The Netherlands - Wow!

Hello everyone from Houten, The Netherlands.

If you didn't already know I am spending 2 weeks over Christmas with Jan Pieter and his family, here in Holland! I really needed a break from ship life, a bit of cool weather and of course to meet JP's family.

I arrrived here on Wednesday, and had a nice relaxing day. It is so cold, I am starting to get used to it, but we went cycling around Houten and it was a bit chilly. The de Jongs have been great and organised warm clothes, shoes and a great big jacket for me, so I have not been too cold. It is a beautiful country, having never been here before, I was amazed at 1) how flat it is, 2) how everyone (I mean everyone) rides a bike, 3) how everything is made out of brick, and how busy it is.



On Thursday we went to Utrecht, the nearest big city. It is an amazing place, canals, cobbled streets, wonderful food, and I had a great time just wandering around and taking photos, in other words acting the tourist. I also had to shop for some warm clothes, as coming to Africa I was not expecting to spend Christmas in wintery Europe!

Friday Jan Pieter and I went to Amsterdam! I could not stop exclaiming 'wow!' everytime we went around another corner. Bigger canals, very old buildings, more cobbled streets, trams and just generally so different from Wellington. We visited Anne Franks house, which was sobering. Having studied her diaries in school, I was prepared, but seeing the actual annex, walking through it and imagining hiding out in there was something quite different.



It is hard to believe looking out the window onto the canals and beautiful dutch city, that only 55 years ago Jews were being marched down the street, onto trains and away to Germany or Poland to their death. It is so weird to think that in this modern country that has happened so recently.

On from that we went to het Rijksmuseum, and saw a large collection of Rembrandts, Vermeers and other Dutch painters from the 'Golden Age' of dutch history. One of the paintings even had Elmina Castle (Ghana) in the background, which was pretty surreal!



Today we are relaxing, and I am going to attempt to bake a typical NZ christmas cake! I hope you are all well, and enjoying the lead up to Christmas - only 2 days to go!

Tot ziens!

Soph

Christmas on Board!

Hi Everyone,

I hope you are all enjoying the holiday season, and that Christmas is not too stressfull for you back at home. It is funny here as a lot of the European and North American crew think it is totally strange experience to be having Christmas in a warm climate! I have great pleasure reminding them that this is normal for us in Australasia, and that swimming, sunbathing and being hot is part of Christmas ( although I hear summer has been a bit slow coming)!


The fun thing about living in an international community is that we can learn about each others Christmas traditions. December 5 was Sinterklaas - the dutch celebration where Sinterklaas (not the same as Santa Claus) comes from Spain to deliver presents. Sure enough Sinterklaas did appear on the Anastasis to bring gifts for the dutch children, and a great time was had by all. You will be amused to hear that Sinterklaas was actually Jan Pieter - although I think you will not recognise him in the photo!



The Scandanavians on board treated us to a choral performance on the 12th of December - celebrating Santa Lucia - a day when they remember the promise of light returning. The sun is rising and setting in Stockholm this week at 0830 and 1430 respectively - so you can understand why they need to reassure themselves that winter will come to an end at some stage!




On board the Anastasis, we have tried to make the ship as Christmasy as possible. There are heaps of opportunities for crew to minister to those people we are here to serve, including taking Christmas programs at the local orphanages, prisons, hospitals and the like. In fact today is baking day, a lot of crew members are making christmas goodies to distribute to the same people.

The ward is slowing down a little bit for Christmas - we have just finished a run of thyroid surgeries. Thyroids become enlarged to compensate for a lack of iodine in the diet, the result is greatly disfiguring - this is where our surgeons come in handy. Obviously we need to also educate the patients about affordable ways to prevent goitres occurring, including using iodised salt, and eating plenty of food that comes from the sea. It is pretty dramatic surgery, and operating so close to the airway can be a bit dicey, so we are pleased when our patients are ready to go home and all complications have been avoided!

I hope you are well, thanks everyone for your support this year, it has been challenging but incredibly amazing - so thanks for helping make it possible. Merry Christmas from those of us on board the Anastasis, may you have a great time celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, and may your Christmas be a time to reflect on the simplicity of his birth, and the magnitude of his purpose.

Blessings, Soph:)

Peace's Story

Hi there. Those of you who recieved my newsletter would have seen some photos of one of our patients - Peace. I was wanting to share Peace's story with you a while ago - but it has now been officially published by Mercy Ships - so I can now pass on to you her remarkable story.

Ashamed, hurt and embarrassed, Peace Mensah suffered for years with a huge tumour sprouting out of her mouth. The fear of not knowing why the tumor began or how large it would grow, combined with the intense pain would have shattered most people’s faith in a loving God. But for Peace it was her faith that carried her through. “I want to tell my testimony to everyone of what God has done for me,”Peace says as she begins her remarkable story of faith.

As she perches on the side of her bed in the Mercy ships recovery ward, Peace holds a mirror in one hand. She can’t stop looking at her face, the transformation is amazing. Her smile gradually grows wider and wider until a gasp of laughter comes rushing out. In 1998 Peace first felt the beginnings of discomfort in her mouth. Four years later the swelling had grown considerably and the pain was intense. Blood and pus constantly oozed out of the mass that swelled out of her mouth. A local hospital had diagnosed the facial tumor but there was little that would be done to help.

Knowing there was little hope, Peace gave her condition up to God and prayed that He would keep her faith strong. Life grew tougher and tougher for the Mensah family. Running a small farm and trading vegetables and cassava kept them economically stable but as Peace’s tumour grew, work for her became impossible. Her husband was forced to take over the running of the entire family. Unable to sleep due to the intense pain and only able to drink liquids through a straw, Peace gradually grew more and more weak. “I used to cry out and pray for God to hear,” she says while looking at her new reflection, “and God heard my cry.”

In June 2006, a doctor from Peace’s village came to the family with the exciting news that a floating hospital ship was coming to Ghana. “He told me to pray,” Peace remembers, “and I did. I never stopped praying!” Along with thousands of others, Peace traveled to the port city of Tema to attend the Mercy Ships medical screening in late June, 2006. She stood for hours in a line, a line that would lead to a new face and a new life. Amazed and overjoyed, Peace left the screening site with a Mercy Ship surgical appointment card. The floating hospital was the answer to endless prayers; surgeons assured her they could remove the tumor and restore her face.

The 27th June, 2006 marked the start of the transformation process for Peace. She endured two surgeries over three months, spending twenty-seven days in the ship’s recovery ward. At times she recalls that it was humiliating, “I had lost so much weight and was so light that I couldn’t really walk. I had to be bathed and I always wet the bed. But the result was incredible and the nurses were amazing. Mercy Ships has done a big job.” “God has blessed me so much,” Peace murmured over and over again.


Throughout the whole eight years her husband loyally stayed by her side, looking after the whole family and reminding her that he loved her for who she was, not what she looked like. But she knows God loves her even more than this. “God is an amazing God, He is always by our side.” After her final surgery Peace remained another fifteen days onboard the Anastasis. “She was a delight to look after”, one ward nurse commented.


Ecstatic about her transformation and excited about returning home to her village, Peace talked about how the family would celebrate in style. She knew that it was her faith in God that had kept her going through all the emotional turmoil of the last eight years and to Him she gave the glory.


Peace is one of our many patients who suffer from benign tumours of the mandible or maxilla (jaw bones) It is heartbreaking to see these patients when they arrive - such a massive deformity would not be tolerated in our society. It is certainly a priviledge to be part of the team that can bring such a transformation to the lives of these people. Peace was certainly a delight to look after - and If I am not mistaking - that quote was of me!

Charity Goes Home

Hi there folks, just a short post today - do any of you remember the photo I posted right at the beginning of my time here of a little girl at screening?

Well today she went home after having her cleft lip repaired last week. She did find it a bit frightening - but by the end of her stay she was much more used to us and the environment of the ward. So here she is ready to go home - with a new look!

Good news for all! See you soon, Sophie.