Don't worry. Be happy.

It's the summer break. The kids are having fun...and so is their teacher! But even though there is no school, Miss Estelle is still learning.

Lesson #1:

My life is comfortable. It is easy. I have a family who love me. I have good friends. I have everything I need and more. But I still want more. Somehow I think it will make my life more comfortable. More easy. And then I worry when I don't get it. And then I get impatient. Last night I started reading Francis Chan's Crazy Love. His words spoke to me:

"Worry implies that we don't quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what's happening in our lives.

Stress says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace toward others, or our tight grip of control.

Basically, these two behaviours communicate that the it's okay to sin and not trust God because the stuff in my life is somehow exceptional. Both worry and stress reek of arrogance. They declare our tendency to forget that we've been forgiven, that our lives here are brief, that we are headed to a place where we won't be lonely, afraid, or hurt ever again, and in the context of God's strength, our problems are small, indeed."

Lesson #2:

I found this five-minute clip filmed by ITV Tyne Tees last year when the AFM was docked in Benin. I look at the patients and their families who come to our ship. Their lives are a complete contrast to mine. Their life is not comfortable. It is not easy. Some of them have been abandoned by their family and friends. Many of them have very little. But they smile through the struggle. And they are grateful for what they have.

Lesson #3:

This afternoon I was having a chat with my friend Kelly who visited a local church. She was telling me how the pastor was sharing that God had called him to live in this place (a village we call the fishing village). Sometimes he wishes for rain in the desert but he is at peace because this is where God has placed him. Kelly told me about some shocking realities of his life. It was humbling to hear. And convicting.

This is what I have learnt from the weekends lessons. In the words of Francis Chan:

"Frankly, you need to get over yourself. It might sound harsh, but that's seriously what it means.

Maybe life's pretty good for you right now. God has given you this good stuff so that you can show the world a person who enjoys blessings, but who is still totally obsessed with God.

Or maybe life is tough right now, and everything feels like a struggle. God has allowed hard things in your life so you can show the world that your God is great and that knowing Him brings peace and joy, even when life is hard...It is easy to become disillusioned with the circumstances of our lives compared to others'. But in the presence of God, He gives us a deeper peace and joy that transcends it all."

In a nutshell: Don't worry. Be happy. :)

Connections: Mercy Ships Updates

Check out the Mercy Ships Update for May here and for June here.

May Newsletter

Read the newsletter for May here. Better late than never, I suppose :)

Bleh

Lately I have been feeling bleh.

A part of me knows why and another part of me really doesn't. I find myself continually wrestling with God about life. About stuff.

I think part of my frustration stems from the fact that just when I think I have closed the door on a chapter, it creaks open again. And like an inquisitive child I stick my head into the narrow opening to take another look inside. And for just a brief moment it is enjoyable. But then bleh sets in. And it lingers.

Bleh.

Why can't I find a lock and bolt for the door and make sure that it is shut for good? While I was cleaning my classroom today, Britt Nicole's song Have Your Way was playing. She sums up things better than I ever could.

Feels like i`ve been here forever,

Why can`t you just intervene?

Do you see the tears keep falling?

And i`m falling apart at the seams.

But you never said the road would be easy,

But you said that you would never leave.

And you never promised that this life wasn`t hard,

But you promised you`d take care of me.

So I`ll stop searching for the answers,

I`ll stop praying for an escape,

And I`ll trust you,God, with where i am,

And believe that you will have your way.

Just have your way.

Just have your way.

When my friends and my family have left me,

And I feel so ashamed and so cold.

Remind me that you take broken things

And turn them into beautiful.

So I`ll stop searching for the answers,

I`ll stop praying for an escape,

And i`ll trust you, God, with where i am,

And believe that you`ll have your way.

Just have your way.

Just have your way.

Even if my dreams have died,

And even if i don`t survive,

I`ll still worship you with all my life.

My life.

Whoa-oh..

And I`ll stop searching for the answers,

I`ll stop praying for an escape,

And i`ll trust you, God, with where i am,

And believe that you will have your way.

Just have your way.

Just have your way.

I know you will.

I won`t forget.

Whoa-oh

You love me.

Have your way.

Yeah

Abel Dalome

Abel is a very happy eleven-year-old, who loves to make new friends. His attitude is surprising when one considers the physical problem he has been living with for most of his life … and the reaction of most people to that problem.

Abel had a normal childhood until a problem arose following an injection. His parents noticed he was having difficulty learning to crawl. His muscles had stopped growing, but his bones had not. As a result, his legs were not growing correctly because there was so little musculature to direct them. They began to bend backward at the knee, forcing his upper thighs out behind him. His parents took him to three different doctors, but none of them knew what to do for him.

Despite this condition, the resolute Abel learned to lean forward, correcting his balance enough to walk, climb and do just about anything any other active boy can do. He even became the goalkeeper on his football (soccer) team. The only thing he couldn't do was ride a bicycle, since it requires sitting straight on the seat and pushing down on the pedals.

Abel's physical deformity made him the target of ridicule from other children. But he remained optimistic thanks to his joyful spirit and his wonderfully supportive parents.

One day, there was an announcement on the radio that a Mercy Ship was coming to Togo, offering free surgeries. Abel's hopeful father took his son to an orthopedic screening in Lomè.

Abel as he appeared at the orthopedic screening

In the admissions tent, Abel demonstrates how he was able to sit before surgery.

Before surgery, Abel climbs into the Mercy Ships vehicle on hisway to the Hospitality Centre.

A few days later, a wonderful surprise awaited Abel when he awoke after his first surgery onboard the Africa Mercy . His left leg was straight out in front of him, wrapped in a cast! As he admired his newly straightened leg, he asked his dad if his right leg would also be straight after the next surgery. His father assured him that it would. Abel jubilantly declared, “If the other leg is going to be like this one, I am going to give a big thanks to the Lord. ” And a second surgery did straighten his right leg. He also had a third procedure – plastic surgery on his knees.

After two surgeries, a happy Abel and his father relax in the ward.

Through the round of surgeries and post-operative care, Abel's sparkling personality and brilliant smile earned him many new friends among the crew and among the other children recovering at the Hospitality Centre.

Abel enjoys sharing his picture books with roommates at the Hospitality Centre

A happy Abel tests his straight legs and crutches at the Hospitality Centre

A smiling Abel gets used to walking on straight legs with crutches on the dock beside the ship, as his dad looks on in the background

With the World Cup approaching, Abel is intensely interested in watching his favorite sport … and especially his favorite player, Chelsea's Didier Drogba. After so many weeks of recuperation, he is eagerly looking forward to getting out on the field himself.

But Abel's long-term goal is not to become a famous soccer player. He is determined to become a surgeon, like those on the Mercy Ship, “ because of the things they have done for me ,” he said.

Abel and his dad happily show off the casts in post op. after their removal.


Story by Elaine B. WinnEdited by Nancy PredainaPhotos by Debra Bell and Liz Cantu

Kindergarten Play: The Great Big Enormous Turnip

On Friday my students and I performed a play based on the story of The Great Big Enormous Turnip by Alexei Tolstoy. The students invited their families and some friends to watch our show.

Visit The Farrell Family in Africa at the link below to read a review and view some pictures: http://thefarrellfamilyinafrica.blogspot.com/2010/05/great-big-enormous-turnip.html

Aissa

Aissa lives in the north of Cameroon, West Africa.

Abandoned by both her mother and father, she was living with her grandma when she got sick. Her family brought her to the Meskine hospital, run by the Medical Centers of West Africa. She was found sitting outside the hospital pharmacy, skeletal, her face covered with a dirty rag, surrounded by a swarm of flies.

At 6 years old, she weighed 10 kilos. She was dangerously anemic, and could no longer walk or eat. She was diagnosed with NOMA , which is fatal in 90% of cases. She was hospitalized, but the family wasn’t able to pay for her care. They planned to take her home after just four days. Had they returned home, she would have surely died. The Medical Centers of West Africa chose to cover the cost of her care.

Slowly she came around. One day she smiled. Then she began to walk and play. Her photos were sent to Mercy Ships, who invited Aissa to come for a life changing surgery. A surgery that would bring her healing, restore her spirit and give glory to God. The organization Willing and Abel paid for Aissa’s travel. So this baby girl, who almost died in obscurity just one year previous, got on a plane and flew to Togo.

Aissa and Sarah after receiving care at the Meskine hospital

And our God, who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, placed her in the care of a team of specialists who gave her back her face. Hallelujah.

After surgery on the Africa Mercy

“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love may have power together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge… Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine…to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.” -Eph 3:17-20

Written by Sarah Root. Sarah is a physician assistant at Meskine Hospital. She travelled to the ship with Aissa and has been acting as her caregiver and translator.