Thursday, March 27, 2014

Amazing Patient Story - Jean Bosco



Day after Day God's Amazing Blessings and Grace Prevail.......

Jean Bosco is a farmer. Just north of Congo’s capital city of Brazzaville, fields bear the mark of his honest labor – hectares of cassava, gardens of blooming eggplant and tomato, and lime and mango trees providing welcoming shade from the African sun.
Jean and his wife, Carine, worked hard to enjoy life with their six children. They enjoyed simple prosperity and stability . . . until a mysterious growth appeared on Jean’s back in 2003. What Jean calls his maladie was, in fact, a lipoma – a benign, soft-tissue tumor composed of body fat. Left untreated, a lipoma can reach giant proportions.
Jean explains:  “When my malady started, it was barely noticeable. But after three years, it began to rise from my shoulders. I became afraid; if I were to die, my family would suffer greatly,” Jean said.
Driven by concern for the well-being of his wife and children, Jean saved enough money for a hospital visit in 2009. But the appointments, bloodwork, and medicine quickly emptied his pockets, and he had to return home without surgery.
Nevertheless, Jean refused to give up. Day after day, he worked to save more money, desperately hoping for healing. Exhausted by the shifting, heavy growth, his work suffered and his fields’ productivity decreased. His family now found itself in dire straits. “At that time,” Jean says, “I abandoned myself to prayer that God would help me.”
Help arrived in God’s creative, unusual way. In 2013, Jean’s lipoma ruptured and began to bleed. He had no choice but to seek emergency medical care in Brazzaville. He found himself once again on the doorstep of surgery but without the means to pay for it. While in the city, he learned of a hospital ship docked in the Congo. “Go to Mercy Ships,” a friend told him. “The surgeons will help you for free.” Jean was amazed, and he wasted no time in traveling to the coastal city of Pointe Noire.
By the time Jean boarded the Africa Mercy, the watermelon-shaped lipoma protruding from his back weighed 20 pounds! Even in extreme cases, a lipoma usually reaches only 8 to 11 pounds. Under the expert hands of South African volunteer Dr. Tertius Venter, the massive lipoma was removed in a two-hour surgery.
A few days later, resting comfortably on his back in his hospital bed, Jean grinned and said, “My doctor thinks I’m a machine! I am too happy to feel pain. It has beenten years since I could rest on my back.”
Jean is overjoyed with the gift of health he has received from Mercy Ships. “What could I give Mercy Ships in return?” he asks. “What am I to say to God for what He has done for me? This ship goes beyond. This ship is in God’s truth. All I can give is ‘thank you.’”
Now, Jean Bosco – a farmer, a father, and a husband – can return to his family . . . without his terrible burden. His easy smile lights up as he envisions his homecoming. “Imagine your favorite fĂștbol team has just won the World Cup,” he says, “…that is exactly how my family is celebrating as we speak. There is a very perfect joy that is waiting for me and mine when I get home.”

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Jean’s smile and easygoing nature reflect a satisfaction with his life’s work and his faith. Now, with the free gift of surgery, he will be better able to care for his farm and his family.
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The day of Jean’s surgery has arrived. “Since 2003, while I had this tumor, I could not lie down or sleep on my back, ever.” He is eager for that to change.
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The watermelon-shaped lipoma growing from Jean’s back weighed an amazing 20 pounds! The majority of extreme lipoma cases typically reach 8 to 11 pounds.
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“Because it was so big, it always bothered me. I could not work hard, as it would exhaust me too quickly. I have always been good at keeping the welfare of my family in equilibrium, but my malady made our lives very difficult,” Jean says.
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Jean’s surgery and healing has been miraculously swift, and  Jean is eager to get home: “My family is so excited to see me now […]. There is a very perfect joy that is waiting for me and mine at home,” Jean says in an interview on his last day in the hospital.
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Would you look at those shoulder blades! Jean descends the gangway of the Africa Mercy with a grateful and triumphant spirit. “When I look at Mercy Ships, I feel the presence of God,” Jean says. “Those who can support Mercy Ships do not have to hesitate. This place is so wonderful, so in truth. Thank you, Mercy Ships.”
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Clem, the Communications Team Translator, spends some time with Jean before he leaves. The two Congolese formed a great friendship while Jean was onboard theAfrica Mercy.
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“When I arrived in Pointe Noire a few weeks ago, I crossed paths with a policeman on the street. He took one look at my back and asked me where I was headed. I told him, ’to the Mercy Ships.’ He smiled and told me, ‘You are in good hands there, my friend.’”  Today, as a healed Jean leaves the hospital, it is plain to see that the policeman was right.


Written by Grace Antonini
Edited by Nancy Predaina
Photos by Ruben Plomp and Michelle Murrey

Friday, March 14, 2014

Continuing on the Journey!!!



Just me and my random thoughts......"Always Thinkings"  :)


As I live 24/7 on the ship with 400+ people I am blessed to observe so many different personalities form people all over the world. It is amazing that we all get along. I believe it is because many have chosen to set their eyes on God and believe that there is something or someone higher in life than just us. With this and with prayer comes patience, kindness, grace, mercy and forgiveness at the core of our thoughts. When differences or discontent arise we stop and reflect, pray and recognize that we are all “together” on this life journey. We are all part of one body, no one better than the other.......all different, yet the same in one body.

I often think.....”If i only knew then what I know now, my life would be so different"........Yet I’ve recognize that all of Life is a Learning Process, whether we want to learn or not. Enrolled in the school of “life” I’ve learned  that we are all at difference places on this learning curve. My son made this clear as he shared that it took me 50 years to see what I see today.....so I should   allow him the time and life experiences to get him to a similar place. Unfortunately, I want to share the wisdom, but recognize that we often need to learn it on our own. I also recognized this to be true in the ‘“Christian World” as well. Just because one says they are a Christian, does not give me the right to assume that “life” has taught them all the same lessons as me. We are each on our own spiritual journey learning as we go along. Some with more or less faith, some with years of teaching, all with different life experiences.

Of great value to me this past week were words from Melody Beattie.....
author of “Journey to the Heart”

Value your past and all the lessons you have learned.
How easy it is to diminish the importance of our past and look on our history with a critical eye. We see the mistakes, we see what we think we should have known, we see what we could have done better. What we forget is that the reason we are able to see so clearly is because of the past and because of what we have learned. Often, it is the very experiences we regret that have created this clear vision. 
Value what you have learned in your past. Each lesson has led to the next. Every person and event in each part of your life has been invaluable in shaping and forming you - in creating the person you are today. Each part of your past, each person who has come into your life and shared experiences with you has helped you to open your heart more to life, love, God, others, and yourself. Even those experiences you think of as wrong, or mistakes, have been an important and necessary part in creating you. Sometimes, those experiences formed the most important part of you because they created in you compassion and understanding for others. Your past taught you to love - others and yourself. It has helped you become a channel for Divine love and a force for good in this world.
When you look back at your past, look tenderly and gently at all you have been through. Look with the eyes of the soul. See that each experience was necessary to bring you home to your heart.

I’ve healed and grown so much since being here. 
I move forward with curiosity,  strength, courage, and adventure! 




“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” 

John 16:33


Random Pictures of "MY" Journey......................


 I am not even done with this part of my journey and now looking ahead to another adventure........Awe! The BEAUTY of Greece....(as shared by Sarah).....Definitely added to my "Bucket List"


Just Can't Get Enough of the Love!!! 
I know I have said this many times....but will say again.....God has blessed our surgeons with amazing skills. Miracles are being performed everyday.......the nurses get to love on these wonderful patients and their families!!




Below is a story about these amazing ladies as written by my friend Charissa!! (Thank-You Charissa!)



Tears welled up in my eyes as I listened to her story. Pregnant at a young age, she was unable to get the baby out when it came time for its delivery.  Ten days later, it was discovered that the baby was stillborn and a day later the infant was pried out by a local surgeon, and she was left alone to bury her own beloved child whom she so longed to meet. As a result of  prolonged labor this woman developed a vesicovaginal fistula (VVF),or a small hole from the vagina to the bladder resulting from the unborn child being pressed tightly against the pelvis, cutting off blood flow to the vesicovaginal wall. The formation of this kind of fistula results in a continual leaking of urine.  Although her defect may not be obvious initially, many would soon discover that there was something "different" about this woman by the putrid stench coming from her wet clothes. 

This woman's story was just one of the many that I heard this past Monday. Around seventy people had gathered to the ward to celebrate God's goodness in the lives of eight beautiful women.  Each woman was given a new dress, jewelry and their makeup was done by the chaplaincy team onboard to prepare each one for this moment. It was a special day. You see, each of these women had suffered from VVF and had come to the ship in hopes that they would receive treatment for their ailment. Today, these thirteen were heading home- restored, healed, dry, sweet-smelling and full of JOY! 

 One at a time, each one came to the front of the crowded room and shared their stories. Some had tears rolling down their face as they described the pain of burying their own child or being rejected by their husbands and families. Others shared of traveling from doctor to doctor in hopes that "this one" would be able to fix their problem. Many shared how they were unable to keep jobs because of the shame associated with their foul odor. But, as the surgeon who operated on these ladies so proudly proclaimed "these women are African's broken houses and God is restoring these broken houses."

Yes, God had truly healed the broken hearts and bodies of these women. He alone had bestowed on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. These women are no longer the same women that they were when they walked up the gangway of the Africa Mercy. No, these women will leave this place with their heads held high and hearts full of gratitude, hope and joy. These women who were once considered dirty, disgusting outcasts by many, will now finally be truly seen by many for the beautiful and valued individuals that really are! 

As the dancing continued at the end of the celebration, and the drums continued beating, I found myself praising the God is one who is able to make ALL things new.  He alone is able to mend broken souls, give hope to the hopeless, make new creations, resurrect that which is dead,  make beauty from ashes. And these women are living and breathing testimonies of the beauty of His grace. 




Good Bye Party for my Roommate Solvieg......Someday I hope to visit you in Norway!!!!



One of my favorite things to do...........TEACH!

Every month is a new topic......Malaria, Safe Drinking Water, HIV, First Aid, etc.....
Our goal is to teach the local day crew so that they can go into the community and repeat the teachings!


Just thought I would slip this in.........HAPPY 60TH BIRTHDAY, Martha!!




WOW!! Two Beautiful Ladies!!!
These 2 sweet ladies are so special.........Bianca and Bernadette :)



We shared a wonderful Congolese Dinner at Bernadette's Mother's Restaurant......
YUM!! The Best Congolese Food!!!
I never thought I would eat a whole fish........But now I hate when I get to the last bite!!



Fresh Fish and Chicken grilled in a variety of ways with different seasonings, along with  variety of scrumptious side dishes!..........If only there was more room in my Belly!!!!!



Thank You Ladies for a Wonderful Meal!!!!



For those Nurses in America........Do you think our feet "attire" would pass JCAHO standards!!
Oh how I love "Ship Life"!!!!

Our GREAT admission team at the present time........Whoops.....Changing again as we say Good-Bye to Veronica from France.......The lovely lady in the middle!!!



Amazing Day at the Beach - Volunteering for the Amazing Race

Teams of 3 raced around Pointe Noire completing various tasks such as shoe shining, buying fish at the market, cooking the fish and many other fun activities. 
Anne Clair and our "little helper" were in charge of the "canoe race" Each team had to row out to a designated area and come back.


After watching all the fun the teams were having, Anne Clair and I jumped in as well......I will admit that we had some help of the "Keeper of the canoe".......By the time we went out the waves were pretty rough......So, Mr. Canoe Man agreed to take us as long as we held his beer while he paddled! 
I can now say that I paddled in Africa!!!



Catch of the Day!



Another Goodbye...:(.............Anne Clair you will be missed!!!
I hope to see you in FRANCE!!!!!




I can't get enough of these Seniors!!!
Below.......Maren,  my lovely bunkmate from Germany is always ready to sing and dance!!!




Oh my Goodness.......This was so much fun..........Hence..the men won as you see the "Ladies" on the ground!........Oh my!!! :)





It is the "rainy season"........Flooding is such a problem and causes so many transportation issues. So many of their homes were flooded and they lost so much!





Another Good-Bye :(.............Good-Bye Kacie!!!.......Hope to see you in Texas!


Fishing for a Living!!!



So Awesome to be able to donate blood and then know that it is going to one of our patients!!


For those in the community.........If you need a blood transfusion you need a family member to donate. All the blood is screened at the hospital.
If your family member doesn’t want to donate or can’t donate, there are people sitting outside the hospital gates that you can pay to donate. Some hospitals are more advanced than others in that there is a blood bank on the premise. If you get blood from the blood bank you have to then bring 5 people to them to replenish the blood you took. The idea behind this is that out of the 5, there should be at least 1-2 people whose blood can be used for a transfusion.




YUM!!!! I love this Chicken!!!
Cooked on the rotisserie......then cut into pieces.....covered with onions which caramelize from the heat.....some seasonings, a dap of honey mustard on one side and mayonnaise on the other.....covered in foiled and ready to eat.........We took this back to the ship....dipped our fresh bread and cassava in it.......Oh Yeah!! Life is Good!



OH Yes...........Life is Good!!!!

But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness”   
Galatians 5:22

:(...........Only two months left of this wonderful adventure!