that she would like to use for her year abroad and is also working on scholarship applications. 

Elijah has started a business taking out peoples' trash.  He is plugging away in school and doing very well considering the challenge of moving up to Junior High this year and doing two online classes because the Academy is short of teachers this year.  The online classes are out of his comfort zone but he has maintained a great attitude about school. 

Malachi went into business with Elijah taking out the trash.  He is still a clown at heart and can't sit still for more than about five minutes.  He is constantly doing cartwheels in the cabin, which is interesting considering the fact that we have 6 1/2 foot ceilings and only about a 4'x4' section of open floor space for him to do them in. 

Xavier is growing up so fast it is incredible.  He can swim on his own now and is fairly intent on being independent.  He holds his own as the youngest and can often be heard hollering at his older brothers and his perceptions of their injustice toward him (which is sometimes accurate and often exaggerated). 

I'm staying plenty busy with my roles of Dad, husband, Chief Steward, and student; taking two university courses per semester.  I am working toward a BA in Organizational Leadership from Regent University.   The Stewards Department have had a particularly busy season with the President of Guinea showing up on two hours notice, a luncheon for the US Ambassador, the first Lady of Guinea onboard last week, several Ambassadors' wives coming Monday as well as the Papal Nuncio, and a number of other smaller events and functions.  Not to mention the usual daily tasks of daily cleaning all public spaces of the vessel, preparing meals for around 600 people 3 times a day, maintenance of guest cabins and preparation of crew cabins, etc., etc., etc.   The managers of the five areas of the Stewards Department, whom I directly oversee, are doing a great job pushing forward in our mission of bringing hope and healing to the poor.  It is a privilege to lead them.  School is going well but requires a lot of time.  I made the Dean's List and continue to do well in courses. 

We are plugging along and grateful to the Lord for His continued blessings in our lives. 

God's Travelling Mercies and Grace

This is a crew announcement...

This is Grace, I am just writing this post in order to notify you that I have started my own blog. If you are interested in seeing it, please click here.

Through The Eyes of a Nine Year Old

I don't like to be nine very much because there's one more year before I can go around the ship by myself.  Natty and my other friends, who are already ten, can go up to deck 8 and the Town Square by themselves but I don't get to.

Sometimes kids who are not ten yet run around even though they aren't supposed to.  I don't like that.  It makes me feel a little bit annoyed because they aren't supposed to.  My parents tell me it's a ship rule and I have to follow it even if other kids don't and their parents don't make them.  Grrrrr. 

My mom and dad say that we need to set a good example and that the bible says we should obey people in charge.  I think that it would be fun if there didn't have to be older people in charge but I guess if there weren't then it would just be chaos.  I'm not exactly sure what that means but we did a game in PE and Mr. Calvert said it.  I think it means when everything is out of control and crazy (my sister added crazy). 

When I'm ten then I will be happy because I can go up to deck 8 by myself, I can go to the computer lounge by myself, and I can watch PG movies.  Oh yeah, then I get to have a later bedtime, too.  And birthday presents.   

But there are still some fung things to do now.  I like it when my parents take me places to play and hang out.  I also like to do PE and Drama in school.  They are fun subjects.  I like living on the ship because the classes are small and there aren't very many people.  Sometimes there are yummy things to eat.  It's fun that we get to sail to lots of different places.  And we get to be in new places but still have our house with us.  It'a also fun that we get to drive in Landrovers and go to African places.  Like last weekend we went to somebody's house.  My parents say that it was the house of the acting US Ambassador and his wife.  They invited us over to eat muffins and play in their pool.  I guess most kids don't get to hang out at the houses of people like that.  It's also fun that presidents and people like that come to our ship. 

- Malachi