Our Women's Health ward has been very busy the last few weeks, so it has been a challenging yet exciting time. Our VVF surgeons saved the most complicated cases until right here at the end of the year, so there has been a lot of prayer that these ladies will heal correctly. It has been such a blessing to have several ladies come back for their 2nd or 3rd surgery with us, and to see them dry after surgery. For many of these ladies, we are basically their last hope - with each surgery their chances of success get smaller and smaller. There have been a few whose surgery was not successful, and if they meet certain criteria we tell them to come back in the spring to be screened again for surgery.
We have had a bit of a change in the surgery schedule for my ward. There has been some difficulty in finding enough patients with fistulas to keep the program going for the entire field service. We truly think the women are out there, but the word about Mercy Ships may not have reached them where they live. One of my patients said that she thinks many of the women are so ashamed of their condition that they don't want to come out in public to seek help. So due to this, our Women's Health program will be stopping after Christmas and then will resume around early March until May. The plan for January and February is that our ward will take care of general surgery patients such as hernia repairs and goiter removals. Please continue to pray for more women with fistulas to hear about our program and be willing to come.
I recently had the opportunity to visit New Destiny Orphanage, which is an orphanage that Mercy Ships has been supporting since their arrival. There are 49 children living here with one woman who runs the orphanage (her name is Ndazana). She has a few volunteers who help when they can, but even with help it is no small task. The building they currently rent is old and dilapidated and not fit to live in. It is very small with cramped living quarters (20 children in one small room) and plumbing that rarely works. The kitchen was tiny with no useful appliances. They typically just cook over an open fire. The small funds that the orphanage does have go toward food and paying school fees so that all the school-aged children can get an education. After Mercy Ships found out about the condition of the orphanage, a love offering was taken which raised over $15,000. This money is being used to build a bigger facility that can safely house this number of children. It has been amazing to see how crew members have given generously to support this cause.
When we arrived in the morning there were several babies to be bathed, fed, and rocked to sleep. A few of the teenage girls jumped in and helped with bathing and with preparing the bottles of formula. The sweet girl in the pink dress is Sandra. She stuck by my side for most of the morning while we sang praise songs, danced, and listened to the story of the 10 plagues and God's deliverance of the Israelites.
One of the volunteers prepared breakfast, which consisted of a piece of bread and chocolate milk (from powdered milk). The refrigerator in the orphanage has been out of service for a while, so they have no way to refrigerate food or milk.
The children gratefully took their breakfast of bread and milk, never once complaining about it.
After the Bible story, the children did a craft that involved the 10 plagues.
I managed to cuddle some babies while I was there. This little boy is Isaac...isn't he beautiful?
This sweet girl is Marie. She was sick with malaria at the time, but seemed to be on the mend.
We had a time of singing and games with the kids before we left.
Near the end of our visit, some of the children did a dance for us that they had rehearsed. It was very sweet.
My visit to New Destiny was difficult in some ways. It was hard to imagine what these children have been through and seen at their young age. It is a reality that I have a hard time wrapping my mind around. However, I saw that despite their circumstances, they have a joy that is hard to comprehend. Thankfully, they are being raised by a woman of God who is doing her best with what she has.
If you would like to watch a short video clip about New Destiny, click HERE.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you! My next blog post will be in 2018!
