Stranded in England . .

. . . And having a great time at it. I am sure many of you are quite confused about what exactly transpired to get me here. I'm still working it out myself. By the Lord's provision, I had planned an overnight stay with a friend of mine from Mercy Ships (Sue Lord) who lives in the English countryside. I was supposed to spend one night with her and her husband; then get on to Heathrow; then fly to Yemen. I had an evening flight out, so we had planned to spend the day driving around looking at churches, having a pub lunch, and other sundry items. Before we went out, I checked my email just to be sure I hadn't missed anything. Good thing I checked. There waiting for me in my inbox was a lovely email from the US Embassy in Yemen informing me and the rest of the team that we were no longer wanted--rejected by my own government! Actually, the apartment we were to be lodged in had been attacked overnight. After much prayer and consideration, the team decided that this was not the best time for us to visit Yemen. I'm not sure if our profile got too high, or if it those responsible had just hit a lucky target. I think it's probably impossible to know.

So, after a few international phone calls (sorry, Lord family) and a sense of deflation, I was back to the drawing board of this trip. Because I was supposed to go to Egypt with the team, that's out as well. Had I done any of the planning or research for this trip, I might have gone on alone. However, since all of my knowledge of Egypt comes from The Ten Commandments, The Mummy, and The Prince of Egypt, I decided going by myself would not be on the list of the "Smartest Things Molly's Ever Done." Plus, it is difficult to identify historic landmarks when your reference point is a cartoon. Case in point, Simba (The Lion King) is not as cuddly as one would think!

So, the new revised plan: to become a true English lady! (It may take longer than the 2 weeks I've got. Don't tell Sue my hostess cake!) I have been quite busy learning to say things like "quite" and "trousers" and "just pop 'round to the. . ." Yesterday we went for a walk 'round the countryside. A "walk" in England is not what we would consider a "walk." It is more like a trek. But the best part is that you get to walk through pastures were sheep are grazing and lambing. Fortunately, no one actually lambed while we walked past, but if one had Sue's husband Chris is a veterinarian and Sue and I are both nurses! I also had my pub lunch yesterday.

It's very nice being out here, because few foreigners get down to this part of the country. So, my dream of being in a place where people are fascinated by my accent has come true! (It's a silly dream, I know!) When we were walking out of the pub, I greeted a boy of about 5. He cocked his head to the side and exclaimed, "Where are you from?" I told him America; it seemed easier than Festus. Then Sue asked where he was from, and he said, "I'm from England!"

I have also infiltrated England's seedy underbelly--the world of the WI (Women's Institute). Sue already had a Mercy Ships talk set up for last night, so I got to go with her. Those women got just a taste of the international scope of Mercy Ships. No matter they had trouble understanding anything I said! By the way, the movie Calendar Girls is about the women of the WI. Yes, this chapter is getting ready to do a calendar as well; they claim is won't be as "tarty." If I were you, I'd place my order now. Did I mention the mean age is 73.8-years-young?

On the hillside in back of Sue & Chris's house, the region's point-to-point race was held. Point-to-Point as I have learned is a horse and pony race with jumps. Horse and pony race not to be confused with dog and pony show. The race course goes all over the hillside, estimated about 2 laps at 1 1/4 each. There's anywhere from 10 to 18 horses running at a time, and it's not uncommon to see a horse racing sans rider! Presumably, the jockey is fine, as he usually turns up eventually.

The new plan also includes 6 days in Edinburgh with other Mercy Ship friends. I've never been to Scotland so I am really looking forward to it. Hopefully, I won't get peer pressured into eating haggis. Already had it; no thanks, I'm full from that last bite 3 years ago!

Eventually, I will get back on track and go to Australia. Instead of flying as originally planned, I'll fly from London. Thank the Good Lord for comprehensive travel insurance and his direction in buying it! Only He knows our coming and our going! As far as I know, I am still coming home on the 21st of May, but clearly I can not be held to that.

Here we go again!

Allow me to begin by saying how much I love that video/song. It's called "Ok, Go" on YouTube. If you haven't seen it yet, you are missing out. My blog history tells me that I haven't updated since September 28, 2007. Yikes! So much is happening.

Currently, I am waiting for my flight to London. I am on my way to Yemen for another medical mission. It will be similar to the Mongolia trip. A team of 15 of us will be teaching the Yemenis pediatric heart surgery on children under 12kg (25lbs). We will be doing more teaching in Yemen than we do in Mongolia. I am really excited about that part. The actual surgeries are rewarding, and it is an honor returning a healthy child back to his/her parents. But it is just as important to empower the national people to provide excellent care to their own.

Please pray for safe keeping for the team while we are in Yemen. The U.S. State Department & Condi Rice will be caring for our security needs while there. The State Department is not normally active in securing the safety of missionaries, so it is a gift from God that they are willing to help us. Also, pray for the infants, toddlers, and their families that they will be healed and will will understand the love of Jesus through our actions. Also, pray for teachable spirits in the national doctors and nurses as well as for us as we work with them. Finally, pray for me and the team that God would be glorified whatever may come.

We will be working for 2 weeks on this mission. Then it's off to Cairo for some anthropological fun! I just don't understand why they don't fix the Sphinx's nose. He is starting to look like Michael Jackson! Shame, shame!

And just for kicks because I am already going to be so far around the world, I am going to fulfill my longtime dream of going to Australia. I'll be there for a month traveling around and visiting friends from Mercy Ships.

I figured that since I am starting grad school in the fall I should probably try to satiate my travel bug for a while. Short of a quick trip or two here and there, I will be grounded for the next 3 years! I imagine this will come as quite a shock to my system. I have been accepted and will be attending Emory University in Atlanta this fall to pursue a dual masters degree in Global Public Health and Acute Care Peds Nurse Practitioner (MPH/MSN).

I am really excited to start this next adventure. I can hardly imagine what the Lord has in store for me next. I have been so blessed to be a part of His work in such unique ways over the past year. My life has certainly been different than I imagined it as a teenager. I am just amazed that God allows me to be even a small player in the story he is telling. I pray that he would be glorified throughout my days!

More to come later. Must board for the next adventure!

Gobi Adventures. . .

Many of you may not know this, but I have extended my time in Mongolia by one week. We had a complicated surgical case here (an 18 month-old boy, Tsend) that required more care that we anticipated post-op. Unfortunately, the Mongolian nurses and doctors are not really experienced in taking care of these children after their surgeries. A few of us decided to change our plans and try to get Tsend healthier before we left him. By God giving us little miracles along the way, we were able to extubate (take him off the ventilator) on Sunday evening. I say it was a miracle because he miraculously peed off about 1 liter of fluid from his body in 24 hours and was still hemodynamically stable. If you're not a medical person, that won't mean anything to you, but trust me, it is miraculous when you're talking about a child weighing under 15 pounds. Because God provided and he got so much better, I was able to spend the week in the South Gobi Desert with the Searching Team of For Hearts and Souls. We spent the week traveling through the Gobi screening children for congenital heart disease and neurologically disorders. It was a great week! I was on sticker duty all week. I put stickers all over the children while they were waiting to be seen by the doctors. I got to make them giggle, smile, and help them enjoy life. It was such a change from the previous week. I am so glad that I was able to stay and experience both weeks. What a blessing it has been! I'll have more to post later, but now I must go to bed since I have access to an actual bed now. We spent the last four nights sleeping in "gers." They are Mongolian tents that may or may not be heated. It has been around 30 degrees Celsius here in the Gobi the last few nights. Freezing nights may be long, but Gobi days are gorgeous!

The Accidental Tourist

It was a tearful good-bye from the ship and Liberia a week and a half ago. I had such an amazing time there and just crave to return to Africa. . . soon. (yes, that's right, momma-cita, I'm going back). I wish I could sum it up and understand what exactly God did in my life and heart while I was there and is continuing to do now that I am in Mongolia; however, I need approximately 36 hours, 8 triple non-fat lattes, a journal, and Bible before I'll be ready for that. So instead, I'll just carry on with this post.

After spending twelve hours in Belgium, one hour in Frankfurt, and four days in Beijing, I am in Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia. My week of travel was quite an adventure. I arrived in Brussels at 5:45 AM and hopped a train into the city (more like dragged myself onto the train) where I promptly feel asleep after the first two stops. An hour later I woke up in rural Belgium, completely clueless as to where I was or how to get back. Not really a big deal except that in the rural parts of Belgium, Finnish is spoken. The languages I dabble in include English (somewhat proficient), Spanish, and now Liberian-English. Note that Finnish is not listed here. Fortunately, the train station guy took special pity on me and made sure I got back to Brussels, even going as far as to physically stop me from getting on the wrong train. He also informed me that I should have disembarked at the second stop from the airport. One of the two stops I was actually awake for! After arriving in Brussels, first stop: coffee shop, second stop: city tour bus. It is more than a little comical that Brussels is known as being the seat of the European Union and is home of Mannequin Pis (the little peeing boy)! How did those two diametrically opposite things end up in the same city?!

In Beijing, I meet up with the half of the Mongolia group. We went to the Great Wall where I unsuccessfully warded off Chinese selling their wares on the Wall. I was a little surprised that is allowed. Oh well. For those of you going to the Olympics next summer, I suggest bringing a blindfold so you won't know how many cars/bikers/people your cab driver is about to run down.

I am always fascinated when I travel outside of the US. So many places have such a rich history. I suppose that is what happens when your country is older than 200 years. Boston is about as old as it gets in terms of US history. I was stopped in my tracks at The Imperial Palace (Forbidden City) just imagining daily life there 600 years ago (Ming Dynasty). Our last night in Beijing, seven of us went to Tianamen Square just to wander around. We ended up being there for the flag ceremony (when they take down the flag). Apparently, a group of seven American women standing around Tianamen Square on a Friday night is something to wonder at. We got so many stares and picture requests; it was really quite entertaining. These two young women (around my age) came up to all of us and started a conversation. We ended up having tea ceremony and dinner with them. They allowed us to pray for the dinner. I think they thought it was a cute thing to do with Americans, because they both giggled when I said "Amen." It was cool to be able to spend hours with them just talking, comparing culture, background, jokes, and songs. We told them what we were planning to do in Mongolia and they were genuinely interested. They were wonderfully sweet women. It was just one of the many divine appointments we had in Beijing. Political views aside, Communism leaves people spiritually famished.

It's Thursday evening in Mongolia (13 hours ahead of CST). Today was day four of surgeries and caths. It has been a tough week to say the least, but God is faithful in all things even when it is impossible to understand His plan and justice. We have not done all the surgeries we had originally planned due to many reasons, paramount being that God has changed our plan. Please continue to keep the Mongolia team, children, and families in your prayers. Pray specifically for us specifically that we would be a light in a dark place; pray for the safety and protection of the children; pray for every one's energy level and state of mind. As the director of the program said, "Pediatric cardiac surgery is difficult in the US when you have almost limitless amounts of what you need." Please pray for limitless faith and encouragement. God bless you all and see you soon. Love, me!

Bowels of the Ship

Imagine lying in your bed drifting off into a peaceful sleep being gently rocked to and fro with the ocean's tide. Just as you fall into that sweet repose you hear a jarring siren roar from beneath your pillow. This is not just any siren, this is the ship engine's alarm. I only hear the alarm at night; I'm pretty sure the engineers wait until I have turned my reading light out and am just about to fall asleep and then set off the alarm. It is really a flawless system. I assume there is so kind of light in the engine room that is triggered by me turning my little reading light out. I mean, clearly, it's the only logical conclusion.

The first time I heard it was my first night on the ship. "Welcome to Mercy Africa. Good luck sorting out all the noises." During an orientation session a speaker was joking about ways to adjust to ship life. His suggestion was to bring your lawn mower into your kitchen, turn it on, and let it run for a week. That's probably a good start.

My cabin mates and I are also convinced that a Tyrannosaurus Rex lives within our plumbing. That may sound far-fetched to you, but then, you haven't heard him roar. About every 5 seconds that water runs, an extremely loud (louder than the engine alarm) sucking/roaring/whooshing sound happens. I also heard this noise on my first night as well. After flying for 20-some-odd hours, I desperately wanted a relaxing shower. It was one of the most frightening experiences I have had in a long time. I wasn't sure if I was going to be sucked down the drainpipe, if something was going to explode, or if I was going to be eaten by whatever lives down the drainpipe. Since then we have discovered that, yes, indeed, it is a T-Rex.

I've grown quite accustomed to the noises over the last six weeks. I have no idea how I am going to handle life without random alarms and sirens and without an engine vibrating beneath me. I may have to petition you all to blow horns and sound bells and the like in order for me to get any sleep at all. I will establish a schedule once I get home and let you know. Bring your own noisemaker. Not to mention, what I am going to do when I have more than 9 cubic feet of personal space? Right now if I reach out both of my arms, I can touch either wall of my cabin with room to spare. Comparatively speaking, I think ants have more personal space than I do. I must say though, that for someone who values her alone time and personal space, I really don't mind at all living in a matchbox. It all just makes me laugh and enjoy the experience that much more. I giggle thinking about all the things I thought I needed. Good coffee has remained high on the list though.

2 More Weeks

It is very strange to think that I have only two weeks left in Liberia. That soon I will be moving on to Beijing, Mongolia, and lands beyond. These last six weeks have been such a blessing and an eye opening experience. I find it very difficult to know how to write about all of it. I have experienced to following emotions: happiness, sadness, anger, elation, joy, pensiveness (not really an emotion), contentment, and reflection. I am pretty sure that once I do finally get home I'll be moving to the state of Confusion. (I think that is somewhere in the Mid-West if my geography has not completely escaped me.)

One thing I have noticed here is that despite this country being war-torn and disheveled there is an incredibly strong undercurrent of faith. Yes, the police are corrupt, the government is lacking unity, the infrastructure is non-existent (you can literally swim in some of the potholes--seen kids do it). But in spite of all of that, the church is very strong here. All of the churches I have visited have solid Biblical teaching, an eager congregation, and a burning desire to know Christ more. I have heard several different pastors direct the congregation to thank God that they have survived another week. When I first heard this it didn't really register. In my mind, "Sure, thank you God that I am young, fit, and generally healthy." Then I started thinking about it from the perspective of the Liberians. The people in the congregation are the ones that survived 14 years of civil war, not knowing from one moment to the next when the rebels were going to come back. Not if, when. They always came back. They truly were blessed to have survived another week surrounded by war and gunfire.

We see so many horrible things in movies about how cruelly we can treat one another (Hotel Rwanda, Blood Diamond, The Last King of Scotland). It's relatively easy for me to watch in shocked horror then go get dinner. Something about seeing it in movies makes it seem less real. You never how much of this is exaggerated for effect or CGI or made up altogether. Not to mention that when movies like Hotel Rwanda and X-Men come out in the same weekend, it all seems less real. Over the last month, we have been treating a 16-year-old girl, Esther. She has suffered through 4 surgeries so far with at least one more to go to have a burn contracture of her right hand released. We rarely see burns like this in the US. In developing/war-torn country the burns are not treated properly, the burned flesh then becomes tight and painful. The tightness constricts movement of the extremity. When Esther came to us, her right hand was useless and so tight her hand always made a fist. Through skin grafting, pin placement in each digit to straighten out her fingers, serial (repeated) casting, and occupational therapy she is healing. It is unsure of how much function she will have in the right hand, but probably some. I tell her story because I was appalled when I started taking care of her and heard her story. When she was 3, the rebels held her hand in the fire. We don't know any other details because there are no family members to tell us.

I ask you where is the humanity that this still happens? When I read the Old Testament, I am horrified by the descriptions of war and battle. I used to think how far we've come as a society that we don't do things like that anymore. Now, I see that I was wrong.

It has been a blessing to watch Esther heal both physically and emotionally. She is much more open and smiles more now. I am pleased as punch that we could help her, but saddened that we ever needed to. I still don't believe that God orchestrates these horrific circumstances, but I believe more than ever that He is able to work through all things to bring glory to Himself.

I recently came across 2 Thessalonians 3: 3-5 which states, "But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance." I immediately thought of all of you who have supported me financially and continue to prayerfully support me. I have no doubt that I am exactly where God wants me right now. And to answer every one's question of what comes next: who knows?

Language Lessons

"You know, the international language. . . LOVE. The language of LOVE!": Ricky's Mom in Better Off Dead.

The official language here is Liberio-English. To me, Liberio-English sounds like a cross between Ebonics, some Caribbean dialect, and American English. I have found that while I cannot understand every word they say, I can definitely get their meaning. Ironically though, very often they have no idea what I am saying. The first couple of weeks here, I'd just talk normally to the patients and have the translators translate. I found it quite comical because I'd say, "do you have any pain?", then the translator would say, "ya feelin' any peen?" Which to me sounds pretty close, but when I'd ask them they would blankly stare at me. After the translator had spoken, they very clearly answered either "no" or "small, small" or "big, big peen." So, recently I've taken to saying, "ya feelin' any peen?" This system works out quite nicely because then the translators are available to help me with other patient care things. I've really enjoyed being able to teach the translators a little something about nursing and patient care over the last month. I am fortunate to have fairly well educated translators. Hopefully after Africa Mercy sails in November, they will be qualified to get jobs at one of the hospitals as a nurses aid.

We are currently performing surgeries to repair vesico-vaginal fistulas (VVF). A VVF (or hole between the vagina and bladder) forms when a woman has been in labor for a few days. Usually, the baby is stillborn because he or she cannot tolerate being under that much stress for that length of time. Once the baby comes out (either by assisted vaginal delivery or by C-section), the woman is left with a hole causing her to leak urine. Typically, her husband will leave her, and society will ostracize her because she smells like urine all the time. These women's stories are horribly tragic, and they stoically wear them on their faces. When they come to the screening days and are admitted, they refuse to look you in the face. Since, their injury, they have been starved from human touch, compassion, and love, some of them for years.

After the repair, a woman stays with us for two weeks while she heals. Watching the transformation take place over those two weeks is remarkable and a true testament to God's grace. Slowly, she will start to make eye contact; then she'll smile; then she'll no longer look surprised when you touch her; then she'll hug you back; then she'll celebrate God's mercy. When their healing is complete, we have a dress ceremony for each of them. They all get dressed up in a brand new full African dress (since all of their old clothes are urine stained), and we sing and dance and celebrate God and being a woman. Even now, just writing about it, brings tears to my eyes.

I've had several conversations with one of the translators about her misconceptions concerning how the fistula is formed. I have enjoyed helping her work out these misconceptions and see through to the truth. She was under the impression that the fistula is caused by the C-section itself. After some explanation, she decided that because these women wait days before going to the hospital, the fistula was formed prior to the C-section. Hopefully, she will pass that knowledge on to another woman so this tragic injury can be prevented.