Stephanie's Mercy Ship Blog!

These past few months have gone by so fast. I went on another upcountry screening trip to Tambacounda, a region in Dakar. We travelled for about 8 hours and I got to drive again, which I loved!! We screened for 4 days and saw close to 1000 people, and then travelled back to the ship. The rest of my time I have spent screening on the dock. Here we continue to screen by running tests, doing scans and asking lots of questions to make sure they are safe for surgery.   In my spare time on the ship, I get to do a lot of fun things. There are many amazing beaches in Senegal, and I have gotten to surf and swim and relax on many of them in Dakar. This city is more advanced  so there is even a movie theatre and bowling alley that I have been too. I am also part of a worship team, which is a new experience for me as I try to help lead worship for the crew. I also partake in a Bible Study once a week, where we pray for patients and for each other. I also cont...

                                                   Hello Ever yone!! I have been with the ship over 2 months now! Time flies! My first month consisted of travelling to Las Palmas, Spain where I spent a few days there as they finished maintenance on the ship. Then I sailed to Tenerife, Spain where we spent a week exploring and training for my new role in screening. This week is usually for all the crew who have been working so hard during ship yard to have a break and relax before work begins again in the next field service. We then sailed for 4 days to Dakar, Senegal.  When we arrived, there was a welcoming ceremony and it was amazing to witness the host country welcome us into their home and receive us with open arms! We then proceeded to clean and set up the hospital and dock to receive patients. This required a lot of unpacking, cleaning a...

Often while on board I take little moments when I see patients, to stop and really imagine myself as them. I imagine what it is like to live as they do with the condition that they have. When I do this, I am often overwhelmed with compassion for these people. It also reminds me of how strong they are to have gone through what they did, and what an honour it is to even have known them. Please just take a moment and stop and think about what it must be like for these patients and their families…   Burn contractures (unable to exend knees) Lipoma Cataracts Bowed legs   Goiter      Windswept legs Arm burn contracture Noma I wrote a little bit about what I imagine it would be like for a patient with a large tumour on his/her face or a woman with a fistula. Keep in mind that these are not the stories or thoughts of a specific patient, though my interpretation is based off of the conversations a...